Harbour Commissions Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-1)

Full Document:

Act current to 2012-05-02 and last amended on 2011-11-29. Previous Versions

Harbour Commissions Act

An Act to provide for the establishment of harbour commissions

1. This Act may be cited as the Harbour Commissions Act.

2. In this Act,

“Commission” « commission »: “Commission” means a harbour Commission established pursuant to section 5;
“harbour” Version anglaise seulement: “harbour”, in relation to a Commission, means the harbour for which that Commission is established;
“member” « commissaire »: “member” means a member of a Commission;
“Minister” « ministre »: “Minister” means the Minister of Transport;
“vessel” « navire »: “vessel” includes any ship, boat, barge, raft, dredge, floating elevator, scow, sea-plane or other floating craft.

3. (1) It is hereby declared that the objective of the national ports policy for Canada is to create a port system that
- (a) is an effective instrument of support for the achievement of Canadian international trade objectives and of national, regional and local economic and social objectives;
- (b) is efficient;
- (c) provides accessibility and equitable treatment in the movement of goods and persons to users of Canadian ports;
- (d) provides harbour Commissions with a high degree of autonomy for the management and operation of the ports for which they are established, consistent with the responsibility of the Minister to ensure the integrity and efficiency of the national ports system and the optimum deployment of resources; and
- (e) is coordinated with other marine activities and surface and air transportation systems.
Marginal note:Idem
(2) It is further declared that achievement of the objective of the national ports policy requires the establishment, at ports at which there is demonstrated local interest in the management thereof and that are expected to be financially self-sufficient, of harbour Commissions each of which is comprised of persons who have proven experience and capacity applicable to the management and operation of the port and who are for the most part residents in the vicinity thereof.