The Alberta government is stepping forward with a plan to provide loaner life jackets to people swimming in Sylvan Lake.
The news comes on the heels of yet another death at the popular vacation spot. On Saturday, a 47-year-old man died after going into medical distress while swimming in the lake and disappearing under the water.
In addition to that, another man died in late July when he drowned trying to push his girlfriend’s inflatable raft to shore.
“I can count the number of drownings we have had at Sylvan Lake on one hand,” said Sean McIntyre, a Sylvan Lake town councillor who grew up in the area. “It is tragic that we have had two in such a short span. I hope it is something that is just a freak accident and just stops.”
Neither or the two men were wearing life-jackets at the time they drowned, and it is unclear if they had access to them. Under the province’s proposed system, people would be given the jackets under the “honour system,” and would be asked to return them at day’s end.
Another Sylvan Lake councillor, Dale Plante, likes the idea.
However, he admits that the town will face challenges in implementing the idea.
“Obviously it is a practicality issue,” he said. “Making them available during the hours that they are needed … and it is weather sensitive, the number of people down there, so it is a little bit harder to staff something like that.”
Plante said Sylvan Lake’s beach ambassadors might be able to solve those issues. The ambassadors are already responsible for providing customer service and community & tourist information along the beach front. Plante believes they could simply absorb the responsibility of managing the life jackets.
But there are additional challenges to work around. During peak hours, only three ambassadors work out of a single booth on the beach front, meaning the town would need to hire more staff and expand their usual hours of operation.
“It has to be in several locations, because we have quite a long beach front,” said Plante. “So one location probably won’t do it, but we would love to see this get done.”
With files from Jenna Bridges
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