Interpretation

1 The definitions in this section apply in these Regulations.

accredited course

accredited course means a series of lessons in respect of boating safety that has been accredited by the Department of Transport under section 6. (cours agréé)

accredited test

accredited test means a test referred to in paragraph 7(4)(c). (examen agréé)

Boating Safety Course Completion Card

Boating Safety Course Completion Card means a card issued, by a person who provided a boating safety course in Canada, to a person who successfully completed the course before April 1, 1999. (carte de réussite d’un cours de sécurité nautique)

candidate

candidate means a person presenting themselves at a test site to take the test or a person taking the test for a Pleasure Craft Operator Card. (candidat)

CCG-accredited course

CCG-accredited course[Repealed, SOR/2007-124, s. 1]

CCG-accredited test

CCG-accredited test[Repealed, SOR/2007-124, s. 1]

course provider

course provider means a person who has obtained the accreditation of a boating safety course in accordance with section 6. (prestataire de cours)

enforcement officer

enforcement officer means

• (a) a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police;

• (b) a member of any harbour or river police force;

• (c) a member of any provincial, county or municipal police force; and

• (d) any person designated as an enforcement officer for the purposes of these Regulations by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. (agent d’exécution)

operate

operate means the action of controlling the speed and course of a pleasure craft. (conduire)

Pleasure Craft Operator Card

Pleasure Craft Operator Card means a card issued by a course provider that attests that the cardholder has received a mark of at least 75 per cent on a test. (carte de conducteur d’embarcation de plaisance)

proof of age

proof of age means a Pleasure Craft Operator Card, birth certificate, baptismal certificate, passport, driver’s licence or other official document that sets out the person’s date of birth. (preuve d’âge)

proof of competency

proof of competency means a Pleasure Craft Operator Card, a Boating Safety Course Completion Card, a rental boat safety checklist, proof of the successful completion of a boating safety course, or a certificate or other document pertaining to boating safety knowledge, as required under section 4. (preuve de compétence)

proof of residency

proof of residency means a passport, driver’s licence or other official government document that sets out a person’s place of residence. (preuve de résidence)

test

test means a boating safety test that meets the requirements of section 7 taken for the purpose of obtaining a Pleasure Craft Operator Card. (examen)

Application

• 2 (1) These Regulations apply in respect of pleasure craft that are fitted with a motor and that are operated for recreational purposes in Canadian waters, other than the waters of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

• (2) These Regulations do not apply in respect of seaplanes.

Prohibitions

• 3 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall operate a pleasure craft unless the person

  • (a) is competent to operate the pleasure craft in accordance with section 4; and

  • (b) has proof of competency on board.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who

  • (a) is operating the pleasure craft under the supervision of an instructor as part of an accredited course;

  • (b) is not a resident of Canada and whose pleasure craft is in Canada for less than 45 consecutive days;

  • (c) was born before April 2, 1983, has proof of age on board and operates a pleasure craft of at least 4 m in length before September 15, 2009; or

  • (d) has proof on board that they hold a MED-A4 certificate or any certificate referred to in paragraphs 2(a) to (s), (z.18) or (z.43) of the Marine Certification Regulations.

• (2.1) No owner, master, operator, charterer, hirer, person in charge of a pleasure craft or person who makes a pleasure craft available for rent shall allow a person to operate the pleasure craft unless that person is a person referred to in subsection (1) or (2).

• (3) A person referred to in paragraph (2)(b) or 4(2)(b) shall not operate a pleasure craft without proof of residency on board the pleasure craft.

• (4) Except where replacing a previously issued card or issuing a card to a person providing proof that they hold a MED-A4 certificate or any certificate referred to in paragraphs 2(a) to (s), (z.18) or (z.43) of the Marine Certification Regulations, no course provider shall issue a Pleasure Craft Operator Card to a candidate unless the provider or their agent has administered a test meeting the requirements of section 7 to the candidate.

Competency

• 4 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person is competent to operate a pleasure craft

  • (a) if the person has received a mark of at least 75 per cent on a test and has been issued a Pleasure Craft Operator Card;

  • (b) if the person had successfully completed a boating safety course in Canada before April 1, 1999 and has a Boating Safety Course Completion Card or other written proof of that completion;

  • (c) in the case of a rented pleasure craft,

    • (i) only for the rental period, if both the person who makes the pleasure craft available for rent and the person who will operate the pleasure craft complete and sign before the pleasure craft is operated, a rental boat safety checklist that contains the information referred to in section 8, or

    • (ii) if the person meets the condition set out in paragraph (a) or (b).

• (2) A person who is not a resident of Canada is competent to operate a pleasure craft if the person

  • (a) has proof of competency as set out in subsection (1); or

  • (b) has been issued a certificate or other similar document by the person’s state or country of residence attesting that the person has acquired the boating safety knowledge required by the state or country.

5 [Repealed, SOR/2007-124, s. 4, err., Vol. 141, No. 15]

Accredited Courses

• 6 (1) A person shall apply for the accreditation of a boating safety course by making a written request and submitting 4 copies of the course to the Department of Transport.

• (2) The Department of Transport may accredit, as an accredited course, a course that

  • (a) defines boating terms and expressions;

  • (b) describes the responsibilities of the operators of pleasure craft, including the requirement to have the appropriate equipment and charts, maps and other documents on board the pleasure craft;

  • (c) sets out safety procedures to be followed by operators and occupants of pleasure craft, including appropriate responses to boating emergencies and other situations;

  • (d) sets out general boating safety knowledge; and

  • (e) reviews these Regulations and the provisions of the following statutes and regulations relating to the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c), as applicable:

    • (i) the Canada Shipping Act,

    • (ii) the Contraventions Act and regulations made under it, as they pertain to contraventions of the Canada Shipping Act and regulations made under it,

    • (iii) the Criminal Code,

    • (iv) the Boating Restriction Regulations,

    • (v) the Charts and Nautical Publications Regulations, 1995,

    • (vi) the Collision Regulations, and

    • (vii) the Small Vessel Regulations.

• (3) The Department of Transport may

  • (a) suspend the accreditation of any boating safety course where the course no longer meets the criteria set out in subsection (2); and

  • (b) reinstate the accreditation where the reasons for the suspension have been remedied.

Test Administered Under an Approved Protocol

• 7 (1) Subject to section 7.1, a course provider or their agent may administer a test only if the test

  • (a) is administered in accordance with the course provider’s test protocol submitted to and approved by the Minister; and

  • (b) meets the requirements of subsections (3) and (4).

• (2) The Minister shall approve a test protocol if, in the Minister’s opinion, it contains procedures ensuring that

  • (a) the identity and age of each candidate are verified;

  • (b) each candidate receives clear instructions, before the test begins, on

    • (i) the maximum duration of the test,

    • (ii) the passing grade, and

    • (iii) the procedures to be followed to complete the test;

  • (c) during the test, no candidate

    • (i) communicates with any person other than the person administering the test,

    • (ii) has access to documentation other than the test and the instructions that relate to it,

    • (iii) copies, removes from the test site or sends to anyone the test or any portion of it, or

    • (iv) consumes alcoholic beverages;

  • (d) the test site is a site

    • (i) that is designated solely for the use of the person administering the test, candidates and, if applicable, agents of the Department of Transport, for the duration of the test,

    • (ii) that is owned, leased, occupied or otherwise controlled by the course provider but that is in no way under the control of a candidate taking the test such as a site that is the residence of a candidate taking the test,

    • (iii) in respect of which the course provider has undertaken to permit access to any agents of the Department of Transport,

    • (iv) that conforms to the description furnished by the course provider in their test protocol, and

    • (v) that, in the case of a test site situated within a space where a commercial or sporting activity occurs concurrently with the test, is delineated by walls or partitions in such a manner that the candidates are incapable of seeing anything outside the test site during the taking of the test except through a window;

  • (e) no candidate may take a test more than once in one day;

  • (f) any candidate who does not comply with the requirements of paragraph (c) is removed from the test site and their answers automatically rejected for that test;

  • (g) the ratio of candidates to persons administering the test shall not exceed 20 to 1; and

  • (h) a copy of the test protocol shall be available at the test site for consultation, including an inspection by an agent of the Department of Transport.

• (3) All tests shall be supervised throughout their duration by the person administering the test and can be provided to a candidate only at a test site and in one of the following formats:

  • (a) in paper format;

  • (b) electronically by computer; or

  • (c) by one of the following means if the candidate is the sole candidate present:

    • (i) in the case of a candidate who does not fluently read English or French or is deaf or mute, by the person administering the test asking the questions orally, if necessary, through a competent and independent interpreter, and

    • (ii) in any other specific case, by any other method of communication that meets the needs generated by a candidate’s documented health problem.

• (4) The following requirements apply to the type of test specified:

  • (a) every test shall be composed of 36 items or questions distributed as follows:

    • (i) 9 items or questions on the matters referred to in paragraph 6(2)(a) and the provisions referred to in paragraph 6(2)(e) that are applicable to those matters,

    • (ii) 9 items or questions on the matters referred to in paragraph 6(2)(b) and the provisions referred to in paragraph 6(2)(e) that are applicable to those matters,

    • (iii) 12 items or questions on the matters referred to in paragraph 6(2)(c) and the provisions referred to in paragraph 6(2)(e) that are applicable to those matters, and

    • (iv) 6 items or questions on the matters referred to in paragraph 6(2)(d);

  • (b) in the case of a test other than one referred to in paragraph (c) and in the case of all tests administered by computer, the items or questions shall be randomly selected from the most recent bank of questions provided by the Department of Transport to course providers who have had their test protocols approved under subsection (2); and

  • (c) in the case of a test accredited before July 24, 2003 and administered by the person who obtained the accreditation or their agent, the test shall not have been altered since that accreditation.

Suspension of Accreditation or Approval

• 7.1 (1) If a course provider issues a Pleasure Craft Operator Card without having complied with subsection 3(4), if a test is not administered in accordance with the test protocol approved under subsection 7(2) and applicable to it or it is demonstrated that a course is being given or a test is being administered to a candidate in such a manner that, on completion of the course or the test, the person’s knowledge of the matters referred to in subsection 6(2) is doubtful, the Department of Transport may do any or all of the following:

  • (a) suspend the accreditation of an accredited course;

  • (b) suspend the accreditation of an accredited test; and

  • (c) suspend the approval of a test protocol under subsection 7(2).

• (2) The Department of Transport shall reinstate an accreditation or approval suspended under subsection (1) if the situation that justified the suspension has been remedied.

• (3)  No person shall administer a course whose accreditation has been suspended or a test whose accreditation or whose test protocol approval has been suspended, except where an accreditation or approval has been reinstated.

Rental Boat Safety Checklist

8 A person who makes a pleasure craft available for rent must include, in a rental boat safety checklist, a statement that they have given to the persons who will operate the pleasure craft information pertaining to

• (a) the operation of the pleasure craft;

• (b) the principal boating safety rules; and

• (c) the geographic features and hazards in the area in which the pleasure craft will be operated.

Powers of Enforcement Officers

8.1 An enforcement officer may, in order to verify and ensure compliance with these Regulations,

• (a) ask any pertinent questions of, and demand all reasonable assistance from, the owner or master, or any person who is in charge or appears to be in charge, of a pleasure craft;

• (b) require that the owner or master or other person who is in charge or appears to be in charge of the pleasure craft produce forthwith

  • (i) personal identification, and

  • (ii) any other document required by these Regulations; and

• (c) go on board any pleasure craft.

• 8.2 (1) Subject to subsection (2), an enforcement officer may, in order to promote public safety or to ensure compliance with these Regulations, direct or prohibit the movement of a pleasure craft or direct the operator of a pleasure craft to stop it.

• (2) Except in an emergency, an enforcement officer shall not, without the prior consent of the person in charge of monitoring marine traffic, give a direction under subsection (1) that would contradict a direction given by that person in respect of a pleasure craft when it is in any of the following waters:

  • (a) the Seaway, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Marine Act;

  • (b) a public port, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Marine Act;

  • (c) a port that is under the jurisdiction of a port authority as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Marine Act; and

  • (d) a Vessel Traffic Services Zone referred to in sections 562.16 and 562.18 of the Canada Shipping Act.

8.3 [Repealed, SOR/2007-124, s. 8, err., Vol. 141, No. 15]

Coming into Force

9 These Regulations come into force on April 1, 1999.