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Ontario: – Ontario’s Minister of Education is vowing to complete a review of all school board policies “regarding safety procedures on outdoor education excursions,” following the drowning death of a 15-year-old boy while on a Toronto District School Board-sponsored canoe trip to Algonquin Park in July.
Minister Mitzie Hunter made the announcement in a statement issued on Thursday morning, less than 24 hours after the TDSB revealed that Jeremiah Perry was one of 15 students who did not pass a mandatory swim test prior to the ill-fated trip. The trip was attended by 32 students in total.
“It is very troubling to me that the procedures were not followed in this incident,” Hunter told reporters at Queen’s Park. “I know the TDSB is currently doing a review of its policies but I believe the ministry needs to do a review to ensure that not only are policies in place but that there is compliance with those policies.”
Perry was swimming with classmates in Algonquin Park’s Big Trout Lake on July 4 when he suddenly went under the water and didn’t resurface.
His body was then located the next day.
At a news conference on Wednesday, TDSB director of education John Malloy said that board procedure stipulated that Perry should have been offered swimming lessons and an additional swim test before being allowed on the camping trip but he said that neither were offered.
Speaking with reporters prior to a caucus meeting, Hunter said that she has spoken with Perry’s family and expressed her “deepest condolences” and is now working to make sure that such a tragedy never happens again.
She said that the ministry’s review will look at the ratio of adults to students on outdoor excursion trips as well as various measures that could be taken to ensure compliance with existing policies meant to ensure the safety of students on those trips.
As well, Hunter said that funding to the Lifesaving Society and Swim to Survive programs will be increased with a “particular emphasis” placed on newcomers.
“We want to ensure that the safety of students is of top priority and ensure that an incident like this never happens again,” she said, noting that Perry’s death “should not have happened.”
The TDSB has said that in the future school principals will be required to verify that students have passed physical capability tests before trips can proceed.
In a statement issued later on Thursday, Progressive Conservative party leader Patrick Brown said that Perry’s death is an “absolute tragedy” that could have been avoided.
Brown then added that a “preliminary investigation is not enough.
“We need to know exactly who approved this, who thought it was appropriate to put so many children at risk, and what steps will be taken to ensure something like this never happens again,” he said.
