Ontario Provincial Police are calling on Ottawa for a new law to require everyone in small boats to wear life-jackets. This new law in intended to stop boating-related fatalities. Canada's average boating-related fatalities each year is 180. The OPP commissioner, Julian Fantino, pressed the case with federal transport minister John Baird recently. He wanted to mandate the wearing of life jackets on moving vessels under six meters in length."You increase your odds of surviving exponentially by wearing your PFD" OPP staff Chris Whaley told CBC news this week in Toronto. Currently, boaters are required to have PFD's within reach for everyone on board a boat. However, the law does not force anyone to actually wear a life-jacket. "85 per cent of victims, had they been wearing their life-jackets, would have survived" Whaley said. Unfortunately, Ottawa has no plans to change the existing law. The only thing the OPP can do is to continue to work with law enforcement to try to convince them into changing their minds.I really do not understand why the government is not considering changing the law. The statistics speak for themselves, on average 180 deaths each year due to boating accidents. Just by wearing a life-jacket aproximately 85 per cent of the victims who died would still be living. I think that law of having a life-jacket on at all times while in a moving boat should have been put into place a long time ago. I cannot think of one reason why the government is not even thinking about changing the law. Untill the law is changed by the government, many lives will be lost. The worst part about it though is that most of these individuals lives could have been saved if they were wearing a life-jacket.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/05/21/life-jackets-boaters-law.html
I agree with Nicholas's opinion on this article. I think the only reason why people don’t wear lifejackets in the first place is because they are uncomfortable. I think they should create lifejackets that work and are easy to wear so that it doesn’t feel like you are wearing something so bulky. Even so, the government needs to implement this law. As Nicholas has said, this will save a lot of lives and the statistics have shown it. At the very least, they should develop a swimming permit that says you are able to swim. You would take a test to get this permit. If you don’t have one then you must get a lifejacket. At least this would protect people who can’t swim.
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