Bill C-44

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

PDF

	2nd Session, 35th Parliament, 45 Elizabeth II, 1996-97
	The House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-44
	An Act for making the system of Canadian ports competitive, efficient and commercially oriented, providing for the establishing of port authorities and the divesting of certain harbours and ports, for the commercialization of the St. Lawrence Seaway and ferry services and other matters related to maritime trade and transport and amending the Pilotage Act and amending and repealing other Acts as a consequence
	Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
	SHORT TITLE
Short title	1. This Act may be cited as the Canada Marine Act.
	INTERPRETATION
Definitions	2. (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in this Act.
``Agency'' « Office »	``Agency'' means the Canadian Transporta tion Agency continued by subsection 7(1) of the Canada Transportation Act.
``federal real property'' « immeubles fédéraux »	``federal real property'' has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Federal Real Property Act.
``fees'' « droits »	``fees'' includes harbour dues, berthing and wharfage, as well as duties, tolls, rates and other charges.
``goods'' « marchandis es »	``goods'' includes all personal property other than ships.
``Minister'' « ministre »	``Minister'' means the Minister of Transport.
``owner'' « propriétai- re »	``owner'' includes
	(a) in the case of a ship, the agent, charterer by demise or master of the ship; and
	(b) in the case of goods, the agent, sender, consignee or bailee of the goods, as well as the carrier of the goods to, on, over or from any property under the administra tion or jurisdiction of a port authority or the Minister.
``person'' « personne »	``person'' includes a partnership, an associa tion and a body corporate.
``port authority'' « administra- tion portuaire »	``port authority'' means a port authority estab lished under section 6.
``port facility'' « installations portuaires »	``port facility'' means a wharf, pier, breakwa ter, terminal, warehouse or other building or work located in, on or adjacent to navigable waters used in connection with navigation or shipping and includes all land incidental to their use.
``public port'' « port public »	``public port'' means a port designated as a public port under section 54.
``public port facility'' « installations portuaires publiquest »	``public port facility'' means a port facility designated as a public port facility under section 54.
``Seaway'' « voie maritime »	``Seaway'' means the deep waterway between the port of Montreal and the Great Lakes that is constructed and maintained pursuant to the Agreement between Canada and the United States providing for the develop ment of navigation and power in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Basin, dated March 19, 1941, including the locks, canals and facili ties between the port of Montreal and Lake Erie and generally known as the St. Law rence Seaway.
``ship'' « navire »	``ship'' includes every description of vessel, boat or craft designed, used or capable of being used solely or partly for marine navi gation, whether self-propelled or not and without regard to the method of propulsion, and includes a sea-plane and a raft or boom of logs or lumber.
Same meaning	(2) Unless a contrary intention appears, words and expressions used in this Act have the same meaning as in the Canada Business Corporations Act.
	NATIONAL MARINE POLICY
National Marine Policy	3. It is hereby declared that the objective of this Act is to
	(a) implement a National Marine Policy that provides Canada with the marine infrastructure that it needs and that will promote and safeguard Canada's competi tiveness and trade objectives;
	(b) base the marine infrastructure and services on international practices and approaches that are consistent with those of Canada's major trading partners in order to foster harmonization of standards among jurisdictions;
	(c) ensure that marine transportation ser vices are organized to satisfy the needs of users and are available at a reasonable cost to the users;
	(d) provide for a high level of safety and environmental protection;
	(e) provide a high degree of autonomy for local or regional management of compo nents of the system of services and facilities and be responsive to local needs and priorities;
	(f) manage the marine infrastructure and services in a commercial manner that encourages, and takes into account, input from users;
	(g) provide for the disposition, by transfer or otherwise, of certain ports and port facilities; and
	(h) coordinate with other marine activities and surface and air transportation systems.
	PART I
	CANADA PORT AUTHORITIES
	Interpretation
Definitions	4. The definitions in this section apply in this Part.
``letters patent'' « lettres patentes »	``letters patent'' means letters patent as amended by supplementary letters patent, if any.
``port'' « port »	``port'' means the navigable waters under the jurisdiction of a port authority and the real property that the port authority manages, holds or occupies as set out in the letters pat ent.
``user'' « utilisateur »	``user'', in respect of a port, means a person that makes commercial use of, or provides services at, the port.
	Application
Application of Part	5. (1) This Part applies to every port authority set out in the schedule and to every port authority for which letters patent of incorporation are issued or that has been continued under this Part and that has not been dissolved.
Amendment of schedule	(2) The Minister may, by order, amend the schedule by adding to it the names of port authorities to which letters patent are issued or by removing from it the names of port authorities that are dissolved.
	Agent of Her Majesty
Agent of Her Majesty	5.1 (1) A port authority is an agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada for the purposes mentioned in section 24.
Not an agent of Her Majesty	(2) A wholly-owned subsidiary of a port authority is not an agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada unless it was an agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada on June 10, 1996.
	Incorporation
Letters patent	6. (1) The Minister may issue letters patent of incorporation that take effect on the date stated in them for a port authority without share capital for the purpose of operating a particular port in Canada if the Minister is satisfied that the port
	(a) is, and is likely to remain, financially self-sufficient;
	(b) is of strategic significance to Canada's trade;
	(c) is linked to a major rail line or a major highway infrastructure; and
	(d) has diversified traffic.
Contents of letters patent	(2) The letters patent shall set out the following information:
	(a) the corporate name of the port authority;
	(b) the place where the registered office of the port authority is located;
	(c) the navigable waters that are within the port authority's jurisdiction;
	(d) the federal real property under the management of the port authority;
	(e) the real property, other than the federal real property, held or occupied by the port authority;
	(f) the number of directors, between seven and eleven, to be appointed under section 12, to be chosen as follows:
	(i) one individual nominated by the Minister,
	(ii) one individual appointed by the municipalities mentioned in the letters patent,
	(iii) one individual appointed by the province in which the port is situated, and, in the case of the port of Vancouver, another individual appointed by the Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba acting together, and
	(iv) the remaining individuals nominated by the Minister in consultation with the users selected by the Minister or the classes of users mentioned in the letters patent;
	(g) a code of conduct governing the conduct of the directors and officers of the port authority;
	(h) the charge on the gross revenues of the port authority, or the formula for calculat ing it, that the port authority shall pay each year to the Minister on the day fixed by the Minister to maintain its letters patent in good standing; and
	(i) any other provision that the Minister considers appropriate to include in the letters patent and that is not inconsistent with this Act.
Supplementar y letters patent	7. The Minister may, at the request of or after consulting with the board of directors, issue supplementary letters patent amending the letters patent of a port authority if the Minister is satisfied that the amendment is consistent with this Act, and the supplementa ry letters patent take effect on the date stated in them.
	Continuance of Harbour Commissions
Continuance of harbour commissions	8. (1) If the Minister is satisfied that the criteria set out in subsection 6(1) are met, the Minister may issue to a harbour commission established pursuant to the Harbour Commis sions Act, The Hamilton Harbour Commis sioners' Act or The Toronto Harbour Commis sioners' Act, 1911, letters patent of continu ance as a port authority that set out the information required by subsection 6(2).
Effect of letters patent	(2) On the date on which the letters patent of continuance are issued,
	(a) the harbour commission becomes a port authority;
	(b) the letters patent of continuance are deemed to be the letters patent of incorpora tion of the continued harbour commission;
	(c) the port authority is deemed to have been incorporated under section 6; and
	(d) the Harbour Commissions Act, The Hamilton Harbour Commissioners' Act or The Toronto Harbour Commissioners' Act, 1911, as the case may be, ceases to apply.
Rights and obligations preserved - harbour commissions	(3) The rights and obligations of a port authority that was a harbour commission immediately before letters patent of continu ance were issued are as follows:
	(a) the corporate name of the port authority is substituted for that of the harbour com mission in every contract, collective agree ment, lease, licence, permit or other docu ment entered into or granted by the harbour commission with regard to the port;
	(b) the management of the federal real property set out in the letters patent, and any rights related to the property, is conferred on the port authority;
	(c) the real property, other than federal real property, that the harbour commission oc cupied or the title to which it held, whether or not in its own name, and that is set out in the letters patent, and any rights related to the property, become the interest, property and rights of the port authority, as the case may be;
	(d) the personal property, and any rights related to the property, that the harbour commission manages, or the title to which it holds, on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada, whether or not in its own name, become the property and rights of the port authority;
	(e) an existing cause of action, proceeding or claim by or against the harbour commis sion or a liability or other obligation of the harbour commission is unaffected except that any judgment or order is to be satisfied first by the port authority;
	(f) a civil, criminal or administrative action or proceeding pending by or against the harbour commission may be continued only by or against the port authority; and
	(g) subject to paragraph (e), a conviction against, or a ruling, order or judgment in favour of or against, the harbour commis sion may be enforced only by or against the port authority.
Consequences for commissioner s	9. The commissioners of a harbour commis sion continued under subsection 8(1) cease to hold office on the day referred to in section 16 and have no right to claim or receive any compensation, damages, indemnity or other form of relief from Her Majesty in right of Canada or from any servant or agent of Her Majesty for ceasing to hold office by virtue of this Part.

Bill C-44

BILL C-44