June 10, 2026: Complacency builds over time.
Greetings,
In this week’s newsletter, I want to talk about a situation where a system failed to catch something, while another system succeeded to catch something. The plot twist is that both outcomes are bad. Keep reading to see if you agree with me.
I live in the Town of Okotoks, Alberta. It’s a bedroom community outside of Calgary. It’s experienced explosive growth (8.5% in the last five years) both because it’s a great place to live, but also because of the general challenges many Canadians have faced during the last few years: unlimited immigration; opioids; mental health crises post-Pandemic; increased costs of living leading to increased levels of homelessness; etc.
As someone who grew up in big cities like Toronto & Ottawa, bigger populations = bigger statistical likelihood of crime, no different that more crimes are reported on a 10,000 person vs. 2,500 person cruise ship. I've never thought about Okotoks as a quaint small town, but many established families still do, despite the metaphor that the horse left the barn a long time ago.
Last week, an important system was in place and “worked” when a local man (CONTENT WARNING) was charged with the sexual exploitation of children and released pending trial. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) put out an advisory of his presence in the area. Town officials issued trespass orders against him entering facilities where children congregate like swimming pools and libraries. But it didn’t stop. A mob mentality took over and the man’s address was posted online. Keyboard sleuths dissected photos of the man from social media, including allegations that he wore Meta glasses to commit his crimes - a claim I can't verify. It quickly got so out of hand that the RCMP had to issue a follow up to prevent vigilante justice.
Meanwhile, a story is developing about an Air Canada commercial pilot who piloted 900+ flights for 16 years and lacked the correct licensing. You can read Air Canada's media statement here.
I’m not qualified to speak to the pilot scenario – I’ve seen comments online ranging from this is "only" failed paper pushing by Transport Canada to release pilot records, while others are saying this is a catastrophic HR failure because papers were falsified and not caught during the promotion to captain, never mind periodic seniority step increases.
I want to be clear that both individuals committed crimes they were not supposed to do.
The sex crime warning system “worked” in that it warned the Okotoks community about the presence of a person who allegedly committed grievous crimes. I’m not here to suggest he's entitled him to the same quality of life and privacy as upstanding citizens, but I do want to point out that he also hasn’t been to court yet; he's not guilty or innocent yet. This situation is bad for everyone it touches.
Meanwhile, the compliance system “failed” at Air Canada, but yet it appears (I’m not a pilot) hundreds of flights were flown apparently safely by a person who appears to have had believable qualities and relevant experience. I’ve seen no public reports that this investigation started - after the individual retired - because of suspicions raised by a copilot or first officer. This situation is also very bad for everyone it touches.
I don’t want to fearmonger, but I think both of these stories provide pertinent opportunities for us to acknowledge the need to strengthen audits of EXISTING staff. In my personal opinion, too much emphasis is placed on the initial screening of a new employee, and not enough is done either annually or as individuals progress through the organization to reaffirm that they are still suitable to regularly work with half-naked people, including children.
Many pools and recreation organizations have dedicated staff who stay on the roster in casual reserve for years. How many times have you realized, too late, someone's lifeguard credential is imminently about to expire, OR someone is on deck right now with a cert that expired three weeks ago? They're skilled lifeguards and reliable workers, so it didn't occur to you check the paperwork because there haven't been any problems....
It's always the case that the good employees get attention because they're doing a bad job, the bad employees get attention because they're causing you problems, but those in the middle get no attention whatsoever until they move to either end of the spectrum and either become good or bad.
We need to create more systems in between the beginning and the end. The middle is where things get messy. Your slide attendant grows up and transitions to a junior guard or a college-aged staff member comes home for the summer and becomes a key holder (opener/closer). Sometimes the people who are closest to us, who we are the most comfortable with are the ones we need to confirm and check. Not because we're paranoid, but because it would be a breach of a basic standard of care not to.
One of the best lifeguards I ever employed had her license taken away for two years for a legitimately horrible DUI she admitted to committing. She didn't hide the information from me, but she also didn't volunteer it either. I would have been a negligent supervisor if I'd assigned her to do water testing at the spray park 15 mins drive away (a routine task for her position), and she'd taken the town vehicle available to aquatic staff to get there.
Ironically, I had this photo added to this week's newsletter before I even knew what I as going to write about!
Thanks to everyone who watched the lifeguard toe technique video I posted last week, and an even bigger THANK YOU to those who listened to my monologue about what's wrong with the aquatic industry! I've heard from so many people that this struck a cord with their lived experience.
It's been a few weeks since I reshared our anonymous advice column. If you don't have any questions, feel free to enter topics you think I should comment on during my next video.
Here's everything else happening in the aquatic industry from June 3- 10, 2026. Apologies that it's a long one this week, sometimes that just happens.
Grand Prairie residents demand answers after canceled Muslim celebration at Epic Waters
It appears the swim was a completely private event/booking.
Charged with fraud, Manitoba man still selling shipping container pools under new business name
Royal Caribbean still has plans for a Perfect Day Mexico & Mexico Considers Relocation for Royal Caribbean’s Rejected Perfect Day
Centennial Park Aquatic Center in Orland Park closed after two recent E. coli cases linked to facility, officials say
Another report suggests this is also a workplace health & safety matter after at least one aquatic staff member got sick.
Death at Miramar Weinheim: Video footage shows the accident
This site is in German, but your internet browser should prompt you to autotranslate. TL;DR there are limitations on the safety of self-dispatching water slides if a guest chooses to bypass the control protocols.
Town of Trenton intends to close pool, citing financial strain
This is really too bad: $50,000 to operate a swimming pool of that size for 10 weeks each summer is not unreasonable, and a spray park is not a substitute for all ages.
Paxton sues Denton to block gender-neutral changing rooms at Pride pool party
Family fights for 2-year-old girl to not be declared brain dead after near-drowning
I can only imagine how complicated this would be with private health insurance. I follow this family on Instagram, whose son Enzo experienced a non-fatal drowning with morbidity, and their experience seeking extended care is absolutely heartbreaking. It appears improvements are possible, but not necessarily a complete recovery for all activities of daily living (ADLs).
12 people exposed to chlorine gas at popular waterpark
I think they mean backwash, similar to the Canmore Inn & Suites incident.
Search continues for teenage boy swept into ocean in Wildwood during school trip
Chaperones ≠ lifeguards.
This entrepreneur wanted to open a floating sauna on Toronto’s waterfront. He says the city’s red tape has ruined his summer
Click here to read without a paywall. When I was Oslo, Norway last year for ISO Meetings, floating sauna units around the harbor were everywhere. HAVN is doing something similar in Victoria, with another one under development in Vancouver.
The $255 Beach Shade Dividing America’s Coastal Towns
Click here to read without a paywall. This type of dispute has even reached Central Alberta's Sylvan Lake, so I understand this is HUGE issue everywhere else.
Corpus Christi public pools open Saturday, but hours cut as city pushes water conservation
Unlimited swims all summer long! Get the new Summer Splash Pass for $40
I love this idea if it's feasible within operational budgets (staffing, increased chemical usage, etc.) to encourage facility usage. Many yoga studios here in Calgary offer heavily-discounted, unlimited summer passes because so many people head outside in the summer that business/revenue drops precipitously. Cash flow is king in private sector operations.
'The timeline is disappointing': Abilene State Park pool closed until further notice
These types of delays are heartbreaking because the community completely loses trust in the process.
The Surprising Cause of Hawaii's Snorkeling Deaths
If you haven't seen it, we talked to the Snorkel Safety Study in this video.
IRONMAN 70.3 Calgary
I didn't realize we host an endurance event like this in Calgary (er, Cochrane) and the water is going to be COLD.
Kingston city council considers options for inflatable water park
Unfortunately I see this too often: where an organization ends up footing the entire bill because the community isn't prepared to lose the opportunity, but the way in which it's done is not necessarily the best.
If you ever feel like I've missed a pertinent news story, please don't hesitate to hit reply and share it with me for next week's newsletter.
Katie Crysdale
Lakeview Aquatic Consultants Ltd.