World Drowning Prevention Day was declared through the April 2021 UN General Assembly and is being observed for the first time this year. The day, on July 25, not only brings attention to the prevalence and impact of drowning deaths but also provides an opportunity for many levels of engagement, from individuals to governments, to lead or participate in initiatives to head off those preventable tragedies.

To mark this first World Drowning Prevention Day, Lifesaving Society Manitoba has teamed up with the Town of Minnedosa to construct a Lifejacket Loaner Station at Minnedosa Beach. This station will be accessible to Minnedosa residents and visitors from May long weekend to September long weekend annually, with daily access hours of 8am – 8pm. In total, 26 lifejackets will be stocked in the Minnedosa Beach Lifejacket Loaner Station, ranging from infant sizes to adult extra large. Johnson says they expect to have the station operational as soon as it can be constructed, and certainly before the end of the summer.

In the five year span between 2014 and 2018, there were over 110 water-related fatalities in Manitoba, and according to the Drowning Prevention Research Centre Canada, 71% of drownings occur from May to September, with 36% of those taking place in lakes or ponds and a further 36% in rivers. The World Health Organisation indicates that children and adolescents in rural areas are disproportionately affected by drowning, which makes the lifejacket loaner station all the more critical in this area.

The station is being constructed by the local Men’s Shed group, itself part of a movement that brings men together, particularly after retirement, into collaborative, communal spaces to work on projects that contribute meaningfully to their communities. The lifejackets are funded by the provincial government through the Manitoba Coalition for Safer Waters Initiative.