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PREVENTION

Deadline to Obtain your Pleasure Craft Operator Card: September 2009

By the Operator Competency Program Team
Transport Canada, Marine Safety

Transport Canada would like to remind everyone that after September 15, 2009, anyone operating a motorized pleasure craft must carry a proof of competency on board. The Pleasure Craft Operator Card is probably the most easily identifiable proof of competency. Other acceptable forms include: proof of boating safety training prior to April 1, 1999, or a completed Rental Boat Safety Checklist.

The requirement to carry a proof of competency is nearing the end of the program’s ten-year phasing in period. In fact, anyone born after April 1, 1983, is now required to carry proof of competency. Anyone operating a motorized pleasure craft less than four metres (including personal watercraft) is also required to carry proof of competency. September 15, 2009, marks the date by which all operators of motorized pleasure craft must obtain proof of competency, regardless of their age or length of their vessel.

If you haven’t already obtained your Pleasure Craft Operator Card, Transport Canada recommends taking a boating safety course from an accredited course provider. At the end of the course, you will need to pass a knowledge test. A pass mark of 75 percent is required to obtain the card.

While not mandatory, a course is a small investment that has a big payoff in terms of helping you to be more aware of boating safety practices, prevention measures, and practical strategies to reduce risks. Transport Canada has always believed that more knowledgeable and educated boaters on our waterways will lead to declines in the number of boating-related fatalities and the severity of incidents over the long term.

If you already have your Pleasure Craft Operator Card, remember that boating safety is a lifelong commitment. Make it your priority to keep yourself up to date in the very latest in safe boating information; you can even build on your current knowledge by taking further training. For tips on staying safe on the water, or to find out more about how to obtain your Pleasure Craft Operator Card, please visit www.boatingsafety.gc.ca or call 1-800-267-6687.

Update on Safe Boating Guide

The Safe Boating Guide, 2009 edition. Photo Credit: Operator Competency Program Team

Transport Canada's Office of Boating Safety will issue a new edition of the Safe Boating Guide in 2009 to reflect amendments to the Small Vessel Regulations expected to come into force in 2009. The guide has been redesigned and re-written and will feature some new information, including an expanded section on protecting the marine environment. For more information on the Office of Boating Safety, please visit www.boatingsafety.gc.ca.

LISTSERVE

Do you want to keep up to date on recreational boating safety information? The Office of Boating Safety's Electronic Mailing List will keep you informed on important boating safety information.

Sign up for Web site updates so that you can automatically receive current important recreational boating safety information. As information is updated or added to the Office of Boating Web site, an e-mail notice will be sent to you with the link to the change, as well as relevant background information. To learn more or to subscribe to this service, please visit www. tc.gc.ca/marinesafety/debs/obs/news/ mailing_list/menu.htm.

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