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First these guys were lucky it was an Argo, had it been a side by side the outcome could have been very different. Second, although an Argo will go almost anywhere, transitioning between water and ice takes some skill and experience, it is my understanding that these guys had little of either. They may not be the smartest dudes but they sure were lucky. As for all the rules and regulations (desigined to protect us) it won't be long before you have to take a carpentry course before you can use a hammer because you might hit your thumb with the hammer😲

I'm sure everyone has heard about the recent nonsense in Toronto where the so-called powers that be have actually banned tobogganing in 45 parks because someone may get injured sliding down a hill having fun the way kids have done forever. Tough to even comprehend how some of these people made it to adulthood.

Plunged is a bit of a over reaction and as the norm,the news relished the whole thing. It was an Argo that broke through. BROKE through the ice. It was floating there and unable to get out. Well said Terry and Lew. Crap happens. There was a report from an operator saying they were on a solid 6-8 inches of ice,but is warning that once you pass a crack in the area,it,s 2".

Yeah my thoughts are if everyone pays for emergency services then they should pay but if not every emergency receives a bill then why should ice fishermen more skateboarders , skiers, boaters , hockey players off-road bikers hikers cars and fat people need emergency services then ice fishermen so why do people seem to jump all over ice fishermen

I agree with you 100% Terry, Emergency Service are in business for a reason and that reason is to help people when they get in trouble, whether it's through carelessness, misadventure, bad luck or just plain being stupid. Every year people get injured or killed doing crazy stuff and most times Emergency Service is there to help but it doesn't mean they also need to be punished for whatever they did.

A buddy of mine recently went through divorce proceedings. It turned ugly. His wife brought up some nasty (unfounded) allegations in Family Court. Next thing you know the judge issues a Peace Bond against him and he's ordered to turn in his (legally registered) firearms. At this point, he's not even criminally convicted. He used to come up to my place to grouse hunt every autumn. Not this year. Welcome to Canada in 2024.

Something has been bugging the dickens out of me to go back up to the rocky mountain foot hills where my trail cam went missing, so I did first thing this morning. In my almost 70 years on this planet, one thing I have learnt is to go with my instincts. I knew there was a poacher prowling around in my stomping grounds from the tracks I'd previously found. Well this morning I found fresh tracks leading into the bush so I followed them and I caught him in the act, sneaking through the bush with a rifle. He didn't see me but I saw him. To try and make a long story short I beat it the Hell out of there as there is no phone service, once I had service I phoned the report a poacher no. about 40 minutes later a game warden showed up and I led him into the bush where the guy was and with the help of the game warden and my walkie talkies we caught him red handed gutting a white tail doe. We caught his buddy as well of course that was driving around so as not to create suspicion with a vehicle sitting on the side of the road. I told the warden about my camera gone missing and he asked me what brand it was and I told him, he reached into the back seat of the truck and brought out a trail cam and asked me, does this look familiar? Sure does I replied. So I got it back minus the SD card. The warden ran their ID. turned out the two guys had multiple warrants for poaching and fire arms offences, so the warden called the RCMP and they were cuffed and taken to the crow bar hotel where they belong. So all in all this was a very rewarding day, got my camera back and put two bad guys in jail. Thanks to those who took the time to read this, I know it's a long one, as usual Hahah.

There is a group that does recovery and they just announced they will not be helping anyone at this point due to unsafe ice conditions. This is a volunteer outfit and not risking lives.

Good grief… no I hadn’t heard that. Life has gone weird. I don’t envy the poor b@$stard that has to enforce that.

WOW. just wow and great that the thief was apprehended. This person sounds like absolute scum, esp re: the domestic issues.

you cant fix stupid! but if that is the way it is I'm very appreciative for Emergency service coverage for all. I have to agree on no matter how stupid, the service is there. don't get me started on tobogganing thanks to all past present and in advance future Emergency Service Units. BRAVO ZULU!

If I need to be rescued I expect to be rescued. If I’m getting a bill, I want everyone who drives in a blizzard, smacks into a tree skiing, required an open water rescue during boating season, slips on a banana peel, or gets lost in the woods to foot the bill for their rescue. Life isn’t bubble wrapped and crap happens. And it happens in many different pursuits of happiness and it often puts emergency services in harms way. It’s certainly not restricted to ice fishermen.

Welcome to Canada 2024 is unfortunately right. Man, that's sickening. All these new gun laws are not going to curb gun violence. Pretty soon the only ones that will have guns are going to be the bad guys. My wife and I both have our share of rifles and shot guns, in mint condition and worth a lot of money. I'm not sure anymore if we can even leave them to our sons in our will, even if they have their gun license. The city cops and RCMP here, twice now have put out a bulletin on the local news for any one with unwanted fire arms to get in contact with them and they would dispose of them. There were thousands of them turned over to the cops. Rather than put them up for auction for law abiding citizens they were thrown into a smelter. There was one veteran officer that was collecting them and keeping them, not that I blame him, I'm sure he had some very nice pieces. He was fired.

I don't disagree with you at all Barry. But be careful what you write in a public forum...you don't want to lose that carry permit for a handgun. As you know those permits are as rare as hen's teeth in this day and age. You never know. Remember this 2024 in Canada, and the current gov't isn't exactly friendly to law abiding gun owners.

slippery slope barry, without having an appreciation for the sport. Much like any outdoorsmen, preparation is key, but narrative is also important. All too common for a media outlet to put a mountaineer on blast for requiring rescue, but unforeseen circumstances happen that no amount of preparation can prevent. In the case of "out of bounds skiing" Ski touring and mountaineering is a very common pass time (one that I have personally participated in) now of course, I personally take all precautions, I have never gone ski touring without a "guide" be it a professional or my cousin, all of which are avalanche are Avalanche Safety Trained level 2 or higher. All applicable gear is carried, including probe, shovel and beacon. Sure enough during a tour in the mountains of japan a member of my group broke their tib/fib after colliding with a tree. We then spent 6 hours manually lowering the person off of a mountain to a lower altitude where a rescue team could provide service. Is that individual not worthy of rescue, or due to pay the bill? Where does the limitation exist for that then? Is any fisherman who runs into engine trouble on lake ontario also expected to front the bill for emergency services? What about people that get into car crashes on the highway, should they have not been driving? Dont get me wrong here, I personally take far more precaution when ice fishing then the individuals seemingly that required rescue, but things also happen out there, those same people very likely drove there ATV to their fishing spot that morning, perhaps even had been fishing multiple days driving to the same spot without issue, only to attempt to return home and have a crack form that caused them to go in. Ive seen it myself multiple times, go out in the morning on seemingly safe fast ice, only to be confronted with a 8 foot wide crack in the ice on the way home...or one time in parry sound, heading out in the morning on nearly 2 feet of ice, to return in the afternoon to find that somehow the last 500 meter stretch of ice past a particular point had vanished and floated away. These stories to make great headlines though. I personally like seeing people get off their phones and get outside, its probably cheaper long term to have people out and active rather than fat and inside creating a future burden on our healthcare system.