Young boaters have been targeted as Canada attempts to make its waters safer under a federal government licensing program, effective Jan. 1 of next year.
Under the new regulations, everyone under the age of 16 will be required to obtain a licence to operate a motorboat on Canadian waters.
The new law aims to improve operator proficiency, and reduce waterway accidents by young boaters–and inexperienced adults–who have access to motorboats.
Current estimates indicate Canadians own more than 2.6 million pleasure boats and as many as eight million are involved in recreational boating every year.
The regulations also will affect those operating personal watercraft, which have become a cause for concern in recent years.
The Canadian Coast Guard records at least 200 deaths and more than 6,000 non-fatal accidents involving small boats. But in fact, those numbers may be higher because accidents go unreported in many cases.
The new regulation no doubt will have an affect on people from Northwestern Ontario, who frequently spend their weekends in the summer months out on the lakes.
But Jerri McDougall of Morson, who sits on the National Recreational Boating Advisory Council, said Monday she has not heard of any intention of passing this new law and had no “inclination” it was going to Cabinet.
In fact, she was surprised by the news and admitted she wasn’t at all pleased with the new regulations, saying it doesn’t target the real problem of boating mishaps.
“The statistics show the two major causes [of accidents] on the water are alcohol and people in small boats who don’t have lifejackets,” offered McDougall, who has sat on the federal advisory committee for the past 19 months.
“If they really want to check safety, they should get enforcement people out on the water. Proficiency is not the problem–booze is,” she argued.
“It’s not right that they’re targeting kids, when the [statistics] say males typically ages 17-35 tend to be the problem,” echoed Pat Howard, who sits on a provincial advisory committee.
What has been passed, McDougall said, is a law requiring all boats to be equipped with a Canadian-approved lifejacket for each passenger on board.
That new law will come into effect by 1999.
But Garth Stromberg, outfitting manager at Canoe Canada Outfitters Inc. in Sioux Lookout, said the new lifejacket law won’t affect their business because they have always supplied their customers with adequate safety devices.
“It [the new law] might have posed a problem for those who didn’t supply the pfd’s, but for us it won’t affect us because we’ve always provided safety for our customers.
Among the changes:
•No one under 16 will be allowed to operate personal watercraft alone, and all powerboat operators under 16 will have to take proficiency exams before the end of next year and carry certificates;
•It will be illegal for anyone under 12 years of age to drive a boat equipped with more than a 10-h.p. motor. Those between 12 and 16 would be limited to boats with a maximum of 40 h.p. (most personal watercraft range from 60 to more than 100 h.p.)
And while young boaters will be the first to be targeted, the program will be expanded to include everyone up to the age of 55 over the next 10 years.
Anyone aged 55 or older when the regulation takes effect will be exempt.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
