Your Voice Can Affect Change: Trent Severn And Rideau Input Needed

Canadian Yachting magazine has closely followed the changes in policy/services/fees along the Trent Severn waterway and  Rideau canal waterways that have been legislated over the recent past. It is possible to guess at the ramifications of changes to hours of operation, maintenance crews and other staff and locking fees on both marine-related businesses and boaters alike.  However in order for meaningful change to be affected, the government needs to know exactly what your experience has been.  As a boater on these waterways what have the changes meant to your experience?  Have you changed your boating habits as the regulations of the waterways have gone back and forth?  What are you hearing from other boaters, cottagers, businesses along the waterways?

It is your voices that need to be heard.  What is currently being done well on the Trent Severn and Rideau Canals and what would YOU like to see changed now?  Below are a few suggestions that we have received from interested readers over the past months.  We would love to hear your own experiences and suggestions for making the Trent Severn and Rideau Canals vibrant and sustainable moving forward.   

1.            It would be beneficial to boaters for Parks Canada to increase the hours of operation from Victoria Day to Thanksgiving to 9:00am – 7:00pm daily.

2.            Service levels at the locks should be maintained by eliminating the roving crews at the locks. The service levels at several locks in 2013 were unacceptable due to the roving crews and reduced hours.

3.            Retailers, marinas and all other operators along the canals should be notified of Parks Canada plans for upcoming seasons in advance. This would allow operators to promote the systems in advance and notify their boaters so they have time to plan their activities.

4.            Parks Canada should bring back the advisory committees to improve communications with the operators and users of the systems. 

5.            Parks Canada should consider introducing new boaters to the canals by offering some form of training on how to use the locks.

What other issues have you noticed that  are worthy of discussion?  Please send us your thoughts.
Thank you, Terri Hodgson
Online Editor
thodgson@kerrwil.com