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

Act current to 2024-02-20 and last amended on 2023-06-22. Previous Versions

PART 8Pollution Prevention and Response — Department of Transport and Department of Fisheries and Oceans (continued)

Response Measures (continued)

Marginal note:Entry on private property

  •  (1) The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans or a pollution response officer may enter private property – other than a dwelling-house – and pass through it, including with vehicles and equipment, for the purposes of exercising their powers or performing their duties or functions under this Part.

  • Marginal note:Accompanying persons

    (2) If the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans or a pollution response officer enters private property and passes through it, they may be accompanied by any person who they believe is necessary to help them in exercising their powers or performing their duties or functions under this Part.

  • Marginal note:Use of property

    (3) If required, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans or the pollution response officer may use property adjacent to or in the vicinity of a vessel, oil handling facility or hazardous and noxious substances handling facility — other than a dwelling-house — for the purposes of exercising their powers or performing their duties or functions under this Part, and any person accompanying that Minister or the pollution response officer may use such property to help that Minister or officer exercise their powers or perform their duties or functions under this Part.

  • Marginal note:Compensation

    (4) Her Majesty in right of Canada may compensate the owner of the property referred to in subsection (3), or any person that has, either by law or by contract, the rights of the owner of that property in respect of its possession and use, for any loss or damage caused by the use of that property under subsection (3) that exceeds the value of the benefit derived by the owner or person from that use.

Marginal note:Statutory Instruments Act

 An order or direction given under this Part by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans or a pollution response officer is not a statutory instrument as defined in the Statutory Instruments Act.

  • 2018, c. 27, s. 703

Marginal note:Immunity — taking or refraining from taking measures

  •  (1) A person who, or vessel that, is directed to take or refrain from taking measures under paragraph 180(1)(c) is not personally liable, either civilly or criminally, for anything they do or omit to do in the course of complying with the direction, unless it is established that the act or omission was not reasonable in the circumstances.

  • Marginal note:Immunity — providing assistance

    (1.1) A person who provides assistance or advice in taking or refraining from taking any measure under section 180 is not personally liable, either civilly or criminally, for anything that they do or omit to do in the course of providing the assistance or advice, unless it is established that the act or omission was not reasonable in the circumstances.

  • Marginal note:Immunity — accompanying Minister or officer

    (1.2) A person who accompanies the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans or a pollution response officer under subsection 180.1(2) or (3) is not personally liable, either civilly or criminally, for anything that they do or omit to do in the exercise of their powers under that subsection in accompanying the Minister or officer, unless it is established that the act or omission was not reasonable in the circumstances.

  • Marginal note:Civil or criminal liability

    (2) Response organizations, their agents or mandataries, and persons who have been designated in writing by the Minister as approved responders, are not personally liable, either civilly or criminally, in respect of any act or omission occurring or arising during the course of a response operation unless it is shown that the act or omission was committed with the intent to cause loss or damage, or recklessly and with the knowledge that loss or damage would probably result.

  • Marginal note:Exception

    (3) Nothing in subsection (1) affects the liability of the owner of a vessel, or of the vessel, that had discharged, was discharging or may have discharged a pollutant in respect of

    • (a) the occurrence that resulted in the taking of the measures referred to in subsection 180(1); and

    • (b) any act or omission in the course of complying with a direction given under paragraph 180(1)(c).

  • Marginal note:Definition of response operation

    (4) In this section, response operation means the activities undertaken following a discharge, or a grave and imminent threat of a discharge, from a vessel or an oil handling facility, including activities related to or connected with surveillance of and assessing areas of pollution, mobilizing and demobilizing response equipment and resources, protective booming, containment, recovery, dispersal or destruction of the pollutant, shoreline mitigation and restoration, transporting and disposing of recovered pollutant or waste materials and planning and supervising activities related to the response operation.

  • 2001, c. 26, s. 181
  • 2014, c. 29, s. 68
  • 2018, c. 27, s. 704

Marginal note:Immunity — civil liability

 The following persons are not civilly liable for anything they do or omit to do in good faith under this Part:

  • 2018, c. 27, s. 705

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

  •  (1) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Part, including regulations

    • (a) respecting the circumstances in which operators of oil handling facilities shall report discharges or anticipated discharges of pollutants, the manner of making the reports and the persons to whom the reports shall be made;

    • (b) respecting the issuance, amendment, suspension, reinstatement, cancellation or renewal of certificates referred to in section 169;

    • (c) respecting the purposes for which fees may be charged in relation to an arrangement referred to in paragraph 167(1)(a) or 168(1)(a) and the manner in which response organizations and persons who make an application under subsection 169(1) must calculate proposed fees before notifying the Minister of the fees under subsection 170(1);

    • (d) respecting the establishment by response organizations of committees of persons who have arrangements with them and the provision to the committees of information regarding fees and proposed fees;

    • (d.1) establishing classes of oil handling facilities and determining which of the requirements set out in sections 167.1 to 168.01 apply to the operators of, or to persons who propose to operate, oil handling facilities of each class;

    • (d.2) respecting oil pollution prevention plans and oil pollution emergency plans, including the time within which the plans shall be submitted to the Minister and the circumstances in which up-to-date plans shall be submitted to the Minister;

    • (d.3) respecting the procedures, equipment and resources referred to in paragraph 168(1)(e) and section 168.3;

    • (d.4) respecting the information and documents referred to in sections 167.1 and 167.3 and subsection 168.01(2), including the time within which the information and documents shall be submitted to the Minister; and

    • (e) prescribing anything that by this Part is to be prescribed.

  • Marginal note:Designation

    (2) Despite the regulations, the Minister may designate an oil handling facility that is part of a class established by the regulations to be part of a different class established by the regulations or an oil handling facility that is not part of a class established by the regulations to be part of one of those classes.

  • Marginal note:Notification

    (3) The Minister shall notify the operator of an oil handling facility of any designation made in respect of it under subsection (2).

Offences and Punishment

Marginal note:Contravention of Act

  •  (1) Every person who, or vessel that, contravenes any of the following commits an offence:

    • (a) paragraph 167(1)(a) (have an arrangement);

    • (a.1) subsection 167.2(1) (submission of oil pollution prevention plan and oil pollution emergency plan);

    • (a.2) subsection 167.2(3) (prohibition against beginning operations);

    • (a.3) section 167.4 (submission of plans);

    • (b) paragraph 168(1)(a) (have an arrangement);

    • (b.1) paragraph 168(1)(c.1) (submission of up-to-date oil pollution prevention plan);

    • (b.2) paragraph 168(1)(d.1) (submission of up-to-date oil pollution emergency plan);

    • (c) paragraph 168(1)(e) (have procedures, equipment and resources available for immediate use);

    • (d) paragraph 168(3)(a) (implement oil pollution prevention plan);

    • (e) paragraph 168(3)(b) (implement oil pollution emergency plan);

    • (e.01) subsection 168.01(3) (revise plans);

    • (e.02) subsection 168.01(4) (prohibition against making changes);

    • (e.1) a direction given under section 168.1 (to update or revise plans);

    • (e.2) a direction given under paragraph 168.3(b) (to take measures);

    • (f) paragraph 171(b) (have equipment and resources at the site);

    • (g) paragraph 171(e) (implement response plan);

    • (h) a direction given under paragraph 175.1(2)(a), (c) or (d) (direction resulting from a discharge or possible discharge of a pollutant);

    • (i) subsection 177(7) (giving clearance to detained vessel);

    • (j) subsection 177(8) (moving detained vessel);

    • (k) section 178 (wilfully interfering with service of notice); or

    • (l) a direction given under paragraph 180(1)(c) (to take measures or refrain from doing so).

  • Marginal note:Punishment

    (2) Every person who, or vessel that, commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than eighteen months, or to both.

  • 2001, c. 26, s. 183
  • 2005, c. 29, s. 28
  • 2014, c. 29, s. 70

Marginal note:Contravention of Act or regulations

  •  (1) Every person who, or vessel that, contravenes any of the following commits an offence:

    • (a) paragraph 167(1)(b) (have a declaration on board);

    • (a.1) section 167.1 (notification of proposed operations);

    • (a.2) subsection 167.2(2) (submission of information or documents);

    • (a.3) section 167.3 (notification of operations);

    • (b) paragraph 168(1)(b) (have a declaration on site);

    • (c) paragraph 168(1)(c) (have oil pollution prevention plan on site);

    • (d) paragraph 168(1)(d) (have oil pollution emergency plan on site);

    • (d.01) subsection 168.01(1) (notification of proposed change to operations);

    • (d.02) subsection 168.01(2) (submission of information or documents);

    • (d.1) a direction given under section 168.2 (to provide information);

    • (e) paragraph 171(a) (have a response plan);

    • (f) paragraph 171(c) (provide or arrange for training);

    • (g) paragraph 171(d) (undertake and participate in activities to evaluate response plan);

    • (h) paragraph 171(f) (provide information);

    • (h.1) a direction given under section 171.1 (to provide documents);

    • (i) a direction given under paragraph 175.1(1)(a) (to provide information officer considers appropriate);

    • (j) a direction given under paragraph 175.1(1)(b) (to proceed by a route and not in excess of a speed);

    • (k) a direction given under paragraph 175.1(1)(c) (to provide information relating to pollution plan);

    • (l) a direction given under paragraph 175.1(1)(d) or (e) (to provide documents);

    • (m) a direction given under paragraph 176(1)(b) (to provide reasonable assistance);

    • (n) a direction given under paragraph 176(1)(c) or (d) (to provide information or to produce documents for inspection); and

    • (o) a provision of the regulations made under this Part.

  • Marginal note:Punishment

    (2) Every person who, or vessel that, commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or to both.

  • 2001, c. 26, s. 184
  • 2014, c. 29, s. 71

PART 9Pollution Prevention — Department of Transport

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

 The definitions in this section apply in this Part.

discharge

discharge means a discharge of a pollutant that directly or indirectly results in the pollutant entering waters, and includes spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, throwing and dumping. (rejet)

hazardous and noxious substance

hazardous and noxious substance means a substance other than oil that, if introduced into the marine environment, is likely to create hazards to human health, harm living resources and marine life, damage amenities or interfere with legitimate uses of the marine environment. (substance nocive et potentiellement dangereuse)

hazardous and noxious substances pollution incident

hazardous and noxious substances pollution incident means any occurrence or series of occurrences having the same origin, including fire or explosion, that results or may result in a discharge of hazardous and noxious substances. (événement de pollution par les substances nocives et potentiellement dangereuses)

Minister

Minister means the Minister of Transport. (ministre)

oil pollution incident

oil pollution incident means an occurrence, or a series of occurrences having the same origin, that results or may result in a discharge of oil. (événement de pollution par les hydrocarbures)

pollutant

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 a 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 a plant that is useful to humans.

It includes oil, hazardous and noxious substances and any substance or class of substances that is prescribed for the purpose of Part 8 (Pollution Prevention and Response — Department of Transport and Department of Fisheries and Oceans) to be a pollutant. (polluant)

 

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