An Act to amend the Marine Liability Act and the Federal Courts Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (S.C. 2009, c. 21)
Full Document:
Assented to 2009-06-23
An Act to amend the Marine Liability Act and the Federal Courts Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts
S.C. 2009, c. 21
Assented to 2009-06-23
An Act to amend the Marine Liability Act and the Federal Courts Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts
SUMMARY
This enactment amends Parts 3 and 4 of the Marine Liability Act to clarify certain rules of the limitation of liability of owners of ships for maritime claims and liability for the carriage of passengers, in particular the treatment of participants in adventure tourism activities.
It also amends Part 6 of that Act to implement the Protocol of 2003 to the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1992 as well as the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001. The enactment continues, in Part 7, the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund and modernizes its governance. With respect to Part 8, it includes general provisions relating to the administration and enforcement of offences under that Act and creates a maritime lien for Canadian ship suppliers against foreign vessels and establishes a general limitation period for proceedings not covered by other limitation periods.
Finally, this enactment amends the Federal Courts Act and makes 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:
Marginal note:2001, c. 6
MARINE LIABILITY ACT
1. Section 24 of the Marine Liability Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:
“passenger”
« passager »
“passenger” means
(a) a person carried on board a ship in circumstances described in paragraph 2(a) or (b) of Article 7 of the Convention;
(b) a participant in an adventure tourism activity referred to in subsection 37.1(1);
(c) a person carried on board a vessel propelled manually by paddles or oars and operated for a commercial or public purpose; and
(d) a sail trainee.
“unit of account”
« unités de compte »
“unit of account” means a special drawing right issued by the International Monetary Fund.
2. Section 26 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Force of law
26. (1) Subject to the other provisions of this Part, Articles 1 to 15 and 18 of the Convention and Articles 8 and 9 of the Protocol have the force of law in Canada.
Marginal note:Amendments to Part 3 of Schedule 1
(2) The Governor in Council may, by regulation, amend Part 3 of Schedule 1 to add or delete a reservation made by Canada under Article 18 of the Convention.
Marginal note:Exceptions
(3) This Part does not apply to a claim that is the subject of a reservation made by Canada.
Marginal note:2001, c. 26, s. 324(2)
3. Sections 28 and 29 of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Passenger claims
28. (1) The maximum liability for maritime claims that arise on any distinct occasion for loss of life or personal injury to passengers of a ship of less than 300 gross tonnage is the greater of
(a) 2 000 000 units of account, and
(b) 175 000 units of account multiplied by
(i) the number of passengers that the ship is authorized to carry according to any Canadian maritime document required under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, or
(ii) the number of passengers on board the ship, if no Canadian maritime document is required under that Act.
Marginal note:Claims — no contract of carriage
(2) The maximum liability for maritime claims that arise on any distinct occasion for loss of life or personal injury to persons carried on board a ship of less than 300 gross tonnage otherwise than under a contract of passenger carriage is the greater of
(a) 2 000 000 units of account, and
(b) 175 000 units of account multiplied by
(i) the number of passengers that the ship is authorized to carry according to any Canadian maritime document required under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, or
(ii) the number of persons on board the ship, if no Canadian maritime document is required under that Act.
Marginal note:Exception
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of
(a) the master of a ship, a member of a ship’s crew — or any other person employed or engaged in any capacity on the business of a ship — when they are carried on board the ship;
(b) a person carried on board a ship other than a ship operated for a commercial or public purpose;
(c) a person carried on board 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;
(c.1) a stowaway, a trespasser or any other person who boards a ship without the consent or knowledge of the master or the owner; or
(d) a person who is a member of a class of persons prescribed under paragraph 34.1(a).
Marginal note:Other claims
29. The maximum liability for maritime claims that arise on any distinct occasion involving a ship of less than 300 gross tonnage, other than claims referred to in section 28, is
(a) $1,000,000 in respect of claims for loss of life or personal injury; and
(b) $500,000 in respect of any other claims.
Marginal note:Calculation of tonnage
29.1 For the purposes of sections 28 and 29, a ship’s gross tonnage shall be calculated in accordance with the tonnage measurement rules contained in Annex I of the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969, concluded at London on June 23, 1969, including any amendments, whenever they are made, to the Annexes or Appendix to that Convention.
- Date modified:
