Safeguarding Canada’s Waterways Together
- Our Role
Safeguarding Canada’s Waterways Together
As Canada’s leading marine safety advocacy organization, we serve as the vital link between recreational boaters, commercial operators, and community stakeholders. Through our comprehensive three-pillar framework — public education, safety awareness, and industry accountability — we uphold the highest standards of boating safety, promoting secure and responsible waterways for all.
As trusted partners, we support initiatives that enhance safety, awareness, and compliance within Canada’s marine community. Our specialized programs include certification, safety audits, public reporting channels, and data-driven monitoring of industry practices, ensuring transparency and accountability.
By aligning with national safety priorities and industry best practices, we deliver measurable impact by raising awareness, reducing risks, and fostering a culture of responsibility across Canada’s waterways.
Our mission is to build a culture of safety, awareness, and proactive risk reduction, working in alignment with federal regulations and community partners to protect lives, property, and our marine environment.
- Our mission
Empowering Safer Marine Operations
The Safety Awareness Boating Alliance (S.A.B.A.) is a federally registered non-profit organization dedicated to advancing marine safety across Canada’s waterways through education, advocacy, and industry accountability. In alignment with national marine safety standards, S.A.B.A. works to raise awareness about illegal yacht charters and unlicensed operations that place the public at risk and undermine responsible operators. Through public education initiatives and advocacy for stronger compliance, we promote a culture of safety and responsibility on the water.
Our mission is rooted in protecting Canadian boaters by supporting adherence to established marine safety requirements, including proper vessel licensing, certified operator credentials, and mandatory safety equipment. By encouraging operators to meet and exceed these standards, we help reduce risks, enhance passenger security, and foster safer boating practices nationwide.
Through partnerships with marine experts, legal advisors, community groups, and industry stakeholders, S.A.B.A. empowers the public with knowledge to recognize and report unsafe practices, while fostering a culture of responsible boating. By integrating education, policy engagement, and safety verification programs, we promote transparent waterways where every recreational and commercial voyage is conducted with the highest regard for operational integrity and passenger protection.
S.A.B.A.’s work ensures that Canada’s waterways remain safe, accountable, and transparent. Protecting lives and promoting a culture of safety is not just our mission, it is a collective responsibility shared by all who use our waters.
We aim to establish collaborative frameworks that reduce risks, improve accountability, and address sector challenges with innovative solutions. By developing scalable programs aligned with public priorities and industry best practices, our goal is to provide a reliable mechanism to support service continuity, mitigate risks, and optimize resources, ultimately strengthening the collective ability to protect the public and safeguard Canada’s waterways.
Our Team
S.A.B.A. is guided by an executive team of distinguished professionals whose combined expertise in aviation safety, maritime regulation, insurance risk management, and ensures rigorous compliance with Transport Canada standards and effective protection against non-compliant marine operators.
Executive Leadership
Capt. Mani Saba
Founder (Airline Captain & Entrepreneur): Leverages dual-sector experience to implement aviation-grade safety protocols in maritime operations, leading S.A.B.A.’s campaign against unlicensed charter vessels that circumvent mandatory safety certifications, vessel inspections, and crew qualification requirements.
Greg Swanson
Chief Regulatory Officer: Directs S.A.B.A.’s regulatory monitoring program, ensuring continuous alignment with evolving maritime statutes while implementing robust compliance verification systems for commercial operator
Capt. Howie Colt
Director of Operations: Howie Colt serves as S.A.B.A.’s Director of Operations, bringing extensive maritime regulatory expertise from his concurrent role as Vice President of the Passenger & Commercial Vessel Association (PCVA) Canada In this dual capacity, Howie leverages his deep understanding of self-inspected vessel operations and national safety standards to oversee S.A.B.A.’s field implementation of critical safety initiatives. Howie’s unique position at the intersection of industry advocacy and safety enables S.A.B.A. to bridge operational best practices with regulatory compliance, enhancing maritime safety outcomes across all Canadian waterways.
Our Advocacy Team
Comprising experienced maritime professionals and compliance specialists, undertakes independent documentation of unsafe or illegal charter practices and voluntarily reports substantiated incidents to relevant oversight bodies, including Ports Toronto, the Toronto Police Marine Unit, and other public agencies, to support accountability. This multidisciplinary approach uniquely positions S.A.B.A. to merge technical proficiency, regulatory knowledge, and proactive advocacy, driving measurable progress toward safer Canadian waterways.
Together, this team embodies S.A.B.A.’s mission: to combine professional excellence, adherence to safety standards, and public advocacy in pursuit of a safer marine environment for all Canadians.
Why S.A.B.A.?
Illegal charters represent a clear and immediate danger to Canada’s waterways, routinely operating without certification, adequate liability insurance, or properly trained crews. These operators are responsible for a significant share of serious marine incidents reported to the Transportation Safety Board.
The Safety Awareness Boating Alliance (S.A.B.A.) serves as a critical compliance and safety oversight intermediary, addressing systemic gaps in monitoring and accountability across maritime operations. We implement comprehensive solutions to strengthen adherence to established safety protocols and to combat illegal commercial activity through three core functions:
1. Active monitoring and documentation of non-compliant operations.
2. Direct public education campaigns delivered across multiple media channels.
3. Strategic partnerships with stakeholders and industry bodies to share safety data and promote consistent practices.
Our integrated approach provides an essential oversight framework in an industry especially vulnerable to non-compliance. By combining preventative measures through public awareness initiatives with responsive action through coordinated reporting systems, S.A.B.A. enhances marine safety standards, promotes transparent commercial practices, and fosters a culture of responsibility and compliance across Canada’s waterways.
Our Approach
S.A.B.A. employs a strategic three-phase operational methodology to combat illegal maritime activities:
1. AVOID
OUR COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH
Strategic Partnerships
S.A.B.A.’s initiatives operate in alignment with Canadian marine safety standards. As an independent organization, we promote marine safety by working in cooperation with all stakeholders.
Our collaborative framework is designed to enhance public safety by providing specialized monitoring, incident documentation, and safety observations to identify and track unsafe or illegal commercial operations.
Where regulatory limitations exist, S.A.B.A. supports accountability through civil channels while ensuring strict adherence to jurisdictional protocols. We reinforce compliance through targeted public education campaigns that raise awareness of unsafe maritime practices across digital platforms and waterfront communities.
This multi-faceted approach supports national safety priorities by expanding monitoring capacity, amplifying public safety messaging, and creating additional pathways for compliance, ultimately strengthening the overall marine safety ecosystem.
