Ontario's chief coroner to review drowning deaths
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Posted By DON PEAT, QMI Agency
Posted 1 month ago
TORONTO - A day after a two-year-old drowned in an Ottawa pool and on the eve of what could be another deadly long weekend, the province's chief coroner vowed to review this summer's rash of drowning deaths.
Dr. Bert Lauwers, acting chief coroner for Ontario, announced Thursday his office will review all Ontario's drowning deaths that occurred in May, June and July along with any future drownings that occur in August.
"We don't have the numbers in for the year but it has been our appreciation that there has been a bit of a surge over the summer months," Lauwers said. "We wondered in our office whether it is related to the fact it has been really warm and hot and people are seeking recreational activities in swimming pools and lakes, maybe that has caused the surge but we really won't know what the absolute numbers are until the end of the year."
Anecdotal statistics from the Canadian Red Cross show at least 53 people have drowned in Ontario since May 1 - up from 43 over the same period in 2009.
A total of 75 people have drowned in the province since the start of the year, compared to 64 at this point last year, according to stats from the Lifesaving Society.
Lauwers said the review will be conducted by a team of three coroners and likely be led by him.
The results should be public by the end of the year.
"We're going to examine the factors that led to (this increase)," he said.
The age of the victim, the use of alcohol or drugs, whether there was adequate supervision, whether life jackets were used and where the drowning occurred are all factors that will be examined.
When asked about recent studies that show new Canadians, who are less likely to have had swimming lessons, could be at greater risk of drowning, Lauwers said they will be looking at that.
"We are going to try and get to the bottom of that particular issue," he said. "It may be at the end of that when we explore it that we may have to issue recommendations towards education."
Barbara Byers, public education director of the Lifesaving Society, said the organization welcomes the attention placed on understanding why people do what they do and how that leads to drowning.
The society has been collecting coroners' statistics on drowning for 20 years.
"Unfortunately, in all the years we've been collecting data, the risk-taking behaviour has not changed," Byers said. "The challenge is to convince people that this could really happen to them and that it is in their control to prevent it. Most drownings are preventable."
With another long weekend approaching, Byers said experience shows it could be yet another tragic one for many families.
From July 31 to August 5, 2009, 10 men drowned across Ontario.
Gail Botten, water safety advisor for the Canadian Red Cross, also applauded the review.
"Understanding who is drowning and where and why this is happening is crucial to our prevention efforts," Botten said. "The Red Cross works through the coroner's office to compile and report on drowning trends and this valuable information is applied to the development of our swimming and water safety programs, as well as our public education initiatives."
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