Bill 93： Joshua’s Law (Lifejackets for Life), 2023
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Harmful content
Misogyny
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Summary
Bill 93, Joshua's Law, requires children under the age of 12 to wear a life jacket while operating a personal flotation device (PFD) while boating or using recreational water equipment in Ontario. The bill is dedicated to the 11-year-old who tragically died in a boating accident in 2018 when the boat he was on with his father, brother and another child capsized near Rockport, Ontario.
Transcript
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I move second reading of Bill 93, An Act to Enact Joshua's Law, Life Jackets for Life, 2023.
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Ms. Gamari has moved second reading of Bill 93, An Act to Enact Joshua's Law, Life Jackets for Life, 2023.
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about my private member's bill, Bill 93, Joshua's Law, the Life Jackets for Life Act.
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I would like to start off by thanking my friend and colleague, the former MPP for Perry Sound Muskoka, Mr. Norm Miller, who tabled this legislation in the previous session.
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As you can tell, Madam Speaker, Mr. Miller is here in the Legislature today, and I would
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like to thank him for joining us as we debate this very important piece of legislation.
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I'm going to begin by speaking about my constituent, Cara McNulty, who is far too familiar with
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the type of tragedy that Joshua's law aims to prevent.
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Her 11-year-old son, Joshua, whom this bill is dedicated to, tragically passed away in
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September of 2018, when the boat he was on with his father, brother and two other children
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Joshua was wearing a life jacket during the day, but at that moment, he was not.
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And since then, Cara has been advocating for governments at all levels to make wearing
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a life jacket mandatory for children in small vessels through her initiative Life Jackets
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To quote Cara McNulty, we're thrilled to hear about this bill.
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Any progress on mandatory wear legislation is a step in the right direction.
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I'd like to thank Cara for her tireless advocacy and for her support of this legislation.
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I'm so honoured to continue working on the efforts that MPP Miller started in the
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When I tell friends, constituents and even some of my colleagues here in the Legislature
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about this bill, many are shocked that it's not already the law for children to wear life
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jackets or personal flotation devices also known as pfds on small personal vessels they have a hard
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time believing that we're not already doing all that we can to protect children from these
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preventable tragedies accidents are the leading cause of death for children in canada and not
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wearing a life jacket is the number one risk factor for drowning while boating in 2021 the
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The Drowning Prevention Research Centre of Canada found that 80% of people who died in
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boating-related accidents between 2008 and 2017 were not wearing a life jacket, and another
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According to the 2018 Canadian Drowning Report by the Drowning Prevention Research Centre
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of Canada, 67% of children aged 5 to 14 who died from drowning were not wearing a personal
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Behind each of these statistics is a life lost, and that leaves a family broken and
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Greg Wilkinson, a former board member of Safe Quiet Lakes, said, the fact that 87% of drownings
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in Ontario involve people who were not wearing a life jacket tells us all we need to know.
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Pamela Fuseli, the President and CEO of Parachute Canada, said, evidence shows that legislation
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and the enforcement of legislation is an effective approach to prevention.
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Parachutes the Cost of Injury in Canada 2021 report showed that drowning was the third leading cause of death in children aged 14 and younger.
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The Ottawa Drowning Prevention Coalition says online that drowning is one of the leading causes of injury-related accidents for Canadian children under the age of 5.
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And Matt Cox, the president of the Ottawa Police Association, said in a statement,
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The introduction of Bill 93, Joshua's Law, which requires children under the age of 12
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to wear a personal flotation device or a life jacket while boating or using recreational water equipment is long overdue.
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The City of Ottawa, like many places in Ontario, have many waterways,
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and we truly hope Bill 93 will prevent any boating tragedies this summer.
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We as a policing community are committed to finding ways to keep the City of Ottawa safe.
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The Ottawa Police Association will support any level of government to attain this goal.
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I'd now like to talk about the bill itself, Madam Speaker, and explain some of the details
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and describe how this bill will protect Ontario's children from accidental drowning while boating.
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If passed, Bill 93 would make it mandatory for any child aged 12 years or younger to wear a life
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jacket or PFD while on a pleasure boat 9 metres in length or less that is underway or while
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being towed behind a boat, for example, water skiing, wakeboarding or tubing.
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A pleasure boat is defined as any vessel used or designated to be used in a navigating water
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propelled by any kind of water, any kind of power, including human power, sail or motorized
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The federal rules that lay out what safety equipment is required on boats are based on
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the length of the boat, and there are different requirements for boats of 6 metres, 6-9 metres
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This legislation applies to boats 9 metres or less because this would cover most runabouts
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Under Bill 93, it is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to ensure that their
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child is wearing a PFD or life jacket. If the child is under the supervision of another
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person 18 years of age or older who is not their parent, then that person is responsible
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for ensuring the child wears a life jacket. Failing to ensure that child is wearing a
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life jacket or PFD would result in a fine of no more than $200 on conviction. This responsibility
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is consistent with other provincial safety legislation. For example, the law surrounding
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the use of seatbelts in cars, make it the responsibility of the driver to ensure that
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all passengers under the age of 16 are wearing seatbelts, and the law requiring young cyclists
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to wear a bike helmet puts the responsibility on the child's parent.
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The proposed bill allows for an exception for children in an enclosed cabin where there
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This legislation also includes a clause to give the government, through the lieutenant
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governor in Canada, the ability to create exemptions.
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This is because life jackets can interfere with some activities.
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Life jackets and PFDs have come a long way, but for athletes involved in competitive paddling
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So if the bill passes, I would encourage the government to work with groups like Row Ontario
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to create an exemption for young athletes involved in formal supervised training or
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I mentioned the federal rules around boat safety.
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Some people might question whether this bill is within provincial jurisdiction.
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To that, I would say that protecting the health and safety of our children is the responsibility
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I would also like to point out that the City of Calgary's Water Safety By-law, which
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requires any person in a vessel or other device used as a means of water transportation to wear
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a life jacket while they are within the boundaries of the city. And when this bylaw was challenged,
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Madam Speaker, to say that waterways fell under federal jurisdiction, Judge Judith Schreier ruled
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that the bylaw was constitutional. Looking beyond our borders, Madam Speaker, this legislation is
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extremely similar to laws that have been enacted by our neighbors in the United States. All
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50 states have laws mandating life jacket use for children and at least 30 of these states
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specifically require children aged 12 and under to wear a life jacket while in small recreational
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vessels in ontario this law could be put into place with no additional cost to boaters and
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that's because madam speaker it's already required under the small vessel regulations that boat
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operators ensure that there is an appropriately sized life jacket or personal flotation device
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for every passenger. No law-abiding boater should have to go out and purchase additional life
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jackets. The only difference is that instead of being stored somewhere on the boat, the child's
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life jacket is already on their body, and that could make all the difference in the world.
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In an emergency, there's not always time to grab a life jacket and put it on properly,
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As the President and CEO of Canada Safety Council said too frequently,
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we see people drown without intending on even dipping their toe in the water,
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and these types of tragedies are entirely avoidable.
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If you're in a boat and accidentally fall into the water,
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there's not always time to locate the life jacket you have on board and put it on.
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Between 2008 and 2017, 34% of people known to have not been wearing a PFD when they drowned
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had one parent in the boat, but were unable to put it on at the time of the incident.
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Parents, guardians, and all adults are responsible for protecting the health and safety of children.
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This bill, if passed, would clarify that ensuring children in their care wear a life jacket or a PFD
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while on a small pleasure boat is a part of that responsibility.
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This bill won't prevent all drownings, Madam Speaker, but I see this as a common-sense law
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that would reduce the chances of children drowning in boating accidents.
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Every child we lose because they were not wearing a life jacket is a tragic and preventable loss of life.
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It permanently scars parents, families, and communities, and it has a terrible impact on our first responders.
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Madam Speaker, that is why I'm asking my fellow members to protect the children of Ontario from avoidable harm
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by supporting Bill 93, Joshua's Law, Life Jackets for Life Act.
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Once again, I would like to thank the former member for Paris Saint-Moscowka, MPP Norm Miller,
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for working so hard to introduce this legislation in 2021.
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It's an honour to reintroduce this bill on his behalf,
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and it is my hope that not only does this legislation pass second reading,
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but that it passes third reading and becomes law in Ontario.