New regulations for mandatory fences around Quebec residential pools to prevent drowning

New regulations to prevent children from drowning in residential pools in Quebec are coming into effect on Sept. 30. Homeowners will be obligated to have an enclosed fence built around their pools. 

“We need to make sure pools have no possibility of access without supervision,” said Raynald Hawkins, the executive director of the Lifesaving Society, Quebec branch.

“Based on many coroner investigations or reports, the Ministry of Health took the decision to put on the obligation, those new safety rules.”

Stéphane Duval, a Repentigny homeowner who is having a pool fence installed, says, “Given that there are a lot of drownings, I think this will be a good thing. It will protect children even if we don’t have any.”

In Repentigny, one of these types of fences is being constructed. For outdoor in-ground and semi-inground pools, the fences must be at least 1.2 metres high. 

“This has been a crazy year, maybe twice, even three times the usual business. And this started like three years ago,” said Ian Simard, a subcontractor with Enfant Sécure.

“Even though your yard is fenced, it doesn’t mean that you’re in conformity with the law. Basically, it’s any exit from the house that needs to be protected. So basically, whether you protect your balcony or if that’s a little too complicated, then you protect and fence your pool. “

For above-ground pools less than 1.4 metres high, they must also have a fence. Gates on the fences must also be self-locking and self-closing, and the fences themselves must be designed in a way so that they can’t be climbed.

“Based only with this principle, we are very sure we are going to save many kids year after year because you know what? When we have one drowning, fatal drowning situations, particularly with the toddlers in the Quebec province, we can multiply this by 10, when the kids go to the hospital and they are on near-drowning or secondary drowning,” said Hawkins.

The new provincial regulation to have a fence installed is part of Quebec’s Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act. The average price for one of these fences from this contractor is about $2,500 before tax, but they can go up to about $4,000 for large pools.

“There’s definitely a cost to this. Families who are tighter might find it more complicated. But we have no choice but to follow the new regulations. But it won’t change much. We still have access to the pool,” said Duval.

Simard added, “You need to get your pool protected and that’s how we’re going to decrease the amount of drowning that occurs in Quebec.”