8 million Canadians defy new boating licence law

8:14 PM Tue 15 Sep 2009 GMT

'Canadian boaters?' .

Canadians have always been thought of as pretty law abiding people, but they are refusing to get a boating licence.

This week the new Canadian boating licence - called a 'Pleasure Craft Operator Card' - became law, and Canadian authorities estimate that 8 million out of a total of 10 million boaters in Canada have failed to take the test and get a licence.

Police say they will be issuing fines for those caught boating without a licence. Basically, if your yacht has an engine, you'll need a licence.

'Unfortunately, the vast majority of Canadian boaters haven't complied with the law,' says Cameron Taylor, president of BoatSmart, whose organisation held a press conference with the Toronto police yesterday in Toronto. 'We estimate that about two million boaters have obtained the card, but another eight million still haven't done it.'

BoatSmart offers an online boating safety course to meet the law's requirements, and study can be done by CD-rom or manual obtained from Boatsmart. The 36-question written examination requires a 75 per cent passing grade.

The Canadian police will be handing out fines as much as C$250 to boaters without the card. 'They are going to see fines,' says Taylor. 'This program has been phased in over 10 years, so it's not just like the government started talking about it a few weeks ago.'

by Sail-World Cruising