Do you wear it?

• A day on the water for a water safety video shoot
• Sergeant Tim Burrows and Conner
• Amber showing off the Canadian Red Cross lifejacket
• Amber Mac and Chris Dick with their son Conner
• Out on the water doing water safety video
• Toronto Police Marine Unit. PC Gary Gibson has been working with the unit for 15 years,
• Chris taking close up shots of Amber and Conner
• Canadian Red Cross Disaster Dude John Saunders and Amber Mac
• Conner and his cute hat
• Amber and Conner
• Toronto Police Sergeant Tim Burrows and Canadian Red Cross Director of Disaster Management John Saunders
• Red Crosser John Saunders and PC Gary Gibson
• Amber and Conner sitting in the boat getting ready for an interview

A day on the water for a water safety video shoot

Sergeant Tim Burrows and Conner

Amber showing off the Canadian Red Cross lifejacket

Amber Mac and Chris Dick with their son Conner

Out on the water doing water safety video

Toronto Police Marine Unit. PC Gary Gibson has been working with the unit for 15 years,

Chris taking close up shots of Amber and Conner

Canadian Red Cross Disaster Dude John Saunders and Amber Mac

Conner and his cute hat

Amber and Conner

Toronto Police Sergeant Tim Burrows and Canadian Red Cross Director of Disaster Management John Saunders

Red Crosser John Saunders and PC Gary Gibson

Amber and Conner sitting in the boat getting ready for an interview

It’s a scorcher out there and maybe you’re thinking of getting out in the water for boating or swimming. But before you do, the Canadian Red Cross is reminding you to wear it – your lifejacket, that is.

It's National Water Safety Week so the Red Cross teamed up with the Toronto Police Marine Unit to do a special video from a police boat. We asked journalist Amber Mac and her two-year-old son, Conner, to join us and help share important safety messages about what we can all do to ensure our children are safe when near water.

The reality is that drowning is one of the leading causes of unintentional death for Canadian children ages one to four.

So what can you do to keep you and your family safe?

• Always watch children actively when they are around water, even if they can swim
• Enrol in a Canadian Red Cross swimming lesson and learn about water safety
• Wear it. Nearly 90 per cent of boaters who drown are not wearing, or are not properly wearing, their lifejacket. It will only work if you wear it!
• Have a backyard pool? Make sure it’s fenced in with a self-closing, self-latching gate; clear toys out of the water; and have a floatation or reaching assist nearby in case of emergency
• If you use a portable toddler pool, make sure you empty it after each use

Want to know more? Check out our website.

Also, watch for our water safety video which will be posted on the blog in the coming days.