Children First Canada, a national charitable organization which advocates for children has released their annual publication, Raising Canada: Top 10 Threats to Childhood in Canada which ranked unintentional and preventable injuries as the top threat to the health and safety of kids in Canada. The report identified drowning as one of those unintentional and preventable injuries stating:
Drowning remains a persistent threat to children in Canada, underscoring the need to amend the Small Vessel Regulations to make it mandatory for children under the age of 14 to wear a lifejacket or personal flotation device in recreational small vessels covered under the regulation.
The report concludes that “the health and well-being of children have been on a steady decline – putting the lives of children at grave risk and the future of our country at stake. Over the past decade, Canada has fallen from 10th to 30th place among 38 affluent countries for childhood well-being, yet there remains a persistent myth that Canada is one of the best places in the world to raise a child.”
Among their six recommendations, Children First Canada calls upon the Government of Canada to appoint an Independent Commissioner for Children and Youth; develop a national strategy to tackle the top 10 threats; and provide equitable funding for First Nations, Metis and Inuit Children. If adopted, these actions would assist in tackling the drowning threat in Canada’s most vulnerable and at risk populations.
A big thank you to Children Frist Canada advocating for the safety of Canada’s children on our waterways! To learn more about Children First Canada go to: childrenfirstcanada.org
Write to your MP if you think lifejackets/PFDs should be mandatory for kids in recreational boating and sign our petition.
Change the law. Save a life.
Sources:
Raising Canada: Top 10 Threats to Childhood in Canada; in order of citation, page 21; page 4; and pages. 77,78 and 79.
