Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations (SOR/2008-120)

Interpretation

1 The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

electrical propulsion

electrical propulsion means a mode of propulsion provided by a main propelling machinery that is an electric motor powered by electric cells. (propulsion électrique)

engine power

engine power means the engine power, in kilowatts, calculated in accordance with International Standard ISO 8665, Small Craft — Marine Propulsion Engines and Systems — Power Measurements and Declarations, second edition, August 1, 1994. (puissance motrice)

local authority

local authority means a government of a municipality, township, parish, county or regional district, any other government constituted under the laws of a province or territory, or a department of a provincial or territorial government or of the federal government. (administration locale)

Minister

Minister means the Minister of Transport. (ministre)

personal watercraft

personal watercraft means a water-jet driven vessel with an enclosed hull and no cockpit that is designed to be used by one or more persons who are straddling, sitting, standing or kneeling. (motomarine)

power-driven

power-driven means a mode of propulsion provided by a main propelling machinery that is an internal combustion engine or a steam engine. (propulsion mécanique)

provincial authority

provincial authority means a department of the government of a province designated by that government to process requests to impose restrictions on the operation of vessels in respect of waters within that province. (autorité provinciale)

rivers and lakes

rivers and lakes includes all those waters of any river upstream of a line between the most seaward extremities of the shore of the river at high tide but does not include the waters of the St. Lawrence River east of 70°53′ W longitude. (fleuves, rivières et lacs)

Restrictions

Operation of Vessels

• 2 (1) No person shall operate a vessel in any of the waters described in Schedule 1, except as indicated in that Schedule.

• (2) No person shall operate a power-driven vessel or a vessel driven by electrical propulsion in any of the waters described in Schedule 2, except as indicated in that Schedule.

• (3) No person shall operate a power-driven vessel or a vessel driven by electrical propulsion that has an aggregate maximum power greater than 7.5 kW in any of the waters described in Schedule 3, except as indicated in that Schedule.

• (4) No person shall operate a power-driven vessel or a vessel driven by electrical propulsion that has an engine power greater than the maximum engine power set out in column 4 of Schedule 4 in the waters described in columns 1 to 3 of that Schedule.

• (5) No person shall operate a power-driven vessel or a vessel driven by electrical propulsion in the waters described in columns 1 to 3 of Schedule 6 in excess of the maximum speed set out in column 4 of that Schedule, except as indicated in that Schedule.

• (6) No person shall operate a power-driven vessel or a vessel driven by electrical propulsion in the waters described in Schedule 7 for the purpose of towing a person on water skis or on any other sporting or recreational equipment, except during the permitted hours set out in that Schedule.

• (6.1) No person shall operate a power-driven vessel or a vessel driven by electrical propulsion in the waters described in Schedule 7.1 for the purpose of allowing a person to wake surf, except during the permitted hours set out in that Schedule.

• (7) No person shall operate a power-driven vessel or a vessel driven by electrical propulsion at a speed in excess of 10 km/h within 30 m of the shore in the following waters:

  • (a) the waters of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta;

  • (b) the rivers and lakes in British Columbia;

  • (c) Nitinat River and Nitinat Lake, upstream of Nitinat Bar, in British Columbia;

  • (d) the rivers and lakes in Nova Scotia; and

  • (e) Bras d’Or Lake in Nova Scotia, inland of a line drawn between Coffin Point and Red Head in Great Bras d’Or Channel and the inland end of St. Peters Canal.

• (8) Subsection (7) does not apply

  • (a) in respect of a vessel that is operated for the purpose of towing a person on water skis or on any other sporting or recreational equipment, if the vessel follows a course away from and perpendicular to the shore; and

  • (b) in respect of a vessel, if the vessel is operated

    • (i) in rivers that are less than 100 m in width or in canals or buoyed channels, or

    • (ii) in any waters referred to in Schedule 6 in respect of which a maximum speed is set out.

• (9) Subsections (5) and (7) do not apply to a vessel that is required to comply with another speed limit established under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 or the Canada Marine Act.

• 3 (1) Subsections 2(1) to (4) do not apply to

  • (a) a person who occupies a waterfront property that is not accessible by road and operates a vessel solely for the purpose of gaining access to that property;

  • (b) a person who holds a provincial or federal fishing permit and whose livelihood depends on fishing; or

  • (c) a person who is operating a vessel for the purpose of exercising a right recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

• (2) Subsections 2(1) to (5) and (7) do not apply to

  • (a) an enforcement officer acting within the scope of their duties;

  • (b) an employee or agent or mandatary of Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province, or of a county, municipality or regional district, acting within the scope of their duties;

  • (c) a person rescuing someone or preventing damage to property; or

  • (d) a person who operates a safety boat for surveillance, rendering assistance and lifeguarding within the scope of regular activities carried out by a recreational institution or a teaching or racing organization established under provincial, federal or foreign laws.

4 If a local authority seeks, in respect of certain waters, the imposition of a restriction that is of the same nature as a restriction imposed by any of subsections 2(1) to (6.1) and 11(2), the local authority shall undertake public consultations with parties that would be affected by the proposed restriction and submit to the provincial authority in the province for which the restriction is proposed, or to the Minister if no provincial authority exists, a request together with a report that includes

• (a) the location of the waters and the nature of the proposed restriction;

• (b) information regarding the public consultations held, including a description of the groups and parties consulted;

• (c) particulars on the implementation and enforcement of the proposed restriction; and

• (d) any other information that is necessary to justify regulatory intervention.

Signs

5 No person shall place a sign anywhere for the purpose of restricting the operation of any vessel in Canadian waters unless

• (a) the placement has been authorized by the Minister under subsection 6(1) and, except in the case of a sign that provides information with respect to a restriction referred to in subsection 2(7) or section 14, the sign meets the requirements set out in the standard entitled Signage Requirements and Recommendations — Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations, published by the Department of Transport, as amended from time to time; or

• (b) the placement is authorized under an Act of Parliament other than the Canada Shipping Act, 2001.

• 6 (1) The Minister may authorize in writing any person or class of persons to place a sign in an area for the purpose of indicating that a restriction on the operation of vessels has been imposed by any of subsections 2(1) to (6.1) and 11(2).

• (2) The person who places the sign shall

  • (a) bear all costs of construction, placing, maintenance and removal; and

  • (b) maintain the sign, while the sign is in place, in the form required by the standard entitled Signage Requirements and Recommendations — Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations, published by the Department of Transport, as amended from time to time.

• (3) If a restriction in any of the schedules is removed, the Minister shall cancel the authorization and inform the person of the cancellation.

• (4) On being so informed by the Minister, the person who placed the sign shall immediately remove it as well as any support erected for it.

7 A person who is informed by the Minister that the person has placed an unauthorized sign shall remove it immediately.

8 [Repealed, SOR/2023-274, s. 6]

9 [Repealed, SOR/2023-274, s. 6]

10 No person shall

• (a) remove any authorized sign unless the authorization has been cancelled;

• (b) alter, conceal, damage or destroy any authorized sign; or

• (c) use any authorized sign or any support erected for it as a mooring.

Operation of a Vessel for Certain Purposes

• 10.1 (1) The Minister may, after considering the factors listed in subsection (1.1), issue a permit, for a period specified in the permit, that authorizes the person in whose name the permit is issued to operate a vessel in the waters referred to in any of subsections 2(1) to (5) and (7) in a manner that is contrary to those subsections for any of the following purposes:

  • (a) developing aquaculture;

  • (b) conducting scientific research;

  • (c) accessing a historical, cultural, ecological or geological site;

  • (d) educating the public on the marine environment;

  • (e) protecting the environment;

  • (f) supporting the construction and maintenance of infrastructure; and

  • (g) ensuring safety during activities and events other than those referred to in subsections 11(2) and (3).

• (1.1) The factors referred to in subsection (1) are the following:

  • (a) the protection of the public interest;

  • (b) the protection of the environment;

  • (c) the safe and efficient navigation of vessels;

  • (d) the type and size of the vessel to which the permit relates;

  • (e) the intended use of the vessel; and

  • (f) the characteristics of the body of water.

• (2) The Minister shall set out in the permit any conditions that are necessary to protect the public interest and the environment and to minimize risk to the safety of persons and interference with the safe and efficient navigation of vessels.

• (3) The person in whose name the permit is issued shall comply with the conditions set out in the permit.

• (4) The Minister shall cancel the permit in either of the following circumstances and notify the permit holder of the cancellation:

  • (a) the permit holder has knowingly provided false or misleading information to obtain the permit; or

  • (b) the permit holder does not comply with the conditions set out in the permit and the non-compliance interferes with the navigation of vessels or endangers the safety of persons or the environment.

Special Events or Activities

• 11 (1) No person shall hold a sporting, recreational or public event or activity in waters other than those described in Schedule 8 in a manner or at a place that would interfere with the safe and efficient navigation of vessels.

• (2) No person shall hold a sporting, recreational or public event or activity in the waters described in Schedule 8 unless the person is authorized to do so by a permit issued under subsection 12(1).

• (3) No person shall hold, in the waters referred to in any of subsections 2(1) to (7), a sporting, recreational or public event or activity during which vessels would be operated in a manner that is contrary to those subsections, unless the person is authorized to do so by a permit issued under subsection 12(1).

• 12 (1) The Minister may, after considering the factors listed in subsection (1.1), issue a permit that authorizes a person to hold, in the waters referred to in any of subsections 2(1) to (7) and 11(2), a sporting, recreational or public event or activity during which vessels will be operated in a manner that is contrary to those subsections.

• (1.1) The factors referred to in subsection (1) are the following:

  • (a) the protection of the public interest;

  • (b) the protection of the environment;

  • (c) the safe and efficient navigation of vessels;

  • (d) the type and size of the vessels to which the permit relates;

  • (e) the intended use of the vessels; and

  • (f) the characteristics of the body of water.

• (2) The Minister shall set out in the permit any conditions that are necessary to protect the public interest and the environment and to minimize risk to the safety of persons and interference with the safe and efficient navigation of vessels.

• (3) The person in whose name a permit to hold a sporting, recreational or public event or activity is issued and all persons taking part in the event or activity shall comply with the conditions set out in the permit.

• (4) The Minister shall cancel the permit in either of the following circumstances:

  • (a) the permit holder has knowingly provided false or misleading information to obtain the permit; or

  • (b) the permit holder does not comply with the conditions set out in the permit and the non-compliance interferes with the navigation of vessels or endangers the safety of persons or the environment.

• (5) If the permit is cancelled, the Minister shall give notice of the cancellation to the person in whose name the permit was issued.