Drowning prevention program should be in P.E.I. schools, Lifesaving Society says

The Lifesaving Society on P.E.I. wants to see a survival swimming program implemented through the Island's school system in Grades 3 and 7.

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The Swim to Survive program is integrated in the Nova Scotia school system and there's a pilot program starting in New Brunswick. It's not traditional swimming lessons, but a course to prevent drowning.

It doesn't need to look pretty.- Ryan Feguson, Lifesaving Society

"It works to make sure that if you fall into water, you're not going to drown," said Ryan Ferguson, who does communications with the Lifesaving Society throughout Atlantic Canada.

The society said it's especially important to have the program on P.E.I. as it's an Island surrounded by water, and it would be helpful to new Canadians who may not have grown up around water.

Majority not getting aquatic safety

"It goes without saying that it's really difficult to avoid water in P.E.I. or Atlantic Canada in general," Ferguson said.

"Only about 40 per cent of Canadian families are going to put their kids in traditional swimming lessons,so that means the vast majority of people are not going to get that aquatic safety that a lot of people take for granted."

People taking part have to learn what do to if they fall into water, tread water for a minute, and then move 50 metres. It's three lessons for three hours in total for those three skills. Ferguson said the program should be done in a controlled environment such as a pool, but it can also be done in water outdoors if it's calm enough.

"It doesn't need to look pretty, but the theory is that if you can prevent someone from drowning on unexpected fall into water then you will make sure that they don't drown," he said.

Implemented province-wide

In 2014 the World Health Organization identified drowning as among the 10 leading causes of death for children and young people in every region of the world, which cued countries to start working toward the elimination of drowning.

The society said it has teamed up with individual classes on P.E.I. in the past who are doing activities such as canoeing and used the program as a swim test, but it would like to see the program implemented province-wide.

"Nova Scotia has implemented this to great success," Ferguson said, adding that more than 70 per cent of Grade 3s completed the program last year, and 80 per cent at some schools.

Ferguson said busing is usually the largest cost of putting the program in place and then pool or facility costs, including lifeguards. In other jurisdictions, provinces provide some of the money for the program but schools must make up the rest. The funding is highest in Nova Scotia and low in Western Canada. Ontario has a Grade 3swim program and it is now adding money to the Grade 7 program.

The Lifesaving Society on P.E.I. said the minister of education has agreed to a meeting, but a date has not yet been set. The province said though some P.E.I. schools do choose to offer swimming programs as part of their physical education programs, there are no plans at the moment to make them mandatory in all schools.

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