Coroner recommends City of Ottawa conduct audits at all beaches following June death [Video]

Ontario’s chief coroner is recommending the City of Ottawa conducts a “lifesaving audit” at all city beaches, following the drowning death of a nine-year-old boy in June.

The call comes after the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario found the three people who drowned at Britannia Beach between 2020 and 2023 were standing/wading close to a “drop-off area” where the water depth dropped from two feet to 10 feet. The coroner’s office made five recommendations, including staffing lifeguards on duty to “coincide with daylight hours” at public beaches.

On June 3, a child was found unresponsive in the Ottawa River at Britannia Beach. The child died in hospital.