'Floating accommodations' facing restrictions on Ontario’s waterways

Floating accommodations will soon be prohibited from docking overnight on provincial waterways.

The new regulations apply to floating accommodations that are not primarily designed for navigation. These include floating buildings, structures, or things that are equipped for overnight accommodation. For example, things like shipping containers that have been renovated, built on stilts, and cannot move on their own. These regulations do not include watercraft like houseboats.

The change comes into effect on July 1 and is aimed at preserving access to public lands and ensuring fairness for recreational users. The regulation will not impact anyone exercising their right to navigate, including reasonable mooring, or anyone exercising Aboriginal or treaty rights according to a news release.

“We heard a number of concerns about the use of floating accommodations on Ontario’s waterways, including their potential effects on the environment as well as concerns about safety,” said Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources. “With these changes, we are taking action to protect our waterways by preserving access to lakes and rivers, ensuring access for recreational users, and reducing the potential for pollution.”

Floating accommodations, such as rafts and barges, contain buildings or structures equipped for overnight accommodation, but unlike watercraft, they are not primarily designed for navigation.

The regulatory changes follow consultations with the public, boaters, cottagers, municipalities and Indigenous communities which expressed concerns that floating accommodations have a risk of damaging the environment says the provincial release.

"Concerns were expressed that floating accommodations could disturb local fish and wildlife by disrupting the natural environment and increase the risk of pollution from garbage, greywater disposal, and spills."

The changes clarify the difference between floating accommodations and watercraft and only apply to public lands in Ontario. It will not address floating accommodations located on private water lots or on waterways under the jurisdiction of other governments and ministries like portions of the Trent Severn Waterway.

"These changes are essential to protect our waterways that play a vital role as drainage outlets, providing habitat, nourishment, and means of transport to countless lifeforms, offering travel routes for business and recreational boaters, and that create the majestic scenery that is such an integral part of our landscape," says Jill Dunlop, MPP for Simcoe North.