HON. MITZIE HUNTER, ONTARIO’S MINISTER OF EDUCATION, CALLS FOR REVIEW OF ONTARIO’S OUTDOOR EDUCATION ACTIVITY RULES

Hon Mitzie Hunter,  Ontario  Minister  of  Education,     MPP (Scarborough—Guildwood)

Following the drowning tragedy of our local student,  Jeremiah Perry,  Mitzie Hunter, Minister of Education,  lost no time in calling for a review of the rules governing and the administration of, outdoor education activities, especially ‘high care’  ones such as those covering canoe trips.  This reassessment will apply to the rules of outdoor education in all the school boards of Ontario.

        Survival  in Water Course  given additional $300,000

Ontario has many beautiful lakes and rivers and Canadians love to swim and boat in them. Many newcomers also want to swim. In their home countries, however, swimming for them may not have been as popular or they swam in salt water.   Swimming in salt water is quite different than in fresh water. So newcomers may get in trouble when they swim in fresh water here or accidentally get thrown or tipped into the water.

Minister Hunter will be investing an additional $300,000 in the Lifesaving Society’s Swim to Survive Program.  This will ensure that more students, especially newcomers, have access to these critical water safety skills.

Ontario Provincial Police begin criminal investigation of Jeremiah Perry’s drowning death

                                    Jeremiah Perry, C.W Jefferys C.I. student 

On Monday, August 21, the Ontario Provincial Police announced that their Criminal Investigation Branch will be investigating Jeremiah Perry’s drowning death in Algonquin Park. While swimming in Big Trout Lake on July 4 he disappeared. His body was found the next day. Fifteen year old Jeremiah and 14 of his fellow students on the trip did not pass a required swimming test.

Most of the information in this paragraph is taken from thestar.com of Mon. Aug. 21, 2017. The article was written by Alexandra Jones, Staff Reporter