19-year-old drowns in northern Ontario lake
19-year-old drowns in northern Ontario lake
A 19-year-old man from southern Ontario has died after jumping off a boat into a lake east of North Bay, police say.
By Dan Bertrand / CTV
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Be careful out in our lakes this summer. It’s always a good time to learn how to swim if your don’t know how. I witnessed this drowning in Cobourg last weekend
I can't fathom how any Canadian can't swim. This should legit be like preschool stuff. Same with drivers ed, its insane how badly needed these skills are and yet here we are, not teachinng and helping young people work through it
More important still is being able to feed yourself without having a heart attack when you are 45.
If it is considered a necessary skill, training should be government funded. Otherwise those skills will be disproportionately accessible only to those who can afford it.
In Ontario it is done in the third grade. Called “Swim To Survive”.
I wonder if these drownings are disproportionately immigrants/refugees/international students
While it helps, being able to swim won't necessarily save you. Water too cold? Hit your head on the way down, or can't tell which direction is up because you were drinking or it's dark and the water's murky? You're still dead even if you can swim. If you're in a damned boat, wear a lifejacket and think twice before jumping out of the damned boat.
(In other words, I sympathize with the loved ones of both the Papineau Lake and the Cobourg/Lake Ontario drowning victims, but I wouldn't be surprised if poor judgement on the part of the victim turns out to have been a contributing factor to the events at Papineau Lake. We'll have to wait for the police to put out a more complete report.)