As of May 1, Parks Canada has banned floating accommodations and other types of vessels from mooring on the Trent-Severn Canal and Rideau Canal without a permit.
This is Parks Canada’s attempt to better regulate floating accommodations, especially in the Georgian Bay area where the crafts have grown in popularity over the last few years. The change was prompted by local concerns over floating accommodations’ environmental impacts from greywater discharge and loose Styrofoam as well as congestion on waterways, and impacts to property owners’ privacy.
The new permit system does not impact vessels that moor at Ontario waterway lock stations or licensed marinas. And shoreline property owners are still able to moor a vessel adjacent to their property without a permit.
Self-propelled vessels, such as canoes and kayaks, are also exempt from a permit, if it’s between the first weekend of April and the first weekend of December, and they stay no longer than 21 days in the same location.
“The new mooring restrictions are primarily to ensure the safe navigation of vessels and to protect our natural and cultural heritage of the Ontario waterways,” Parks Canada says on its website.
For vessels under 3.66 metres (12 feet), Parks Canada charges $11 per foot for a mooring permit. For vessels larger than that, Parks Canada charges $132. The permit, however, is distributed at the discretion of the director of Ontario waterways. This allows the government agency to crack down on floating accommodations.
Parks Canada defines a floating accommodation as:
- a floating building, structure, or thing, or a combination of floating buildings, structures, or things, equipped or useable for overnight accommodation and not primarily designed to be used for navigation, and includes a floating building, structure, or thing, or a combination of floating buildings, structures, or things that
- is primarily designed for or able to be used for residential purposes,
- is a raft, barge, or floating platform that has on top of it a building, structure, vehicle, or thing that may be used for overnight accommodation, camping purposes, or as an outdoor accommodation,
- would reasonably be expected to require towing to be placed on public lands or is placed on public lands by means of towing or any other type of assistance,
- is equipped with jack-up technology or a similar mechanism used to anchor or rise above the surface of the water, with or without spud cans or
- has a floating foundation or a floatation platform, which may include floats constructed of polystyrene, plastic, concrete, or logs and stringers.
According to Parks Canada, when granting a permit, the director considers a vessel’s ability to safely navigate the waterway in addition to its impact on water management, asset management, natural and cultural heritage, public safety, Indigenous rights, and users’ enjoyment of the waterway.
Parks Canada’s permit system also brings the federal agency into alignment with provincial restrictions around floating accommodations. On July 1, 2023, Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry amended its Public Lands Act to prevent floating accommodations from mooring on provincially managed public waterways.
For vessel owners with questions about applying for a Parks Canada mooring permit, they can contact the agency at on-rc-cr.permits-permis@pc.gc.ca.
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