Campaign underway to prevent drowning in the Okanagan

KELOWNA – Each summer, it seems the fun on Okanagan area lakes and rivers is marred by tragedy. Safety on the water was the focus of the annual ‘We Wear It’ event at the Kelowna Yacht Club on Thursday. For some, the message of reducing accidents and drowning is a personal one.

“I think of a friend who lost their life just out for a sunset cruise one night and didn’t have a life preserver on,” says MP for Kelowna-Lake Country, Ron Cannan. “It’s hard not to think about him.”
There are some alarming statistics about boating accidents in the province.

“In recent years, the number of fatalities in the interior of B.C. has exceeded the number of fatalities on the coast so we are tasked with educating the people about boating safety,” says reserve constable Phil Boissonneault.

The risk is especially alarming in the Okanagan where thousands of people hit the water every summer. In 2011, a 10-year-old Alberta girl died in a tragic boating accident near the El Dorado hotel in Kelowna. The personal watercraft the girl was on collided with a powerboat. There are many resources out on the water with the mandate of helping to keep boaters safe.

“The RCMP, the fire department, the search and rescue… we want to let people know that ont he water we do have water craft that will assist, monitor and enforce,” says Marguerite Berry with Power Squadron Okanagan Valley.
She says despite all those resources being available, at the end of the day, the responsibility falls on the boater to wear a life jacket.

“We all have the responsibility especially as parents to make sure that our children and grandchildren are buckled up properly,” says Cannan.

The City of Kelowna has given the Kelowna Yacht Club a proclamation acknowledging National Safe Boating Week and the ‘We Wear It’ life jacket campaign in Kelowna.