Quebec heat wave: How to stay safe while you're cooling off in the pool
There's a heat wave coming this week, which means many Quebecers will take to the waters to cool off.
As the swimming season begins, the Quebec Lifesaving Society is remindin the public about drowning prevention.
"When there are heat waves coming up, people want to be near, on and in the water, which increases the likelihood of perhaps more incidents," said executive director Raynald Hawkins.
Local pools have yet to open in many municipalities, meaning citizens will likely turn to residential pools and natural bodies of water to cool off.
In Montreal, several public pools open their doors around June 17.
"It's even more important, in hot weather, to make sure that the residential pool is really inaccessible [even] if you haven't opened it for swimming," Hawkins explained. "It's essential to make your pool safe for your neighbors, as well as for the people who live in your home."
- READ MORE: Is your swimming pool up to code?
The majority of child drownings, "and even among the elderly," occur when the victims have direct access to the body of water, he noted.
"If your pool is open for swimming, then you need to ensure that a designated lifeguard, who has no duties other than watching over bathers, is present at all times. There's no question of watching out of the corner of your eye while gardening or reading a book," Hawkins said.
It's also important not to swim alone.
"Fifty per cent of our drowning victims in Quebec in recent years -- and this is even more true with the pandemic -- people were alone. It doesn't matter the age, it doesn't matter the activity," Hawkins said.
This is especially true when there's a current.
"The majority of drownings occur in open water," said Hawkins, advising anyone doing water sports to wear a flotation jacket.
"Just because it's very hot in a convertible doesn't mean I don't buckle up in the car," he said, asserting that heat is not a good excuse to ditch the life jacket.
LIFEGUARD SHORTAGE PERSISTS
It's still too early to say whether municipal pools will have enough lifeguards when they open.
According to Hawkins, word on the street is that "lifeguards who were there last year are coming back this year, which may reassure employers."
But they still have to be there when the pool opens, he stressed.
"We estimate that there is a shortage of 2,000 to 3,000 lifeguards across Quebec, depending on the type of water body, which is why it is so important to continue the free training program."
Lifeguard training has been offered free of charge since last fall.
From January to March 2023, the Lifesaving Society recorded a 40 per cent increase in course registrations, but this doesn't guarantee that all aspiring lifeguards will actually work in the field, Hawkins cautions.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 28, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.