I will answer that question.
If I had not had a stability test done on my boat last spring, I could not have gone out to sea. This measure is applied. It is a concrete measure. If my boat had not had a stability test, the inspector would have wharfed me. I have no doubt about that.
Things are different, depending on the class of boat you have. I have a 45-footer, with a GRT of over 15 tons. The boat therefore comes under Transport Canada regulations. I am authorized to sail over 100 miles from the coast. In fact, I can go up to 120 miles offshore. Under current regulations, I can do that provided I have all the safety equipment required, including a life raft, an emergency beacon, a new digital radio, an all other equipment that meets current safety standards.
The stability test was put forward by the Department of Transport. I have a multi-species boat—in other words, I can fish for scallop and groundfish, among other species. Last winter, I received a letter telling me that I had to have a stability test done on my boat, because my boat was part of the class targeted by Transport Canada.
That class also included the boats of clam and shellfish harvesters. In fact, it included any boat that did any trawl fishing and had a load on the bridge or somewhat higher, for example boats on which equipment is lifted using the mast hoist, or that kind of thing. In fact, it included all boats over 15 tons, and all trawlers.