AFTER the death of their child last month, a North Vancouver family has put out a plea for tighter regulation of backyard pools. It's a call the province should heed.
Although it's difficult to allocate blame in the case, there's little question 18-month-old Brady Chryssolor's death was preventable. The family has pointed to a gate with no latch - a contravention of local bylaws - as the culprit, and have called for more regular municipal inspections to ensure the flaw is stamped out. It's not clear whether this would be the most effective solution, but it's certainly worth examining.
After auto collisions, drowning is the second most common cause of accidental death among children in B.C., according to a recent study by the province's chief coroner. Of those who drowned unsupervised in a fenced pool, roughly two-thirds made their way through an open gate.
On the North Shore alone, at least two toddlers have died in backyard pools in the past six years, and a third was revived only with CPR.
A great deal has been written on the issue and numerous recommendations have come out of that work - including relatively simple solutions, such as alarmed pool gates - but rather than leave municipalities to create a patchwork of regulation, the province should step up, review the research, consult with municipalities, and create legislation to prevent this tragedy from recurring in any community.
We can't protect our children from every hazard, but where the danger is common and easily curbed, not to try is criminal.
