Police charge Ontario man for not having life jacket on paddle board [Video]

As Ontarians kicked off the 2025 summer over the Victoria Day weekend, a 28-year-old man from Windsor was given a stern reminder from police about boat safety.

Ontario Provincial Police in Essex County say they charged a man who was paddleboarding on the Detroit River on Saturday afternoon as he was not wearing a life jacket while travelling on the river near Lasalle.

Police say the official charge was “operating human-powered pleasure craft without personal flotation device or lifejacket of appropriate size for each person on board.”

In a release, police noted that a personal flotation device is required when someone is operating a stand-up paddleboard in Canada.