By Trevor Greenway

Local Journalism Initiative

An incident on Canada Day, in which two Wakefield seniors were capsized in their canoe by a police boat, has renewed calls from Friends of the Gatineau River (FOG) to lower the speed limit on the Gatineau River. 

The current speed limit on the Gatineau River is 55 km/h or 10 km/h if you are within 10 metres of a shoreline. 

FOG doesn’t have specifics on what speed limit the river should have, but director David Wilson said it would be a multi-pronged decision by the MRC des Collines, local politicians and, ultimately, Transport Canada. 

FOG has been working with Pontiac MP Sophie Chatel who helped streamline a process for changing rules on a body of water within Transport Canada last year. FOG said it has been working closely with Chatel and will officially submit a request to the federal body once it conducts more public consultations with river users and the MRC des Collines. 

According to a 2021 FOG survey on river safety, 87 per cent of respondents rated the river as “dangerous,” and the majority feared that someone would eventually be seriously injured or killed. Of the 700 residents surveyed, 94 per cent said they “recognize the negative impacts of boat wakes on other users and the environment.” An overwhelming majority – 81 per cent – said they support reducing the current speed limit.

“I think it’s not just a FOG concern; I think it should be a concern to everyone who uses the river, including motorboat users,” said Wilson. “And these dumping incidents that have happened recently, one that involves a police boat, just illustrates that these problems aren’t going away.” (See story Page 1). Wilson said that as more and more people move into and frequent the Hills in summer, river use will consistently increase, and incidents like what happened to Irene Halang and her partner will likely happen again. Wilson also mentioned an accident involving a swimmer and a jet ski several years ago, and said he worries that if speed isn’t taken seriously on the river, it will lead to fatalities. 

“It shows that it’s not just an academic issue,” Wilson told the Low Down. “These safety issues are real.”

Wilson said there is a common misconception that FOG is anti-motorboat. He said that’s not the case at all, and its Boating Safety Consultation campaign is about “finding a balanced approach” to accommodate paddlers, swimmers and those who want to use their motorboats. He alluded to the safety hazards spread across the river – old foundations from the pre-flood era, shallow sandbar areas and boom logs that are still floating from when the logging industry used the river to transport wood throughout the Outaouais. Many of those hazards still exist, he said. 

“It’s also a very narrow river in many places, which is part of the reason why zipping by at a good clip close to the shoreline is really problematic,” said Wilson about speeding boats. 

“Please, for everyone’s sake, slow down,” he added. “And I guess for the swimmers and paddlers, it’s ‘watch out.’”

For more information on river safety, visit FOG at www.fog-arg.org/boating-safety-consultations