Ontario police dive teams plunge into icy Quebec quarry for annual Ice Week training

Ottawa’s police dive teams are taking part in training in Chelsea, Que. CTV’s Dave Charbonneau has more.

Ontario’s police dive teams are trading their usual murky waters for dive training in the icy depths of a quarry in Chelsea, Que.

For the Ottawa Police Service’s Marine, Dive and Trails Unit, Ice Week is about more than just cold water. It’s about being ready when it counts.

“We like coming here because we can do our deep dive,” said Constable Matthieu Methot of the Ottawa Police Marine, Dive and Trails Unit. “A lot of the other areas in the Ottawa River, we can’t necessarily hit 100 feet safely. But here it’s a very controlled environment.”

Methot says the Morrison Quarry offers something the Ottawa and Rideau rivers simply don’t and there’s more to work with in these waters than on a typical call.

“There’s just more to do,” he said. “Most of the diving we do on a regular basis in the Ottawa, the Rideau, there’s not much to see. But here they have an airplane, they have a snowmobile, they have a few different things that you kind of play around with and practice with.”

But with deeper dives comes greater responsibility. Dive supervisors are constantly making sure every entry into the water is by the book, monitoring and controlling each diver’s oxygen to keep them safe.

“I’m in charge of the dive site for our team,” said Constable Sonny Leveillee, a dive supervisor with the unit. “The safety and everything, the responsibility is all in my hands. I’ve got to make sure that everything goes according to the rules.”

Ice Week brings together police dive teams from across the province, all training side by side, learning and sharing new skills with each other.

“All the police dive teams in Ontario are here,” said Sgt. Shyldon Safruk of the Ottawa Police Marine, Dive and Trails Unit. “Us, the Ottawa Police Service, Toronto, Peel, York, Niagara and the OPP. Interoperability is a huge thing, and every team has helped each other throughout the years.”

For the Ottawa dive team, the value of training in a controlled setting is simple.

“It’s good to be honed in on our skills here, where we have a controlled environment,” said Constable Eric Stewart of the Ottawa Police Marine, Dive and Trails Unit. “We know that if we have an issue, we can fix it here — so that when we actually have to go do it in practicality, in an operation, we’re ready, and we know exactly what we need to do.”

• Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App