Marine Personnel Regulations (SOR/2007-115)

Payment on Termination of Employment

316 The master of a vessel shall ensure that a crew member is paid any wages due when their employment is terminated

• (a) without undue delay; or

• (b) in accordance with any applicable collective agreement.

Transmittal of Wages

• 317 (1) The authorized representative of a vessel shall take measures to provide crew members with a means to transmit all or part of their wages to their families, dependants, assigns or successors. The measures may include a system to enable crew members, when they enter into articles of agreement or while working on board, to allot a portion of their earnings to their families by bank transfers or similar means.

• (2) The authorized representative shall ensure that the allotments are remitted in due time and directly to the person or persons nominated by the crew members.

• (3) The authorized representative shall ensure that any charge for the measures taken under subsection (1) is reasonable and that the rate of exchange is at the prevailing market rate or is determined in accordance with any applicable collective agreement.

Compensation of Crew Members in Case of Shipwrecks

• 318 (1) The authorized representative of a vessel that is shipwrecked shall pay to every crew member who was on board immediately before the shipwreck an indemnity against unemployment resulting from the shipwreck.

• (2) The indemnity shall be paid for the days during which the crew member remains unemployed at the same rate as the wages payable under the contract of employment, but the total indemnity payable to any one seafarer may be limited to two months’ wages.

• (3) Crew members shall have the same legal remedies for recovering the indemnities as they have for recovering arrears of wages.

Hours of Work and Hours of Rest

Application

• 319 (1) Sections 320, 322 and 323 apply in respect of Canadian vessels, including fishing vessels of 100 gross tonnage or more,

  • (a) engaged on sheltered waters voyages; or

  • (b) engaged on near coastal voyages, Class 1 or near coastal voyages, Class 2 while the vessels are in any waters other than those of a foreign state that has ratified the Convention.

• (2) Sections 321 to 324 apply in respect of

  • (a) Canadian vessels

    • (i) engaged on near coastal voyages, Class 1 or near coastal voyages, Class 2 while the vessels are in the waters of a foreign state that has ratified the Convention, or

    • (ii) engaged on unlimited voyages; and

  • (b) foreign vessels in Canadian waters.

Minimum and Maximum Periods

320 The master of a vessel referred to in subsection 319(1) shall ensure that

• (a) the master and every crew member have

  • (i) at least six consecutive hours of rest in every 24-hour period, and

  • (ii) at least 16 hours of rest in every 48-hour period; and

• (b) not more than 18 hours but not less than six hours elapse between the end of a rest period and the beginning of the next rest period.

• 321 (1) The master of a vessel referred to in subsection 319(2) shall ensure that the master and every crew member

  • (a) do not work more than 14 hours in any 24-hour period or more than 72 hours in any 7-day period; or

  • (b) have at least 10 hours of rest in every 24-hour period and 77 hours of rest in every 7-day period.

• (2) The master shall ensure that

  • (a) the hours of rest are divided into no more than two periods, one of which is at least 6 hours in length; and

  • (b) the interval between two consecutive rest periods does not exceed 14 hours.

Other Considerations and Limitations

• 322 (1) The master of a vessel shall ensure that the danger posed by the fatigue of crew members, especially those whose duties involve navigational safety and the safe and secure operation of the vessel, is taken into account when determining the scheduled hours of work and rest.

• (2) Despite sections 320 and 321 and subject to subsection (1), the master may ensure that the hours of work and rest are in accordance with an applicable collective agreement that provides for hours of work and rest that are no less favourable to crew members.

• (3) Sections 320 and 321 and subsection (2) do not apply when the master is conducting practice musters, fire-fighting drills or survival craft drills in accordance with regulations made under the Act if the master does so in a manner that minimizes the disturbance of rest periods and does not induce fatigue.

• (4) Sections 320 and 321 and subsection (2) do not apply in respect of a crew member who is on call if the crew member has compensatory rest periods and the rest period required by those provisions is disturbed by calls to work.

• (5) The master may suspend the schedule of hours of work and rest if it is necessary to do so for the immediate safety of the vessel, persons on board or the cargo, or for the purposes of giving assistance to other vessels or persons in distress at sea. As soon as feasible, the master shall ensure that every crew member who has performed work in a scheduled rest period is provided with a compensatory rest period.

Records

323 The master of a vessel shall keep a record of every crew member’s daily hours of work or hours of rest until the crew member is discharged.

Table of Shipboard Working Arrangements

• 324 (1) The master of a vessel shall ensure that a table with the shipboard working arrangements is posted in a conspicuous place on board the vessel. For every position on board, the table shall contain

  • (a) the schedule of service at sea and in port; and

  • (b) the maximum hours of work or the minimum hours of rest required by section 321 or any applicable collective agreement.

• (2) The table shall be in the working language of the vessel and in English.

Annual Leave

• 325 (1) This section applies in respect of Canadian vessels that are engaged on

  • (a) near coastal voyages, Class 1 or international voyages that are not in Canadian waters or the waters of the continental United States (including Alaska); or

  • (b) unlimited voyages.

• (2) Unless the time for a crew member to take paid annual leave is fixed by the applicable collective agreement or an arbitration award, the vessel’s authorized representative shall determine when it is to be taken after consultation and, as far as possible, in agreement with the crew member or their representative.

• (3) If a crew member is required to take their paid annual leave from a place other than the place at which they first came on board, the vessel’s authorized representative shall ensure that

  • (a) they are entitled to free transportation to the latter place, including the subsistence and other costs directly involved in their return; and

  • (b) the travel time involved is not deducted from their paid annual leave.

• (4) The authorized representative shall ensure that no crew member who is on paid annual leave is recalled unless there is an extreme emergency.

Shore Leave

326 The master of a Canadian vessel shall grant crew members shore leave consistent with their health and well-being and with the operational requirements of their positions.

Repatriation

• 327 (1) The authorized representative of a Canadian vessel shall ensure that no crew member is required to make an advance payment at the beginning of their employment towards the expenses referred to in subsection 94(1) of the Act or section 328.

• (2) The authorized representative shall ensure that the time a crew member spends waiting to be returned and being returned under subsection 94(1) of the Act or section 328 is not deducted from the paid leave accrued to them.

• 328 (1) Except in the case of desertion or mutual agreement, before a Canadian vessel is disposed of or is transferred to the flag of a foreign state or when a Canadian vessel is totally unseaworthy, the vessel’s authorized representative shall

  • (a) ensure that arrangements are made to return every crew member to the place where they first came on board or to another place to which they have agreed; and

  • (b) pay the expenses of returning every crew member as well as all expenses, including medical expenses, that the crew member reasonably incurs before being returned.

• (2) The authorized representative of a Canadian vessel shall have insurance or other financial arrangements sufficient to compensate crew members for any monetary loss that they may reasonably incur as a result of a failure of the authorized representative to meet its obligations to them under subsection 94(1) of the Act or subsection (1).

• (3) If the authorized representative does not comply with subsection (1), the Minister may act in place of the authorized representative and any expenses incurred by the Minister constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada by the authorized representative and may be recovered as such in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Food and Water

• 329 (1) The master of a Canadian vessel that is engaged on a voyage other than a sheltered waters voyage, an inland voyage or an intraprovincial voyage shall ensure that

  • (a) the crew members who are living on board can meet the recommendations of Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide;

  • (b) there is made available sufficient potable water for all crew members on board; and

  • (c) the vessel’s potable water system meets the requirements set out in paragraphs 8(a) to (g) of the Potable Water Regulations for Common Carriers.

• (2) No person shall charge a crew member for food or water required to comply with subsection (1).

Obligation of Persons Who Provide Crew Members

330 If the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel entered into an agreement with another person to provide crew members, that other person shall, in lieu of the authorized representative or the master with respect to those crew members, comply with the obligation of the authorized representative or master set out in

• (a) section 310, in respect of visas required to join the vessel;

• (b) subsection 327(1); and

• (c) subsections 328(1) and (2).

DIVISION 4Separate Hospital Accommodation

• 331 (1) [Repealed, SOR/2023-257, s. 527]

• (2) If a vessel has separate hospital accommodation on board, the master shall ensure that the accommodation is used exclusively for medical purposes.

• (3) This section does not apply in respect of vessels constructed before the day on which the Convention comes into force in Canada.

• (4) For the purpose of this section, a vessel is constructed on the earlier of

  • (a) the day on which its keel is laid, and

  • (b) the day on which construction identifiable with a specific vessel begins.

DIVISION 5On-board Complaint Procedures

• 332 (1) The master of a Canadian vessel that is engaged on an unlimited voyage, a near coastal voyage, Class 1 or an international voyage, other than an inland voyage, shall ensure that the crew members can avail themselves of the on-board complaint procedures set out in this section.

• (2) Crew members may make a complaint with respect to

  • (a) an alleged breach of

    • (i) any of the applicable requirements set out in subsection 93(1) or 94(1) of the Act or in subsection 334(1),

    • (ii) section 425 of the Criminal Code or the right to freedom of association and to collective bargaining set out in Part I of the Canada Labour Code, or

    • (iii) section 423 of the Criminal Code in respect of compelling someone to work; or

  • (b) an alleged discriminatory practice described in

    • (i) any of sections 7 to 12 and paragraph 14(1)(c) of the Canadian Human Rights Act, or

    • (ii) section 14.1 of that Act in respect of a complaint related to an alleged discriminatory practice described in a provision referred to in subparagraph (i).

• (3) The complaint may be made to

  • (a) the head of the crew member’s department;

  • (b) the crew member’s superior officer;

  • (c) the vessel’s master; or

  • (d) the vessel’s authorized representative.

• (4) A complainant may be represented by any other crew member on board if that crew member consents.

• (5) The complainant and their representative may attend any meeting or hearing with respect to the complaint.

• (6) If a person referred to in paragraph (3)(a) or (b) cannot resolve a complaint to the satisfaction of the complainant, the person shall refer it to the vessel’s master.

• (7) If the master cannot resolve a complaint to the satisfaction of the complainant, the master shall refer it to the vessel’s authorized representative.

• (8) The person to whom a complaint is made or referred shall attempt to resolve it as soon as feasible.

• (9) The person who resolves a complaint shall record in writing the details of the complaint and its resolution and give a copy of the record to the complainant and any other parties involved.

• (10) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting or restricting any right a crew member may have under any other law or under any custom, contract or arrangement.

• (11) This section does not apply in respect of complaints to which section 127.1 of the Canada Labour Code applies.

DIVISION 6Maritime Labour Certificates and Declarations of Compliance

Requirements to Hold

• 333 (1) Every Canadian vessel of 500 gross tonnage or more that is engaged on an international voyage, other than an inland voyage, shall hold a Maritime Labour Certificate or an Interim Maritime Labour Certificate.

• (2) The authorized representative of every Canadian vessel of 500 gross tonnage or more that is engaged on an international voyage, other than an inland voyage, shall hold a Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance.

• (3) Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of a vessel that holds an Interim Maritime Labour Certificate.

Issuance of Maritime Labour Certificates

• 334 (1) On application, the Minister shall issue a Maritime Labour Certificate to a Canadian vessel if the applicable requirements regarding the following are met:

  • (a) the minimum age of crew members as set out in section 302 and the work hours of persons under 18 years of age as set out in section 303;

  • (b) medical certification as set out in Division 8 of Part 2;

  • (c) qualifications of seafarers as set out in Part 1;

  • (d) articles of agreement as set out in section 91 of the Act and section 308, collective agreements as set out in section 309 and certificates of discharge as set out in section 92 of the Act;

  • (e) use of recruitment and placement services as set out in subsection 304(2);

  • (f) hours of work or rest as set out in sections 319 to 323;

  • (g) crewing levels for the vessel as set out in Part 2;

  • (h) health and safety as set out in Part II of the Canada Labour Code, as well as

    • (i) accommodation and on-board recreational facilities as set out in the Vessel Construction and Equipment Regulations,

    • (ii) [Repealed, SOR/2023-257, s. 528]

    • (iii) food and catering as set out in section 329, and

    • (iv) accident prevention as set out in the Tackle Regulations;

  • (i) on-board complaint procedures as set out in section 127.1 of the Canada Labour Code and section 332; and

  • (j) payment and transmittal of wages as set out in sections 315 to 317.

• (2) On application, the Minister shall issue an Interim Maritime Labour Certificate to a Canadian vessel if the requirements referred to in subsection (3) are met and

  • (a) the vessel has just been registered in Canada; or

  • (b) there is a new authorized representative of the vessel following a change in ownership of the vessel.

• (3) The requirements referred to in subsection (2) are the following:

  • (a) the applicable requirements referred to in paragraphs (1)(b) to (d);

  • (b) the applicable requirements referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) and (e) to (j) in so far as meeting those requirements when the Interim Maritime Labour Certificate is issued is reasonable and feasible; and

  • (c) the vessel’s master is familiar with the requirements referred to in subsection (1) and who is to comply with them.

• (4) Subsections (1) to (3) apply in respect of fishing vessels that are Canadian vessels but they shall be considered as vessels that are not fishing vessels for the purpose of determining the applicable requirements referred to in

  • (a) paragraphs (1)(a), (b), (d), (e) and (h) to (j); and

  • (b) paragraph (1)(f) in so far as it relates to vessels referred to in subsection 319(2).