Other Documents

Issuance of documents to foreign vessels

21. The Minister of Transport may, at the request of the government of a state to which an international convention or protocol listed in Schedule 1 applies, issue in respect of a vessel registered in that state any document provided for by the convention or protocol, other than a Canadian maritime document, if the Minister is satisfied, in the same manner as in the case of a Canadian vessel, that the document may properly be issued. A document issued under this section must contain a statement that it has been issued at the request of that government.

Foreign documents

22. The Minister of Transport may refuse to accept a foreign document required for the operation of a foreign vessel if in the Minister's opinion the conditions under which the document was issued do not comply with international agreements to which Canada is a signatory.

General Prohibitions

Destruction of documents, fraud, obstruction and movement of detained vessel

23. No person shall

    (a) wilfully destroy a document that is required under this Act to be kept;

    (b) make or cause to be made a false entry in a log book required under this Act to be kept with intent to mislead or wilfully omit to make an entry;

    (c) wilfully obstruct any inspector or other person or classification society or other organization that is exercising powers or performing duties under this Act;

    (d) knowingly provide false or misleading information or make a false or misleading statement, either orally or in writing, to a person, classification society or other organization that is exercising powers or performing duties under this Act; or

    (e) except as authorized under this Act, wilfully move a vessel that has been detained under this Act.

Tonnage Measurers

Appointment of tonnage measurers

24. The Minister of Transport may appoint persons, to be known as tonnage measurers, to calculate vessels' tonnage under this Act.

Fees and travel expenses

25. A tonnage measurer may withhold the tonnage certificate in respect of a vessel until the person requesting it pays the tonnage measurer's fees and travel expenses. The Minister of Transport may set limits on the fees and travel expenses that may be charged.

Marine Technical Review Board

Establishment

26. (1) For the purpose of ensuring the safety of the marine industry, the Marine Technical Review Board is hereby established to make decisions on applications for an exemption from, or the replacement of, any requirement under the regulations in respect of a Canadian vessel or in respect of the issuance of a Canadian maritime document to a person, other than one with respect to fees.

Members of the Board

(2) The Board consists of a Chair, a National Vice-Chair and a maximum of five Regional Vice-Chairs.

Chair

(3) The Chair is appointed by the Minister of Transport and must be an employee of the Department of Transport who has expertise in marine matters.

Vice-Chairs

(4) The Vice-Chairs are appointed by the Chair and must be employees of the Department of Transport who have expertise in marine matters.

Delegation

(5) The Chair may delegate the Chair's powers and duties to the National Vice-Chair.

Absence or incapacity

(6) In the event of the absence or incapacity of the Chair or if the office of Chair is vacant, the National Vice-Chair may exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of the Chair.

Striking panels

27. (1) When an application is made under subsection 28(1), the Chair must strike a panel of at least three persons.

Constitution

(2) Each panel consists of the Chair and the persons appointed by the Chair.

Expertise

(3) Any person to be appointed to a panel, other than a Vice-Chair, must have expertise in the matter in respect of which the panel is struck.

Fee and expenses

(4) Each panellist may be paid

    (a) an amount fixed by the Minister of Transport for each day or part of a day that the panellist is performing duties under section 28, unless they are employed in the public service of Canada; and

    (b) reasonable travel and living expenses incurred by the panellist in the course of their duties under section 28.

Casting vote

(5) Matters before a panel are decided by a majority of the members of the panel. The Chair has a second vote in the case of a tie.

Panel decisions

(6) For greater certainty, a decision of a panel is a decision of the Marine Technical Review Board.

Application

28. (1) Any person may, in respect of a requirement set out in a provision of the regulations made under this Act that applies in respect of a Canadian vessel or in respect of the issuance of a Canadian maritime document to a person, apply to the Marine Technical Review Board for a decision to exempt the applicant from the requirement or to replace it with another requirement.

Form and manner

(2) An application must be made in the form and manner, include the information and be accompanied by the documents specified by the Board.

Further evidence

(3) In addition to the specified information and documents, the Board may require an applicant to provide evidence, including declarations, that the Board considers necessary.

Grant of application

(4) If the panel struck to decide the application is satisfied that the exemption or replacement is in the public interest and would not jeopardize marine safety or the marine environment and, in the case of an application to replace a requirement with respect to safety, the replacement would result in an equivalent or greater level of safety, the panel is to issue a decision granting the application, subject to any conditions and for the period that the panel considers appropriate.

Applicant to be notified

(5) The Chair is to notify the applicant of the decision to grant or deny the application.

Publication

(6) If the decision is to grant the application, the Chair must publish the decision in the manner that the Chair considers appropriate.

Duty to inform

(7) If a person has reason to believe that a decision to grant an application was based on false or misleading information or that the information provided with the application has changed, the person shall inform the Chair without delay.

Decisions based on false or misleading information

(8) If the Chair has reason to believe that a decision to grant an application was based on false or misleading information or that the information provided with the application has changed, the Chair may strike a panel in accordance with section 27 and the panel may confirm, cancel or vary the decision.

Contravention

(9) A contravention of a requirement that is substituted for another requirement as a result of a panel decision under subsection (4) is deemed to be a contravention of the original requirement.

Rules

(10) The Board must make rules respecting its procedure, with the approval of the Minister of Transport.

Annual report

(11) As soon as feasible after the end of each fiscal year, the Chair must submit to the Minister of Transport a report of the Board's operations in that year.

International Conventions, Protocols and Resolutions

Schedule 1

29. (1) Schedule 1 lists the international conventions, protocols and resolutions that Canada has signed that relate to matters that are within the scope of this Act and that the Minister of Transport has determined should be brought into force, in whole or in part, in Canada by regulation.

Schedule 2

(2) Schedule 2 lists the international conventions, protocols and resolutions that Canada has signed that relate to matters that are within the scope of this Act and that the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has determined should be brought into force, in whole or in part, in Canada by regulation.

Codes and guidelines

(3) A convention or protocol includes any code or guideline that is attached to it.

Additions to Schedule 1 or 2

30. (1) The Governor in Council may, by order, add international conventions, protocols and resolutions described in subsection 29(1) to Schedule 1 or described in subsection 29(2) to Schedule 2.

Order to be tabled and referred

(2) The Minister of Transport is to cause a copy of each order related to Schedule 1 and the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is to cause a copy of each order related to Schedule 2, together with a description of the objectives of the convention, protocol or resolution, to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first 10 days on which that House is sitting after the order is made. The order stands referred to the appropriate standing committee of each House.

Deletions from Schedule 1 or 2

31. The Governor in Council may, by order, delete an international convention, protocol or resolution from Schedule 1 or 2 or amend Schedule 1 or 2 if the amendment would not, in the opinion of the Governor in Council, result in a material substantive change.

Incorporation by Reference

Externally produced material

32. (1) A regulation made under this Act may incorporate by reference material produced by a person or body other than the Minister who recommended to the Governor in Council that the regulation be made, including by

    (a) an organization established for the purpose of writing standards, including an organization accredited by the Standards Council of Canada;

    (b) an industrial or a trade organization; or

    (c) a government, a government agency or an international body.

Reproduced or translated material

(2) A regulation made under this Act may incorporate by reference material that the Minister who recommended to the Governor in Council that the regulation be made reproduces or translates from material produced by a person or body other than that Minister

    (a) with any adaptations of form and reference that will facilitate its incorporation into the regulation; or

    (b) in a form that sets out only the parts of the material that apply for the purposes of the regulation.

Jointly produced material

(3) A regulation made under this Act may incorporate by reference material that the Minister who recommended to the Governor in Council that the regulation be made produces jointly with another government or government agency for the purpose of harmonizing the regulation with other laws.

Internally produced standards

(4) A regulation made under this Act may incorporate by reference technical or explanatory material that the Minister who recommended to the Governor in Council that the regulation be made produces, such as

    (a) specifications, classifications, illustrations, graphs and other information of a technical nature; and

    (b) test methods, procedures, operational standards, safety standards and performance standards of a technical nature.

Incorporation as amended from time to time

(5) Material may be incorporated by reference as amended from time to time.

Incorporated material is not a regulation

(6) Material that is incorporated by reference in a regulation made under this Act is not a regulation for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act.

For greater certainty

(7) Subsections (1) to (6) are for greater certainty and do not limit any authority to make regulations incorporating material by reference that exists apart from those subsections.

Defence

33. For greater certainty, no person or vessel may be convicted of an offence or subjected to a penalty for the contravention of a provision of a regulation made under this Act that incorporates material by reference unless it is proved that, at the time of the alleged contravention,

    (a) the material was reasonably accessible to the person or vessel;

    (b) reasonable steps had been taken to ensure that the material was accessible to persons or vessels likely to be affected by the regulation; or

    (c) the material had been published in the Canada Gazette.

Orders and Directions

In writing

34. (1) If this Act requires or authorizes an order or a direction to be given or made by the Minister of Transport to a person who is not an official of the Department of Transport, the order or direction must be given or made in writing.

Statutory Instruments Act

(2) An order or direction referred to in subsection (1) is deemed not to be a statutory instrument for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act.

Regulations

Regulations - Minister of Transport

35. (1) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport, make regulations

    (a) respecting the appointment of adjudicators, including their qualifications;

    (b) respecting the issuance, amendment, suspension, reinstatement, cancellation or renewal of Canadian maritime documents;

    (c) respecting reviews under subsection 16(6) (notice of refusal to issue or renew) or 20(5) (suspension or cancellation of Canadian maritime documents);

    (d) implementing, in whole or in part, an international convention, protocol or resolution that is listed in Schedule 1, as amended from time to time, including regulations

      (i) implementing it in respect of persons, vessels or oil handling facilities to which it does not apply,

      (ii) establishing stricter standards than it sets out, or

      (iii) establishing additional or complementary standards to those it sets out if the Governor in Council is satisfied that the additional or complementary standards meet the objectives of the convention, protocol or resolution;

    (e) respecting record keeping, information management and reporting for the purposes of this Part or Part 2 (Registration, Listing or Recording), 3 (Personnel), 4 (Safety), 6 (Incidents, Accidents and Casualties), 9 (Pollution Prevention - Department of Transport) or 11 (Enforcement - Department of Transport);

    (f) respecting the form and manner of giving notice under this Part or Part 2 (Registration, Listing or Recording), 3 (Personnel), 4 (Safety), 9 (Pollution Prevention - Department of Transport) or 11 (Enforcement - Department of Transport); and

    (g) respecting the setting and payment of fees for services provided in the administration of this Part or Part 2 (Registration, Listing or Recording), 3 (Personnel), 4 (Safety), 6 (Incidents, Accidents and Casualties), 9 (Pollution Prevention - Department of Transport) or 11 (Enforcement - Department of Transport) or the regulations made under any of those Parts.

Aircraft

(2) For greater certainty, regulations made under paragraph (1)(d) in respect of preventing collisions may apply to aircraft on or over Canadian waters.

Regulations - Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

(3) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, make regulations

    (a) implementing, in whole or in part, an international convention, protocol or resolution that is listed in Schedule 2, as amended from time to time, including regulations

      (i) implementing it in respect of persons, vessels or oil handling facilities to which it does not apply,

      (ii) establishing stricter standards than it sets out, or

      (iii) establishing additional or complementary standards to those it sets out if the Governor in Council is satisfied that the additional or complementary standards meet the objectives of the convention, protocol or resolution;

    (b) respecting record keeping, information management and reporting for the purposes of Part 5 (Navigation Services), 7 (Wreck), 8 (Pollution Prevention and Response - Department of Fisheries and Oceans) or 10 (Pleasure Craft);