Canada Shipping Act, 2001 (S.C. 2001, c. 26)

Marginal note:Sale or other disposition of goods

• 249. (1) If an owner of goods does not take delivery of the goods after notice of delivery has been given or fails to discharge a lien after it is exercised, the carrier may

  • (a) sell them by public auction at any time that is 90 days after the notice of delivery is given and 10 days after giving notice of the time and place of the auction in a newspaper that is circulated in the vicinity of the auction; or

  • (b) if the goods are perishable or pose a threat to public health or safety, sell or otherwise dispose of them in the manner and for the price that is reasonable in the circumstances after giving notice of the sale or other disposition to the owner of the goods.

• Marginal note:Application of proceeds of disposition

  (2) The proceeds of the disposition must be credited toward payment of the amounts due or payable under the contract of carriage or any other amounts reasonably incurred for storing, disposing of or preserving the goods. Any surplus must be paid to the owner of the goods.

Marginal note:Responsibility for goods

250. Subject to the Carriage of Goods by Water Act, carriers must use due care and diligence in the safe-keeping and punctual conveyance of goods delivered to them for carriage by water.

Stevedoring

Marginal note:Actions in rem

• 251. (1) A person who has contracted with the authorized representative or a bare-boat charterer of a vessel in Canada to provide stevedoring may maintain an action in rem in the Federal Court, or any court of competent jurisdiction whose rules provide for in rem procedure in respect of vessels, for a claim in respect of the stevedoring.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (2) The right of action in rem referred to in subsection (1) may be exercised only while the vessel is chartered to the bare-boat charterer and only if the bare-boat charterer is joined as a defendant.

• Marginal note:Does not affect other rights

  (3) For greater certainty, nothing in this section limits the right of a person to maintain an action in rem for stevedoring under Canadian maritime law, within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Federal Court Act.

• Definition of “stevedoring”

  (4) In this section, “stevedoring” includes trimming, lighterage and the supply of any goods or services in relation to stevedoring.

Proof of Offences by Vessels

Marginal note:Proof of offence

• 252. (1) In a prosecution of a vessel for an offence under this Act, it is sufficient proof that the vessel has committed the offence to establish that the act or omission that constitutes the offence was committed by the master or any person on board, other than a person carrying out an inspection under this Act or a pollution prevention officer, whether or not the person on board has been identified.

• Marginal note:Directions

  (2) For the purpose of prosecuting a vessel for contravening a direction given under this Act, a direction given to the master, a crew member or any person on board who is, or appears to be, in charge of the vessel, is deemed to have been given to the vessel.

Offences

Marginal note:Damage to environment and risk of death or harm to persons

• 253. (1) Every person is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction on indictment to a fine or to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, or to both, who, in committing an offence under this Act,

  • (a) intentionally or recklessly causes a disaster that results in the loss of life or serious damage to the environment; or

  • (b) shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons and thereby causes a risk of death or bodily harm to another person.

• Marginal note:Criminal negligence

  (2) Every person who, in committing an offence under this Act, shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons and thereby causes death or bodily harm to another person is subject to prosecution and punishment under section 220 or 221 of the Criminal Code.

Due Diligence

Marginal note:Persons

• 254. (1) No person may be found guilty of an offence under this Act if the person establishes that they exercised due diligence to prevent its commission.

• Marginal note:Vessels

  (2) No vessel may be found guilty of an offence under this Act if the person who committed the act or omission that constitutes the offence establishes that they exercised due diligence to prevent its commission.

Prohibitions on Conviction

Marginal note:Court order

255. If a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may, in addition to any other punishment it may impose, make an order

• (a) if the person is the holder of a Canadian maritime document, prohibiting the person from doing any act or thing authorized by the document at all times while the document is in force or for the period or at the times and places that may be specified in the order; or

• (b) prohibiting the person from operating a vessel or providing services essential to the operation of a vessel for the period or at the times and places that may be specified in the order.

Summary Conviction Proceedings

Marginal note:Limitation period

• 256. (1) Proceedings by way of summary conviction under this Act may be instituted within two years after the day on which the Minister of Transport or the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, as the case may be, becomes aware of the subject-matter of the proceedings.

• Marginal note:Certificate of Minister

  (2) A document that purports to have been issued by the Minister referred to in subsection (1), and that certifies the day on which that Minister became aware of the subject-matter of the proceedings, is admissible in evidence without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed the document and is evidence that the Minister became aware of the subject-matter on that day.

• Marginal note:Defendant outside Canada

  (3) If the proceedings cannot be commenced within two years because the proposed defendant is outside Canada, the proceedings may be commenced not later than two months after they arrive in Canada.

Jurisdiction

Marginal note:Jurisdiction in case of offences

• 257. (1) For the purpose of giving jurisdiction under this Act, every offence is deemed to have been committed and every cause of complaint to have arisen either in the place where the offence actually was committed or arose, or in any place where the offender or person or vessel complained against may be.

• Marginal note:Presumption of jurisdiction

  (2) If, in a legal proceeding under this Act, a question arises as to whether a vessel or person is within any of the provisions of this Act or the regulations, the vessel or person is deemed to be within those provisions unless the contrary is proved.

Marginal note:Jurisdiction over vessels lying off coasts

• 258. (1) If a district within which a court, justice of the peace or provincial court judge has jurisdiction either under this Act or under any other Act or at common law, for any purpose whatever, is situated on the coast of a sea, or abuts on or projects into navigable waters, the court, justice or provincial court judge has jurisdiction over any vessel on, or lying or passing off, that coast or in or near those navigable waters, and over all persons on board, in the same manner as if the vessel or persons were within the limits of the original jurisdiction of the court, justice or provincial court judge.

• Marginal note:Added power of courts

  (2) The jurisdiction under this section is in addition to and not in derogation of any jurisdiction or power of a court under the Criminal Code.

Damage Occasioned by Foreign Vessels

Marginal note:Power to detain foreign vessel that has caused damage

259. If the Federal Court is satisfied that damage or loss has in any part of the world been caused to property that belongs to Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province or to a qualified person by the fault, in whole or in part, of a vessel that is registered in a foreign state and that is at the time of the application in Canadian waters, on ex parte application the Federal Court may issue an order requiring any person named by the Court to detain the vessel until the applicant has been compensated for the damage or loss or until security, in the form and amount approved by the Court, is deposited with the Court.

Defence

Marginal note:Defence available in certain cases

260. It is a defence in proceedings under this Act for contravening a direction that the vessel to which or person to whom the direction was given

• (a) believed on reasonable grounds that complying with the direction would have imperilled life, the environment or any vessel or property; and

• (b) notified the person who gave the direction, as soon as feasible, of the contravention and of the reasons for it.

Depositions in Legal Proceedings

Marginal note:Depositions received when witness cannot be produced

• 261. (1) A deposition of a witness is admissible in evidence in the course of a proceeding under this Act if

  • (a) the testimony of the witness is required in relation to the subject-matter of the proceeding and the witness cannot be found in Canada;

  • (b) the deposition was made on oath outside Canada in relation to the same subject-matter before a justice or magistrate of another state or before a diplomatic or consular officer of Canada or a person recognized by Her Majesty in right of Canada as a diplomatic or consular officer of another state, and the deposition is signed by the justice, magistrate or officer; and

  • (c) in the case of a criminal proceeding, the deposition was made in the presence of the person accused and that fact is certified by the justice, magistrate or officer.

• Marginal note:Certificate as evidence

  (2) It is not necessary in any case to prove the signature or official character of the person who appears to have signed the deposition, and in a criminal proceeding a certificate under this section is, unless the contrary is proved, sufficient evidence that the deposition was made in the presence of the person accused.

• Marginal note:Certified copies

  (3) A copy of the deposition or an extract from one is admissible in evidence if it purports to be signed and certified as a true copy or extract by the justice, magistrate or officer.

Procedure

Marginal note:Examination of persons before trial

• 262. (1) A crew member who is likely to be obliged to leave the province in which an offence under this Act is prosecuted, or a witness who is sick, infirm or about to leave the province, may be examined before a commissioner for oaths or other proper authority in the same manner that a deposition is taken in a civil case.

• Marginal note:Use of examination

  (2) An examination under subsection (1) may be used at the trial or proceeding in respect of which it was taken if the crew member or witness is unable to attend or cannot be produced.