Safety on the Water

Boating in Canada

Safety Equipment Requirements
Foreign pleasure craft (pleasure craft that are licensed or registered in a country other than Canada) need to comply with equipment requirements of the country in which the vessel is usually kept.

If you are not a resident of Canada and are using a pleasure craft licensed or registered in Canada, all of the required safety equipment must meet Canadian safety requirements. However, you may opt to bring your own PFD for your own personal use.

For more information, consult the Small Vessel Regulations.

Alcohol and Boating
Driving Under the Influence
Boating while impaired is an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada.
Operators with more than 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood are liable to the following fines:

•1st offence : at least $600 fine
•2nd offence : at least 14 days of imprisonment
•3rd offence : at least 90 days of imprisonment
The maximum sentence may vary depending on provincial statutes.

Consumption of Alcohol
In most provinces: Alcohol may be consumed on board the pleasure craft only if it meets all of the following conditions:

•The vessel has permanent sleeping facilities
•The vessel has permanent cooking facilities
•The vessel has a permanent toilet
•The vessel is anchored or secured alongside a dock
Check with the appropriate provincial authorities (OPP for Ontario, SQ for Quebec, RCMP for all other provinces and territories) for carriage restrictions.

---------------------------------------------
New Rules For Ontario Impaired Boating
July 3, 2006

A conviction for impaired driving of a motorboat in Ontario will now result in the suspension of your driver's licence. The Ontario government on June 22 amended the law to extend the penalties for drunk driving on the road to boaters convicted of driving while impaired or with excess alcohol.

As a result, a first conviction for impaired boating will result in a one-year suspension of your driver's licence. To get your licence reinstated you will have to pay $150 and enrol in the Ministry of Transportation's Back on Track driver rehabilitation program (cost: $503.50). And when you're licence is reinstated, you'll have to use an ignition interlock device in your car for at least a year (cost: over $1,000).
Criminal Code penalties, including jail and fines, will continue to apply to those found guilty of driving a motor boat while impaired.

Immediate licence suspensions kick in Under the new amendments, the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario also now authorizes marine police to suspend your driver's licence for 12 hours if you blow between 50 and 80 mgs in 100 ml of blood, that is under the legal limit. If you blow over 80 mgs, your licence will be suspended immediately for 90 days.

The latest amendments add to provincial laws that already restrict the combination of boats and booze. Under the Liquor Licence Act of Ontario it is an offence to consume alcohol in a moving boat (including sailboats and canoes) unless a licence or permit allows you to do so. Without a licence or permit, you cannot consume alcohol on a boat even if it's stationary unless the boat has permanent sleeping accommodation and permanent cooking and sanitary facilities. It also must be at anchor or secured to a dock or land and the public must not be invited or be permitted access to it.

Unless you have a licence or permit, it is illegal to carry alcohol on a boat unless it is sealed or stowed in a closed container.

Home Page