September 30, 2025

Regular readers of Boating Industry Canada News Week Digest know that we are concerned about the loss of options for boaters to dispose of their expired Distress Flares.

Regulations in Canada require owners of many boats to carry distress flares. Across Canada there are marine chandleries and other retail outlets who accept expired flares for disposal, often when customers are purchasing fresh flares. Distress flares have expiry dates marked on them and beyond those dates, flares can start to “weep” dangerous chemicals. The older the flare, the more unstable it becomes.

Unfortunately, many boat owners still have expired flares on their boats, stored in garages and even in their homes. It’s impossible to estimate how many expired flares are out there across Canada, but it’s a big number.

In recognition of this and because these distress flares require proper safe disposal, Transport Canada previously had provided funding for a Distress Flare Disposal program. The program was delivered nation-wide through the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons, now called CanBoat. This volunteer organization has trained many of their members in how to safely handle and transport expired distress flares. CanBoat has held many flares disposal days in locations all across Canada, and in both official languages too.

Recently, the CanBoat Distress Flare collection days have gathered in an estimated 300,000 expired flares. There may be far more than that still out there on boats and in homes.

This past summer, CanBoat received no funding from Transport Canada. That grant money was provided to other programs and so, on a one-time only basis, CanBoat tapped their CPS Foundation resources to fund the 2025 Distress Flare collection program but there are not resources to continue that.

CanBoat is applying for Transport Canada funding to again hold the nation-wide Distress Flare collection days but we need your support to emphasize to Transport Canada that this program deserves funding.

We have drafted a form letter that you can download and send to The Honourable Steven MacKinnon Minister and Transport Canada requesting that the funding be reinstated for the coming year.

Please take a few minutes to do this now. The grant application is going in soon and there will be other requests for Transport Canada support. Big numbers speak loudly. Every letter and email counts.

Here is the letter. Please send this today. Thank you!