Safe Boating Week Continues After Victoria Day Weekend

While the long weekend has passed, Ontario Provincial Police are reminding boaters to be careful out on the water.

Safe Boating Week is still underway, and Superior East OPP Constable Ashley Nickle urges boaters to take precautions, as the OPP investigate "many needless marine deaths" each year, including through capsizing boats or people falling overboard, as well as other factors.

Noting most boating deaths investigated by the OPP involve vessels under six metres long, Nickle reminds certain equipment is required when heading out.

Constable Nickle also reminds boaters to check that equipment's in good working order - as mechanical breakdowns account for "a large number of calls for assistance" to the OPP - and emphasizes that "the only life jacket that can save you is the one you are wearing".