Transcript
My name is Jean-François Bouchard. I’m a marine safety inspector at the Quebec City inspection office, and I specialize in small vessel oversight.
For as long as I can remember, I have always been interested in drawing ships. So, when I was young, little by little, I did a lot of drawing, a lot of research, and that eventually led me to a naval architecture technology program that, in turn, brought me to my first job as a naval architecture technologist.
So, what does a naval architecture technologist do? Produce plans, analyze vessel stability data, make drawings pertaining to life-saving equipment, fire equipment, and all kinds of other things related to shipbuilding.
At Transport Canada, I got into a field that is more about raising awareness with people who don’t necessarily have all the experience needed when they enter this field of navigation.
For example, we realize when we come to the north, here in Nunavik or even further north in Canada… in those regions, marine transportation has an even more important role because the various northern villages are not connected by road.
As part of my work, I am often called upon to educate people on good practices in marine safety, in the use of safety equipment, and in training as well.
We collaborate a great deal to determine the issues facing the fire departments which are responsible for operating these search and rescue lifeboats, whether it is for training or access to equipment.
So audits are done, of course, but we also try to understand how some things could be improved and how to help do that.
Basically, our goal on these trips is to assess the situation as it is at that time, and then be involved in developing boating safety in all the ways we at Transport Canada can provide support.