There have been ten diving deaths in British Columbia in five years. There were 19 deaths in Quebec in the same period of time. And in 1992, in Lake Ontario, off the shores of Kingston, three divers died in separate incidents in just six weeks. The dive industry in Ontario is in total disarray, says the coroner investigating the accidents in Kingston. There is a lack of proper training standards for new divers.
Diving is a self-regulated sport in Canada.
Certification and safety are issues. Certification is supposed to be an objective assessment of whether you're fit and ready to dive. If you're not certified, you can't rent equipment, fill your tanks, or sign up for organized dives. But the people who decide if you are fit to dive are the same people who sell the gear and the exotic trips. To some, that amounts to a conflict of interest.