this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2023
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By Dan Bertrand / CTV

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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

[–] cheese_greater 8 points 1 year ago (4 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

More important still is being able to feed yourself without having a heart attack when you are 45.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't think preschoolers should be learning driver Ed...

[–] cheese_greater 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I was kinda hoping for a Reddit-style bandwagon where someone makes the humorous double or unintentional meaning and the next says "Ah, the ol' ______'aroo or whatever the format is...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In Ontario it is done in the third grade. Called “Swim To Survive”.

[–] cheese_greater 2 points 1 year ago

I wonder if these drownings are disproportionately immigrants/refugees/international students

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

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.)