Total BULLSHIT.

http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/678722

quote:

Drownings prompt calls to reform boating laws Transport minister eyes rule to make wearing life jackets mandatory Aug 10, 2009 04:30 AM Comments on this story (95) Raveena Aulakh in Huntsville Precious Yutangco in Toronto A shocking spate of drownings on Ontario's lakes and rivers so far this month has officials demanding all boaters be required to wear life jackets – a tightening of federal law that the transportation ministry said it is considering. "We regularly review our regulations and this may be something we would review in the future," said Chris Day, press secretary to federal Transport Minister John Baird, in a phone interview yesterday. Day did not say how soon such a review would be carried out. Two people died this weekend in separate drownings, and a third man died in a Toronto hospital after his speedboat flipped on Lake Muskoka. That raises the toll on cottage country waterways so far in August to an unprecedented eight deaths. None of those who died was wearing a life jacket. Though not all these deaths involved boats, both the OPP and groups like the Lifesaving Society have renewed calls to require boaters to wear life jackets while afloat. The current law, enforced by Transport Canada, says the number of personal flotation devices (PFDs) must match the number of people on vessels of any size. However, it does not require they be worn. Ontario Provincial Police officers, meanwhile, say they are emotionally drained after a grim week of notifying families that their loved ones died in preventable accidents. Const. Skeeter Kruger said that in his 35 years living in the Muskoka region he does not remember a deadlier week. "It is terrifying that in the last week and a little bit, there were somewhere around a dozen deaths on our roads and waterways in Muskoka alone," Kruger said. A man drowned Saturday evening in Lake Simcoe off Jackson's Point. Yesterday, his black flip-flops were still lying on the beach, a grim reminder of the tragedy. "I don't know how it happened but it was awful," said Kristyn Begbie, who had just walked out of her Lake Dr. E. home about 6 p.m. when a man, dripping with water after swimming 200 metres to shore, thrust a cellphone into her hand and asked her to call 911. "My friend fell from the boat," Begbie recalled him saying. "He can't swim. Can you please tell the police where we are." Emergency crews quickly reached the lake but it took them half an hour to find the missing man. Paramedics were unable to revive him. Jackson's Point resident Cathy Hastead, who arrived at the scene within minutes, said the dead man's friend was inconsolable. "He said the boat turned over suddenly," she said. "He said his friend has a wife and two little children." The men and three friends – all are from Toronto area – had been spending the day relaxing at Jackson's Point. The dead man's name has not been released. Further north, almost at the same time Saturday evening, Phillip Morden, 33, of Milford Bay was pulled from Lake Muskoka with no vital signs after his speedboat flipped in a spectacular crash. He was resuscitated and rushed to St. Michael's Hospital, where he died early yesterday. Police said the tunnel hull boat was travelling at high speed when it cartwheeled end over end. The weekend's third tragedy came hours later, when a camper vanished about 1 a.m. yesterday after a canoe overturned on Lake Arrowhead, north of Huntsville. Two men, who were staying at the Arrowhead Provincial Park, got into the canoe without lifejackets around midnight Saturday. Police believe alcohol was involved. The body of Paul Nguyen, 25, of Peterborough, was pulled from the lake yesterday afternoon. Police said he was not a strong swimmer. Most of beaches at Arrowhead were closed for the day and no watercraft were allowed as OPP investigated the drowning. John Leadston, assistant superintendent at Arrowhead, said the park has no time restrictions on entering the lake. However, he said, "people in the water at 1 a.m. ... I don't see that often." Lifesaving Society spokeswoman Barbara Byers said much of the resistance to wearing PFDs arises from common misconceptions. A recent study released by the Lifesaving Society showed 90 per cent of drowning victims were not wearing lifejackets and about 80 per cent of them were men. Many of the men surveyed said life jackets are "bulky and hot," said Byers, who pointed out new designs "have come a long way." In addition to this weekend's tragedies, cottage country saw another five deaths last week. With files from The Canadian Press

It's gone too far again... while these ideas always have good intentions, the government may step in because of the alleged Ontarian lack of common sense.

I can just see it now.... all the people taking the ferry to the islands all waering a life jacket, for the same route it has been taking for decades.

LOL... imagine, we'll all have to dance in lifejackets on the EDM boat cruises, wooooooohoooooo

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Short time TA, Long time Guver, Good time giver.