Henderson man convicted of impaired canoeing causing death in landmark case

Jeff Green | Oct 09, 2019

David Sillars lives on a back road near Henderson, but he was in a Bracebridge courtroom last week for sentencing after being convicted of several charges stemming from the tragic outcome of an overturned canoe near High Falls along the Muskoka river on April 11, 2017.

While impaired by alcohol, Sillars paddled a canoe through the freezing, swollen river to retrieve a barrel that was stuck on a danger barrier near the falls. He took 8 year-old Thomas Rancourt, the son of his girlfriend, with him in the boat.

The canoe capsized and Rancourt was swept over the falls, leading to his death. Sillars managed to swim to safety.

Sillars received a six-year sentence but is out on bail pending an appeal of the sentence. One of his bail conditions is an order to stay at his property at all times and to refrain from alcohol and cannabis.

It is the first Canadian case of impaired canoeing.