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The security perimeter around Parliament Hill on July 1 — and the choking control on access — spoiled Canada Day for thousands of patriotic people.
Five-hour waits, lines that went nowhere, messed-up transit service, not a crumb of food to be had inside. Stories are still being told by the muttering crowds. Seriously, after all that “planning,” what an embarrassment for the city.
But we were kept safe from shifty characters on land, in the sky, in dangerously driven trucks. Or paddling kayaks. Yes, kayaks.
Mark St. Jean, 67, was busted by the police as he paddled his 18-foot sea kayak on the Ottawa River the night of July 1. Like many boaters, he wanted to see the Canada 150 fireworks up close. Instead, police lit his fuse.
St. Jean says he’s waiting for one and possibly two tickets from the unidentified police force that intercepted him at about 10:30 p.m. that evening, finally telling him to get off the water and go home.
“I feel violated.”
He’s particularly upset because he had researched the boating requirements and feels the police misapplied the law. “The police don’t know the law and they’re making me to do things based on law they don’t understand themselves.”
Mark St. Jean wonders why police had to be so heavy-handed with a 67-year-old man in a straw hat.
He’s right. The federal regulations stipulate the paddler — after sunset — must carry on-board a watertight white flashlight, not running lights like power boats use.
According to the “Small Vessel” regulations:
“If every person on board a paddleboat, a watercycle or a sealed-hull, sit-on-top kayak is wearing a personal flotation device or lifejacket of an appropriate size, the paddleboat, watercycle or kayak is required to carry on board only the following safety equipment: (a) a sound-signalling device; and (b) a watertight flashlight, if the paddleboat, watercycle or kayak is operated after sunset or before sunrise or in periods of restricted visibility.”
And so St. Jean, who has been boating all his life and paddling kayaks for about seven years, wore a headlamp over his hat. For good measure, he had a red bicycle-style light flashing from the back of his head.
About mid-river, near a clutch of powerboats by the Macdonald Cartier Bridge, he said he was addressed in French by a female officer. A police zodiac was soon beside him. “The first thing they said to me is, ‘Sir, you’re on the water illegally here at night.’ ”
He attempted to plead his case. They took his name and checked his identity. He said they then focused their attention on the fact he was wearing a belt-style water-ski life jacket, while his approved vest-style jacket was in the rear hatch. Eventually, he put it on but was told he’d be sent a ticket in the mail, with a possible fine of $200.
A lifejacket is shown in the rear compartment of Mark St. Jean’s sea kayak.
He’s also worried he may be cited for the lack of navigation lighting. He’s quite indignant, however, that the officers — only moments before the fireworks began — then ordered him off the water.
“You have to leave now,” he said he was told. “You shouldn’t be out here; look at all these boats, you don’t have proper lighting.”
Because he had launched on the Gatineau River about 500 metres upstream, he crossed the Ottawa and hugged the Quebec shore while the 20-minute fireworks unfolded. He certainly intends to fight any fine, particularly since he had a lifejacket on his boat, just not on his chest.
St. Jean is speaking out because he wants more clarity in how the regulations are worded and presented to boaters. (And he still doesn’t understand why the police had to be so heavy-handed with a 67-year-old man in a straw hat.) Why, for instance, would the police have a different understanding of what “navigation lighting” means for a kayak?
Indeed, here is a response from Paddle Canada: “Unfortunately there is a quite a bit of confusion among Canadians about what safety equipment is required and when for human-powered watercraft such as canoes, kayaks and standup paddle boards.”
A spokesman said the Canada Shipping Act technically does require navigation lights on a sea kayak but the vessels aren’t sold with the lights in Canada. So, in practice, a light with 360-degree visibility is considered sufficient.
“It is our opinion that carrying a directional flashlight or wearing a headlamp at night on a sea kayak is standard industry practice and satisfies enforcement agents of compliance with the regulations in most cases,” wrote digital media manager Adrian Camara.
Up the creek, with a light and a paddle on July 1, an all-Canadian, homegrown security threat.
To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-726-5896 or email kegan@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/kellyegancolumn
查看原文...
Five-hour waits, lines that went nowhere, messed-up transit service, not a crumb of food to be had inside. Stories are still being told by the muttering crowds. Seriously, after all that “planning,” what an embarrassment for the city.
But we were kept safe from shifty characters on land, in the sky, in dangerously driven trucks. Or paddling kayaks. Yes, kayaks.
Mark St. Jean, 67, was busted by the police as he paddled his 18-foot sea kayak on the Ottawa River the night of July 1. Like many boaters, he wanted to see the Canada 150 fireworks up close. Instead, police lit his fuse.
St. Jean says he’s waiting for one and possibly two tickets from the unidentified police force that intercepted him at about 10:30 p.m. that evening, finally telling him to get off the water and go home.
“I feel violated.”
He’s particularly upset because he had researched the boating requirements and feels the police misapplied the law. “The police don’t know the law and they’re making me to do things based on law they don’t understand themselves.”
Mark St. Jean wonders why police had to be so heavy-handed with a 67-year-old man in a straw hat.
He’s right. The federal regulations stipulate the paddler — after sunset — must carry on-board a watertight white flashlight, not running lights like power boats use.
According to the “Small Vessel” regulations:
“If every person on board a paddleboat, a watercycle or a sealed-hull, sit-on-top kayak is wearing a personal flotation device or lifejacket of an appropriate size, the paddleboat, watercycle or kayak is required to carry on board only the following safety equipment: (a) a sound-signalling device; and (b) a watertight flashlight, if the paddleboat, watercycle or kayak is operated after sunset or before sunrise or in periods of restricted visibility.”
And so St. Jean, who has been boating all his life and paddling kayaks for about seven years, wore a headlamp over his hat. For good measure, he had a red bicycle-style light flashing from the back of his head.
About mid-river, near a clutch of powerboats by the Macdonald Cartier Bridge, he said he was addressed in French by a female officer. A police zodiac was soon beside him. “The first thing they said to me is, ‘Sir, you’re on the water illegally here at night.’ ”
He attempted to plead his case. They took his name and checked his identity. He said they then focused their attention on the fact he was wearing a belt-style water-ski life jacket, while his approved vest-style jacket was in the rear hatch. Eventually, he put it on but was told he’d be sent a ticket in the mail, with a possible fine of $200.
A lifejacket is shown in the rear compartment of Mark St. Jean’s sea kayak.
He’s also worried he may be cited for the lack of navigation lighting. He’s quite indignant, however, that the officers — only moments before the fireworks began — then ordered him off the water.
“You have to leave now,” he said he was told. “You shouldn’t be out here; look at all these boats, you don’t have proper lighting.”
Because he had launched on the Gatineau River about 500 metres upstream, he crossed the Ottawa and hugged the Quebec shore while the 20-minute fireworks unfolded. He certainly intends to fight any fine, particularly since he had a lifejacket on his boat, just not on his chest.
St. Jean is speaking out because he wants more clarity in how the regulations are worded and presented to boaters. (And he still doesn’t understand why the police had to be so heavy-handed with a 67-year-old man in a straw hat.) Why, for instance, would the police have a different understanding of what “navigation lighting” means for a kayak?
Indeed, here is a response from Paddle Canada: “Unfortunately there is a quite a bit of confusion among Canadians about what safety equipment is required and when for human-powered watercraft such as canoes, kayaks and standup paddle boards.”
A spokesman said the Canada Shipping Act technically does require navigation lights on a sea kayak but the vessels aren’t sold with the lights in Canada. So, in practice, a light with 360-degree visibility is considered sufficient.
“It is our opinion that carrying a directional flashlight or wearing a headlamp at night on a sea kayak is standard industry practice and satisfies enforcement agents of compliance with the regulations in most cases,” wrote digital media manager Adrian Camara.
Up the creek, with a light and a paddle on July 1, an all-Canadian, homegrown security threat.
To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-726-5896 or email kegan@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/kellyegancolumn
查看原文...
