Canadian Safe Boating Council Annual Symposium

John Gullick

“Boating is the quintessential Canadian summer activity; our role is quite simply to help make it safer,” says Jean Murray, Chair of the Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC).

The CSBC hosts a symposium each year, inviting boating organizations from around the globe to discuss ways to encourage the boating population to enjoy its sport with safety in mind. Over the next two days, the Residence Inn by Marriott in Gravenhurst will be home to close to 100 Symposium participants. This year, the Council is excited to leverage the expertise of boating and boating safety experts from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.  The agenda includes:  

·        An in-the-water workshop on cold water response techniques – vital for the Canadian climate

·        A panel discussion on the trends shaping the future of boating and boating safety

·        Exchanges on best practices and strategies to improve boating safety

·        A presentation on changing boater behaviour by renowned Dr. Philip Groff,                     Vice President of Programs, Parachute – Leaders in Injury Prevention

·        An on-the-water demonstration by Ontario Provincial Police  

An impressive range of boating organizations will be represented, including the Canadian Coast Guard, Transport Canada, Maritime New Zealand, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the Maritime Division of Australia’s New South Wales Transport Department, the United States Coast Guard, and several others. The annual Symposium is an effective opportunity for boating safety experts to examine new ways of promoting safe boating, and exchange best practices.

With the world’s longest coastline and boasting the largest fresh-water lakes on the globe, Canada is not surprisingly a nation of boaters. In fact, according to an IPSOS Reid poll conducted for CSBC in May, some 43% of Canadian adults (or 15 million) went boating at least once last year. Unfortunately, with so many enjoying boating, fatalities do occur - an average of 123 deaths each year from 2005 to 2009. And while the number of deaths has been declining in recent years, each one represents a tragic loss - particularly because so many are preventable. This year alone, 81 people have lost their life while boating  as of Sept. 24.

With its ongoing broadly based efforts to promote public awareness of boating safety practices, the Canadian Safe Boating Council’s objective is to see the downward trend continue.  At the core of its 2012 national safety campaign are five key messages to the boating community:

·         Wear a Personal Flotation Device or Lifejacket

·         Don’t Drink and Boat

·         Take a Boating Course

·         Be Prepared, Both You and Your Vessel

·         Be Wary of the Dangers of Cold Water Immersion

With such efforts, along with measures such as mandatory boater education mandated by Transport Canada, the results are encouraging.

“We are certainly pleased with the success of our boating safety awareness and education campaigns,” notes Ms. Murray.

But with every change in attitude that the CSBC and its partners achieve among the boating community, there are newcomers to boating who do not understand the potential risks and who do not take the steps to ensure that their day on the water is as safe and enjoyable as possible.

“Our challenge remains one of making boating safety practices second nature to all who participate. Our annual symposiums are an excellent opportunity for like-minded organizations and individuals to share ideas and best practices, and seek solutions together, through partnership and collaboration,” Ms. Murray concludes.

The CSBC was established in 1991 as a focal point for collaboration and coordination of efforts between government departments and agencies responsible for recreational boating issues and the many private sector organizations and companies in the recreational boating field. Since that time, the Council has introduced annual safe boating awards, commissioned studies on personal flotation device wear, led annual Safe Boating Awareness Week campaigns across the nation, and most recently promoted cold water awareness training. In 2010, the CSBC launched SmartBoater.ca, a dynamic web site for educators, the media, and the general public containing information about safe and responsible boating. To learn more about the CSBC, visit our website at www.csbc.ca.  

For more information:  

Canadian Safe Boating Council

www.cps-ecp.ca