Quebec pool safety deadline delay means ‘devastating’ consequences for children: trauma expert

Doctors warn the one-year extension for pool owners could put young children at risk.

Quebec is making a deadly mistake by giving homeowners a year’s reprieve to install fences and other safety precautions around their pools, according to medical experts.

• READ MORE: Quebec pool fences: How to make sure you comply with the regulations

“Children drown fast. It’s silent and it’s devastating,” argues Debbie Friedman, the trauma director at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. “For those of us in trauma centres that see the reality firsthand, that see the grief and guilt on parents’ faces, that see the reaction of the treating team and know that it was entirely preventable. We are concerned.”

She points out that one child or teen is seen every day of the summer in Quebec’s emergency rooms for drowning or near-drowning.

Physicians at the Montreal Children’s Hospital treat at least one case of drowning or near drowning a week during the summer, the majority of which involve children under the age of five.

“We want to prevent this. These are tragic. These are devastating,” said Friedman. “They destroy the lives of families, communities, and many of these children do not survive their injury, and if they do, they’re left with profound deficits.”

• READ MORE: Quebec pool owners get reprieve as government delays safety rules deadline

She insists that drowning prevention must be a “multi-pronged approach.”

“If you have a pool, it comes with a responsibility,” Friedman said. “Supervision is important; knowing CPR is important; knowing the swim level of whoever’s in your pool is important, but fencing with no access from the house is an important factor, especially for young children.”

She adds that all homeowners must hold themselves accountable, regardless of what kind of pool they have.

In fact, she points out that 50 per cent of drownings happen in in-ground pools, and the other 50 per cent in above-ground pools.

A year’s delay

Last week, newly-appointed Municipal Affairs Minister Geneviève Guilbault confirmed that the Sept. 30, 2025, deadline would be pushed back by a year.

She promised to introduce legislation by the fall to formalize the change.

“Several citizens and municipal officials had expressed their confusion, their frustration and their exasperation about the rigidity of the rules,” she said in a statement to CTV News. “Given my recent arrival in this role, I will take the time to present my solutions to municipal representatives. The goal is to be pragmatic and use common sense.”

All the same, the Montreal Children’s Hospital says it is urging the Quebec government not to push the deadline further than April next year.

• READ MORE: Pierrefonds residents frustrated as pool fences considered not up to code

It’s the only way, it says, to prevent another summer season of trauma.

“Don’t wait until another year goes by and another summer season brings unnecessary tragedy,” Friedman insists. “They [fences] save lives. Children are more precious than anything else.”

To find more information about pool safety, to understand what the regulations are and make sure that your pool complies, click here.