As the weather heats up in the nation’s capital, so too does the conversation around water safety. Members of the Ottawa Police Service, Ottawa Fire Services, Ottawa Paramedic Service, and Ottawa Public Health gathered at Britannia Beach Monday afternoon to highlight what people need to know before heading out on the water this summer. “Drowning prevention is a shared responsibility and small precautions can save lives,” said Insp. Martin Groulx of the Ottawa Police Service. “Ottawa’s waterways can change quickly and create dangerous conditions even for experienced swimmers and boaters.” Ottawa Fire Services Chief of Special Operations Dan Kirvan says fire crews responded to nearly 250 calls for service on the water in 2025. He says from all those calls, crews noticed some main preventative measures that could prevent emergency calls and tragic outcomes. “We need to be wearing our [personal protective equipment] as well as having any equipment you need if you’re on a paddleboard, a canoe, a motorized boat, a sailboat, it’s important you have the right equipment if things don’t go according to plan,” said Kirvan. “One of the other things we notice quite a bit is people not being aware or as familiar with the waterway, they’re on. We’re on a big river here that has a lot of current. It’s important we’re aware of what’s downstream.” All the officials who gathered for Monday’s event also stressed the importance of always wearing a well-fitted life jacket when out on the water. “We encourage people to think of their life jacket like a seatbelt in a car. Do you think that you would drive down the road with a seatbelt unbuckled ready to put it on if you were going to get into a collision?” said Ottawa Paramedic Service spokesperson Marc-Antoine Deschamps. “You simply wouldn’t have time. So, we ask people that when you are on the water, wear your life jacket like you wear your seatbelt.” Cara McNulty has dedicated eight years of time and energy to ensure everyone wears a life jacket when out on the water. He son, Joshua Steinburg, died at just 11-years-old after a boating accident on the St. Lawrence River in 2018. “Joshua was a great kid with a great sense of humour. He just loved life and was very easygoing,” said McNulty. “That particular day, his life jacket was off presumably because they were swimming and it was wet. This is what happens. It’s wet, cold, uncomfortable, it comes off and the unthinkable happened.” The boat Joshua was on capsized and he did not resurface. He was then missing for 49 days before his body was recovered. “It is something no family should ever have to endure. A simple thing like making sure you put your properly fitted life jacket, your PFD, on and leave it on,” said McNulty who continues her advocacy work to introduce a law mandating the use of lifejackets and personal floatation devices for children on the water. “It’s a federal, small vessel regulation. It’s been long and as much as the messaging works and is effective, it only takes us so far. If we want to take drowning prevention to the next level, it’s mandatory wear.” Already this spring, tragedy on the water has hit the capital. On May 8, a two-year-old fell into the Ottawa River and drowned. On top of wearing life jackets, coming prepared, and knowing your surroundings, first responders are also calling for parents to be mindful and attentive when their children are in or around water. They say parents should always keep kids within arm’s reach, even if they are in the bathtub, and avoid any and all distractions such as smartphones.
