CSBC Newsletter                             August 2016
Message from the Chair
At the time of writing this the summer is half over and I am sure that many of us, despite the unusual weather across the country, have been enjoying numerous boating activities. I live close to the Lakefield lock north of Peterborough and have had a number of opportunities to talk with boaters, many of them Americans, who are staying overnight. It never ceases to amaze me how much our U.S. visitors appreciate their boating experiences in Canada. They love our canals, lakes, rivers, small towns and the people that they meet and they often say that they just do not have the same quality experiences back home.
 
Canada is such a great place to live and enjoy activities on our abundant waters. All I can say is congratulations and thank you to all of you who work so hard as paid staff and volunteers to make our waters as safe and enjoyable as possible.
 
Speaking of our American friends I have just received some very sad news.
 
John M. Johnson, CAE, Executive Director & CEO of the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA), has just announced the following:
 
"Despite efforts over the last three years to preserve its flagship magazine Small Craft Advisory (SCA) amidst deep, ongoing cuts in Coast Guard grants, as the result of an unprecedented 60% reduction in the annual Partnering Grant totaling more than $400,000, the NASBLA Executive Board recently adopted a revised operational budget which will eliminate SCA effective immediately." 
 
The "Small Craft Advisory (SCA)" has been recognized as the singular voice of the recreational boating community and the state boating safety programs in the U.S. for more than 30 years. Many of us in Canada have been avid readers of the SCA.
 
John goes on to point out that: "The award-winning, NASBLA magazine has made important contributions to recreational boating safety and to advancing the States' public policy agenda. Over the last three decades, SCA has played a pivotal role in not only communicating, but also illuminating the stories behind policy decisions - stories about people and programs that have shaped our understanding of the challenges facing boating safety, as well as the initiatives we have taken to address those challenges."
 
We who work in recreational boating safety here in Canada will also miss the stories and contribution to boating safety that this great publication has provided.
 
Thank you to the folks at NASBLA and the dedicated SCA staff who made the SCA possible.

John Gullick
CSBC Yellowknife Symposium

Have you registered and made your hotel bookings for the CSBC Symposium in Yellowknife yet? Join us from September 22 - 24, 2016 at the Explorer Hotel, and participate in a full program of presentations and discussions about the special challenges of boating safety in the North. We're looking forward to welcoming you! Click here for details. 
Canadian Safe Boating Campaign 2016  

Safe Boating Awareness Week Toronto kick-off event in front of Toronto Police Marine Unit
With summer in full swing, the CSBC Boating Safety Campaign is well underway! Earlier in the season,  the first ever Cold Water Awareness Campaign was launched with a media release, ads and articles, promoting the risks of cold water and how to be better prepared for an accidental cold water immersion. This campaign, which rounds out the CSBC's season-long boating safety features, will be ramped up in the coming years with increased media coverage and social media promotion to the public.

National Safe Boating Awareness Week ran from May 21 - 27, 2016 with kick-off events being held in Halifax, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
Vancouver's Ready, Set, Wear It! event during the Safe Boating Awareness Week Launch
Each event was well represented by CSBC partner organizations that were on hand to present their organizations' messages about boating safety to the media. This year's event included media attendance by CBC TV & Radio, CTV, Global, Fairchild TV, Boating Business, The Haligonia and CKWX Radio. Additionally, Canadian Tire promoted the week in their national flyer with a print run of 11 million copies circulated nationwide. This is a first, and extends our boating safety messages further than ever before!

Hooked on Lifejackets, the third of the campaign activities, ran from July 2 - 10. In addition to major national media releases on the importance of wearing a lifejacket, nearly every provincial and territorial angling and hunting federation partnered with the CSBC to issue a joint media release promoting the campaign. These organizations have also carried information on their social media platforms to further the reach of the CSBC's important boating safety messaging.

As part of the overall campaign, in partnership with the Canadian Rangers, the CSBC is working to increase lifejacket wear in the north, and an educational campaign is being developed to be introduced through the Canadian Ranger 3rd Patrol Group for Ontario in 2017. 

Building on the success of the Boat Notes informational pamphlet, the CSBC is currently creating a new APP to help ensure boating safety information is only a click away, no matter where you are! The Boat Notes APP is slated for launch early in the new year, and will be made available to boaters as they prepare to head out onto the water for the 2017 boating season. This new APP will be followed by i-Boat Notes, a comprehensive mobile enabled site that will consolidate, house and offer much of what is currently available through a variety of CSBC educational sites, specifically SmartBoater.ca, all in one place.

There is still more to come with this year's National Safe Boating Safety Awareness Promotion Campaigns, so be sure to stay in the know, be informed and remain connected with the CSBC's Boating Safety Campaign; follow CSBC Boating Tips on Twitter and Instagram, like us on Facebook and subscribe to the YouTube channel!  
Have You Spotted a Safe Boating Hero?
This summer has been a great season for boating - of course, for most of us, every summer is a great season for boating! As you're out on the water, have you spotted a safe boating hero - a person or an organization that deserves to be nominated for a Canadian Safe Boating Award (CASBA)? If so, we welcome your nomination - it's never too early. And if not, keep your eyes open and send in your nominations anytime between now and November. Categories include Stearns Best Boating Safety Initiative, Ontario Power Generation Rescue of the Year, Top Volunteer Dedicated to Boating Safety, and many others. The awards ceremony will be held in Toronto on January 22, 2017 - why not plan to join us? Click here to make your nomination.
Red Cross 2016 Flotation Report
With thanks to Shelley Dalke and Clara Reinhardt of the Red Cross. Clara was elected to the CSBC Board in May 2016. This article is one of an occasional series highlighting the CSBC Directors' involvement in boating safety. 

A report released on June 6, 2016 by the Canadian Red Cross found that males account for 93% of boating-related deaths. The Flotation Report, a study based on 20 years of research, reveals the absence of a personal flotation device (PFD) as the recurring factor in these deaths.

"In a  20 year period there were an alarming 10,511 unintentional water-related deaths in Canada," said Shelley Dalke, Director of Swimming and Water Safety at the Canadian Red Cross. "We know over 50 per cent of these tragic fatalities could have been prevented with the use of lifejackets, and yet over two decades of researching water-related deaths, we found that many victims continue to choose not to wear a lifejacket."

Drowning costs us more than lives:there is a large economic impact to the family and to Canadian society as a result of drowning. The average estimated cost of one drowning death is $2 million. Cost-savings from effective PFD use through legislation, enforcement and general public adherence has the potential to not only save lives, but also save $200 million per year.

Other report findings include:
  • 77% of boating deaths occurred during recreational activities like fishing, powerboating and canoeing - capsizing and falling overboard are the most frequent incidents
  • Between 50-85% of boating-related fatalities could have been prevented by wearing a PFD.
  • For boating immersion deaths during recreation and daily life:
    • At least 34% of inexperienced boaters, 33% of occasional boaters, and 22% of experienced boaters did not have a PFD in their boat, which is a legal requirement in Canada
    • Remarkably, only 4% of non-swimmers compared to 13% of strong swimmers who drowned were properly wearing a PFD
    • Alcohol was present or suspected in at least 43% of deaths among Canadians over 15 years old. Individuals who were above the provincial or territorial blood-alcohol limit were four times less likely to wear a PFD than those with no alcohol involvement
    • Proper  lifejacket use was five times lower among Indigenous people who died, and Indigenous incidents more frequently involved multiple victims, including women and children
    • Over a third (38%) of child boating victims were Indigenous and none of these children were wearing a lifejacket or PFD when they drowned.
Click here to read the full report. 
Review of the Navigation Protection Act
On June 20, 2016, a review of environmental and regulatory processes was launched by the Government of Canada. The review of the Navigation Protection Act is one part of a broader strategy to review legislation and processes that apply to resource development and infrastructure investment projects, including the Fisheries Act and federal environmental assessment processes. The review will focus on the following components: rebuilding trust in environmental assessment processes; modernizing the National Energy Board; and, restoring lost protections and introducing modern safeguards to the Fisheries Act and the Navigation Protection Act.  With respect to the Navigation Protection Act component, the Minister of Transport is asking a Parliamentary committee to examine the Act and make recommendations. For more information, visit the webpage for the Review of Environmental and Regulatory Processes.The Navigation Protection Act review team can be reached at NPPHQ-PPNAC@tc.gc.ca. 
In brief
The SARSCENE Conference will be held in Edmonton, Alberta from October 15-17, 2016. Click here for more information.

The Marine 17: Boating for the Future Conference will be held in Sydney, Australia from July 29 - August 1, 2017. For more information click here. 

Our CSBC Newsletters and News Splashes were relaunched in January 2015, and we hope you enjoy them. This is the team that brings them to you: CSBC Directors Jean Murray (Editor) and Cynthia Hodgson (Constant Contact composition and distribution), and contracted translator Gaetan Chénier of Transpositions Registered (gaetan@transpositions.qc.ca). 

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