PUBLICATION:        The Ottawa Citizen

DATE:                         2003.07.21

EDITION:                    Final

SECTION:                  Editorial

PAGE:                         A10

SOURCE:                   The Ottawa Citizen

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Taking responsibility for our actions

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A higher than usual number of drownings in the Ottawa area this summer has prompted city councillors to call on the medical officer of health to "do something" about it. They also want the city to do more to prevent drownings and to educate the public. They even go so far as to suggest that owners of backyard pools, already subject to strict regulations such as fence heights and gate locks, be required to post warning signs on their property. Such suggestions are well-intentioned, but too extreme.

Preventing drownings is not rocket science: Learn how to swim, don't swim alone, don't swim in places that warn you not to, don't mix alcohol and water activities, don't turn your back on a child near water, even for a moment, wear a life-jacket in a boat and learn first aid. What all these handy pointers have in common is common sense, and that's what we need more of, not more regulations, studies and reports.

It is up to people, not governments, to prevent most accidents. Unfortunately, the notion of personal responsibility is becoming rare in our society. We need to bring it back.

Recent pellet gun attacks in Toronto are another example of people looking for something to blame when someone gets hurt. It is a common response to look for somewhere to lay blame. Pellet guns were used in violent attacks? Ban them! Machetes are becoming more common weapons in Canada? Ban them too! This kind of solution misses the point. It's not the "weapon" that should be the cause of concern, it's the person using it.

Those who do not use pellet guns lawfully for example, should be punished according to the laws that are already in place. That is the appropriate course of action, not banning the weapons altogether. And just about anything can be used as a weapon -- even a nail file according to our airlines -- so where do we draw the line?

Blankets, for example, are among the contraband items for the 500,000 people at next week's Rolling Stones concert -- because of a few past cases where people were hurt when they were tossed in the air with a blanket. "All kinds of things are done with blankets that are unsafe," said Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino. So consider yourself warned: Blankets can be a hazard to your health, they must be banned.

Whether it is in preventing drownings, pellet-gun shootings or machete attacks, we must resist the temptation to ban this and regulate that. What it all comes down to is personal responsibility. And we prefer to have people exercise that themselves, not have the government do it for them.