There’s been a big emphasis on water safety in recent years, with the hopes of curbing drowning trends in B.C.
But concerns remain about the lack of training for many people, including newcomers to B.C.
“We don’t actually have numbers of drownings that correlate directly to newcomers to Canada. It is a trend that we’re seeing and we’re not even necessarily seeing it with fatal drownings, but we’re seeing it in drowning rescues as well,” said Kimiko Hirakida, director, programs and services, Lifesaving Society of B.C. and Yukon.