Marine Liability Act (S.C. 2001, c. 6)

Marginal note:Public notice

• 33.1 (1) In the case of a maritime claim referred to in paragraph 33(1)(a.1), the person constituting the fund must, as soon as feasible, give notice of the fund’s constitution in

  • (a) the Canada Gazette;

  • (b) a newspaper in general circulation in the region where the incident occurred; and

  • (c) any other appropriate manner in the communities potentially affected by the incident.

• Marginal note:Accessibility

  (2) Notices given under paragraphs (1)(b) and (c) are to be made accessible to the public for a period of at least 30 days.

• Marginal note:Proof of accessibility

  (3) The person constituting the fund must, within 15 days after the 30th day of the period referred to in subsection (2), file evidence in the Admiralty Court that the notices have been made accessible to the public for a period of at least 30 days.

• Marginal note:Court order in case of non-compliance

  (4) The Admiralty Court may issue any order that it deems appropriate to remedy the failure of the person to give any of the required public notices or the inadequacy of a notice.

Marginal note:Release of ships, etc.

• 34 (1) If a ship or other property is released under paragraph 2 of Article 13 of the Convention, in any case other than one in which a fund has been constituted in a place described in paragraphs 2(a) to (d) of that Article, the person who obtained the release is deemed to have submitted to the jurisdiction of the court that ordered the release for the purpose of determining the claim.

• Marginal note:Limitation fund in state other than Canada

  (2) In considering whether to release a ship or other property referred to in subsection (1), the court shall not have regard to a limitation fund constituted in a country other than Canada unless the court is satisfied that the country is a State Party to the Convention.

Regulations

Marginal note:Governor in Council

34.1 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) prescribing classes of persons for the purpose of paragraph 28(3)(d); and

• (b) generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Division.

DIVISION 2Limitation of Liability — Air Cushion Vehicles

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

34.2 The following definitions apply in this Division.

Convention

Convention means the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976, concluded at London on November 19, 1976, as amended by the Protocol, Articles 1 to 15 of which Convention are set out in Part 1 of Schedule 1. (Convention)

owner

owner, in relation to an air cushion vehicle, means the owner, charterer, manager and operator of an air cushion vehicle. (propriétaire)

passenger

passenger means

• (a) a person carried on board an air cushion vehicle

  • (i) under a contract of passenger carriage, or

  • (ii) to accompany, with the consent of the carrier, a vehicle or live animals which are covered by a contract for the carriage of goods; or

• (b) a participant in an adventure tourism activity referred to in subsection 37.1(1). (passager)

Protocol

Protocol means the Protocol of 1996 to amend the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976, concluded at London on May 2, 1996. (Protocole)

Application

Marginal note:Force of law

• 34.3 (1) Subject to the other provisions of this Division, Article 1, paragraphs 1(a) to (c), (e) and (f) and paragraph 2 of Article 2, paragraphs (a), (c) and (e) of Article 3, Articles 4 and 5, paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 6, paragraph 1 of Article 9 and Articles 10 to 14 of the Convention have the force of law in Canada in relation to air cushion vehicles.

• Marginal note:Adaptation — Convention

  (2) For the purposes of this Division, the provisions of the Convention referred to in subsection (1) are adapted as follows:

  • (a) a reference to “ship” or “vessel” is to be read as a reference to “air cushion vehicle”;

  • (b) a reference to “shipowner” is to be read as a reference to “owner”;

  • (c) paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the Convention is to be read without reference to the word “seagoing”;

  • (d) the expression “carriage by sea” in paragraph 1(b) of Article 2 of the Convention is to be read as “carriage by water”;

  • (e) the first reference to “paragraph 1(a)” in paragraph 2 of Article 6 of the Convention is to be read as reference to “subsection 34.4(1), (2) or (4)” of this Act and the second reference to “paragraph 1(a)” is to be read as a reference to “subsections 34.4(1), (2) and (4) in proportion to the amount of the established claims under each of those subsections”;

  • (f) a reference to “paragraph 1(b)” in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 6 of the Convention is to be read as a reference to “subsection 34.4(5)” of this Act;

  • (g) the reference to “Article 6” in paragraph 1 of Article 9 of the Convention is to be read as a reference to “section 34.4” of this Act;

  • (h) the reference to “Articles 6 and 7” in paragraph 1 of Article 11 of the Convention is to be read as a reference to “section 34.4” of this Act; and

  • (i) the reference to “the provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Article 6 and of Article 7” in paragraph 1 of Article 12 of the Convention is to be read as a reference to “section 34.4” of this Act.

• Marginal note:Inconsistency

  (3) In the event of any inconsistency between sections 34.4 to 34.7 of this Act and the provisions of the Convention referred to in subsection (1), those sections prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

Maximum Liability

Marginal note:Passenger claims

• 34.4 (1) The maximum liability for claims that arise on any distinct occasion for loss of life or personal injury to passengers of an air cushion vehicle of less than 8 000 kg all up weight is the greater of

  • (a) $3,500,000, and

  • (b) $300,000 multiplied by

    • (i) the number of passengers that the air cushion vehicle 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 air cushion vehicle, if no Canadian maritime document is required under that Act.

• Marginal note:Claims — no contract of carriage

  (2) The maximum liability for claims that arise on any distinct occasion for loss of life or personal injury to persons carried on board an air cushion vehicle of less than 8 000 kg all up weight otherwise than under a contract of passenger carriage is the greater of

  • (a) $3,500,000, and

  • (b) $300,000 multiplied by

    • (i) the number of passengers that the air cushion vehicle 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 air cushion vehicle, 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 an air cushion vehicle, a member of an air cushion vehicle’s crew — or any other person employed or engaged in any capacity on the business of an air cushion vehicle — when they are carried on board the air cushion vehicle;

  • (b) a person carried on board an air cushion vehicle that is not operated for a commercial or public purpose;

  • (c) a person carried on board an air cushion vehicle 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 of the air cushion vehicle could have prevented; or

  • (d) a stowaway, a trespasser or any other person who boards an air cushion vehicle without the consent or knowledge of the master or the owner of the air cushion vehicle.

• Marginal note:Other claims — loss of life or personal injury

  (4) The maximum liability for claims that arise on any distinct occasion for loss of life or personal injury involving an air cushion vehicle, other than claims referred to in subsections (1) and (2), is

  • (a) $1,500,000 for an air cushion vehicle of less than 8 000 kg all up weight;

  • (b) $5,000,000 for an air cushion vehicle of 8 000 kg or more but less than 13 000 kg all up weight; and

  • (c) $5,000,000 for an air cushion vehicle of 13 000 kg or more all up weight, plus $40 for each kilogram that exceeds 13 000 kg.

• Marginal note:Other claims

  (5) The maximum liability for claims that arise on any distinct occasion involving an air cushion vehicle, other than claims referred to in subsections (1), (2) and (4), is

  • (a) $750,000 for an air cushion vehicle of less than 8 000 kg all up weight;

  • (b) $2,500,000 for an air cushion vehicle of 8 000 kg or more but less than 13 000 kg all up weight; and

  • (c) $2,500,000 for an air cushion vehicle of 13 000 kg or more all up weight, plus $20 for each kilogram that exceeds 13 000 kg.

Procedure

Marginal note:Jurisdiction of Admiralty Court

• 34.5 (1) The Admiralty Court has exclusive jurisdiction with respect to any matter relating to the constitution and distribution of a limitation fund under Articles 11 to 13 of the Convention.

• Marginal note:Right to assert limitation defence

  (2) If a claim is made or apprehended against a person in respect of liability that is limited by section 34.4, that person may assert the right to limitation of liability in a defence filed, or by way of action or counterclaim for declaratory relief, in any court of competent jurisdiction in Canada.

Marginal note:Powers of Admiralty Court

• 34.6 (1) If a claim is made or apprehended against a person in respect of liability that is limited by section 34.4, the Admiralty Court, on application by that person or any other interested person, including a person who is a party to proceedings in relation to the same subject-matter before another court, tribunal or authority, may take any steps it considers appropriate, including

  • (a) determining the amount of the liability and providing for the constitution and distribution of a fund under Articles 11 and 12 of the Convention;

  • (b) joining interested persons as parties to the proceedings, excluding any claimants who do not make a claim within a certain time, requiring security from the person claiming limitation of liability or from any other interested person and requiring the payment of any costs; and

  • (c) enjoining any person from commencing or continuing proceedings in any court, tribunal or authority other than the Admiralty Court in relation to the same subject-matter.

• Marginal note:Court may postpone distribution

  (2) In providing for the distribution of a fund under paragraph (1)(a) in relation to any liability, the Admiralty Court may, having regard to any claim that may subsequently be established before a court, tribunal or other authority outside Canada in respect of that liability, postpone the distribution of any part of the fund that it considers appropriate.

• Marginal note:Lien and other rights

  (3) No lien or other right in respect of an air cushion vehicle or other property affects the proportions in which a fund is distributed by the Admiralty Court.

• Marginal note:Procedural matters

  (4) The Admiralty Court may

  • (a) make any rule of procedure it considers appropriate with respect to proceedings before it under this section; and

  • (b) determine what form of guarantee it considers to be adequate for the purposes of paragraph 2 of Article 11 of the Convention.

• Marginal note:Interest

  (5) For the purposes of Article 11 of the Convention, interest is payable at the rate prescribed under the Income Tax Act for amounts payable by the Minister of National Revenue as refunds of overpayments of tax under that Act.