Pilotage Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. P-14)

Marginal note:Content of contracts for service

15.4 An Authority is not authorized to enter into or amend a contract for services referred to in subsection 15(2) that deals with a subject referred to in any of paragraphs 52(1)(a) to (o).

Marginal note:Availability of contracts for service

15.5 An Authority shall, on request, provide to any person a copy of any contract for services referred to in subsection 15(2) that the Authority has entered into.

Marginal note:Contract pilots

15.6 If an Authority requires the services of a licensed pilot in a compulsory pilotage area for which the Authority has no employees or for which a body corporate referred to in subsection 15(2) has not been established, the Authority may contract with one or more licensed pilots for the provision of those services.

Marginal note:Authority a Public Service corporation

• 16 (1) An Authority shall be deemed to be a Public Service corporation for the purposes of section 37 of the Public Service Superannuation Act.

• Marginal note:Government Employees Compensation Act and Aeronautics Act

  (2) Officers and employees of an Authority shall be deemed to be persons employed in the federal public administration for the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and any regulations made pursuant to section 9 of the Aeronautics Act.

Marginal note:By-laws

• 17 (1) An Authority may make by-laws respecting the management of its internal affairs, including by-laws

  • (a) respecting the duties of its members, officers and employees;

  • (b) delegating to any person, either generally or with reference to any particular matter, all or any of

    • (i) the powers of the Chairperson of the Authority, and

    • (ii) the powers of the Authority, except the power to make a by-law; and

  • (c) respecting the management and control of its property.

• Marginal note:Copies made available

  (2) An Authority shall supply a copy of any by-law of the Authority to any interested person who requests a copy.

Objects and Powers

Marginal note:Objects

18 In keeping with the principles set out in section 2, the objects of an Authority are to establish, operate, maintain and administer, in the interests of safety of navigation, an efficient pilotage service within the region set out in respect of the Authority in the schedule.

Marginal note:Powers

• 19 (1) An Authority may, for its use, purchase, lease or otherwise acquire

  • (a) land, buildings, wharves or other structures;

  • (b) pilot boats;

  • (c) radio and other communication equipment; and

  • (d) such other equipment, supplies and services as may be necessary for the operation of an efficient and economical pilotage service.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) An Authority may sell or lease any land, buildings, wharves, structures, pilot boats or equipment and supplies acquired pursuant to subsection (1).

20 [Repealed, 2019, c. 29, s. 235]

21 [Repealed, 2019, c. 29, s. 235]

22 [Repealed, 2019, c. 29, s. 235]

23 [Repealed, 2019, c. 29, s. 235]

24 [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 31 (1st Supp.), s. 85]

25 [Repealed, 2019, c. 29, s. 236]

26 [Repealed, 2019, c. 29, s. 236]

27 [Repealed, 2019, c. 29, s. 237]

28 [Repealed, 2019, c. 29, s. 237]

29 [Repealed, 2019, c. 29, s. 237]

30 [Repealed, 2019, c. 29, s. 237]

31 [Repealed, 2019, c. 29, s. 237]

32 [Repealed, 2019, c. 29, s. 237]

Charges

Marginal note:Pilotage charges

• 33 (1) An Authority may, by resolution, establish or revise charges to be paid to the Authority for services that the Authority provides or makes available in relation to compulsory pilotage, including charges for

  • (a) the services of a licensed pilot or apprentice pilot for a ship that is subject to compulsory pilotage;

  • (b) the use of a pilot boat or other conveyance;

  • (c) the use of communications equipment;

  • (d) travel and other expenses incurred by a licensed pilot or apprentice pilot that are directly associated with an assignment to pilot a ship;

  • (e) the carriage of a licensed pilot or apprentice pilot on a ship beyond the area for which the services of the pilot were engaged;

  • (f) the interruption or extension of a licensed pilot’s or apprentice pilot’s assignment on board a ship or otherwise; and

  • (g) the cancellation of a request for the services of a licensed pilot.

• Marginal note:Other charges

  (2) An Authority may, by resolution, establish or revise charges to be paid to the Authority for services that the Authority provides or makes available — other than services related to compulsory pilotage — including advisory services and the use of simulators.

Marginal note:Outstanding and unpaid charges

33.1 An Authority may charge interest on outstanding and unpaid charges.

Marginal note:Charging principles

• 33.2 (1) An Authority shall observe the following charging principles when establishing or revising pilotage charges:

  • (a) that pilotage charges be established and revised in accordance with an explicit methodology — that includes any conditions affecting the pilotage charges — that the Authority has established and published;

  • (b) that pilotage charges be structured in a way that does not encourage a user to engage in practices that diminish safety for the purpose of avoiding a charge;

  • (c) that pilotage charges be the same for Canadian users or ships and foreign users or ships;

  • (d) that pilotage charges be set at levels that allow the Authority to be financially self-sufficient and be fair and reasonable; and

  • (e) that pilotage charges not be set at levels that, based on reasonable and prudent projections, would generate revenues exceeding the Authority’s current and future financial requirements related to the provision of compulsory pilotage services.

• Marginal note:Financial requirements

  (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(e), financial requirements include

  • (a) operations and maintenance costs;

  • (b) management and administration costs;

  • (c) debt servicing requirements and financial requirements arising out of contractual agreements relating to the borrowing of money;

  • (d) capital costs and depreciation costs on capital assets;

  • (e) financial requirements necessary for the Authority to maintain an appropriate credit rating;

  • (f) tax liability;

  • (g) payments to the Minister for the purpose of defraying the costs of the administration of this Act, including the development of regulations, and the enforcement of this Act;

  • (h) reasonable reserves for future expenditures and contingencies; and

  • (i) other costs determined in accordance with accounting principles recommended by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada or its successor or assign.

Marginal note:Notice of proposal

• 33.3 (1) An Authority shall publish on its website a notice of any proposal to establish or revise a pilotage charge.

• Marginal note:Contents of notice

  (2) The notice is to

  • (a) describe the proposal, including by setting out the Authority’s reasons for establishing or revising the pilotage charge and the circumstances in which the charge would apply;

  • (b) indicate that any person may make representations about the proposal to the Authority, in writing, on or before the date set out in the notice, which date is not to be earlier than 30 days after the day on which the notice is published;

  • (c) indicate that any person making written representations is to include a summary of those representations and that the summary may be made public by the Authority; and

  • (d) indicate that any person making written representations by the date set out in the notice will have an opportunity to file with the Agency a notice of objection related to the proposal.

• Marginal note:Changes to proposal

  (3) If, after publication of the notice and consideration of the written representations, the Authority elects to modify the proposal, other than by reducing the proposed amount of the pilotage charge, the Authority shall publish on its website a new notice with the content referred to in subsection (2), a description of the changes to the proposal and the reasons for them.

Marginal note:Announcement of decision

• 33.4 (1) After considering all written representations referred to in paragraph 33.3(2)(b), the Authority shall publish on its website an announcement that sets out its decision in respect of the proposal.

• Marginal note:Contents of announcement

  (2) Unless the Authority decides to abandon the proposal, the announcement is to

  • (a) set out the reasons for the decision;

  • (b) describe the pilotage charge and the circumstances in which it will apply, including the date on which it will take effect, which date is not to be earlier than 60 days after the day on which the announcement is published;

  • (c) provide a summary of the written representations referred to in paragraph 33.3(2)(b) and of the Authority’s analysis of any issues and concerns brought to its attention in the representations, including how it considered these issues and concerns in its decision; and

  • (d) indicate that a person may file with the Agency a notice of objection related to the decision to establish or revise a pilotage charge, the grounds for filing a notice of objection and how to file it.

Marginal note:Notice of objection

• 34 (1) A person may, within 90 days after the day on which the announcement referred to in section 33.4 is published, file with the Agency a notice of objection, in the form and manner determined by the Agency, related to the decision to establish or revise a pilotage charge.

• Marginal note:Delay in case of failure to publish

  (2) If the Authority establishes or revises a pilotage charge without publishing a notice referred to in section 33.3 or an announcement referred to in section 33.4, the notice of objection may be filed within 90 days after the day on which the new or revised pilotage charge comes into effect.

• Marginal note:Grounds for filing notice

  (3) A notice of objection may be filed only if

  • (a) the pilotage charge was not established or revised in accordance with the charging principles referred to in subsection 33.2(1); or

  • (b) the Authority did not comply with the requirements set out in section 33.3 or 33.4.

• Marginal note:Effect of notice

  (4) A pilotage charge is not suspended or prevented from taking effect by reason of a notice of objection and, until the Agency disposes of the objections set out in the notice, the Agency shall not make an order suspending the pilotage charge or preventing it from taking effect.

Marginal note:Orders of Agency

• 35 (1) If the Agency determines that an objection set out in a notice of objection under section 34 is well founded, it may order the Authority to

  • (a) cancel the establishment or revision of the pilotage charge in question;

  • (b) reinstate any pilotage charge that was in effect immediately before the pilotage charge in question took effect;

  • (c) refund to each user of compulsory pilotage services the amount they paid on account of the pilotage charge the establishment of which is cancelled under paragraph (a) or the amount they paid in excess of the pilotage charge reinstated under paragraph (b);

  • (d) in a case in which the Authority did not comply with the requirements set out in section 33.3 or 33.4, suspend the establishment or revision of the pilotage charge in question until the Authority has taken the measures set out in the order; or

  • (e) take any other appropriate measures.

• Marginal note:Refund

  (2) If under paragraph (1)(c) the Agency orders the Authority to make a refund to a user of compulsory pilotage services,

  • (a) the Agency shall allow the person who filed the notice of objection and the Authority to make representations to the Agency before fixing the period within which the refund is to be made; and

  • (b) the Authority may make the refund to the user by making a repayment or issuing a credit, but any remaining credit is to be repaid to the user within the period fixed by the Agency.

• Marginal note:Interest on amount of refund

  (3) If the Agency orders the Authority to make a refund to a user under paragraph (1)(c), the amount of the refund is to include interest at the interest rate charged by banks to their most credit-worthy borrowers for short-term business loans, as determined and published by the Bank of Canada for the month in which the order is made.

• Marginal note:Reasons

  (4) The Agency shall provide the person who filed the notice of objection and the Authority with written reasons for any decision made under subsection (1) and, if applicable, any decision to fix the period within which the Authority is to make a refund to a user of compulsory pilotage services.