(TINY TOWNSHIP, ON) – On June 13, 2015 at 6:10 p.m. members of the Southern Georgian Bay detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) along with Tiny Fire and Simcoe County Paramedics responded to a call of a capsized canoe.
The two males in the capsized canoe did not have personal flotation devices (PDF) with them and were calling for help while in the water. Several nearby cottage residents utilized their own personal water craft and were able to bring the two males safely to shore prior to the arrival of police and emergency units.
The two males (age 22 and 23) were charged under the Small Vessel Regulations, Canada Shipping Act for not having the appropriate safety equipment on board the canoe.
Although this was a safe conclusion, it is an important reminder that wearing a lifejacket or PDF significantly increases survivability, should a mishap occur. Not wearing this equipment continues to be a contributing factor in the overwhelming majority of boating fatalities from year to year, on OPP-patrolled waterways.
The last five years
2014: 20 boating deaths, 17 of them attributed to not wearing a PFD or lifejacket.
2013: 23 boating deaths, 20 of them attributed to not wearing a PFD or lifejacket.
2012: 22 boating deaths, 18 of them attributed to not wearing a PFD or lifejacket.
2011: 22 boating deaths, 19 of them attributed to not wearing a PFD or lifejacket.
2010: 28 boating deaths, 22 of them attributed to not wearing a PFD or lifejacket.
The OPP would like to thank those citizens who rendered assistance to these males. These citizens put their safety in jeopardy assisting in a situation that could have been avoided if the proper safety measures had been taken.