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

Marginal note:Statement of fees

• 170 (1) A response organization, or a qualified person who makes an application under subsection 169(1), must notify the Minister, in the form and manner and including the information and accompanied by the documents specified by the Minister, of the fees that they propose to charge in relation to an arrangement referred to in paragraph 167(1)(a) or 168(1)(a).

• Marginal note:Notice

  (2) A response organization, or a qualified person who makes an application under subsection 169(1), must give notice of the proposed fees in the prescribed manner.

• Marginal note:Charging fees

  (3) A response organization may not charge the fees before the expiry of 30 days after the notice is given.

• Marginal note:Fee review

  (4) On the application of any interested person in the prescribed manner within 30 days after the notice is given, the Minister is to review the reasonableness of the proposed fees.

• Marginal note:Assistance

  (5) The Minister may appoint a person to assist in the review. The person has all the powers of a commissioner under Part I of the Inquiries Act.

• Marginal note:Order to amend or eliminate fee

  (6) The Minister may, by order, amend or eliminate a fee reviewed under subsection (4). The order comes into effect on the first day that the fee is charged.

• Marginal note:Notice of order

  (7) The response organization affected by the order must give notice of it in the prescribed manner.

Marginal note:Prescribed procedures, equipment and resources

171 Every response organization shall

• (a) have a response plan that meets the prescribed requirements;

• (b) have the prescribed equipment and resources at the site set out in the response plan;

• (c) provide or arrange for prescribed training to prescribed classes of persons;

• (d) undertake and participate in prescribed activities to evaluate the response plan or its implementation;

• (e) on the request of a vessel or the operator of an oil handling facility with which the response organization has an arrangement referred to in paragraph 167(1)(a) or 168(1)(a), as the case may be, implement a response consistent with the response plan; and

• (f) on the request of the Minister or an advisory council established under section 172, provide information regarding any of the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) to (e).

Marginal note:Provide documents

171.1 A marine safety inspector may direct a response organization to provide the inspector with any document that the organization is required to have under this Part.

Advisory Councils

Marginal note:Advisory councils

• 172 (1) The Minister may establish an advisory council in respect of any geographic area for the purpose of advising the Minister with respect to this Part.

• Marginal note:Members

  (2) Each advisory council is to be composed of no more than seven members who are appointed to the council by the Minister and who, in the Minister’s opinion, can represent the communities and interests potentially affected by an oil spill in that area.

• Marginal note:Term

  (3) Each member of an advisory council is to be appointed for a term of not more than three years and is eligible for reappointment.

• Marginal note:President

  (4) An advisory council must elect one of its members to be its president.

• Marginal note:Honoraria and expenses

  (5) The members of an advisory council may be paid the honoraria that the Minister considers appropriate and may be paid any reasonable travel, living and child care expenses incurred by them when engaged on the business of the council while absent from their ordinary place of residence.

• Marginal note:Recommendations

  (6) An advisory council is to advise and may make recommendations to the Minister.

• Marginal note:Meetings in public

  (7) Advisory council meetings must be open to the public unless the council is satisfied that a public meeting would not be in the public interest, in which case the meeting or any part of it may be held in private.

Report to Parliament

Marginal note:Review and report by Minister

173 Every five years, the Minister must review the operation of sections 167 to 172 and have laid before each House of Parliament a report setting out the results of the review.

Pollution Response Officers

174 [Repealed, 2014, c. 29, s. 65]

Marginal note:Designation of pollution response officer

• 174.1 (1) The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans may designate any persons or classes of persons as pollution response officers in respect of discharges or threats of discharges and may limit in any manner that he or she considers appropriate the powers that the officers may exercise under this Part.

• Marginal note:Certificate of designation

  (2) The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans must furnish every pollution response officer with a certificate of designation and, if the officer’s powers are limited under subsection (1), the certificate must specify the powers that the officer may exercise.

• (3) [Repealed, 2018, c. 27, s. 700]

175 [Repealed, 2014, c. 29, s. 66]

Marginal note:Powers of pollution response officers — general

• 175.1 (1) A pollution response officer may

  • (a) direct a vessel, if it is about to enter or is within waters in respect of which this Part applies, to provide him or her with any information that he or she considers appropriate for the administration of this Part;

  • (b) direct any vessel that is within or about to enter waters in respect of which this Part applies and that he or she believes on reasonable grounds to be carrying a pollutant to proceed through those waters by the route, and at a speed not in excess of the speed, that he or she may specify;

  • (c) direct a vessel that is required to have a shipboard oil pollution emergency plan under the regulations to provide information concerning it and its implementation;

  • (d) direct the operator of an oil handling facility to provide any document that the operator is required to have on site under this Part; and

  • (e) direct a response organization to provide any document that the organization is required to have under this Part.

• Marginal note:Powers — discharge of pollutant

  (2) If the pollution response officer believes on reasonable grounds that a vessel has discharged, is discharging or may discharge a pollutant, he or she may

  • (a) direct a vessel that is within or about to enter waters in respect of which this Part applies to proceed through those waters by the route, and at a speed not in excess of the speed, that he or she may specify;

  • (b) go on board and take samples of any substance that he or she believes to be the pollutant;

  • (c) if the vessel is within or about to enter waters in respect of which this Part applies, direct the vessel to

    • (i) proceed to the place within waters in respect of which this Part applies that he or she may specify, by the route and in the manner that he or she may specify, and to moor, anchor or remain there for any reasonable period that he or she may specify,

    • (ii) proceed out of waters in respect of which this Part applies, by the route and in the manner that he or she may specify, or

    • (iii) remain outside waters in respect of which this Part applies; and

  • (d) if he or she is informed that a substantial quantity of a pollutant has entered or been discharged in waters in respect of which this Part applies, or if on reasonable grounds he or she is satisfied that a grave and imminent danger of a substantial discharge of a pollutant in those waters exists, declare an emergency zone, the size of which is reasonable with regard to the seriousness of the situation, and

    • (i) direct any vessel within that emergency zone to report its position to him or her,

    • (ii) direct any vessel not to enter or not to leave the emergency zone, and

    • (iii) direct any vessel within the emergency zone in respect of routes, speed limits and pilotage and equipment requirements.

• Marginal note:Disposition of samples

  (3) An officer who takes a sample under paragraph (2)(b) may dispose of it in any manner that he or she considers appropriate or may submit it for analysis or examination to a person designated by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Certificate or report

  (4) A person who has made an analysis or examination may issue a certificate or report that sets out the results of the analysis or examination.

• Marginal note:Certificate

  (5) Subject to subsections (6) and (7), the certificate or report is admissible in evidence in any proceeding related to an offence under this Part and, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, is proof of the statements contained in the certificate or report without proof of the signature or the official character of the person appearing to have signed it.

• Marginal note:Attendance of person

  (6) The party against whom the certificate or report is produced may, with leave of the court, require for the purposes of cross-examination the attendance of the person who issued it.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (7) The certificate or report may be admitted in evidence only if the party who intends to produce it has given to the party against whom it is intended to be produced reasonable notice of that intention, together with a copy of the certificate or report.

Marginal note:Powers of pollution response officer

• 176 (1) For the purpose of exercising his or her powers under this Part, a pollution response officer may

  • (a) board any vessel or enter any premises or other place at any reasonable time;

  • (b) direct any person to provide reasonable assistance or put into operation or cease operating any machinery or equipment;

  • (c) direct any person to provide any information that the officer may reasonably require in the administration of this Part;

  • (d) direct any person to produce for inspection, or for the purpose of making copies or taking extracts, any log book or other document;

  • (e) take photographs and make video recordings and sketches;

  • (f) use or cause to be used any computer system or data processing system at the place to examine any data contained in, or available to, the system;

  • (g) reproduce or cause to be reproduced any record from the data in the form of a print-out or other intelligible output;

  • (h) take any document or other thing from the place where the inspection is being carried out for examination or, in the case of a document, copying; and

  • (i) use or cause to be used any copying equipment in the place where the inspection is being carried out to make copies of any documents.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (2) Living quarters may not be entered under subsection (1) unless they are entered with the consent of the occupant or under the authority of a warrant issued under subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Authority to issue warrant

  (3) On ex parte application, a justice of the peace may issue a warrant authorizing a pollution response officer to enter living quarters, subject to any conditions that may be specified in the warrant, if the justice is satisfied by information on oath that entry to the living quarters

  • (a) is necessary for any purpose related to the carrying out of the officer’s powers under this Part; and

  • (b) has been refused or there are reasonable grounds for believing that it will be refused.

• Marginal note:Use of force

  (4) No officer executing a warrant may use force unless they are accompanied by a peace officer and the use of force is specifically authorized in the warrant.

• Marginal note:Return of documents and things

  (5) Documents or other things taken under paragraph (1)(h) must be returned as soon as feasible after they are no longer required for the inspection or for any proceedings that may result from it.