Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
Canadian maritime legislation and decisions 1998–1999
William Tetley, Q.C. *
LEGISLATION
A. Canada Shipping Act Amendment (Maritime Liability)
The provisions of the Act to Amend the Canada Shipping Act (Maritime Liability)1
which permit the coming into force of the 1992 Protocols2
to the Civil Liability Convention (CLC) 19693
and the Fund Convention 19714
came into force on 29 May 1999. The amendments have the effect of increasing the maximum compensation for oil pollution from approximately Can. $120 million to approximately Can. $270 million, including the limitation amount payable under the CLC Convention 1969 and a supplementary sum available from the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Fund. Costs of oil pollution preventive measures will be recoverable from owners of the polluting vessels, who will also be liable for reasonable measures of reinstatement where the pollution causes environmental impairment. The legislation covers Canada’s inland waters and territorial sea, as well as its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
B. Canada Shipping Act reform
The first phase (“Track I”) of the overall reform of the Canada Shipping Act5
was completed with the enactment of the Act to Amend the Canada Shipping Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.6
Section 20 of this Act, authorizing the Minister of Transport to direct the Chief Registrar to refuse to register or list a ship built outside Canada, came into force on 11 June 1998. Various other provisions came into force on 31 October 1998, including most of those of the new Part 0.1 of the Canada Shipping Act, outlining the objectives of the statute and the respective roles and powers of the Minister
* Professor of Law, McGill University and counsel to Langlois, Gaudreau, O’Connor of Montreal. The author is indebted to Robert C.Wilkins and to Veronica Henderson (McGill University) for their assistance in the preparation and correction of the text, as well as to Mark A.M.Gauthier, Senior Counsel, Transport Legal Services, Department of Justice of Canada and to David Colford.
1. S.C. 1998, c. 6, assented to on 12 May 1998.
2. Protocols of 1992 to Amend the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1969 and the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage 1971, adopted at London, 27 November 1992 and in force internationally as of 30 May 1996.
3. International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1969, adopted at Brussels, 29 November 1969 and in force internationally as of 19 June 1975.
4. International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, adopted at Brussels, 18 December 1971, and in force internationally as of 16 October 1978.
5. R.S.C. 1985, c. S-9.
6. S.C. 1998, c. 16, assented to on 11 June 1998.
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