Evidence of meeting #135 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was lake.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Stéphane Lauzon Liberal Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC
Climate change is important to a certain extent, and you've clearly shown us your concern in that regard.
You also talked to us about this famous guide for private boat owners and the regulations governing licencing, among other things.
Were you involved in the process that led to the possibility of amending the regulations under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, with respect to speed control on the water through the installation of beacons?
Mayor, Village of Fraser Lake
No, we've not been approached to do that. That is a great conversation to have, though, because it is something we have seen to be a bit of a problem. As I said, with the reefs, people don't have a clue that they're right in the middle of the lake. They have no clue they're going to hit them, until they hit them.
Now, because of the water levels getting lower, we are really concerned about people speeding. There's drinking on boats. We all know that happens. Let's be honest. We are worried that someone could hurt somebody or hurt themselves. We have seen it already. We've seen dumb things happen. It happens. You can't control that.
Liberal
Stéphane Lauzon Liberal Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC
We could talk at length about drinking alcohol on board a boat. That's not counting the regulations on lifebelts and all the other things that are required to boat safely. I think the responsibility for that should not lie with the municipalities; it should lie with the police. We'll come back to that.
I have a—
October 31st, 2024 / 5:20 p.m.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Philip Lawrence
I'm sorry, Mr. Lauzon.
Is anyone else not getting interpretation?
Liberal
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Philip Lawrence
Yes. I didn't get any of your comments.
You can start again at the beginning of your question, Mr. Lauzon.
Liberal
Conservative
Liberal
Stéphane Lauzon Liberal Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC
I was just saying that water regulations are indeed a concern. Ms. Storey, you mentioned the beverage issue, but there are also all the regulations or laws that allow us to boat safely, whether it's wearing lifebelts or other necessary equipment. It's not up to municipalities to regulate these things. The responsibility for security does lie with the local police. I hope that all organizations will work together to ensure the safety of people on the water. Often, it isn't the boat owners who are put at risk, but rather the other people. So it would be important for there to be more regulation.
Ms. Renaud‑Langevin, you said that the process for obtaining a pleasure craft operator's licence needs to be reviewed. I would like to have a little more detail on that. I must say that I've supported a number of people in this process over the past 40 years, and I find the process quite exhaustive.
How could this process, which I think is simple to apply, be improved? You mentioned that we need more restrictions. Can you tell us more about that?
General Manager, Massawippi Blue
Yes, I'd be happy to.
From a practical standpoint, the process is indeed simple: Within three or four hours, a person can register online with an organization and take the course online, after which their pleasure craft operator card will be sent to them by mail.
I don't know if it's the same for you, but personally, I think it takes more than four hours to learn all these new concepts, whether you're a teenager or an adult. People have to read every single thing in the document more than once to learn it, especially when it comes to things that they won't encounter very often over the summer, unless they're seasoned fishers who go out on the water every morning. Normally, a boater goes out on the water on beautiful weekends, that is to say six to eight Saturdays during the summer. However, they have to remember all the information about buoys and all the rules of navigation based on the types of boats, for example.
I find it hard to believe that you can learn the content of a booklet about two inches thick in just four hours. I think a longer learning process should be put in place. Then, we would have to check the skills of—
Liberal
Stéphane Lauzon Liberal Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC
I don't mean to cut you off, but this guide is available online. When future drivers take a course to obtain their driver's licence, they won't take the course and take the driver's test in the same day. You say there should be more training, but there's nothing stopping a boater from downloading the guide and studying it before taking the training and writing the exam on the same day.
Could it become mandatory, based on your recommendations?
General Manager, Massawippi Blue
It could become mandatory, yes.
Since the test can be done online, you can literally do the test with the guide open beside you. It's as simple as that. So a person may not learn the concepts, but would still pass their test because they can quickly look for the answers in the guide. That's why I say the path is too simple and too easy to access. If we—
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Philip Lawrence
Thank you.
We'll now go to the Bloc Québécois and Mr. Barsalou-Duval.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm going to start with Massawippi Blue.
Several witnesses have told us about the need to have a basic regulatory framework, which would apply broadly everywhere and could then be changed at the local level, by municipalities, as needed.
What I would like to illustrate to the members of the committee is that, in the absence of a process undertaken by a local government, there are no regulations in place.
Do you find it normal that, in most lakes and rivers in Quebec and Canada, without a local government approach, no rules apply when someone gets on the water?
General Manager, Massawippi Blue
I'm not sure I understand your question, Mr. Barsalou-Duval.
However, I can tell you that I don't find that normal. There's never a process to verify the skills and knowledge of a boater when they go on a body of water.
Our organization uses a boat to conduct scientific activities on the lake, such as water removal, and I myself was stopped by an RCM officer. He stopped our boat to check the equipment and so on, but he didn't even check to see if I had my lake user sticker. Even though I had the right to be on the lake, he never asked me about that, and he didn't ask me any questions about environmental rules either.
In my experience, there is no verification process of any kind when someone goes on a lake in Quebec.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Thank you.
It's good that you mention this shortcoming, as few witnesses have talked about the theoretical and practical knowledge that should be verified before granting a navigation permit. It is important for people with relevant knowledge to raise this aspect of the issue.
In your opinion, it is not normal for there to be no verification. What would be the simplest solution to that?
Should the regulatory process be simplified? At the moment, there are no speed limits on bodies of water or limits on the size of boats. That's not what we want.
General Manager, Massawippi Blue
Yes, basic rules should be put in place that would apply just as much to lakes located in the north as to small lakes or rivers located in the south, near major centres. Problems are emerging from all the studies that are common to all types of lakes and rivers where recreational boating takes place.
Simplifying the process is required, but not necessarily in terms of its length. A good job has been done to make the task easier for municipalities. In fact, I want to thank all the stakeholders who helped get this process shortened from seven years to four years.
In my opinion, financial relief could also help municipalities, as they could certainly help facilitate the process.
So we would have to adopt common regulations. RCMs should also be able to make regulations for the management of their bodies of water and the determination of the types of boats that can navigate the lakes, without necessarily doing it for each lake.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
There is a federal grant that local organizations or other groups can apply for to do prevention or awareness related to boating, for example. However, there is no source of funding for buoy installation, among other things. We know that installing buoys is a one-time operation, when regulations are implemented, for example.
In your opinion, should the federal government contribute financially to help cities and towns absorb these costs, which are often significant?
General Manager, Massawippi Blue
Yes, I completely agree with you.
At Massawippi Blue, we're fortunate that we've been able to access that federal funding. We carried out a beautiful two-year project called Intelligent Boating. So we've done a lot of awareness raising. That project has been completed, so we are focusing our awareness-raising activities on enforcement.
A buoy costs $200 to $600, not including the cost of labour. Organizations like ours don't have the money in their coffers to put dozens of buoys on lakes, and I doubt that the RCMs have the financial capacity to do that overnight.
Government funding programs would certainly be welcome.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
How much time do I have left, Mr. Chair?
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
According to witnesses, there should be a rule based on science, such as a rule that would require a minimum distance of 300 metres from the shorelines for wakeboats. However, little has been said about a rule that should apply to other types of vessels.
For example, for a regular boat, so to speak, what would be considered reasonable or acceptable in terms of distance and speed in order to prevent wave damage to the shorelines? I think there's some confusion. People understood that the 300-metre shoreline rule was to apply to all boats.
What would be reasonable for a vessel other than a wakeboat?
General Manager, Massawippi Blue
According to the study we conducted at the request of Transport Canada, regardless of the vessel, when its speed is greater than 10 kilometres an hour, it will generate a wave over a distance of 100 metres. At this distance from the shoreline, a wave can cause shoreline degradation and promote the erosion of riparian lands. In addition, the turbulence caused by the wave will increase turbidity by stirring up bottom sediments.