Competency of Operators of Pleasure Craft Regulations (SOR/99-53)

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CCG-accredited course[Repealed, SOR/2007-124, s. 1]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CCG-accredited test[Repealed, SOR/2007-124, s. 1]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enforcement officer[Repealed, SOR/2013-234, s. 1]

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; or

  • (c) has proof on board that the person holds a certificate of competency, training certificate, endorsement or other equivalency listed in the schedule.

  • (d) [Repealed, SOR/2013-234, s. 2]

• (2.1) No person in charge of a pleasure craft shall allow another person to operate the pleasure craft unless that other 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 the person holds a certificate of competency, training certificate, endorsement or other equivalency listed in the schedule, no course provider shall issue a Pleasure Craft Operator Card to a candidate unless the provider or their agent has administered to the candidate a test that meets the requirements of section 7.

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 recreational boating safety course in Canada before April 1, 1999 and has a Boating Safety Course Completion Card or other written proof of that completion; or

  • (c) in the case of a pleasure craft rented from a rental agency or from a representative of a rental agency,

    • (i) if the person meets the condition set out in paragraphs (a) or (b), or

    • (ii) if the person and the agency or representative complete and sign, before the pleasure craft is operated, a rental boat safety checklist that contains the information referred to in section 8 and the person operates the pleasure craft only during the rental period.

• (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 that meets the requirements of the person’s 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, 2001,

    • (ii) the provisions of the Contraventions Act and the regulations made under it that pertain to contraventions of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 and the regulations made under it,

    • (iii) the Criminal Code,

    • (iv) the Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations,

    • (v) the Navigation Safety Regulations, 2020,

    • (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 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, on request, 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.