Canadas national Carbon monoxide safety foundation is calling on the Saskatchewan government and all jurisdictions in Canada to mandate the installation of CO alarms in all homes and businesses regardless of age.
This is in light of the recent deaths of two Prince Albert children and 13 and 12 who were found dead in a home on Tuesday afternoon.
At present in Saskatchewan, only new builds and renovations require CO alarms.
John Gignac, executive director of The Hawkins-Gignac Foundation for Co-Education, created the Foundation in the memory of four family members that he lost to carbon monoxide poisoning in 2008.
We spoke to him about this unfortunate tragedy and why the Saskatchewan government should approve the mandate.
“I am extremely sad that two children had to lose their life that day, words can’t express how bad I and the members of our foundation feel about their loss and we passed our condolences on to the family. I just can’t imagine how they feel but it could have been prevented because we need the politicians in every province to do what they did here in Ontario and that is, pass the law, once the law is passed we can follow it with education and we have proven here in Ontario that it works, let’s get moving and let’s get it done. “
Gignac said the Foundation started the Summer CO Safety program where the motto is CO doesn’t take a vacation, wherever you go take a CO alarm with you.
The aim is to educate the public about carbon monoxide and its dangers and to get the message to the government that action needs to take place.
“You know in Ontario we got the law passed and so does the Yukon territories and in ten years we have gone from twenty percent participation to roughly close to eighty-five percent, so the law and the education are working we have proof that it is working. If the law is working in here in Ontario, the most populated province in Canada, then why can’t we do it in the rest of Canada?”
“It is, not an isolated incident, There were those people up in the cottage country that were taken last fall and there was that motel 8, Forty-seven people, and now we have two children that just passed away, what more do we need.”
CO alarms are rather inexpensive so the cost of safety is not much, you can also be fined upwards of $250 if you have a carbon monoxide leak on your property that could have been prevented.
It is very easy to prevent a tragedy like this from happening to you, so don’t let it, get educated and let others know that carbon monoxide is no joke.
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Written by Ethan Mitchell