A tragedy.  And my thoughts and prayers go to the family.

But the mother (whose child was unharmed) in this story needs to explain why she only had a "vague" idea of what the trip was about. If my kids are going to overnight camp, I sure as heck know the details.  And poor or not, a parent in Canada has all kinds of opportunity to have their kids learn how to swim.  My guess is that the teachers were trying to expose these kids to a larger world - to expand their horizons.  To suggest that the teachers are negligent suggests that parents have no responsibility to ensure that their children have basic life skills.  Why is it always society's or government's fault?