1st Session, 36th Parliament,
46-47 Elizabeth II, 1997-98

The House of Commons of Canada

BILL C-15

An Act to amend the Canada Shipping Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts

      Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

R.S., c. S-9; R.S., cc. 27, 31 (1st Supp.), cc. 1, 27 (2nd Supp.), c. 6 (3rd Supp.), c. 40 (4th Supp.); 1989, cc. 3, 17; 1990, cc. 16, 17, 44; 1991, c. 24; 1992, cc. 1, 27, 31, 51; 1993, c. 36; 1994, cc. 24, 41; 1995, cc. 1, 5; 1996, cc. 21, 31; 1997, c. 1

CANADA SHIPPING ACT

R.S., c. 6 (3rd Supp.), s. 1(2)

1. (1) The definitions ``British ship'', ``builder's mortgage'', ``pleasure yacht'', ``recorded vessel'', ``registrar'' and ``tonnage regulations'' in section 2 of the Canada Shipping Act are repealed.

R.S., c. 6 (3rd Supp.), s. 1(2)

(2) The definitions ``Canadian ship'', ``gross tonnage'', ``passenger'' and ``register tonnage'' in section 2 of the Act are replaced by the following:

``Canadian ship''
« navire canadien »

``Canadian ship'' means a ship registered or listed under Part I;

``gross tonnage''
« jauge brute »

``gross tonnage'' means the overall size of a ship as determined by a tonnage measurer;

``passenger''
« passager »

``passenger'' means a person carried on a ship by the owner or operator, other than

      (a) a person carried on a Safety Convention ship who is

        (i) the master, a member of the crew or a person employed or engaged in any capacity on board the ship on the business of that ship, or

        (ii) under one year of age,

      (b) a person carried on a ship that is not a Safety Convention ship who is

        (i) the master, a member of the crew or a person employed or engaged in any capacity on board the ship on the business of that ship, or

        (ii) a guest on board the ship, if the ship is used exclusively for pleasure and the guest is carried on it without remuneration or any object of profit,

      (c) a person carried on a ship in pursuance of the obligation on the master to carry shipwrecked, distressed or other persons or by reason of any circumstances that neither the master nor the owner could have prevented, or

      (d) special purpose personnel;

``register tonnage''
« jauge au registre »

``register tonnage'' means the net tonnage shown on a ship's certificate of registry;

(3) Paragraph (d) of the definition ``wreck'' in section 2 of the Act is replaced by the following:

      (d) any wrecked aircraft, any part or cargo of any wrecked aircraft and any property in the possession of persons on board any aircraft that is wrecked, stranded or in distress;

(4) Section 2 of the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

``authorized represen-
tative''
« représen-
tant autorisé »

``authorized representative'' means, except in paragraph 712(7)(a), an authorized representative referred to in section 9;

``bare-boat charter''
« affrète-
ment coque nue »

``bare-boat charter'' means a ship charter agreement under which the charterer has complete possession and control of the ship, including the right to appoint its master and crew;

``net tonnage''
« jauge nette »

``net tonnage'' means the useful capacity of a ship as determined by a tonnage measurer;

``pleasure craft''
« embarca-
tion de plaisance »

``pleasure craft'' means a vessel used by an individual for pleasure and not for a commercial purpose;

``qualified person''
« personne qualifiée »

``qualified person'' means

      (a) a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration Act, or

      (b) a corporation incorporated under the laws of Canada or a province;

``Register''
« Registre »

``Register'' means the Canadian Register of Ships established under section 13;

``special purpose personnel''
« personnel d'un navire à usage spécial »

``special purpose personnel'' means a person designated as special purpose personnel under subsection 379.1(1);

``special purpose ship''
« navire à usage spécial »

``special purpose ship'' means a ship designated as a special purpose ship under subsection 379.1(1);

R.S., c. 6 (3rd Supp.), s. 2

2. Section 2.1 of the Act is replaced by the following:

References to owner

2.1 Every reference in this Act, other than in Part I, to ``owner'' shall be read as a reference to

    (a) in respect of a Canadian ship described in paragraph 17(b) (a ship owned by a foreign corporation), its authorized representative; and

    (b) in respect of a ship described in section 18 (a bare-boat chartered ship), the bare-boat charterer.

R.S., c. 31 (1st Supp.), ss. 87 to 89, c. 6 (3rd Supp.), ss. 4 to 6, 87(F)

3. The headings before section 4 and sections 4 to 106 of the Act are replaced by the following:

PART 0.1

GENERAL

Her Majesty

Binding on Her Majesty

4. Except as otherwise provided, this Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

Objectives

Objectives of Act

5. The objectives of this Act are to

    (a) protect the health and well-being of individuals, including the crews of ships, who participate in marine transportation and commerce;

    (b) promote safety in the marine transportation system;

    (c) protect the marine environment from damage due to navigation and shipping activities;

    (d) develop a regulatory scheme that encourages viable, effective and economical marine transportation and commerce;

    (e) promote an efficient marine transportation system;

    (f) ensure that Canada can meet its international obligations under bilateral and multilateral agreements with respect to navigation and shipping;

    (g) encourage the harmonization of marine practices;

    (h) provide an appropriate liability and compensation regime in relation to incidents involving ships; and

    (i) establish an effective inspection and enforcement program.

Application

Exclusion

6. (1) Except as otherwise provided, this Act, other than sections 467 to 471 and 565 to 567, does not apply to a vessel belonging to the Canadian Forces or a foreign military force or to any other vessel that is under the command, control or direction of the Canadian Forces.

Regulations

(2) The Governor in Council may make regulations varying or excluding the application, in respect of government ships, of any provision of this Act.

Ministerial Responsibility

Role of Minister of Transport

7. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Minister of Transport is responsible for the administration of this Act.

Role of Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

(2) The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is responsible for all matters under this Act relating to safety and licensing of pleasure craft.

Powers of Ministers

General

8. (1) For the purpose of achieving the objectives set out in section 5, the Minister of Transport or the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans may, with respect to that Minister's responsibilities under this Act,

    (a) establish consultative bodies;

    (b) issue bulletins, guidelines and standards; and

    (c) enter into agreements or arrangements respecting the administration of any provision of this Act or the regulations and authorize any person with whom an agreement or arrangement is entered into to exercise or perform such powers and duties under this Act as are specified in the agreement or arrangement.

Emergency power of Minister of Transport

(2) Subject to any conditions that the Minister of Transport considers appropriate, the Minister may exempt for a specified period any ship owner, ship or class of ships from the application of any provision of this Act or the regulations if the Minister is of the opinion that the exemption is in the interest of preventing damage to property or the environment or is in the interest of public health or safety. Notice of every exemption must be published in the Canada Gazette.

Authorized Representative

Authorized representa-
tive

9. (1) Every Canadian ship, other than a pleasure craft, must have a person who is responsible for acting with respect to all matters relating to the ship and who is to be known as the authorized representative.

Authorized representa-
tive

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), the authorized representative of a Canadian ship is the owner of the ship or, in the case of a ship described in section 18 (a bare-boat chartered ship), the bare-boat charterer.

Represen-
tative if more than one owner

(3) In the case of a Canadian ship that is owned by more than one person, the owners must appoint one of themselves as the authorized representative.

Represen-
tative of foreign corporation

(4) In the case of a ship owned by a corporation that is incorporated under the laws of a country other than Canada, the authorized representative must be

    (a) a subsidiary of the corporation that is incorporated under the laws of Canada or a province;

    (b) an employee or director in Canada of a branch office of the corporation that is carrying on business in Canada; or

    (c) a ship management company incorporated under the laws of Canada or a province.

Acts or omissions of authorized representa-
tive binding

(5) The owner of a Canadian ship is bound by the acts or omissions of their authorized representative with respect to any matter relating to the ship.