Between a potential long weekend for many, Canada Day and the summer month of July around the corner – the Saskatchewan R-C-M-P are reminding that drinking and boating is punishable under the Criminal Code and that they will be conducting proactive boat patrols and safety checks on Saskatchewan waterways during the summer.

A news release says drinking or having open containers of alcohol on a personal pleasure craft is illegal unless the boat isn’t in motion, the boat is secured and it has a permanent sleeping area, bathroom and kitchen on board. If none of the permanent facilities are on your boat, no one is permitted to consume alcohol on board at any time, regardless of whether the boat has a motor, or not in the case of canoes or kayaks. R-C-M-P officers on police boats can test for intoxication waterside, just as they do with roadside sobriety testing. The R-C-M-P say 60 per cent of fatal boating accidents that happen in Canada each year involve alcohol, cannabis or other intoxicants.