Have your say on Boating Regulations

The Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations: Providing provinces and municipalities with a greater role in managing their waterways

Dec 7, 2023

The Minister of Transport regulates navigation on Canada’s lakes, rivers and waterways to ensure safe recreational boating and to protect the marine environment. Transport Canada officials work with local authorities to address water safety concerns like excessive speed and risks to the environment like shoreline erosion and water quality. Transport Canada does this with measures like restrictions on speed, hours of operation, the type of propulsion allowed to operate, and the type of activities. These measures become part of the Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations (VORR) under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001.

About vessel operation restrictions we may put restrictions in place to:

  • prohibit all vessels
  • limit engine power or type of propulsion
  • impose speed limits
  • restrict towing activities on any sporting or recreational equipment, including wake surfing
  • prohibit a sporting, recreational or public event or activity

These restrictions can:

  • apply at all times
  • apply to certain times of the day, week, month or year
  • target a particular type of craft on a waterway or a part of it, with proper justification

For more information, consult Appendix 4: Types of vessel operation restrictions.

Boating United*: Industry organizations NMMA, which represents the industry on public policy issues, advocating at provincial and federal levels of government to protect the interests of the marine industry and the users of products and CMRA (the Canadian Marine Retailers Association), which brings together the marine trade in Canada’s provinces have created a website called Boating United – www.boatingunited.ca . The site reads “We must encourage Transport Canada to ensure there is a formal consultation process with boaters before any future restrictions are implemented, and we must look for non-regulatory solutions.”  There is also a simplified means to send your input to Transport Canada with an easily complete form equipped with a simple SEND button..

Be sure to have your say before December 11, 2023.

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