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JOIN US

We need trainers and testing agents in every community across Canada, including areas already listed on our Testing Centres page. If you are interested in supervising exams or in teaching our course, please review the information below and contact us at support@safetyafloat.ca.

About Us

Under its Operator Competency Program the Canadian Coast Guard has approved freecourse.ca as a fully accredited boating safety course provider and has authorised freecourse.ca to train and test boaters and to issue the official Canadian Coast Guard Pleasure Craft Operator Card.

We created freecourse.ca to provide boaters with the most affordable way to write a Coast Guard accredited Operator Proficiency Exam. Our online course and instructional downloads are free. We charge half of what most other course providers charge to write the exam and we provide student support by toll-free phone and e-mail. In addition, we charge only $12.50 to replace lost or damaged operator cards (other course providers charge $25 or more).

Testing

To maintain the integrity of the Coast Guard's Operator Competency Program, all Operator Proficiency Exams must be supervised. Boaters can write the exam under the supervision of a testing agent for a fee of $25. The boater pays the testing fee to the testing agent when the boater writes the exam.

We do not have enough testing agents to meet demand for our services and we need new agents everywhere, including areas already listed on our Testing Centres page. When the boater completes the exam, it is corrected by the testing agent. The exam contains 36 questions of which the student must answer 27 (75%) correctly. If the student passes, the testing agent issues a Temporary Operator Card to the boater and then the corrected answer sheet and a $12.50 processing fee are forwarded by the testing agent to freecourse.ca. Upon receipt of an answer sheet, freecourse.ca reviews the corrected exam, creates a database file, orders an official Canadian Coast Guard Pleasure Craft Operator Card, and forwards the card directly to the boater by first class mail within three weeks. There is no cost to become a testing agent. Individuals who we certify to become testing agents receive our standard testing centre kit. There is no cost for the kit, which remains the property of freecourse.ca.

Training

We do not have enough trainers to meet demand for our services and we are looking for new trainers in all parts of Canada. If you decide to conduct boater safety training in addition to testing, freecourse.ca will provide you with training materials and start-up support. Most of the fees for a course (usually $45 to $50 for the 4-hour course, and $65 to $70 for the 6-hour course) are kept by the instructor (the only fee forwarded to freecourse.ca is our standard $12.50 per card processing fee). There is no cost to join our network as a trainer. Individuals who become approved freecourse.ca trainers receive our standard in-class training kit. There is no cost for the kit, which remains the property of freecourse.ca.

Contact Us

Note: We are often out of the office. The best way to contact us is via e-mail.

Jim Steeves, P.Eng., MBA
Manager - Distance Education
freecourse.ca
565 Edison Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario
K2A 1V5
E-mail: support@safetyafloat.ca
Ottawa and Area: (613) 798-4176 m-f, s, s 17h30-22h30 EST
Outside Ottawa: (866) 729-4521 m-f, s, s 17h30-22h30 EST

Student Support

If you have a question about boating safety, please contact our free student support service at support@safetyafloat.ca.

To Report Web Site Problems

To provide comments or suggestions regarding the content, design, or functionality of our web site or to report problems, please contact our web site developer at webmaster@safetyafloat.ca.

Five percent of our revenues go to organisations that provide child development services, community assistance, and environmental protection (see list).



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