Not Enough Swimming Lessons — A Life-or-Death Issue

Opinion: Too Many Rules, Not Enough Swimming Lessons — A Life-or-Death Issue

Published: August 23, 2025 (Vancouver)

Why This Matters Now

I was at the beach today—where just hours later, a drowning occurred at Jericho. It’s heartbreaking how swiftly a calm shoreline becomes a danger zone. Waves shift. Winds pick up. Currents intensify. What feels safe in the morning can turn treacherous by afternoon. Yet far too many underestimate the risk.

What’s Happening—and Why It’s a Problem

Families are facing barriers to basic water-safety education. Some public pools interpret policy in ways that discourage parents from teaching their own children, even as lesson waitlists stretch for months. That’s the opposite of prevention.

See: Vancouver Sun: Parents blocked from teaching their kids to swim (Aug 22, 2025).

Underpinning this is the provincial BC Pool Regulation (B.C. Reg. 296/2010), which sets supervision and instruction requirements. The intent is safety, but strict interpretations can create a red-tape bottleneck where access to lifesaving skills is actually reduced.

Drowning: A Crisis That Demands Action

British Columbia

• 98 accidental drowning deaths in B.C. in 2024, down from 119 in 2023 (-18%). Source: BC Gov News.
• 52 occurred June–September (peak season). Sources: BC Gov News, Ha-Shilth-Sa.
• 77% of victims were male; highest-risk 50–59 (20%), then 60–69 and 70+ (15% each). Source: Ha-Shilth-Sa.
• Most fatalities were in rivers/creeks (33%) and lakes/ponds (24%)—often unsupervised natural waters. Sources: BC Gov News, Ha-Shilth-Sa.
• In 2025 so far, B.C. & Yukon report 29 drownings; 77% male; 63% May–September; 86% of child victims were unsupervised or had distracted supervision. Source: Lifesaving Society BC & Yukon.

Canada (National)

• Average of ~442 water-related deaths/year (2015–2019). Source: Lifesaving Society – Canadian Drowning Report 2024 (PDF).
• Only about 1% of drownings occur in lifeguard-supervised areas—most happen out of sight of formal supervision. Source: Transport Canada.
• For children under 5, lack of effective supervision is a dominant factor in incidents. Source: Transport Canada.

What Would Joe Fortes Say?

Joe Fortes—Vancouver’s beloved English Bay lifeguard—saved more than a hundred lives and taught thousands of children to swim. He led with compassion, access, and practical teaching, not bureaucracy. If he could see kids blocked from learning today, he’d be heartbroken. We should measure our policies against his legacy: do they get more children swimming safely?

Red Tape vs. Real Safety

My parents taught me to swim at Kawkawa Lake in Hope, B.C.—no forms, no waitlists, just attentive, careful learning. Today, we’re drowning in rules while leaving families with too few pathways to acquire essential skills. That is a policy failure.

Action We Need Now

1. Free up access: Allow parents to safely teach their children basic skills in public pools and designated areas while they wait for formal lessons.
2. Expand lesson capacity: Fund more affordable pool and open-water programs, especially where drownings are most frequent.
3. Make water-safety core curriculum: Deliver Swim to Survive®/Be Water Smart® skills through schools and community programs.
4. Model Fortes’ legacy: Balance liability concerns with accessibility and education—saving lives must come first.
5. Everyday habits: Lifejackets near deep or shifting water; never swim alone; no impairment on or near water; constant, close supervision of kids.

Conclusion

Drowning isn’t about carelessness; it’s about underestimating a powerful, unpredictable environment—and about systems that block access to lifesaving skills. Joe Fortes showed us the way: teaching, compassion, access. Lives don’t wait for bureaucracy. Neither should we.

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Sources:
• BC Gov News — Residents urged to practise water safety as B.C. reports decline in drownings (2025)
• Ha-Shilth-Sa — New study highlights risk of accidental drownings in B.C. (2025)
• Lifesaving Society BC & Yukon — WaterSmart® Education
• Lifesaving Society — Canadian Drowning Report 2024 (PDF)
• Transport Canada — National Drowning Prevention Week 2025: Safer together
• Vancouver Sun — Parents blocked from teaching their kids to swim in public pools (2025)
• BC Laws — Pool Regulation, B.C. Reg. 296/2010