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| No registration for kayaks & canoes! |
Press Release issued by government of canada on March 18, 2011
Thankfully, after much public outcry this ridiculous idea of registering our canoes and kayaks has been set aside. Never in the history of the Canadian canoe & kayak have they ever required registration. In an ongoing effort to tack extra charges and paper work onto anything that they can get away with the Canadian government tried to tack on a five form registration that required photos, tonnage etc, plus fee of every canoe and kayak used for commercial use.
We all recognize that this would have been a foothold that later would be followed by the requirement of ALL canoes and kayaks to be registered. Thankfully, organizations like Paddle Canada lobbying on behalf of all paddlers to get the requirement changed achieved success. Also, there was a huge public outcry on forums across the internet with comments about the next thing will be running shoe and hiking boot registration.
Hopefully we have seen the end of this but don't sit back and forget about it. The government has a long history of shelving something, letting time pass and dragging it back out again with reasons of why it will work or should work.
I had visions of reading headlines this summer like "Group of canoeists held for questioning after paddling in what seemed like an organized group with unregistered canoes" or "12 year old girl charged after paddling an unregistered swim ring while leading her brother around the pool" (Under those rules anyone leading has to be paddling a registered canoe or kayak)
Careful hikers, cyclists or even those that like hats - anything may be required to be registered under that thought process.
Following is the official release from the Canadian Government.
CALGARY — The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced important changes to Transport Canada’s small vessel registration requirements.
Owners of human-powered vessels, such as canoes, kayaks and small sailing vessels, as well as small vessels with motors less than 7.5 kilowatts (10 horsepower) will not have to register their craft with Transport Canada.
“We do not believe Canadian boaters should face onerous regulations to go canoeing and kayaking, which is why registration requirements for all human-powered vessels, small sailing vessels and small motorized vessels will not be required,” said Minister Strahl.
This registration will continue to be required for commercial river rafts, government vessels and for any vessels where registration is necessary for safety reasons.
For those vessels that still must be registered, Transport Canada is also introducing a new simplified process. For a vessel or a fleet of vessels, Transport Canada will now:
- accept a single application form; and
- charge a $50 fee, valid for five years.
Owners registering a fleet of human-powered vessels must also provide:
- the number, length or approximate length, and type of vessels in the fleet, including the Hull Identification Number (HIN) if available.
Transport Canada must be informed:
- of a change in ownership of a vessel or fleet; and
- if the vessel or fleet has been disbanded.
“What doesn’t change are the safety requirements. Small vessels, such as canoes and kayaks, their owners and users must continue to adhere to all safety requirements under the Canada Shipping Act.” added Minister Strahl.
