The province has proclaimed May 19 to 25 Safe Boating Awareness Week and urges all Manitobans to protect themselves and their families while enjoying water sports. This announcement was made by Healthy Living, Seniors and Consumer Affairs Minister Jim Rondeau.
“Boating is one of our most popular summer pastimes, a fun, exciting way to connect with friends and family and enjoy the beauty of nature in Manitoba,” said Rondeau. “But we need to think safety first and we’re proclaiming Safe Boating Awareness Week today to remind boaters to take simple steps to ensure a safe day on the water and avoid needless tragedies.”
“Statistics indicate that one-third of all drowning occurrences are boating related,” said Carl Shier, chair, Manitoba Coalition for Safer Waters. “By simply wearing a personal flotation device while boating, 100 lives could be saved each year in Canada.”
Shier added that people not wearing their life jackets continues to be a contributing factor in 80 per cent of drownings. “They don’t work if you don’t wear them,” he said.
Shier said key steps to safer boating include:
• wearing a life jacket, appropriately sized for each passenger;
• always providing adequate supervision of children in and around boats and docks;
• avoiding drinking while boating, which is illegal and irresponsible;
• taking a boating safety course;
• being prepared by ensuring your boat has all required safety gear and sufficient fuel for your day of activities; and
• being aware of cold-water risks.
Rondeau noted the province works closely with the Manitoba Coalition for Safer Waters and has provided funding to the coalition for a wide range of water and boating safety programs including:
• The personal flotation device (PFD) loaner program which provides the free loan of PFDs in more than 70 northern and remote communities in Manitoba. The PFDs can be used for swimming lessons, boat trips and other community-led events;
• Manitoba Water Safety Grants, which provide a one-time grant of up to $2,500 for community-led projects such as training lifeguards, improving waterfront signage, training swimming instructors, increasing supervision of young people near water, or building barriers to protect the public from hazardous waterfronts.
• A public awareness campaign, which emphasizes the importance of sober boating and keeping children within arm’s reach at all times when swimming.
“We encourage all Manitobans to use these resources to help protect themselves and their families,” said the minister.
