March 11, 2002
Lifesaving Society
MLA Statement
R. Lee: The day before yesterday I had the honour to participate in the ninetieth annual Commonwealth honour and rescue awards ceremony of the Lifesaving Society of Canada, B.C. and Yukon Branch. The Lifesaving Society was formed in England in 1891 to reduce the number of drownings prevalent in the United Kingdom.
In 1911 the British Columbia branch was formed, and in 1971 it became the B.C. and Yukon Branch. The Lifesaving Society is a non-profit voluntary organization dedicated to preventing accidents and saving lives in an aquatic environment. It has been teaching swimmers to be life-savers, lifeguards and instructors since 1896, when the first life-saving class was taught in Canada.
The awards ceremony was a very special day for many of the volunteers who have spent their time promoting aquatic safety for the benefit of the entire community. It's also a special day to honour those who, through their individual acts of bravery, have saved the lives of so many.
Many heart-touching stories were told at the ceremony. We heard the story of a ten-year-old boy, Justin Zutter of Surrey, who pulled a woman out of Hathaway Lake near 100 Mile House. We heard about the heroic rescue performed by Kevin Brown of Nanaimo, who desperately tried again and again to open the door of a car floating in the Fraser River to get the driver out. We heard the story of Charlene Comeau, Per Humle, Jessica Kerr, Gerry Langdon and Jill Witowich, who had prior skills and knowledge gained through the society programs to aid victims of aquatic emergencies.
To the many brave men, women, boys and girls who go out to meet the challenges in an emergency, I salute you.
