On July 21, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) fined a kayaker $240 for not having a lifejacket.
Officers from the OPP’s Central Hastings Detachment were patrolling Crowe Lake in the Municipality of Marmora and Lake, about an hour east of Peterborough, when they spotted two people in a kayak, one without a lifejacket.
After approaching the vessel, officers discovered that there was no additional lifejacket on board. The officers charged the kayaker, a 46-year-old man from Whitby, with operating a human-powered pleasure craft without personal floatation device or lifejacket of appropriate size for each person on board.
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Under the Canada Shipping Act, the officers issued an offence notice with a total payable fine of $240.
“Police would like to caution anyone using small recreational vessels such as kayaks, pedal boats, canoes, stand-up paddle boards (SUP), and all other human-powered crafts that they are subject to the regulations and mandatory safety equipment requirements; regardless of if you own, rent, use, or borrow the vessel,” the OPP said in a statement.
Marine units from OPP detachments across the province have been conducting regular waterway patrols this year as Ontario has seen an uptick in marine incidents. This summer alone, the OPP has responded to 10 marine fatalities in eastern Ontario. That’s twice as many drowning deaths as this time last year. The OPP says that in every incident the individual wasn’t wearing a lifejacket.
Lack of lifejackets has been a long-term trend when it comes to marine fatalities. Between 2011 and 2023, the OPP reported 312 marine fatalities. Of those, 87.6 per cent of individuals were not wearing lifejackets.
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And these types of fatalities often involve cottagers. Between 2014 and 2023, 88.5 per cent of marine fatalities occurred in vessels six metres or smaller, including powerboats, canoes, kayaks, and other common cottage crafts. Most often, the marine fatalities were caused by individuals falling overboard or capsizing the boat.
In 2023, the OPP reported that of the individuals who died in marine fatalities, 30.4 per cent were between the ages of 65 and 74, followed by 21.7 per cent between the ages of 25 and 34. And they were overwhelmingly male at 96 per cent.
To try and mitigate this year’s upward swing in marine fatalities, the OPP is urging all boaters to not just bring lifejackets on board but to wear them any time they’re out.
“This is about education and changing the mindset to ensure everyone wears the proper gear, whether in a power boat or in a canoe,” said OPP chief superintendent Lisa Wilhelm, in a statement. “This is about coming home safely and ensuring that everyone, adults and children, are safe on or near the water.”
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