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Navigable Water Protection Act

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image: a couple in a canoe

The Navigable Waters Protection Act (NWPA) protects the public right of navigation in all Canadian waters. It states, “No work shall be built or placed in, on, over, under, through or across any navigable water unless it is approved by the Minister.”

The Navigable Water Protection Program (NWPP) may require work owners to install private buoys or other aids to navigation to mark wharves, marinas, aquaculture areas, water intakes and outfalls, dams, and bridges, etc. According to the NWPA, these buoys must be reviewed and approved along with the work, and must be installed and maintained according to legal standards, or as directed by the Minister.

Mooring Buoys

Transport Canada considers mooring buoys as “works” under the NWPA, since they usually secure vessels in fixed locations (such as docks, piers or wharves), and do not aid or direct mariners.

This means that the placement of a mooring buoy is subject to review and approval under the NWPA, unless otherwise excluded by TC policies and standards. To learn more, please contact your local NWPP office.

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Date modified:
2010-01-18