Decorated Canadian swimmer Elaine Tanner is pushing government officials to reinstate lifeguards at Ontario beaches as a last-ditch effort to curb a recent spike of drownings.

The three-time Olympic medallist and Canadian Sports Hall of Famer visited Sandbanks Provincial Park Tuesday as part of her ongoing visits to popular Ontario beaches, aimed at highlighting how public safety has been neglected.

The 59-year-old made the stop with her husband, John Watt, 60, a former parks and recreation director in Sidney Township, now a part of Quinte West, who has dedicated the last 12 years to advocating the dire need for lifeguards at crowded beaches such as Wasaga Beach and the Sandbanks.

The couple credited Sandbanks officials for using the limited resources they have to maintain some bare minimum safety provisions.

Tanner said she was shocked but not surprised to see the lax levels of public safety that exist at the Sandbanks.

She said lifeguards serve as the first wall of protection that prevents people from getting into dangerous situations that lead to casualties.

The Lou Marsh Trophy winner said with no lifeguards in sight and only an inadequate number of emergency telephones spread out across the beach, the Sandbanks, like many other summer hotspots across the province, is not properly equipped to deal with water-related emergencies.

“What they have done is put up barely the bare bones,” she said. “It isn’t the staff, they do the best they can with what they’ve got. It comes from the top.”

She said when park officials post signs saying “parents are responsible for their children, that’s okay, but a lot of the parents can’t swim.”

Tanner said the Ontario government showed disregard for public safety when it opted to use funding cutbacks as an excuse to completely phase out the use of lifeguards at beaches across the province by the mid-1990′s.

“They gradually weaned it so people wouldn’t notice,” he said. “All of a sudden we’ve got nothing but they (politicians) have gotten away with it.”

She added that, “There is a lack of will of the politicians to hear the voice of the people. Our value system has changed. The government has mesmerized people into complacency.”

The 1970 Order of Canada recipient said government officials should be held accountable for ensuring that every step is taken to beef up the presence of rescue staff along busy waterways. The five-time world record holder said the government’s concerns about liability has trumped the need for full responsibility.

Tanner said Ontario residents should push government officials to find tangible and cost-effective ways to bring the lifeguards back and promote the importance of learning how to swim.

Watt agreed.

The former lifeguard in the provincial parks system in the 1960′s and 70′s, when he served at several locations including Wasaga and the Sandbanks, said back then the beaches were manned by a team of lifeguards armed with a wide array of rescue equipment. He said when the system was dismantled droves of summer jobs went with it.

“It put a lot of us through school,” he said. “How did it go from having valid service to the public at populated beaches to nothing?”

He added that within a half-hour time frame spent at the Sandbanks outlet beach he noticed 15 people in a dangerous area of the lake.

“The Sandbanks beach has a treacherous undertow,” he said about the most westerly section of the park. “It can suck you under.”

Watt said it’s appalling to note that not even one politician has made any effort to support their uphill battle to raise awareness about the issue.

“Money seems to trump life,” he said. “We need a champion at Queen’s Park to stand up.”

The Canadian LifeSaving Society recently reported that since January 213 people have drowned in Canada, 30 more than the same time last year. Ontario accounts for 68 of those drownings, which is six more than the same period in 2009.

Nearly 500 people die every year in water-related incidents, according to the Society. Drowning is the second leading cause of preventable death for children under 10 years of age. There have been 13 child drownings in Ontario since May, nine more than last year.

The Society also noted that 61 per cent of drownings occur in lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and waterfalls, while 57 per cent of drowning deaths occur while participating in aquatic activities such as swimming or boating, while 58 per cent of drowning deaths occurred while the victims were engaged in recreational activities. Of the total number of drowning deaths, 85 per cent were amongst males and 15 per cent were amongst females.

Tanner said it has been statistically proven that “less than one per cent of drownings occur in lifeguard-supervised areas.”

via Bring back lifeguards: legendary swimmer – Belleville Intelligencer – Ontario, CA.