You're on thin ice, NCC warns canal trespassers

The National Capital Commission has issued its annual warning to impatient winter walkers: Don'tbe fooled by what's still a dangerously thin layer of ice coveringthe Rideau Canal.

The ice needs to be at least 30 centimetres thick before skaters are allowed onto it, and it's nowhere near that yet, the NCCsaid in a news release.

The depth of the water under the ice ranges from onemetre to more than four metres.

If you see workers and equipment on the ice, that's not a green light either, the NCCsaid, because those are "professionals who know how to manage the risks."

The NCCpromised it willget the 48th skating season on the UNESCO world heritage site underway as soon as possible.

Of course, that will require a prolonged bout of cold weather. Temperatures are predictedto stay well below 0 C for the rest of the week.

At just 18 and 25 skating days respectively, the 2016-2017 and 2015-2016 skating seasons on the Rideau Canal were the shortest on record.