I was lucky enough to have had a parent who cared that I was responsible on the
water, and gave me at least the rudimentary understanding of navigational aids, and encouraged me to be safe and educated about cold
water and its dangers. As a CMRA Volounteer and CPS
Member He taught me how to use a
marine radio and get help If needed. Honestly I can't understand why anyone would want to be out on the water and not know the basics.
Although I thought I knew everything on the test for the PCOC, I took it anyway, and still got a couple wrong, but learned from the experience. I think that the govt was correct in using this softer approach to boater education, ad I also feel that it has been a success in many ways: I have friends older and younger who would never have taken a
boating course otherwise, and they were surprised at the practical value of what they learned. I feel safer on the water knowing that there is a minimum standard for
boating knowledge, established by a qualified body, even if it is just a couple dozen multiple choice questions. It gave Bob Izumi a little more media exposure, and literally hundreds of startup companies a revenue stream, and an excuse to fill up a desk at the
boat show, employing handfulls of young people.
There are always people that are going to be critical over
government decisions. this one was pretty on the up an up, and in the big picture , is pretty irrelevant. Hopefully it saves a few lives, Canadian and otherwise.