Life-saving vest

Northwestern Ontario has already seen three drowning deaths this spring; all three were male and weren’t wearing life jackets.

“Had they been, they might be alive,” said Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officer Ross Johnston. “I can’t say enough about the importance of wearing a life jacket.”

The water temperature at this time of year is extremely cold and Johnston said if a person fell in, it would take their breath away.

“If you think you can swim to shore or hold onto the boat for any length of time until you get rescued, I think you’d be very surprised and that life jacket is going to keep your head above water,” he said.

It’s a provincial regulation to have enough life jackets – in good condition and that fit – for every person on board the boat. However, there is no law in Ontario that forces passengers to wear them.

To encourage people to wear life jackets, the MNR, local law enforcement and the Thunder Bay District Health Unit teamed up for the second annual Get It On! campaign.

Campaign spokesman Gord Ellis said he almost always sees women and children wearing life jackets, but not men, especially dads.


“We want to make sure that dads get the message that it’s important they wear their (personal floatation devices) as well,” he said. “The statistics show very strongly that it’s mostly men not wearing PFDs, who are drowning.”

And to those who complain about the price of life jackets, Ellis said anglers have no problem shelling out hundreds of dollars on fishing rods and reels.

“When it comes time to get a PFD, they say that’s too much money,” he said. “Invest in yourself and your family.”

In 2010, there were 26 incidents of boat-related drowning reported in Ontario and 75 per cent of them could have been prevented if the men were wearing a life jacket, according to the OPP Provincial Marine Vessel fatalities statistics.


Ellis said a life jacket could make a life or death difference on unpredictable waters.

“The crazy thing about boats is everything can be going great and it’s calm and there’s no way anything can happen and the next thing you know, you’re in the water,” he said. “It’s scary when you fall in the water. Sometimes your boat doesn’t hang around and if you don’t have something keeping you up, it can get bad really fast, so PFDs is simple life insurance.”