441-01826 (Transportation)

The Government of Canada is attentive to public concerns about floating accommodations on Ontario (ON) waters, and their potential environmental, social, and public safety impacts. Within the rubric of Transport Canada’s (TC) legislative and regulatory mandate, these structures are defined as vessels under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 (the CSA 2001):

A boat, ship or craft designed, used or capable of being used solely or partly for navigation in, on, through or immediately above water, without regard to method or lack of propulsion, and includes such a vessel that is under construction. It does not include a floating object of a prescribed class.

While these floating accommodations often have no means of propulsion, they can be navigated under tow and, as such, are subject to pertinent regulations under the CSA 2001. TC’sregulatoryauthority under the CSA 2001 covers safety equipment, construction, navigation, and environmental protection. The department does not regulate where these vessels can operate, nor the duration for which they can stay anchored or moored in any given location.

Vessels of this nature must meet the requirements of the Small Vessel Regulations and Transport Publication 1332 - Construction Standards for Small Vessels (2010), including having necessary safety equipment and meeting construction requirements. They must also meet the applicable requirements of the Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemical Regulations, under which, for example, the discharge overboard of raw sewage is prohibited.

While the floating accommodations of concern in ON are anchored near shore, independent of shore installations, and capable of navigation (i.e., can be moved to another location), those in British Columbia (BC) that are referenced as “float homes”, and that are not considered vessels, are permanently moored to the dock or shore, dependent on shore services (e.g., electrical power, fresh water, phone, waste management, etc.), and cannot be used for navigation. These float homes are normally located within the confines of a harbour or a marina.

Such accommodations are treated as real estate, built in conformity with the BC Float Home Standard, and overseen by the BC Float Home Committee. Because of their features, these BC float homes are not considered vessels under theCSA 2001. In this regard, the CSA2001and the BC Float Home Standard are addressing different structures.

In June 2023, the ON Government amended Regulation 161/17 (under the Public Lands Act) to prohibit floating accommodations from docking overnight on provincial waterways. The updated regulation clarifies the difference between “floating accommodations” and “watercraft”, applies only to public lands in ON, and does not address floating accommodations located on private water lots or on waterways under the authority of other governments (e.g., portions of the Trent Severn Waterway). The regulatory amendments do not impact TC’s definition of a vessel under the CSA 2001.

TC, Parks Canada (PCA), and the ON Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) each have authorities related to floating accommodations, depending on whether they are secured to a waterbed and/or surface land controlled provincially or federally. TC, PCA, and the ON Government have met on multiple occasions to discuss floating accommodations.

Going forward, TC will continue to work with its federal, provincial, and municipal partners to help ensure safe navigation and environmental protections for ON’s navigable waterways. TC is interested in better understanding the public’s concerns regarding floating accommodations and the long-term anchoring of vessels. TC also hosted an online consultation in fall 2023 to better understand the perspectives of Canadians.

Should those consultations indicate sufficient interest in having an opportunity to restrict long-term anchoring, TC would consider incorporating restrictions to this effect in the Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations (VORR). The VORR provide a mechanism for local authorities and municipal and provincial governments to regulate boating activities on their waters, and delegate enforcement powers to local enforcement authorities. Local authorities submit applications to TC on a regular basis seeking new restrictions. A restriction on long-term anchoring could be added for those instances where the anchoring poses a safety or environmental risk.