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Prohibitions Against Careless Operation

The Canada Shipping Act, 2001, Small Vessel Regulations, prohibit the careless operation of a vessel. This means no person shall operate a vessel in a careless manner, without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons.

Unfortunately, many municipalities and communities are unaware of this regulation and how it may help them deal with problematic behaviours. That is why the Office of Boating Safety has produced the following document, "Warning! Careless Operation"* (PDF File, 33.7 KB), and encourages you to reproduce it and post it in key areas such as boat launches, around waterways and marinas. Experience tells us that simply displaying information in a strategic place is a good deterrent. Potential offenders also know that police forces are more likely to enforce the law when they know that boaters really have no excuse for not being aware of it.

To help you cover the cost of production of these signs, you may wish to consider soliciting sponsorships from various organizations, corporations and local businesses and posting their logo on the bottom of the sign.

* To access the Portable Document Format (PDF) version you must have a PDF reader installed. If you do not already have such a reader, there are numerous PDF readers available for free download or for purchase on the Internet:

To order this document by e-mail, contact us at: marinesafety-securitemaritime@tc.gc.ca

Date modified:
2010-08-03