New Canadian Safe Boating Council Board elected
At the CSBC’s Annual General Meeting on May 23, 2018, the following slate of Directors and officers was elected:
Chair:
John Gullick
Vice Chair:
Joe Gatfield
Secretary:
Jay Morrison
Treasurer:
Denis Vallée
Past Chair:
Jean Murray
Executive members at large
: Ted Fortuna, Larry Jacobs
Returning Directors:
Mal Blann, Barbara Byers, Rick Cassels, Ted Fortuna, Peter Garapick, Ian Gilson, Ron Kroeker, Bob Minielly, Brenda Reeve, Clara Reinhardt, Steve Wagner, Alain Roy plus above Executive
Ex-officio observer:
Chris Stec, Chair, U.S. National Safe Boating Council
A number of Board members are stepping down this year: Sue Daly, Mike Dean, Robert Dupel, Karen Harrington, Cynthia Hodgson and Michael Vollmer. CSBC Chair John Gullick thanked all the Members of the Board for their contribution over the past year. The CSBC is a volunteer-based organization, and our growth as an influential and successful boating safety organization is thanks to the hard work and dedication of our Board, Committee Chairs and project leaders.
The CSBC is always looking for new volunteers and organizations to be involved in our work. If you are interested making a contribution as a member of the CSBC Board, please contact John Gullick, CSBC Chair, or Jean Murray, Nominating Committee Chair.
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Michael Vollmer presented with CSBC Milestone Award and Distinguished Service Citation
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On May 22, retiring CSBC Director Michael Vollmer was presented with a CSBC Milestone Award and Distinguished Service Citation by John Gullick:
In grateful recognition of your 28 years of distinguished volunteer service as a CSBC
Director (1990-2018), and your substantial contributions to CSBC business practices, ethics, trademark protection and other legal issues and government relations
Michael was ‘in at the beginning’ as one of the founding signatories when the CSBC was created in 1990, and since that time he has been a steady, knowledgeable and committed presence in guiding the organization through its evolution to its current leadership role in boating safety in Canada.
Mike has led a number of specific projects to advance the organization’s maturity and sound business foundation: the Business Practices Review, the CSBC Ethical Guidelines and their application, and the protection of the CSBC’s intellectual property. Over very many years he has worked quietly and tirelessly behind the scenes to make a substantive difference, persisting through administrative, procedural and practical obstacles, applying his superb organizational skills, incisive analysis and sound judgment.
Michael also put his professional naval architecture background and his in depth knowledge of marine safety to the service of the CSBC, leading input into regulatory development, chairing Transport Canada’s Ontario Recreational Boating Advisory Council and advocating on boating safety issues when the Office of Boating Safety was first established, and in recent years when it went through major organizational changes. Simply having Michael on the CSBC Board has added to the strength and credibility of the organization with outside agencies.
CSBC Chair John Gullick has now appointed
Michael Vollmer as a Director Emeritus of the Canadian Safe Boating Council, for the purpose of continuing to chair the Business Process Committee, to act as the CSBC`s Law Officer and to act as the
CSBC`s
Rules & Ethics Councillor.
The CSBC has been very fortunate to have someone of Michael’s ability and stature as an active volunteer for so many years – we are deeply grateful for his contribution, and hope he will continue to be part of the CSBC family for many years in the future.
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CSBC Participates in Swim Day on Parliament Hill
By CSBC Secretary Jay Morrison
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On May 9, the CSBC participated in Swim Day on Parliament Hill along with the Red Cross, the Royal Life Saving Society and other organizations dedicated to fitness and water safety. CSBC Chair John Gullick said a few words about the work of the CSBC and CSBC Secretary Jay Morrison managed to slip his Stearns inflatable PFD onto Olympian and Senator Nancy Greene-Raine, champion of Fitness Week. The Senator seemed quite taken with what for many people is a new PFD design, keenly examining both the CO2 cartridge and oral inflator systems. Almost all of the speakers mentioned the importance of wearing PFDs and virtually everyone wore one for the cameras. The message is getting through!
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Fishing is one of Canada’s favourite pastimes, whether from land or on the water. Amazingly, just under 50% of all boats sold in Canada are purchased with fishing as the main use of the boat.
With these numbers of boats primarily being used for fishing, it only stands to reason that boating-related fatalities among recreational anglers constitute a significant portion of the average 130 drownings each year in Canada. Part of that reason is those who fish often don’t consider themselves boaters and, as such, don’t have boating safety top of mind when they are on the water.
The Canadian Safe Boating Council has taken up the challenge to reach this group and, during National Fishing Week, June 30 - July 8, will promote our angler-focused boating safety program “Hooked on Lifejackets”.
Now in its 6
th
year, ‘Hooked on Lifejackets’ focuses on promoting the most basic of safe boating behaviours and one that has the greatest potential to save lives… even with those who fish…wearing a lifejacket.
Partnerships have been created with Provincial and Territorial Hunting and Fishing Associations who together with the CSBC, are promoting boating safety as an important part of getting out onto Canadian waters to fish. Provincial Conservation officers are also aboard with the program and promoting boating safety not just during National Fishing Week but throughout the year.
An extensive media alerting program is planned, and a collection of print / broadcast ready materials has been created, including an article and print, radio and social media advertisements. Each promotes boating safety, with a focus on those who use their boats to fish. All the materials are
available on the CSBC website
and are easy to download and use in CSBC members’ newsletters and other outreach.
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New CSBC Northern Ambassadors – SAR Smart Project approved
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The CSBC has recently been notified by Public Safety Canada that our proposal for the
Northern Ambassadors – SAR Smart project has recently been approved for funding under the Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund. Northern Youth Ambassadors - SAR Smart is a two-year, two-part program that will deliver boating safety and critical SAR Awareness information to indigenous youth and others in Northern communities across Canada. It will build on the CSBC’s successful first-year experience with a three-year NIF funded project, Operation Life Preserver.
Part One will educate Junior Canadian Rangers (JCRs) about SAR Awareness and equip them with personal lifejackets at their annual Basic and Advanced / Enhanced Training Session (ETS) Camps. Junior Rangers
are girls and boys, aged 12 to 18, who are involved in outdoor pursuits like boating, hunting and fishing, and who live in remote and isolated areas of Canada served by the Canadian Rangers. There are currently about 3,400 youth participating in over 125 patrols.
Each summer approximately 900 JCRs come together at ETS Camps in five locations and learn to safely work and play in the North. Leveraging the educational elements of Operation Life Preserver, Northern Youth Ambassadors - SAR Smart will deliver SAR Awareness information to JCRs as part of their camp experience.
The information will focus on four main topics critical to survival in the north: Cold Water Awareness, Lifejackets, Vessel Re-Boarding and the importance of leaving a Trip Plan.
This education will provide JCRs across the country with the knowledge they need to survive and self-rescue in the event of a boating accident and help reduce the risk of their becoming the subject of a Search and Rescue mission.
The core components will include learning the importance of this critical survival tool (their lifejacket), demonstrating how to take care of it, understanding how it will take care of them and enabling participants to get familiar with their own personal piece of survival equipment through on-water time at the camp.
Part Two to teach them the skills to help others in their communities, JCR camp participants will also be given an additional lifejacket at the end of the camp to take back for a family member. By empowering the JCRs with safety knowledge, their own personal lifejacket to keep them alive and one for a family member, they will be able to confidently return to their communities, pass on the knowledge – and a lifejacket – and become SAR Smart Northern Youth Ambassadors in their community.
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The annual camps also include an advanced Junior Canadian Ranger training component for the more experienced JCRs (Advanced ETS). Those attending the advanced training will be provided with a briefing about the overall Operation Life Preserver project recently launched in some Northern communities, some train-the-trainer information, and some education tools and community contacts to enable them to participate in the ongoing OLP program in their own communities.
The Northern Ambassadors – SAR Smart project will be rolled out at the Junior Canadian Rangers camps in the spring/summer of 2018, and continued the following year.
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The CSBC greatly appreciates the partnership we have developed with the Canadian Rangers in bringing boating safety and SAR prevention initiatives to Northern communities.
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CSBC Symposium in Victoria, B.C. October 4 - 6, 2018
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Exciting international speakers have been confirmed for the CSBC Symposium in Victoria! Come and hear about boating and water safety initiatives from:
- John Leech, CEO, Irish Water Safety
- Baz Kirk, National Advisor Industry Support, Maritime New Zealand
- Peter Hopkins, Manager, Recreational Boating, Marine and Safety Tasmania
- Peg Phillips, Executive Director, National Safe Boating Council, United States.
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As you are out on the water this summer, keep your eyes open for someone who is making a significant contribution to boating safety – an individual, a group or an organization.
Nominate them for a Canadian Safe Boating Award
, and save the date of the CASBA Awards gala on January 13, 2019 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.
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These newly published Regulations:
- address the safety equipment requirements for stand-up paddleboards;
- reduce the carriage requirements for pyrotechnic visual distress signals (flares) in certain circumstances; and
- close a loophole in the pleasure craft licensing process that can result in out-of-date licence information.
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