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Minister Dhaliwal issues call to action during Safe Boating Week Launch

May 18, 2000

OTTAWA – Herb Dhaliwal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, today launched National Safe Boating Week by calling on all recreational boaters to obtain their pleasure craft operator card and take a boating safety course.

"On average some 200 people die each year as a result of boating accidents. Many of these tragedies are preventable. We believe that boating safety courses can go a long way towards making our waterways safer for all," said Mr. Dhaliwal during the launch ceremony on Parliament Hill.

The annual event was organized by the Canadian Coast Guard and held in conjunction with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police exhibition, Rendezvous 2000. Other Safe Boating events are being staged simultaneously in Washington, D.C. as part of the continent-wide 2000 North American Safe Boating Campaign. The Canadian event brings together a number of key partners in boating safety, including the Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC).

The dominant theme for this year’s event is education, particularly as it concerns young boaters. Currently, all youth born after April 1, 1983, are required to prove operator competency if they are to operate a boat equipped with a motor. Moreover, under new regulations introduced last year, use of personal watercraft is limited to only those 16 years of age or older. Young boaters are encouraged to take a Canadian Coast Guard accredited boating safety course to become better prepared when they go out on the water this summer. Successfully completing a boating safety course is a good way of obtaining a Pleasure Craft Operator Card and proving operator competency under the new regulations. Once obtained, the card is valid for life.

Youth operator competency forms the first of three stages in the phase-in of the regulations.

The second stage begins September 15, 2002, when the operator competency requirement will include all operators of motorized pleasure craft under four metres of length. By September 15, 2009, all operators of pleasure craft equipped with a motor will need proof of operator competency or face a possible fine.

Federal Fisheries Minister, Herb Dhaliwal, launched National Safe Boating Week (May 20-26) on Parliament Hill today, focusing on safety for young boaters. Here, he helps 12-year-old Sea Scout, Marc Dawson, put on a personal flotation device (PFD).