''Les dangers du canal'' by Annie Binette

(Ronald Hayes, owner of Hayes Towing co.)

"The canal has quite a history... I was born at home here, and back then, the canal was the pride of the county. The entire length of the canal was lit up: every 1,000 feet, there were light poles. There was a time, when flowers bloomed, that a boat would pass through each lock and put flowers everywhere; the grass was cut—anyway, a lot happened on the canal.

(Christian Dumas, Director of Fire Safety Dept. for Pointe-des-Cascades)

"My name is Christian Dumas, and I am the Director of Fire Safety for the municipality of Pointe-des-Cascades. We have about two incidents a year on average. Not all of them are drownings; some people manage to get out fine, but the age median in drownings averages between 20 and 50.

(Ronald Hayes)

"One evening, I was outside with my cousin, and suddenly, I saw a big flash right in front of the door. We ran up, and a car started sinking. It wasn't sinking completely, so we pulled the man out of the car. We brought him into the house and called the police; the ambulances came. That was that—I didn't hear anything for two or three months. Then, one day, the man came back and said he was the one who fell into the canal. I asked him what had happened, and he told me that he was diabetic. He had a blackout and didn’t know where he was going.

Since they put in the bike path, it’s been much better. Now they've put fences up everywhere and blocked off many entrances. After that, we've pulled out bodies from the water, many of them—people who jumped in, accidents, whatever—it was frequent. Many years ago, when the main road passed there, there were some serious accidents. Entire families died in cars. In the last ones that happened, the police came, and they brought in teams from the Sûreté du Québec.

(Christian Dumas)

"It’s often a joint effort with the SQ and the paramedics. Yes, we’re often the first to arrive on site, but we need the Sûreté du Québec for certain aspects of the intervention. I might also need the Coast Guard for other aspects, so it’s always a team effort, no matter the type of intervention.

(Ronald Hayes)

"Another time, it was five American women—all five drowned. It happened in May a long time ago, around the 24th. During what we called the Victoria Day weekend, they had come to Montreal and were heading back. At the corner of St-Emmanuel, a guy came out and hit them. The car flew into the canal, and no one got out. We pulled out the cars. There were five purses, but only four people in the car. I still have the photos of that here. In the afternoon, we went back, and they found the remaining body. She had tried to get out, but the car had fallen on top of her. They were all in their twenties.

(Christian Dumas)

"In terms of awareness, which is constantly being done on-site with clear signs saying 'No Swimming,' many interventions are made. The fire safety service patrols the waterways. We try to warn them when we're out there to prevent them from jumping in. The Sûreté du Québec also maintains a regular presence, but despite all of that, it’s a site that’s heavily used by younger people. They often meet up there. Unfortunately, they make small campfires, have a drink, have picnics—they take advantage of the warm weather and go jumping in. Because, again, it represents a certain thrill, if you will."