www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, July 8, 2016 | 6 Staying afloat July is nally here and with it comes the infamous label of being the month with the highest number of reported drowning deaths across our country. With school of cially nished for another year, more Oakville families are likely to be spending time around water through such activities as cottaging, camping or enjoying any number of water-based activities accessible from our town's waterfront. Spending so much time around the water means you should also be giving careful thought to wearing a personal otation device (PFD). According to the Canadian Red Cross' 2016 The Flotation Report -- which contains 20 years of research into incidents and causes of water-related fatalities and lifejacket/personal otation use in Canada from 19912010 -- water-related deaths account for an average of 525 Canadian fatalities each year. "Over the last 20 years, there were an alarming 10,511 unintentional water-related deaths in Canada," said Shelley Dalke, director of swimming and water safety at the Canadian Red Cross. "We know more than 50 per cent of these tragic fatalities could have been prevented with the use of lifejackets, and yet, over two decades of researching waterrelated deaths, we found that many victims continue to choose not to wear a lifejacket." A total of 3,324 people drowned while boating in Canada between 1991-2010. That's an average of 166 boating deaths per year. Of those fatalities, only 12 per cent were reported to have been properly wearing a PFD. Disturbingly, the number of drowning incidents in which a PFD was available to the victim, but they either chose not to wear it, or wore it improperly, is rising -- from 19 per cent between 1991-2000 up to 24 per cent between 2001-10. "Our research found that the greatest effectiveness for preventing water-related fatalities is legislation requiring PFDs to be worn, coupled with ef cient enforcement," says Dalke. "But it is not only up to government and industry leaders to decrease preventable deaths. All Canadians must commit to wearing lifejackets and staying safe around and on the water this summer season, and yearround." The Canadian Red Cross recommends the following ve layers of protection from becoming the next drowning statistic: · Make sure your backyard pool is properly fenced; · Swim in lifeguarded areas; · Provide constant supervision of children around water; · Wear a lifejacket; · Learn to swim. For additional information to protect yourself and your family from a summer tragedy, visit www.redcross. ca. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to: The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 or via email to ablackburn@ oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Editorial "Connected to your Community" 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 54 | Number 55 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER KELLY MONTAGUE DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager LORI ANN GZOVDANOVIC Director of Production MARK DILLS MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Letter to the Editor Bronte is more neighbourly than this: reader I was going to write about the parking restrictions in Bronte on Canada Day, but I see these have escalated even further. We live ve blocks east and a block north of Bronte Harbour, and were distressed to see special No Parking noti cations up this far away from the Canada Day festivities. Surely, regular parking could be permitted so far away. I did think the private operators charging $10 for parking underscored the need for a little more tolerance. Now, I see that parking is not permitted on weekends or holidays on these same streets throughout the summer. I can't understand this at all. Bronte Harbour is a publicly-owned facility, paid for by Oakville taxpayers, and restricting parking for the summer season is very unreasonable and far from neighbourly. I would hope our Town administrators would wake up on this matter and understand their objective should be to make life convenient for our residents, and not to punish them by making it dif cult to enjoy our area attractions when the opportunity is right there. Jay Miller, Oakville Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Pud by Steve Nease The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. 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