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Home My WebLink AboutSchool canoe trips ain't what they used to be, thanks to irrational safety measures OPINION - National Post - 08/01/2018 - National Post - 08/01/20188/13/2018 Chris SeIley: School canoe trips ain't what they used to be, thanks to irrational safety measures 1 National Post ePaper NATIONALTOST NEWS FULLCOMMENT SPORTS CULTURE LIFE MORE DRIVING CLASSIFIEDS JOBS SUBSCRIBE FINANCIAL POST VIDEO Hello brent.1 )11111111111111111111111111111151 • .emeneeememee,,,,,,,,,,,„ I 111 ri,1„00011101„1100111,1111,11„,,,,,i,g0 lillIlillilli ZI,7://k FM tilpi 10110111111111001100, /,,,,,;, 1111111111111111111111111111111 /00111 0 OW 16 p*O0of II plopy, ,Z2,00026 Search Top Cruise Deals Savings Alert: Find out where prices have dropped on popular cruises and save up to 70% Cruise Critic Chris Selley: School canoe trips ain't what they used to be, thanks to irrational safety measures TuNteatt 0- swimming in takes, students and campers must nmv hob around wearing lij'ejackets. Whee. Imagiue the poetry it krapire v-I''..7'"""1"'"'.:;,....,"01411kalli'fito O. 01'111111 J110111,10 11011 101001110001111111111101111„11111111 11.1.1.11,,„:„„ 000000011000110011111111111011111111.10101y ti , „„, un 11111111111111111111111111111IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIWI,i1H 11111101111111111o11111h101111oJ1011111.11.111vii.piiiill....vivit,„100010100111IIIIIIIIIIIII0,11100v.olvijlijj ill141141,,,,i))),,,l0,)linj,,,,olill1101 https://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selley-canoe-trips-aint-what-they-used-to-be 1/9 8/13/2018 Chris SeIley: School canoe trips ain't what they used to be, thanks to irrational safety measures 1 National Post CHRIS SLLLLY August 1, 2018 9:41 PM EDT Filed under Full Comment Comment Facebook Twitter Reddit Email (g% More RECOMMENDED FOR YOU Canada may not return to NAFTA talks for 'days or weeks; Mexican minister says as meetings with U.S. continue Heat warning remains in effect for today across southern Ontario. Five sent to hospital after plane crash at Abbotsford B.C. airport The notion that all accidental deaths can be prevented is as common when it comes to drowning as it is in any other way to die. From what we know of Jeremiah Perry's death in Algonquin Park last summer, however, his death was jaw-droppingly preventable. The 15 -year-old student at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate in Toronto, part of the Toronto District School Board, was required to have passed a swim test in order to go on the canoe trip from which he didn't return. He had failed it, as had half the kids in the group. Jeremiah went swimming. He drowned. The mind boggles. One of the teachers on the trip, Nicholas Mills, has been charged with criminal negligence causing death. To my eyes, the TDSB's response was quite curious. It assured the public that henceforth students heading out on canoe trips must pass one swimming test in the city, then another on site. If they don't pass, they don't go. But even if they do pass, at no point during the canoe trip will any student be allowed to swim without a life jacket. Instead they may bob up and down in the water if professionals deem it safe. Perhaps they might even splash each other. RELATED STORIES: Teacher charged in 2017 death of student who drowned on trip to Algonquin Park Whee. Imagine the poetry it will inspire. I shouldn't have been surprised. Evidently the policy had not been universally applied, but apparently it was in effect at most if not all Ontario schools well before Jeremiah's tragic death. "I think what happens is every time there is an incident, whether it's a fatality or not, or a near -miss, then we've kind of upped the ante a little bit," says an expert in risk management for schools, who asked to speak anonymously so as not to associate her views specifically with her employer. "It's ... the precautionary principle. We're looking to be prudent in the safety of our students, https://national post.com/opinion/chris-selley-canoe-trips-aint-what-they-used-to-be Otojoitg Choose The Right Boat Explore 23 Boat ypes o Find -The Perfect One ...Tat its Your Needs. s. 2/9 8/13/2018 an hour after airshow ended Toronto needs more beauty in its waterfront designs Chris SeIley: School canoe trips ain't what they used to be, thanks to irrational safety measures 1 National Post knowing that we are in loco parentis and (we) are accountable for our actions. "And so it's important that we go to the highest level of safety. And if that means wearing life jackets — even though the chances of something happening are very remote — I'm prepared to do that." Perhaps you could argue that schools in general, or public schools in particular, have a special duty or lack of expertise that means they should insist on extreme, entirely inflexible levels of safety — say, prohibiting a 16 - year -old nationally certified lifeguard from swimming at a campsite without a life jacket. I couldn't, but perhaps you could. But it has gone well beyond that. I was amazed to learn the same basic policies are in effect at summer camps as well. Ontario Regulation 503/17, made under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, stipulates strict requirements for swimming at camps: approved areas must be clearly delineated with markers and buoys; first aid kits must include at least 20 identified items, including "sterile gauze pads, each 75 millimetres square"; a phone must be near to hand; at least two lifeguards must be present, even to guard a single swimmer. Only under those circumstances can kids actually go swimming in a lake without a life jacket — or as we 42 - year -old fogeys call it, "swimming." In theory, says Eric Shendelman, president of the Ontario Camps Association, organizers of a canoe trip might apply the same principles and allow swimming without life jackets at a campsite. In practice, however, he says the association "highly recommends" camps simply insist on life jackets. "Just like seat belts in a car, it's becoming more of a norm that everybody wear a life jacket in water in any activity outside of a swimming area, where they should be learning to swim and developing their swimming skills and strokes — "cause they're not doing that at canoe or kayak," says Shendelman. "It's just an added step for safety." https://national post.com/opinion/chris-selley-canoe-trips-aint-what-they-used-to-be Give change °abg,h!u e LATEST COMMENT Watch Kelly McParland: Jagmeet Singh might as well send Rachel Notley a cake shaped like a middle finger Watch Christie Blatchford: We need answers from our authorities, not sympath, and silence Watch Rex Murphy: The Badawis will probably be in Saudi prisons longer now thanks to Canada Colby Cosh: Smash 'em up: the pros and cons of political iconoclasm 3/9 8/13/2018 Chris SeIley: School canoe trips ain't what they used to be, thanks to irrational safety measures 1 National Post I'm not defending the old days. When I was a camper, life jackets in canoes were for resting your knees on. We changed up paddlers in the middle of stormy lakes. We jumped off cliffs so high that hitting the water felt like being punched simultaneously in the stomach and the jaw. Somewhere between there and here, we seem to have bobbed on the current past sanity. Surely it's behind us if certified outdoor educators, counsellors and guides, knowing the body of water and the kids and their swimming abilities, can't safely supervise a dip in a lake. Like Shendelman, the risk -management expert draws a distinction between canoe tripping and recreational swimming. She is cheerfully unmoved by my suggestion that proper canoe tripping often includes jumping in the water after a long hot day. "There's probably less jumping in lakes these days than you would imagine," she says. Oof. Quite a world we've made. And grownups here are modelling risk -management techniques that seem sure to perpetuate the cycle. A 15 -year-old boy who couldn't swim drowned, and now 15 -year-olds who can swim aren't allowed to. If that's a rational safety response, how do we argue against banning all swimming without life jackets everywhere? Or for going on canoe trips at all? Staying home is a hell of a lot safer. - Email: cselley@nationalpost.com I Twitter: 15 9K followers 35Comments Sh are your thoughts FEATURED STORIES TORONTO WEATHER 22°' Afew clouds Feels like 27 °c Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Complete Forecast 'Canada is the world's worst oppressor of women': Saudi Arabia's bizarre propaganda... 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FULL COMMENT 019 ,,Joit11,01111111 ,11; 111111 rly111111111111111111 TOP STORIES Watch B.C. mom confronts knife -wielding intruder wearing wig, rubber gloves who 'just wanted to see the baby' 'All of a sudden she comes charging in the house with a butcher knife above her shoulder, coming at my face with it' Watch 'Our hearts are broken': Fredericton police officers killed in shooting identified as Robb Costello and Sara Burns One was a seasoned warhorse and the other a recent recruit. The shooting left two more people dead, a man and woman, but police have not released their identities https://national post.com/opinion/chris-selley-canoe-trips-aint-what-they-used-to-be 5/9 8/13/2018 Chris SeIley: School canoe trips ain't what they used to be, thanks to irrational safety measures 1 National Post 1/14ztch Witnesses to Fredericton shooting describe 'senseless tragedy' that left four dead 'I saw an armoured vehicle out in the courtyard and I opened up my window to see if I could hear anything and the shots started again' Watch, 'Canada is the world's worst oppressor of women': Saudi Arabia's bizarre propaganda campaign A Saudi -owned TV channel claims that University of Toronto professor Jordan Peterson is a Canadian prisoner of conscience THIS WEEK'S FLYERS 1111111111111111111111111111111111 lo?/ E i�V llly l aI 6 .tf. r,roAt RT ver tour IF`Illyeir 1110 he SII BACK CAMP Back to School Essentials DESKS STARTING AT sq l @4@ veiir �� r IFOyer id LNCat 37 Comments Add a comment... 1111NNNNNhnnnn1 11111111111111111111111111 GREAT F 11111111111111111111111111111111111111 1101111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 It A II°°N ver f* r IFIllyer zlk OFAS & T1 '! /$ Glen Rak School camping/trips will be banned in the future, just wait. No teacher will take on thi forward. Like • Reply • 16 • 1w 'Terry Cllementt Safety first for the snowflakes Liberal values and rules ...makes for a soft nice... Like • Reply • 6 • 1w James Hickey Terry Clement safety makes sense and as a person who hiked and canoed ti all sorts of dangerous things I think safety is paramount and onl fools think th is cool or educational. By the way do you think proper ladder safety is a liber because if you do you can come and work on the peak of my house Like • Reply • 1 • lw 14°l wver iir IFIllye Mehalralleed I am making 40000 dollars by every month. A couple of month ago I was in a did not know what to do from where to start. But one day my friend who is a 1 come to his home. He knew my condition and thats why he straight away tok freelancing and how he is making enough money for his family. I was surperi https://national post.com/opinion/chris-selley-canoe-trips-aint-what-they-used-to-be 6/9 .r0 8/1 3/201 8 Chris Selley: School canoe trips ain't what they used to be, thanks to irrational safety measures 1 National Post confused too,because I did not know any thing about freelancing. But he soh told me about a website. This is great and internet and laptop i the only requi freelancing rest of the work will be done through this website. ... go to this site home media tech tab for more detail thank you *go >to —> ►website t; t4 HERE ► tJ; :)"www.begincash.com" Please don't copy (mmminrimmm) in the url Like • Reply • 1w • Edited Show 4 more replliies iiim ttIMiis thread Tony IBiruyn He couldn't swim and they did not make him wear a life jacket ---what did you expect i or falls out of a canoe ---it screams negligence by the teacher Like • Reply • 4 • 1w Diane Hamill Luhta I think we seem to be taking all responsibility away from the individual and nc think for themselves. I do realize he was a recent immigrant so that may havi Like • Reply • 10 • 1w Carl Brown Diane Hamill Luhta agree with you but .. " taking all responsibility away from the snowflake generation (and liberal goverment) is all about !! Like • Reply • 11 • 1w (Dave MaciDougallll No he wasn't made to wear a pfd. But, didn't these kids head off on their own, unsupervised and decide to swin they were alone? Like • Reply • lw Show 6 more replliies iiim thiis thread Ilan Moirrkeiith Not sure you picked the best example. I've been on dozens of wilderness canoe trips flotation device as in the article's picture - it's not an actual 'life jacket', which has a dil even by experienced swimmers/canoesists in our group. There are multiple reasons f 1) if capsizing includes unconsciousness, as from a blow on the head, the device will until others are able to effect a rescue (although a pfd, as opposed to an actual life jai necessarily keep your head out of the water). 2) if the water temperature is co... See More Like • Reply • 3 • lw Robert lEtiienne Roy Ian Monteith: Thx 4 th PhD thesis on canoe safety. All good. But, ... you're nc Selley's point. You must have missed this (note the 1st sentence): "I'm not defending the old days. When I was a camper, life jackets in canoes knees on." Like • Reply • 2 • 1w Dennis (Egan Robert Etienne Roy You missed the point about taking unnecesary risks whir responsibility and an ability that should be developed at a very early age if yc old. If we need to rely on the government or legal profession to get us there t prepare for the lowest common denominator and the restrictions on human fi Like • Reply • 4 • 1w Greg Derbyshire Dennis Egan ...are you suggesting governments should stay away from safe more seat belts, helmets, regulations about toxic chemicals on children's toy! etc, etc, etc... countless regulations have saved countless lives over the year https://national post.com/opinion/chris-selley-canoe-trips-aint-what-they-used-to-be 7/9 8/13/2018 Chris SeIley: School canoe trips ain't what they used to be, thanks to irrational safety measures 1 National Post in a canoe is now standard for trips organized by schools, guides, clubs, etc. students wear pfd's while swimming is also no big deal. We want them outdo great time swimming, even with a pfd, just like they have a great time canoei covering liabilities for trip organizers, it also teaches youth to have a healthy potential dangers of water sports. And as anyone in the outdoor adventure in are more "real" risks getting to and from a trip because of our highways . Like • Reply • 1 • 1w Show 5 moire ireplliies in this thread James IFHiickey Should fishermen who wade in the water with chest waders be required to wear a life_ you stand near the railing on a ferry boat? We live in a world increasingly ran by wom interests in mind and by god they will do whatever they need to make you be safe, wt mommy state. Just stick a nipple in my mouth to keep me pacified and quiet. Like • Reply • 2 • lw Roger IRaballaiis Dude, this is like your second or third comments involving "women". Problem it? Like • Reply • lw Justin Cooke Roger Rabalais he's just another "unfortunate" Ince!, blaming women for all t Like • Reply • lw Cyd Witmer Justin Cooke, agreed... Like • Reply • lw Show 4 moire replliies in this thread Robert Page Who "tested" the kids for swimming ability? Did they certify that the student could swi off" sheet given to the teacher/supervisor? I get the distinct feeling that the teacher is take the heat of the school board. Everyone connected to this incident should have bi nobody should have been.. Like • Reply • 1w • Edited Allexalrndlra Wood Maybe the parents shouldn't have let him go. Like • Reply • 1 • 1w Diane Hamill Luhta Alexandra Wood maybe you are correct. Like • Reply • lw L t 11J mo re irn i;i''C"" Facehook Comments Plugin https://national post.com/opinion/chris-selley-canoe-trips-aint-what-they-used-to-be 8/9 8/13/2018 Chris SeIley: School canoe trips ain't what they used to be, thanks to irrational safety measures 1 National Post NP Ciassifieds 111111Zem,,,sm be ri ng Advertise with Ds iis;artfieroldins Saks Directory About Lis SU, bSCHMe,r SEtlIft-Se rye My Accounii StayCot ((fa 0.,slebratmg t..1113olltttltreas .011assifieds Ma rkg.,..tpllatfir.....,, 11111111testetrdr.:.:te Cortland t...ts Careers Content 'Works 111111'llyerCity IDerfit. Cllast,.fillsgls ad II......odall IDIrecto°y l'nvary If -,m1^,, Copyaq111 https://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selley-canoe-trips-aint-what-they-used-to-be 9/9