Drunk Canoeing? A Canoe Is Now Considered a 'Vessel' In Canada

It stirred up quite a controversy last October when Canada looked to remove ‘drunk canoeing’ as an impaired offence. This morning in Oshawa, Ontario Justice Peter West declaimed that yes, a canoe is a vessel under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Sadly this relates to an ongoing court case where David Sillars, 39 of Etobicoke is facing charges of impaired operation of a vessel causing death of eight year old Thomas Rancourt after a canoe he was in, had capsized on the Muskoka River at High Falls in Bracebridge.

Previously, the Criminal Code of Canada didn’t specify whether a water vessel (more specifically, one that is propelled by muscular power) can be considered when dealing with impaired driving laws relating to motorized vehicles.

Sillars now faces four criminal charges.