Current status: Closed
Open on October, 12, 2023 and will be closed on December, 11, 2023.
The Minister of Transport regulates navigation on Canada’s lakes, rivers and waterways to ensure safe recreational boating and to protect the marine environmentFootnote 1. 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. We do 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.
We recognize that we need to modernize the process for requesting and implementing restrictions under the VORR. We need to simplify the process for proposing a restriction and shorten the time it takes to implement it.
Transport Canada wants to modernize the VORR to make it faster, easier, and more effective for local authorities to implement restrictions.
The proposed intended changes would allow the Minister of Transport to:
- Use “Incorporation by Reference”Footnote 2 to modify the VORR schedules more quickly
- Issue Ministerial Orders for implementing restrictions on pleasure craft activities not currently listed in the VORR, before going through the full regulatory process
Join in: how to participate
- Read our intention paper to better understand how Transport Canada proposes to modernize the VORR
- Register online at Let’s Talk Transportation and share your comments on our discussion questions or upload a document through the Submissions tab.
Who is the focus of this consultation
We want to hear from stakeholders and the Canadian public. Your opinion and feedback are important!
Key questions for discussion
- What do you think about the suggestion of the Minister of Transport using “Incorporation by Reference” to modify the VORR schedules?
- What do you think about the suggestion of the Minister of Transport issuing Ministerial Orders to implement restrictions on pleasure craft activities not currently listed in the VORR?
- How can local authorities have a more direct role in identifying safety and environmental issues on local waterways so that new types of restrictions can be added to the VORR to address these issues?
Related information
Contact us
Transport Canada
Tower C, Place de Ville
Sparks Street
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0N5
Email: MSSRegulations-ReglementsSSM@tc.gc.ca