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Bill C-9

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Fees

Fixing of fees

50. (1) A port authority may fix fees to be paid in respect of

    (a) ships, vehicles, aircraft and persons coming into or using the port;

    (b) goods loaded on ships, unloaded from ships or transhipped by water within the limits of the port or moved across the port; and

    (c) any service provided by the port author ity, or any right or privilege conferred by it, in respect of the port.

Interest

(2) A port authority may fix the interest rate that it charges on overdue fees.

Self-
sustaining financing

(3) The fees fixed by a port authority shall be at a level that permits it to operate on a self-sustaining financial basis and shall be fair and reasonable.

Application to Crown

(4) The fees and interest rate may be made binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

Application to military and police ships

(5) The fees fixed under paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) do not apply in respect of a Canadian warship, naval auxiliary ship or other ship under the command of the Canadian Forces, a ship of a visiting force within the meaning of the Visiting Forces Act or any other ship while it is under the command of the Royal Cana dian Mounted Police.

Fees continued

(6) A fee that is in force in respect of a port on the coming into force of this section continues in force for a period ending on the earlier of the expiration of six months and the date on which it is replaced by a fee fixed under subsection (1).

Discrimina-
tion among users

51. (1) A port authority shall not unjustly discriminate among users or classes of users of the port, give an undue or unreasonable preference to any user or class of user or subject any user or class of user to an undue or unreasonable disadvantage.

Exception re commercially acceptable discrimi-
nation

(2) It is not unjust discrimination and it is not an undue nor an unreasonable preference or disadvantage for a port authority to differ entiate among users or classes of users on the basis of the volume or value of goods shipped or on any other basis that is generally commer cially accepted.

Notice of new or revised fees

52. (1) Where a port authority proposes to fix a new fee or revise an existing fee for wharfage, berthage or harbour dues, it shall give notice of the proposal in accordance with this section and no fee shall come into force before the expiration of sixty days after the last of the notices is given.

Contents of notice

(2) The notice shall

    (a) set out the particulars of the proposal;

    (b) specify that a document containing more details about the proposal may be obtained from the port authority on request; and

    (c) specify that persons interested in mak ing representations in writing to the port authority about the proposal may do so by writing to the address set out in the notice.

How notice is to be given

(3) The port authority shall

    (a) have the notice published in a major newspaper published or distributed in the place where the port is situated;

    (b) send, by mail or by electronic means, a copy of the notice to

      (i) organizations whose members will, in the opinion of the port authority, be affected by the new or revised fee, and

      (ii) every user and other person who has, at least ten days before, notified the port authority of a desire to receive notices or announcements under this Part; and

    (c) post an electronic version of the notice in a location that is generally accessible to persons who have access to what is com monly referred to as the Internet.

Exception

(4) The notice required by this section does not apply to any fees accepted in a contract under section 54.

Complaints

53. (1) Any interested person may at any time file a complaint with the Agency that there is unjust discrimination in a fee fixed under subsection 50(1), and the Agency shall consider the complaint without delay and report its findings to the port authority, and the port authority shall govern itself accordingly.

Governor in Council may vary or rescind

(2) Section 40 of the Canada Transporta tion Act applies, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to every report of the Agency made under subsection (1) as if the report were a decision made pursuant to that Act.

Fees by contract

54. A port authority may agree, by a contract that the parties may agree to keep confidential, to accept fees other than those fixed under subsection 50(1).

Official Languages

Official Languages Act

55. The Official Languages Act applies to a port authority as a federal institution within the meaning of that Act.

Liquidation and Dissolution

Liquidation and dissolution

56. (1) The Governor in Council may, by issuing a certificate of intent to dissolve, require a port authority to liquidate its assets in accordance with the certificate or the regulations made under subsection 27(2) and may by a subsequent certificate of dissolution dissolve the port authority, and the letters patent are deemed to be revoked. The net proceeds of liquidation are to be paid on dissolution to Her Majesty in right of Canada.

Dissolution where no liquidation

(2) The Governor in Council may, by issuing a certificate of dissolution, dissolve a port authority without requiring the liquida tion of its assets, in which case the obligations and assets of the port authority revert on dissolution to Her Majesty in right of Canada under the administration of the Minister.

Publication in Canada Gazette

(3) A certificate of dissolution issued under this section becomes effective thirty days after the date it is published in the Canada Gazette.

Revocation

(4) The Governor in Council may revoke a certificate of intent to dissolve at any time before the issuance of a certificate of dissolu tion by the issuance of a certificate of revocation of intent to dissolve.

Effect of certificate

(5) The revocation is effective on the date set out in the certificate of revocation and the port authority may then continue to carry on its activities.

Port Traffic Control

Traffic control zones

57. (1) Subject to any regulations made under section 63, a port authority may, for the purpose of promoting safe and efficient navi gation or environmental protection in the waters of the port, with respect to ships or classes of ships,

    (a) monitor ships about to enter or within the waters of the port;

    (b) establish the practices and procedures to be followed by ships;

    (c) require ships to have the capacity to use specified radio frequencies; and

    (d) establish traffic control zones for the purposes of paragraphs (a) to (c).

Clearance of ships to enter waters of a port

(2) Subject to any regulations made under section 63, a port authority may

    (a) require information to be given, for the purpose of obtaining a traffic clearance, by ships or classes of ships about to enter the port or within the port;

    (b) impose the conditions under which a traffic clearance is to be granted; and

    (c) require information to be given by ships after they have obtained a traffic clearance.

Consistency

(3) Subject to any regulations made under section 63, practices and procedures estab lished by a port authority under subsection (1) shall not be inconsistent with national stan dards and practices for marine vessel traffic services, in particular those established under the Canada Shipping Act.

Notice

58. (1) A port authority shall take reason able steps to bring notice of each practice and procedure proposed under paragraph 57(1)(b) to the attention of persons likely to be affected by it at least thirty days before the proposed effective date of the measure, and a reasonable opportunity within those thirty days shall be given to ship owners, masters, persons in charge of ships and other interested persons to make representations to the port authority with respect to it.

Content of notice

(2) The notice shall include information as to where a copy of the proposed measure, including any related documents necessary to understand it, may be obtained and an invita tion to any interested person to make represen tations to the port authority with respect to it within those thirty days.

Adoption of measures

(3) After the port authority considers any representations made by interested persons with respect to a proposed measure, it may adopt the measure.

Notice of adopted measure

(4) The port authority shall take reasonable steps to bring notice of each measure that it adopts, together with notice of the place at which a copy of the measure may be obtained, to the attention of persons likely to be affected by it.

Exception

(5) Subsection (1) does not apply to a measure

    (a) notice of which has been given pursuant to that subsection, whether or not it has been changed as a result of representations made pursuant to that subsection; or

    (b) that makes no substantive change to an existing measure.

Emergency situations

(6) Subsection (1) does not apply where the port authority is satisfied that an urgent situation exists, but the port authority shall take reasonable steps to bring notice of the measure to the attention of any person likely to be affected by it as soon as possible after it comes into force.

Traffic control

59. (1) For the purpose of promoting safe and efficient navigation or environmental protection, a port authority may designate a person or a member of a class of persons to exercise the following powers with respect to ships about to enter or within the port or an area of the port:

    (a) give a traffic clearance to a ship to enter, leave or proceed within the port or any area of the port;

    (b) direct the master, pilot, person in charge of the deck watch or any other person in charge of a ship to provide specified information in respect of the ship;

    (c) direct a ship to use specified radio frequencies in communications with the port station or other ships; and

    (d) subject to subsection (2), direct a ship, at a specified time or between specified times,

      (i) to leave a dock, berth or other port facility,

      (ii) to leave or refrain from entering any area, or

      (iii) to proceed to or remain at a specified location.

Preconditions

(2) A person designated under subsection (1) may direct a ship to do or refrain from doing anything described in paragraph (1)(d) only if the person believes on reasonable grounds that any of the following circum stances exist:

    (a) the non-availability of a berth required for the ship;

    (b) pollution or a reasonable apprehension of pollution in the traffic control zone;

    (c) the proximity of animals whose well-be ing could be endangered by the movement of the ship;

    (d) an obstruction to navigation in the traffic control zone;

    (e) the proximity of a ship in apparent difficulty or presenting a pollution threat or other hazard to life or property;

    (f) the proximity of a ship navigating in an unsafe manner or with improperly function ing navigation equipment or radio equip ment, or without charts or publications required by regulations made under para graph 562.1(1)(a) of the Canada Shipping Act;

    (g) vessel traffic congestion that constitutes an unacceptable risk to shipping, naviga tion, the public or the environment; or

    (h) the efficiency of port operations could be compromised.

Prohibition

(3) No ship shall

    (a) if it is required to obtain a traffic clearance, enter, leave or proceed within a port or a traffic control zone without having obtained the clearance; or

    (b) if required to maintain direct commu nication with a person designated under subsection (1), proceed within a port or a traffic control zone unless it is able to do so.

Offences and punishment

60. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person or ship is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of not more than $5,000 where the offence is committed in respect of a ship of twenty metres in length or less, or to a fine of not more than $50,000 where the offence is committed in respect of a ship exceeding twenty metres in length, if the person or ship

    (a) does not follow the practices and procedures established by a port authority under paragraph 57(1)(b) or have the capac ity to use the radio frequencies specified by the port authority under that paragraph;

    (b) does not do what a person designated under subsection 59(1) requires the person or the ship to do under that subsection;

    (c) fails to comply with subsection 59(3); or

    (d) knowingly makes a false or misleading statement, either orally or in writing, to a person designated under subsection 59(1).

Defence available in certain cases

(2) It is a defence to a charge under subsection (1) that the master, pilot, person in charge of the deck watch or other person in charge of the ship

    (a) had reasonable grounds to believe that compliance would have imperilled life, the ship or any other ship or any property; and

    (b) in the case of a charge under paragraph (1)(b), had notified the person designated under subsection 59(1) of the non-com pliance and of the reasons for it as soon as possible after it took place.

Proof of offence by ship

(3) Where a ship is prosecuted for an offence under this section, it is sufficient proof that the ship has committed the offence to establish that the act or omission that consti tutes the offence was committed by the master of the ship or any person on board the ship, whether or not the person on board has been identified.

Application to military and police ships

61. For greater certainty, Canadian war ships, naval auxiliary ships and other ships under the command of the Canadian Forces, ships of a visiting force within the meaning of the Visiting Forces Act and any other ships while they are under the command of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have access to Canadian ports.

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