It seems the cry's of Canadian Girl Guides and Boy Scouts have fallen hard onto the ears of government officials and Transport Minister Chuck Strahl is advising them to grab their life jackets, go have fun and forget about the paperwork this summer.

An article by Bruce Campion-Smith from www.thestar.com posted on www.paddlecanada.com following-up on a recent article regarding changes to Transport Canada Pleasure Craft regulations that would see the requirement of kayakers and canoers to register/license their vessels.

If you missed the previous article you can read it at www.canoerootsmag.com/blogs/news/1688-register-a-canoe.html.

Here are some points from Bruce's article quoting Transport Minister Chuck Strahl telling people about the "misunderstanding".

OTTAWA—Transport Minister Chuck Strahl has some welcome advice for Girl Guides and Scouts planning summer canoe trips — grab the life jackets, the paddles and forget the paperwork.

Strahl has asked transport officials to review “ambiguous” government regulations that had both youth groups — along with other organizations — worried they were facing a new boat tax and reams of paperwork before heading out on canoe and kayak excursions.

But Strahl says such groups were never intended to get ensnared in Transport Canada legislation and wants the rules clarified in time for the summer boating season.

“Can we make it easy for you to go boating with your Boy Scout group? I’m sure we can and I’ve instructed officials to find a way to do that,” Strahl said in an interview Monday.

The minister was reacting to a Star story last week that highlighted confusing boat regulations that paddling organizations insisted had imposed a federal licence requirement for canoes and kayaks used in “guided excursions.”

According to community experts, the change meant that any canoe or kayak with a guide or leader in it — whether paid or volunteer — would be classed as a commercial vessel and required to be registered with Transport Canada's small vessel register.

That had groups like the Girl Guides and Scouts scrambling to figure out how to meet the demands in time for summer.

Transport Canada officials dismissed the issue as a “misunderstanding.” But on Monday, Strahl conceded that rules were confusing and said non-profit groups fell into a grey zone between pleasure craft and commercial operators.

Read the rest of the article at www.thestar.com.

After reading the article, seems there is alot of side-stepping around the subject and the registration is still in-effect and outfitters, guides and rental companies will still have to register their fleet.

Jim, a reader of the previous article on Canoeroots wrote in our comments section.

What is the real fundamentals behind this for the government?? MONEY! Another disguised tax. Just think about OUR money involved to control boats floating around this country and to check all the forms we'll have to fill. Just try to find the invoice of a boat bought 10 years ago! You can't, you'll have to put your hand on the bible and pay a notary to stamp the damned form.

What about boats bought second hand on the fly? What if, as an instructor, you scrapped your registered boat and have to borrow one wich is not? A fine is wating for him??? What if you change your boat a year after you bought one?? Refill the forms and pay 50$ again?? Can you add boats on a fleet? Will you have to pay every time you add one. Can you sell the registration? Is it following the boat???

This is the same insane government who wanted to drop out the guns registration cause it as to little impact on murders and was to costly to adminsnistrate. What's the impact of an unregistered boat beside not filling the government pocket?? 

This is clearly unmanageable for any SANE administration and will put a lot of a 4 months/year running companies out of their barely rentable businesses, will encourage work under cover, will have clubs and many non profitable organisation to encourage leaderless trips and courses, and on and on and on.... 

Does this government has nothing else to do with our money beside strangling us with so futile and unnecessary rules?

Who will enforce these new rules, issue penalties, follow them? Lets here your thoughts.