Your Guide to Certification, Compliance, and Standards


Be Competent.
Be Qualified.
Be Ready.
Your certificate means something. This page explains why.
This page is for students, employers, and anyone who wants to know exactly what Rescue Canada training represents. Your certificate is backed by internationally recognized standards. Here is what that looks like in practice.
Qualifications
Rescue Canada offers 7 levels of certification.
The seventh level of qualification is a separate certification process for night qualification. Student qualification certificates are valid for a period of one (1), two (2) or three (3) years.
The certification time period is based upon the standards requirements per discipline. Instructorship qualification is valid annually upon policy review. After three years the qualification is terminated. Certificate holders are required to maintain their records of compliance as outlined in their course materials for the period of their license.


Qualification Revocation
Certifications can be revoked due to negligence or the certificate holder refusal to employ the methods and standards entrusted in their care. This is a formal process of inquiry and investigation based off of negligence, or injury-accident with committee review and remedial courses of action.
Remedial courses of action can be associated with mandatory peer mentorship or training attendance of the course materials to evaluate the certificate holder.


Standards
Rescue Canada provides a variety of services and courses with reciprocal standards per course activity.
ISO 31000 acknowledges the importance of incessant improvement of risk management strategies. As per ISO 31000, the five features of enhanced risk management are:
- Continual improvement
- Full accountability for risks
- Application of risk management in all decision making
- Continual communications
- Full integration in the organization’s governance structure
As per ISO 31000, risk is “The effect of uncertainty on objectives” whereas risk management is “coordinated activities to direct and control and organization with regard to risk”. It again elaborates risk management framework as a “set of components that provide the foundations and organizational arrangements for designing, implementing, monitoring, reviewing and continually improving risk management processes throughout the organization”.
According to ISO 31000, risk management process is a “systematic application of management policies, procedures and practices to the tasks of communication, consultation, establishing the context, identifying, analyzing, evaluating, treating, monitoring and reviewing risk”.
ISO 31000 consists of 11 key principles which view risk management as an elementary process of generating success of the organization. These eleven principles can be regarded as the “essential qualities” required for risk management.
- Principle 1: Risk management creates and protects value
- Principle 2: Risk management is an integral part of the organizational procedure
- Principle 3: Risk management is part of decision making
- Principle 4: Risk management explicitly addresses uncertainty
- Principle 5: Risk management is systematic, structured and timely
- Principle 6: Risk management is based on the best available information
- Principle 7: Risk management is tailored
- Principle 8: Risk management takes human and cultural factors into account
- Principle 9: Risk management is transparent and inclusive
- Principle 10: Risk management is dynamic, iterative and responsive to change
- Principle 11: Risk management facilitates continual improvement and enhancement of the organization
Our company standards reference is for both employees, instructors and in-house instructorship programs.
- Approved-Means Sanctioned, endorsed, accredited, certified, or accepted as satisfactory by a duly constituted and nationally recognized authority or agency such as the International Rescue Instructors Association
- Authorized person-means a person approved or assigned by the employer to perform a specific type of duty or duties or to be at a specific location or locations at the jobsite
- Competent person-means one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them.
- Qualified-means one who, by possession of a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or who by extensive knowledge, training, and experience, has successfully demonstrated his ability to solve or resolve problems relating to the subject matter, the work, or the project.
- Shall-means mandatory
- Assessment– Means Student Candidate (and instructor) assessment and program evaluations for conformity and compliance to the program standards
Reference: OHSA-CCOHS
- UNDERWRITERS means UL Laboratories is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the UL mission through the discovery and application of scientific knowledge.
- CE means the CE marking is the manufacturer’s declaration that the product meets EU standards for health, safety, and environmental protection
Rescue Canada provides a variety of services and courses with reciprocal standards per course activity.
Select courses offered by Rescue Canada training curricula meets, complies and may exceed standards from the following organizations:
- IRIA means International Rescue Instructors Association
- ANSI means American National Standards Institute
- USCG means United States Coast Guard
- CCG means Canadian Coast Guard
- FEMA means Federal Emergency Management Agency
- NFPA means National Fire Protection Association
- NASBLA means National Association of State Boating Law Administrators
- ASTM means International formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials
- OSHA means Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- ISO means International Organization for Standardization
- SOLAS means International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
- IACET means International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training
- CSA means Canada Safety Association Standard for Safety
- WorkSafe Canada
- CCOHS-Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
Course Codes
The Course Code Directory (CCD) is resource for information consisting of the codes referenced for specified courses under general category classifications. The CCD is essential in the assignment of course management systems.




Accreditation Criteria
Listed below are the hourly breakdown of the training hours applied to Rescue Canada accreditation
FAQs
Have questions about our courses, certifications, or registration process? Here are some of the most common questions students ask before training with Rescue Canada.
Yes. Because Rescue Canada programs are accredited through IRIA, your certification is recognized across IRIA member organizations globally. Geographic recognition tiers are linked to IRIA regions: North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
Each course has specific gear and prerequisite requirements listed on its course page. Most disciplines also require the online e-learning awareness module to be completed before your first day in the field.
The awareness modules for Swiftwater, Ice, and Helicopter disciplines are prerequisites for the in-person courses. They take up to four hours to complete and are self-paced. Completing them before you arrive means your field time is spent on performance, not theory.
Call us at 1-800-663-8931 or reach out through the contact page. We are based in Chilliwack and have been doing this for over 40 years.
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