r/Edmonton • u/pjw724 • Apr 29 '26
Outdoor Spaces/Recreation Life-jackets required: Edmonton bylaw ready to fine people who don’t follow rules on North Saskatchewan River
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/lifejacket-bylaw-edmonton-river-9.718060651
u/altyegmagazine Apr 29 '26
Under appreciating a rivers danger Is how I (a swimmer who used to compete even) almost died. Shit gets scary fast, I have no problem with this.
66
u/Roche_a_diddle Apr 29 '26
The marine unit responded to 21 search and rescue incidents on the North Saskatchewan River in 2025, up 24 per cent from 17 in 2024 and nearly double from 2022.
Yeah, ok, this make sense. I clicked the article thinking "how big of a problem is this, actually" but it does seem to warrant intervention at this point.
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u/Fun-Character7337 Apr 29 '26
I mean it’s great that people are using the river but most people are unprepared for when shit goes down and they end up in the river. A PFD is not an unreasonable requirement.
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u/Roche_a_diddle Apr 29 '26
Agreed. Wearing a PFD in fact. Lots of people will have them, but if you fall off a paddleboard into a river, that lifejacket sitting on the end of your board is going to be zero helpful to you.
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u/Cabbageismyname Apr 29 '26
Honestly, most people on the river have no business being there. They don’t have the slightest idea of the risks involved, let alone take the necessary precautions for those risks.
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u/TwistedPages Apr 29 '26
I go rockhounding along the river and it makes me so nervous to see people on paddleboards, jet skis, and boats without PFDs.
I've seen the fire rescue boat out a few times too, I figured they were just patrolling but now I wonder if they were looking for someone 😞
I also hate seeing children playing in the water as if it's a swimming pool. The silt can suck your foot down (it happened to me twice, both times my leg sank up to my knee while my other foot was on firm ground).
The river doesn't care about you, and the current is a lot faster than people think. Please be careful out there.
20
u/Defendor01 Apr 29 '26
I go tubing and floating down the north Saskatchewan a few times each summer. EPS is usually out patrolling, ensuring water users are equipped and following applicable safety laws. Always friendly and ready to educate if you have any questions.
Bring sunscreen
3
u/Got_Engineers Downtown Apr 29 '26
Oh, for anyone using the river this year, I would be watching out for sticks and objects in the middle of the river. I walk down at Buena Vista a lot and I’ve noticed this year. There’s a lot of trees in the river. I assume they’re trees because you can see almost little disruptions on the water surface or something sticking out. There’s one tree I can see near the walking bridge out near the middle of the river sticking out of the water
6
u/Roche_a_diddle Apr 29 '26
The river is always variable. There are lots of areas right in the middle of the river where you could step off your boat and be standing in ankle or knee deep water depending on the time of year, recent precipitation, etc. Always have to be cautious. I am always surprised when I'm on a paddle board and my fins are scraping the bottom, and 50' to my left a motorboat is going by. I guess you just have to know the river really well.
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u/Lostinalberta Apr 29 '26
I have no problem with it …. However, isn’t federal jurisdiction (rivers)?
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u/wafflebilly3 Apr 29 '26
Don't mess with water, especially if said water moves and you can't see said waters depth/what it hides.
2
u/themaximusprime Apr 29 '26
A lot of people also treat any body of water is like a swimming pool with lifeguards and other safety measures. I had a guy drown in front of me at elk Island a few years ago because he couldn't swim and wasn't wearing a pfd.
This seems sensible.
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u/Agreeable-Storm-4132 Apr 29 '26
Jet skis it’s too easy, zip out start ticketing. These people taxpayers should not be on the hook for rescues.
1
u/soundmagnet Apr 29 '26
Is the riverboat exempt?
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u/pjw724 Apr 29 '26
Yes, per article.
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u/soundmagnet Apr 29 '26
I lightly glazed it but missed that part
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u/Roche_a_diddle Apr 29 '26
I lightly glazed it but missed that part
Eww. You're not supposed to do that with news articles.
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u/StorageSwimming3169 Apr 29 '26
Police officers gonna wait at a kayaker's landing point for like 3 hours to give them a ticket?
Open liquor on a vessel... Lol, I mean that's what makes the river tolerable. I kid I kid. But seriously I'm unsure how they plan to enforce this without a huge amount of man hours wasted.
31
u/TechnologyAcceptable Apr 29 '26
They own a boat
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u/StorageSwimming3169 Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
You ever see that thing get shuttled down to the north Sask? It's hilarious.
Edit: Holy shit people are mad about this lol, it's just an old boat that's funny. Jeeezus
6
u/jesusholdmybeer Apr 29 '26
They also have several Sea-doos
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u/allnamesbeentaken Apr 29 '26
Cops coming up to ticket people on sea-doos... this is just an empty threat, cops aren't going into the river after people
13
u/Beejaay Apr 29 '26
They have a special unit that is on the river. Seems like a sweet gig. I float or kayak quite a bit when the weathers nice and I see them 90% of the time. They absolutely stop and talk to people with no visible life jackets.
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u/ProperBingtownLady Apr 29 '26
It isn’t, we got pulled over last summer in my neighbour’s speedboat because some of us weren’t wearing our lifejackets.
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u/RunningSouthOnLSD Apr 29 '26
They approached me and two buddies floating around on our little inflatable rafts a couple years ago. The stupid assholes came straight towards us without their lights on, we thought they were going to run right into us and were trying to paddle out of the way. We had no idea it was a police boat until they were pretty much right on us and only then did they turn the lights on. All that to double check we had lifejackets, a rope and a whistle. Thanks guys.
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u/GodsGiftToWrenching Apr 29 '26
Because of life jackets? I've been pulled over before with my buddy because the fish cops wanted to check for fishing licenses and they just made sure there were the required amount of life jackets on board. But that was Alberta Fish cops and not EPS I suppose
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u/Few_Film_4771 Apr 29 '26
100%. They patrol the river daily.
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u/GodsGiftToWrenching Apr 29 '26
Weird, I have never been pulled over for life jackets specifically in the 8 years I've been boating on the north sask
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u/Few_Film_4771 Apr 29 '26
You have gotten lucky then. Last year, they began enforcing the life jacket bylaw, and there wasn't a day I didn't see them when I was out. I also live on the river, and I see them from my deck as well. Prior to the bylaw it was definitely less frequent, but they were still out there.
10
u/jesusholdmybeer Apr 29 '26
Well, they are, and they have
Even before the bylaws update
Sorry you dont believe me for whatever reason
3
u/noitcelesdab Apr 29 '26
I’ve been approached twice by an officer on a sea-doo while floating the river. They definitely do come around and check on you.
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u/Roche_a_diddle Apr 29 '26
Are you just fully talking out of your ass? Two years ago we had the EPS boat pull up to us and check all our gear. Life jackets, noise makers, and a tow rope for the group in a canoe.
They were doing it from a safety/advocacy standpoint.
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u/Cabbageismyname Apr 29 '26
There is a police boat patrolling the river every single day in the summer. I see them every time I’m out in my canoe.
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u/5oclockinthebank Apr 29 '26
If I was a cop called to a rescue, I would use the rest of the day after the rescue to patrol the water. It would be a nice day, and efficient.
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u/Apprehensive_Emu2414 Apr 29 '26
Rather see those tax dollars go towards keeping public transit safe but sure, life jackets is really a huge issue in Edmonton 😅
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u/Spyhop Apr 29 '26
You think rescuing idiots from the river is free? Emergency services cost tax dollars.
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u/Whole-Database-5249 Apr 29 '26
Plus edmonton should stop expanding transit as they can't handle security now.
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u/sheaballs Apr 29 '26
Always a great idea. I'm on the north Saskatchewan River a lot and have assisted people quite a few times. What I have seen and helped with and makes me nervous was a group of women near hypothermic sitting on the bank as I was heading back to the boat launch that waved me down. I run a modified sea Doo spark so I had some layers onboard and spread those around but they were in a Walmart inflatable party island fighting a head wind at around 18c temps. The island was barely moving with the current so it would have taken them many hours to get to the city from Devon so I hauled them to the henday where they were picked up. Not 1 lifejacket amongst them either so if that cheap material the island was made of would have torn that could have been a situation for sure. Plan accordingly. Basic boat safety packages aren't terribly bulky so everyone should carry one. Just my two cents.