New regulations to prevent children from drowning in Houses in Quebec will come into force on September 30th. Homeowners are obliged to build a closed fence to build their pools.
“We have to make sure that these pools have no way of access without supervision,” said Raynald Hawkins, managing director of Lifesaving Society, Quebec Branch.
“Based on many studies or reports by Coroner, the Ministry of Health made the decision to fulfill the obligation to meet these new security rules.”
Stéphane Duval, a Repenigny house owner who has installed a pool fence, says: “Given the fact that there are many drowning, I think this will be a good thing. It will protect children even if we don't have any.”
One of these fences is constructed in Repenigny. The fences must be at least 1.2 meters high for the outdoor and semi-area pools.
“This was a crazy year, maybe twice, even three times as much as three years ago,” said Ian Simard, subcontractor with Enfant Sécure.
“Even if your garden is fenced, this does not mean that you match the law. Basically, it is an outcome from the house that needs to be protected. Basically, you protect your balcony or whether this is a bit too complicated, and then protect your pool.”
For above -ground pools of less than 1.4 meters, you also have to have a fence. The gates on the fences must also be self -locked and self -concluding, and the fences themselves have to be designed so that they cannot be climbed.
“Only with this principle is we very sure that we will save many children every year because they know what? If we have a drowning, deadly drowning situations, especially with the small children in the province of Quebec, we can multiply this with 10 when the children go to the hospital and they are drifted at a strewn or second, said Hawkins.
The new provincial regulation that has installed a fence is part of the law on the housing pool in Quebec. The average price for one of these fences of this contractor is around 2,500 US dollars before tax, but you can increase up to 4,000 US dollars for large pools.
“There are definitely costs for this. Families who are narrower could find it more complicated. But we have no choice but to follow the new regulations. But it won't change much. We still have access to the pool,” said Duval.
Simard added: “You have to leave your pool protected, and so we will reduce the amount of drowning that occurs in Quebec.”