Bill S-2

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

PDF

	Application
Force of law	37. (1) Articles 1 to 22 of the Convention have the force of law in Canada.
Extended application	(2) Articles 1 to 22 of the Convention also apply in respect of
	(a) the carriage by water, under a contract of carriage, of passengers or of passengers and their luggage from one place in Canada to the same or another place in Canada, either directly or by way of a place outside Canada; and
	(b) the carriage by water, otherwise than under a contract of carriage, of persons or of persons and their luggage, excluding
	(i) the master of a ship, a member of a ship's crew or any other person employed or engaged in any capacity on board a ship on the business of the ship, and
	(ii) a person carried on board a ship other than a ship operated for a commercial or public purpose.
State Party to the Convention	38. For purposes of the application of the Convention, Canada is a State Party to the Convention.
	Regulations and Orders
Regulations	39. The Governor in Council may make regulations requiring insurance or other financial security to be maintained to cover liability to passengers under this Part.
Amendment of limits	40. The Governor in Council may, by order, declare that an amendment made in accordance with Article VIII of the Protocol to any of the limits of liability specified in paragraph 1 of Article 7 or in Article 8 of the Convention, including the deductibles referred to in Article 8, has the force of law in Canada.
	PART 5
	LIABILITY FOR CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY WATER
	Interpretation
Definitions	41. The definitions in this section apply in this Part.
``Hague-Visb y Rules'' « règles de La Haye-Visby »	``Hague-Visby Rules'' means the rules set out in Schedule 3 and embodied in the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading, concluded at Brussels on August 25, 1924, in the Protocol concluded at Brussels on February 23, 1968, and in the additional Protocol concluded at Brussels on December 21, 1979.
``Hamburg Rules'' « règles de Hambourg »	``Hamburg Rules'' means the rules set out in Schedule 4 and embodied in the United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, 1978, concluded at Hamburg on March 31, 1978.
Other statutory limitations of liability	42. Nothing in this Part affects the operation of any other Part of this Act, or sections 389, 390, 585 and 586 of the Canada Shipping Act, or a provision of any other Act or regulation that limits the liability of owners of ships.
	Hague-Visby Rules
Effect	43. (1) The Hague-Visby Rules have the force of law in Canada in respect of contracts for the carriage of goods by water between different states as described in Article X of those Rules.
Extended application	(2) The Hague-Visby Rules also apply in respect of contracts for the carriage of goods by water from one place in Canada to another place in Canada, either directly or by way of a place outside Canada, unless there is no bill of lading and the contract stipulates that those Rules do not apply.
Meaning of ``Contracting State''	(3) For the purposes of this section, the expression ``Contracting State'' in Article X of the Hague-Visby Rules includes Canada and any state that, without being a Contracting State, gives the force of law to the rules embodied in the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading, concluded at Brussels on August 25, 1924 and in the Protocol concluded at Brussels on February 23, 1968, regardless of whether that state gives the force of law to the additional Protocol concluded at Brussels on December 21, 1979.
Replacement by Hamburg Rules	(4) The Hague-Visby Rules do not apply in respect of contracts entered into after the coming into force of section 45.
	Hamburg Rules
Report to Parliament	44. The Minister shall, before January 1, 2005 and every five years afterwards, consider whether the Hague-Visby Rules should be replaced by the Hamburg Rules and cause a report setting out the results of that consideration to be laid before each House of Parliament.
Effect	45. (1) The Hamburg Rules have the force of law in Canada in respect of contracts for the carriage of goods by water between different states as described in Article 2 of those Rules.
Extended application	(2) The Hamburg Rules also apply in respect of contracts for the carriage of goods by water from one place in Canada to another place in Canada, either directly or by way of a place outside Canada, unless the contract stipulates that those Rules do not apply.
Meaning of ``Contracting State''	(3) For the purposes of this section, the expression ``Contracting State'' in Article 2 of the Hamburg Rules includes Canada and any state that gives the force of law to those Rules without being a Contracting State to the United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, 1978.
References to ``sea''	(4) For the purposes of this section, the word ``sea'' in the Hamburg Rules shall be read as ``water''.
Signatures	(5) For the purposes of this section, paragraph 3 of article 14 of the Hamburg Rules applies in respect of the documents referred to in article 18 of those Rules.
	Institution of Proceedings in Canada
Claims not subject to Hamburg Rules	46. (1) If a contract for the carriage of goods by water to which the Hamburg Rules do not apply provides for the adjudication or arbitration of claims arising under the contract in a place other than Canada, a claimant may institute judicial or arbitral proceedings in a court or arbitral tribunal in Canada that would be competent to determine the claim if the contract had referred the claim to Canada, where
	(a) the actual port of loading or discharge, or the intended port of loading or discharge under the contract, is in Canada;
	(b) the person against whom the claim is made resides or has a place of business, branch or agency in Canada; or
	(c) the contract was made in Canada.
Agreement to designate	(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the parties to a contract referred to in that subsection may, after a claim arises under the contract, designate by agreement the place where the claimant may institute judicial or arbitral proceedings.
	PART 6
	LIABILITY AND COMPENSATION FOR POLLUTION
	Interpretation
Definitions	47. The definitions in this section apply in this Part.
``Administrat or'' « administrate ur »	``Administrator'' means the Administrator of the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund appointed under section 79.
``Civil Liability Convention'' « Convention sur la responsabilité civile »	``Civil Liability Convention'' means the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, concluded at Brussels on November 29, 1969, as amended by the Protocol concluded at London on November 19, 1976 and the Protocol concluded at London on November 27, 1992.
``Convention ship'' « navire assujetti à la Convention »	``Convention ship'' means a seagoing ship, wherever registered,
	(a) carrying, in bulk as cargo, crude oil, fuel oil, heavy diesel oil, lubricating oil or any other persistent hydrocarbon mineral oil; or
	(b) on a voyage following any such carriage of such oil, unless it is proved that there is no residue of the oil on board.
``discharge'' « rejet »	``discharge'', in relation to a pollutant, means any discharge of the pollutant that directly or indirectly results in the pollutant entering the water, and includes spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, throwing and dumping.
``Fund Convention'' « Convention sur le Fonds international »	``Fund Convention'' means the International Convention on the Establishment of the International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, concluded at Brussels on December 18, 1971, as amended by the Protocol concluded at London on November 19, 1976 and the Protocol concluded at London on November 27, 1992.
``guarantor'' « garant »	``guarantor'' means a guarantor under a contract of liability insurance or other similar security relating to a shipowner's liability under section 51.
``in bulk'' « en vrac »	``in bulk'' means in a hold or tank that is part of the structure of a ship, without any intermediate form of containment.
``International Fund'' « Fonds international »	``International Fund'' means the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund established by the Fund Convention.
``Limitation of Liability Convention'' « Convention sur la limitation de responsabilité »	``Limitation of Liability Convention'' has the meaning ascribed to the word ``Convention'' in section 24.
``oil'' « hydrocarbur es »	``oil'', except in sections 93 to 99, means oil of any kind or in any form and includes petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse and oil mixed with wastes but does not include dredged spoil.
``oil pollution damage'' « dommages dus à la pollution par les hydrocarbures »	``oil pollution damage'', in relation to any ship, means loss or damage outside the ship caused by contamination resulting from the discharge of oil from the ship.
``owner'' « propriétaire »	``owner'' means
	(a) in relation to a Convention ship, the person who is registered as the owner of the ship or, if no person is so registered,
	(i) the person who owns the ship, or
	(ii) if the ship is owned by a state and operated by a company that is registered as the ship's operator in that state, that company; or
	(b) in relation to any other ship, the person who has for the time being, either by law or by contract, the rights of the owner of the ship with respect to its possession and use.
``pollutant'' « polluant »	``pollutant'' means
	(a) a substance that, if added to any waters, would degrade or alter or form part of a process of degradation or alteration of the quality of the waters to an extent that is detrimental to their use by humans or by an animal or plant that is useful to humans; and
	(b) any water that contains a substance in such a quantity or concentration, or that has been so treated, processed or changed, by heat or other means, from a natural state that it would, if added to any waters, degrade or alter or form part of a process of degradation or alteration of the quality of the waters to an extent that is detrimental to their use by humans or by an animal or plant that is useful to humans,
	and includes oil and any substance or class of substances identified by the regulations as a pollutant for the purposes of this Part.
``pollution damage'' « dommages dus à la pollution »	``pollution damage'', in relation to any ship, means loss or damage outside the ship caused by contamination resulting from the discharge of a pollutant from the ship.
``ship'' « navire »	``ship'' means any vessel or craft designed, used or capable of being used solely or partly for navigation, without regard to method or lack of propulsion, and includes
	(a) a ship in the process of construction from the time that it is capable of floating; and
	(b) a ship that has been stranded, wrecked or sunk and any part of a ship that has broken up.
``Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund'' « Caisse d'indemnisati on »	``Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund'' means the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund established by section 77.
	Application
Geographical application - general	48. (1) For ships other than Convention ships, this Part applies in respect of actual or anticipated pollution damage, irrespective of the location of the actual or anticipated discharge of the pollutant and irrespective of the location where any preventive measures are taken,
	(a) on the territory of Canada or in Canadian waters; or
	(b) in the exclusive economic zone of Canada.
Geographical application - Convention ships	(2) For Convention ships, this Part applies, subject to subsection (3), in respect of actual or anticipated oil pollution damage, irrespective of the location of the actual or anticipated discharge of the oil and irrespective of the location where any preventive measures are taken,
	(a) on the territory of Canada or in Canadian waters;
	(b) in the exclusive economic zone of Canada;
	(c) on the territory or in the territorial sea or internal waters of a state other than Canada that is a party to the Civil Liability Convention; or
	(d) in the exclusive economic zone of a state referred to in paragraph (c) or, if the state has not established an exclusive economic zone, in an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea of that state and extending not more than 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of its territorial sea is measured.
Exception	(3) Sections 84 and 85 do not apply in respect of actual or anticipated oil pollution damage in an area described in paragraph (2)(c) or (d).
Exception - drilling activities	49. (1) This Part does not apply to a drilling ship that is on location and engaged in the exploration or exploitation of the sea-bed or its subsoil in so far as a discharge of a pollutant emanates from those activities.
Exception - floating storage units	(2) This Part does not apply to a floating storage unit or floating production, storage and offloading unit unless it is carrying oil as a cargo on a voyage to or from a port or terminal outside an offshore oil field.
Priority over Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act	50. In the event of an inconsistency between the provisions of this Part and the provisions of the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act or any regulations made under that Act, the provisions of this Part prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.