141. The Governor in Council may establish a shipping office at any port in Canada.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 143.

142. (1) The Governor in Council may, subject to this Part, appoint for any shipping office a shipping master, who may with the approval of the Minister appoint any necessary deputies, clerks and servants, and shall, subject to this Part, have complete control over and be responsible for every act done by those deputies, clerks and servants.

(2) All acts done by or before those deputies have the same effect as if done by or before a shipping master.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 144.

143. (1) Shipping masters shall be remunerated for their services under this Act pursuant to a scale of fees payable to them for defined services, and neither they nor their deputies, clerks or servants shall, directly or indirectly, charge, demand, collect or receive, even by agreement, from any person any higher fees or any other remuneration, whether for the defined services or for other services performed by them as shipping masters, and the Minister shall establish, and may amend or vary in any respect, the scale of fees.

(2) Every shipping master, deputy shipping master or clerk or servant in any shipping office who acts in contravention of this section is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars, and the Minister may dismiss him from office.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 145.

144. (1) The Governor in Council may designate ports in Canada at which shipping masters, deputy shipping masters and such clerks and servants as are necessary for the proper conduct of the shipping office may be appointed in the manner authorized by law, all of whom hold office during pleasure.

(2) All acts done by or before deputy shipping masters have the same effect as if done by or before a shipping master.

(3) The Minister shall establish a scale of fees payable for the defined services performed by shipping masters, and the scale of fees may be amended or varied in any respect.

(4) All fees received under this Part by shipping masters appointed under this section shall be paid to the Receiver General and form part of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

(5) A shipping master or deputy shipping master appointed under this section may be appointed to any other office under this Act and in such case, in addition to his salary as shipping master or deputy shipping master, shall be remunerated for his services in the other office in the manner provided under this Act for that office.

(6) Sections 142, 143, 145, 148, 149, 150 and 156 do not apply to shipping masters, deputy shipping masters, clerks or servants appointed under this section.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 146.

145. No person who sells any spirituous liquors and no tavern keeper or boarding-house keeper shall be appointed a shipping master or deputy shipping master.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 147.

146. (1) At any place in which no shipping office is established, the business of the shipping office shall be conducted at the custom-house.

(2) In respect of any business described in subsection (1), that custom-house shall, for all purposes, be deemed to be a shipping office, and the chief officer of customs at that custom-house, if no other shipping master has been appointed, shall, for all purposes, be a shipping master, and shall be held to have been appointed as such within the meaning of this Part.

(3) Any shipping master or the deputy, clerk or servant of any shipping master may refuse to proceed with any engagement or discharge of a seaman unless the fee payable thereon is first paid.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 148.

147. All business transacted at any shipping office shall be under the control and supervision of the Minister.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 149.

148. Every shipping master shall, before entering on his duties, give such security for the due performance thereof as the Minister requires.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 150.

149. Where, in any case, the Minister believes on reasonable grounds that any person appointed by any shipping master does not properly discharge his duties, he may cause an investigation to be made and may direct the dismissal or suspension of that person.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 151.

150. (1) Every shipping master, deputy, clerk and servant so appointed shall, before entering on his duties, take and subscribe before any person qualified to administer oaths, an oath in the following form:

I, .........., do swear that I will faithfully perform the duties of shipping master (or deputy shipping master, or as the case may be) according to the true intent and meaning of Part III of the Canada Shipping Act, that I will not, either directly or indirectly, personally, or by means of any other person or persons on my behalf, receive any fee, reward or gratuity by reason of any function of my office as shipping master (or deputy shipping master, or as the case may be), except such as are authorized by the Minister and allowed to me under that Part, and that I will act without partiality, favour or affection, and to the best of my knowledge. So help me God.

(2) The oath shall be forwarded to the Minister by the shipping master immediately after it is taken.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 152.

151. Every shipping master shall

(a) afford facilities for engaging seamen, by keeping registers of the names of seamen who apply to him for engagement, and registers of all seamen shipped or discharged by him, which registers shall be open for public inspection;

(b) superintend and facilitate the engagement and discharge of seamen in the manner hereinafter provided;

(c) provide means for securing the presence on board at the proper times of men who are engaged, when requested to do so, the expense of that service to be defrayed by the master, owner or agent of the ship requiring the presence of men on board;

(d) facilitate the making of apprenticeships to the sea service; and

(e) perform such other duties relating to seamen, apprentices and merchant ships as are committed to him by this Act.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 153.

152. (1) No person shall engage or supply, or employ any other person to engage or supply, any seaman or apprentice to be entered on board any ship in Canada unless the person first mentioned is a shipping master, the deputy of a shipping master, the owner, master or mate of the ship or bona fide the servant and in the constant employment of that owner.

(2) No person shall receive, or accept to be entered, on board any ship, or permit to remain on board any ship, any seaman or apprentice who, to the knowledge of that person, has been engaged or supplied in contravention of subsection (1) for the ship or has been engaged or supplied for any other ship.

(3) Any owner, part owner, master, person in charge of any ship, ship’s husband, consignee or other person who acts in contravention of this section is guilty of an offence and is, for each seaman or apprentice in respect of whom an offence is committed, and notwithstanding that several seamen or apprentices are included in the same contract, or are received or permitted to remain on board any ship at the same time, liable to a fine not exceeding forty dollars.

R.S., 1985, c. S-9, s. 152; R.S., 1985, c. 6 (3rd Supp.), s. 87(F).

153. (1) No person, other than a shipping master or the deputy of a shipping master, shall demand or receive, directly or indirectly, from any master of a ship, any seaman or apprentice to the sea service, any person seeking employment as a seaman or apprentice to the sea service or any person on behalf of any of those persons, any remuneration of any kind for procuring any seaman to serve on board any ship or for providing any seaman or apprentice with employment.

(2) Any person who acts in contravention of this section is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars and not less than twenty-five dollars.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 155.

154. Every shipping master and deputy shipping master shall, before engaging or supplying any seaman to be entered on board any ship, require that seaman to produce his certificate of discharge from his last ship, or other satisfactory proof that he was lawfully discharged from or lawfully quitted his last ship, and shall by all lawful means in his power prevent, in so far as he can, the effecting before him of the engagement of a seaman whom he has any reason to suspect of having deserted from his last ship.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 156.

155. Every owner or master of a ship engaging or discharging any seaman in a shipping office, or before a shipping master or a deputy shipping master, shall pay to the shipping master or deputy shipping master the whole of the fees payable in respect of that engagement or discharge.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 157.

156. (1) Every shipping master shall make, sign and transmit to the Minister on, or as soon as possible after, the last day of March and the last day of September in each year a return of all the fees and moneys received by him under this Part during the half year ending on that day.

(2) The return shall show the number of seamen engaged and the number of seamen discharged during the same period.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 158.

157. The Governor in Council may, from time to time, dispense with the transaction before a shipping master or in a shipping office of any matters required by this Part to be so transacted, and thereupon those matters, if otherwise duly transacted, are as valid as if transacted before a shipping master or in a shipping office.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 159.

158. Every shipping master shall give to persons desirous of apprenticing boys to, or requiring apprentices for, the sea service such assistance as may be in his power.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 160.

159. The apprenticeship of any boy to the sea service shall be by indenture between the apprentice and the master or owner of the ship requiring the apprentice.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 161.

160. (1) Every person to whom an apprentice is bound shall, within seven days after the execution of the indenture, transmit the indenture and a copy thereof to the shipping master nearest to the residence of that person, and that shipping master shall keep the copy in his office, which shall be open to public inspection free of any charge, and shall endorse on the indenture that it has been so recorded and shall re-deliver the indenture to the master of the apprentice.

(2) Every person who fails to comply with any requirement of this section is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 162.

161. (1) Whenever any indenture is assigned or cancelled, or whenever any apprentice dies or deserts, the master of the apprentice shall, within thirty days after the assignment, cancellation, death or desertion, if it happens within Canada, or, if it happens elsewhere, so soon afterwards as circumstances permit, notify the shipping master, who shall record the information.

(2) Every person who fails to comply with any requirement of this section is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 163.

162. (1) The master of every foreign-going or home-trade Canadian ship who, pursuant to this Act, makes an agreement with the crew in the presence of a shipping master, shall, before carrying any apprentice to sea from any place in Canada, cause that apprentice to appear before the shipping master before whom the crew is engaged, and shall produce to the shipping master the indenture by which the apprentice is bound and every assignment thereof.

(2) The name of the apprentice, with the date of the indenture and of the assignments, if any, and the names of the ports at which they have been registered, shall be entered on the agreement with the crew.

(3) If the master fails, without reasonable cause, to comply with any requirements of this section, he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 164.

163. (1) The master of every Canadian ship, other than home-trade ships, inland waters ships and minor waters ships of less than fifty register tons, shall enter into an agreement, in this Act called the “agreement with the crew”, in accordance with this Act, with every seaman whom he engages in Canada and carries as one of his crew.

(2) If the master of a ship in respect of which an agreement with the crew is required fails to enter into an agreement or carries any seaman from any port in Canada without entering into an agreement with him in accordance with this Act, the master in the case of a sea-going ship, and the master or owner in the case of any other ship, is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding twenty dollars.

R.S., 1985, c. S-9, s. 163; 1998, c. 16, s. 22.

164. When agreements with seamen in respect of Canadian ships are first opened in any Commonwealth country outside of Canada, their form and contents shall be those prescribed by the law of that Commonwealth country and if opened elsewhere than within a Commonwealth country shall be those prescribed by the law of Canada.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 166.

165. (1) An agreement with the crew shall be in a form approved by the Minister, shall be dated at the time of the first signature thereof and shall be signed by the master before a seaman signs it.

(2) The agreement with the crew shall show the surname and other names of the seaman, his birthplace and age or date of birth, shall state clearly the respective rights and obligations of each of the parties and shall contain as terms thereof the following particulars:

(a) the name of the vessel or vessels on board which the seaman undertakes to serve;

(b) either the nature, and, as far as practicable, the duration of the intended voyage or engagement, or the maximum period of the voyage or engagement and the places or parts of the world, if any, to which the voyage or engagement is not to extend;

(c) the number and description of the crew, specifying how many are engaged as sailors;

(d) if possible the place and date at which each seaman is to be on board or to begin work;

(e) the capacity in which each seaman is to serve;

(f) the amount of wages that each seaman is to receive;

(g) a scale of the provisions that are to be furnished to each seaman;

(h) the time agreed on, if any, that is to expire after arrival before the seaman is discharged;

(i) any regulations respecting conduct on board, fines, short allowance of provisions or other lawful punishment for misconduct that have been approved by the Minister as proper regulations to be adopted and that the parties agree to adopt; and

(j) the particulars respecting the position of the deck line and the load lines specified in the ship’s Load Line Certificate.

(3) The agreement with the crew shall be so framed as to admit of such stipulations, to be adopted at the will of the master and seaman in each case, whether respecting the advance and allotment of wages or otherwise, as are not contrary to law or to the Seamen’s Articles Convention, and it shall state the place at, and the date on, which it was completed.

(4) If the master of a ship registered at a port outside Canada has an agreement with the crew made in due form according to the law of that port or of the port in which the ship’s crew was engaged, and engages single seamen in Canada, those seamen may sign the agreement, and it is not necessary for them to sign an agreement in the form approved by the Minister.

R.S., 1985, c. S-9, s. 165; R.S., 1985, c. 6 (3rd Supp.), s. 87(F).

166. The following provisions have effect with respect to the agreements with the crew made in Canada in the case of foreign-going ships registered either within or outside Canada:

(a) the agreement shall, subject to this Act with respect to substitutes, be signed by each seaman in the presence of a shipping master;

(b) the shipping master shall give reasonable facilities to the seaman and his adviser, if any, to examine the agreement and shall cause the agreement to be read over and explained to each seaman, or otherwise ascertain that each seaman understands the agreement before he signs it, and shall attest each signature;

(c) when the crew is first engaged, the agreement shall be signed in duplicate, and one part shall be retained by the shipping master and the other shall be delivered to the master, and shall contain a special place or form for the descriptions and signatures of substitutes or persons engaged subsequent to the first departure of the ship;

(d) where a substitute is engaged in the place of a seaman who signed the agreement and whose services are within twenty-four hours of the ship’s putting to sea lost by death, desertion or other unforeseen cause, the engagement shall, when practicable, be made before a shipping master, and, when not practicable, the master shall, before the ship puts to sea, if practicable, and if not, as soon after as possible cause the agreement to be read over and explained to the substitute, and the substitute shall thereupon sign the agreement in the presence of a witness, and the witness shall attest the signature;

(e) the agreements may be made for a voyage, or if the voyages of the ship average less than six months in duration may be made to extend over two or more voyages, and agreements made to extend over two or more voyages are in this Act referred to as running agreements;

(f) running agreements shall not extend beyond the six month period of time next following the date of the making thereof, or the first arrival of the ship at its port of destination in Canada after the termination of that period, or the discharge of cargo consequent on that arrival;

(g) on every return to a port in Canada before the final termination of a running agreement, the master shall make on the agreement an endorsement respecting the engagement or discharge of seamen, either that no engagements or discharges have been made or are intended to be made before the ship leaves port, or that all those made have been made as required by law, and if a master wilfully makes a false statement in any endorsement he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars;

(h) the master shall deliver the running agreement as endorsed to the shipping master, and the shipping master shall, if the provisions of this Act relating to agreements have been complied with, sign the endorsement and return the agreement to the master; and

(i) the duplicate running agreement retained by the shipping master on the first engagement of the crew shall be kept by the shipping master until the expiration of the agreement.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 168.

167. The following provisions have effect with respect to the agreements with the crew made in Canada in the case of home-trade ships for which an agreement with the crew is required under this Act:

(a) agreements may be made either for service in a particular ship or for a service in two or more ships belonging to the same owner, but in the latter case the names of the ships and the nature of the service shall be specified in the agreement;

(b) crews or single seamen may, if the master thinks fit, be engaged before a shipping master in the same manner as they are required to be engaged for foreign-going ships, but if the engagement is not so made, the master shall, before the ship puts to sea, if practicable, and if not, as soon after as possible, cause the agreement to be read and explained to each seaman, and the seaman shall thereupon sign the agreement in the presence of a witness, and the witness shall attest the signature;

(c) an agreement for service in two or more ships belonging to the same owner may be made by the owner instead of by the master and the provisions of this Act with respect to the making of the agreement apply accordingly;

(d) in the case of a ship making short voyages, running agreements with the crew may be made to extend over two or more voyages or for a specified time, but no agreement shall extend beyond the six month period of time next following the date of the making thereof, the first arrival of the ship at its final port of destination in Canada after that period or the discharge of cargo consequent on that arrival, and the owner or his agent may enter into time agreements in forms sanctioned by the Minister with individual seamen to serve in any one or more ships belonging to that owner, which agreements need not be limited to six months, and a duplicate of every agreement shall be forwarded to the Minister within forty-eight hours after it has been entered into;

(e) on every return to a port in Canada before the final termination of a running agreement, the master shall make on the agreement an endorsement respecting the engagement or discharge of seamen, either that no engagements or discharges have been made or are intended to be made before the ship leaves port, or that all those made have been made as required by law;

(f) the master shall deliver the running agreement as endorsed to the shipping master, and the shipping master shall, if the provisions of this Act relating to agreements have been complied with, sign the endorsement and return the agreement to the master, and if a master wilfully makes a false statement in any endorsement he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars; and

(g) the duplicate running agreement retained by the shipping master on the first engagement of the crew shall be kept by the shipping master until the expiration of the agreement.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 169.

168. The following provisions have effect with respect to the agreement with the crew in the case of inland waters ships and minor waters ships for which an agreement with the crew is required under this Act:

(a) agreements may be made either for service in a particular ship or for service in two or more ships belonging to the same owner, but in the latter case the names of the ships and the nature of the service shall be specified in the agreement;

(b) crews or single seamen shall in the case of ships of over eighty tons register tonnage and may if the master thinks fit in the case of ships of lesser tonnage be engaged in the same manner as they are required to be engaged for home-trade ships;

(c) an agreement for service in two or more ships belonging to the same owner may be made by the owner instead of by the master and the provisions of this Act with respect to the making of the agreement shall apply accordingly; and

(d) in the case of a ship making short voyages, running agreements with the crew may be made to extend over two or more voyages or for a specified time, but no agreement shall extend beyond nine months from the date of the agreement, the first arrival of the ship at its port of destination after the termination of the agreement or the discharge of cargo consequent on that arrival, and the owner or his agent may enter into time agreements in forms sanctioned by the Minister with individual seamen to serve in any one or more ships belonging to that owner, which agreements need not be limited to nine months, and a duplicate of every agreement shall be forwarded to the Minister within forty-eight hours after it has been entered into.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 170.

169. The master of every foreign-going ship, on signing the agreement with the crew, shall produce to the shipping master before whom the agreement is signed the certificates that the master and seamen on the ship are required by law to hold.

R.S., 1985, c. S-9, s. 169; R.S., 1985, c. 6 (3rd Supp.), s. 21.

170. A shipping master shall, in the case of any ship, on all the requirements of this Part being complied with to his satisfaction, give to the master of the ship a certificate to that effect or to the effect that the agreement with the crew is in his office partially signed, waiting the engagement of a portion of the crew, as the case may be, and shall specify in the certificate the class of ship to which the ship belongs, whether it is a steamship or sailing ship, the ship’s gross and register tonnage and particulars of its employment.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 172.

171. No officer of customs shall clear any foreign-going ship until the shipping master’s certificate is produced to him.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 173.

172. (1) The master of every foreign-going or home-trade ship whose crew has been engaged before a shipping master shall, before finally leaving Canada, sign and send to the nearest shipping master a full and accurate statement, in a form approved by the Minister, of every change that takes place in his crew before finally leaving Canada, and that statement is admissible in evidence in the manner provided by this Act.

(2) If the master fails without reasonable cause to comply with this section, he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 174.

173. (1) In the case of a foreign-going ship, on the due execution of an agreement with the crew in accordance with this Act, and, where the agreement is a running agreement, on compliance by the master, before the second and every subsequent voyage made after the first commencement of the agreement, with the provisions of this Act respecting that agreement, a shipping master shall grant the master of the ship a certificate to that effect.

(2) The master of every foreign-going ship shall, before proceeding to sea, produce to the officer of customs the certificate referred to in subsection (1), and any such ship may be detained until the certificate is produced.

(3) The master of every foreign-going ship shall, within forty-eight hours after the ship’s arrival at its final port of destination in Canada or on the discharge of its crew, whichever first happens, deliver his agreement with the crew to the shipping master at that port, who shall give the master a certificate of that delivery, and an officer of customs shall not clear the ship inward until the certificate of delivery is produced.

(4) If the master fails without reasonable cause to deliver the agreement with the crew in accordance with subsection (3), he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 175.

174. (1) The master or owner of a home-trade ship of fifty tons register tonnage or more shall, within twenty-one days after the termination of every agreement with the crew made for the ship, deliver or transmit the agreement to a shipping master in Canada.

(2) The shipping master on receiving the agreement shall give the master or owner of the ship a certificate of that delivery, and the ship shall be detained unless the certificate is produced to the proper officer of customs.

(3) If the master or owner fails, without reasonable cause, to comply with this section, he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 176.

175. (1) The master or owner of every inland waters ship or minor waters ship of or over fifty tons register tonnage shall within twenty-one days after the termination of every agreement with the crew deliver the agreement to the nearest shipping master and the shipping master shall give the master a certificate of that delivery.

(2) If the master or owner fails, without reasonable cause, to comply with this section, he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 177.

176. (1) The master shall at the commencement of every foreign voyage or engagement cause a legible copy of the agreement with the crew, omitting the signatures, to be posted up in some part of the ship that is accessible to the crew.

(2) If the master fails, without reasonable cause, to comply with this section, he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 178.

177. (1) Every erasure, interlineation or alteration in any agreement with the crew, except additions made for the purpose of shipping substitutes or persons engaged after the first departure of the ship, is wholly inoperative, unless proved to have been made with the consent of all the persons interested in the erasure, interlineation or alteration by the written attestation, if in a Commonwealth country, of a shipping master, justice of the peace, officer of customs or other public functionary, or elsewhere outside Canada, of a consular officer, or where there is no consular officer, of two respectable Canadian merchants.

(2) Every person who fraudulently alters, makes any false entry in, or delivers a false copy of any agreement with the crew is guilty of an indictable offence, and if any person assists in committing or procures to be committed any such offence, he is likewise guilty of an indictable offence.

R.S., 1985, c. S-9, s. 177; 1998, c. 16, s. 22.

178. In any legal or other proceeding, a seaman may bring forward evidence to prove the contents of any agreement with the crew or otherwise to support his case, without producing or giving notice to produce the agreement or any copy thereof.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 180.

179. (1) With respect to the engagement of seamen outside Canada, where the master of a Canadian ship engages a seaman in a Commonwealth country or at a port in which there is a consular officer, the provisions of this Act respecting agreements with the crew made in Canada apply subject to the following modifications:

(a) in any Commonwealth country, the master shall engage the seaman before some officer being either a superintendent or, if there is no superintendent, an officer of customs;

(b) at any port having a consular officer, the master shall, before carrying the seaman to sea, procure the sanction of the consular officer, and shall, if not contrary to the law of the port, engage the seaman before that officer; and

(c) the master shall request the officer to endorse on the agreement an attestation to the effect that the agreement has been signed in his presence and otherwise made as required by this Act, and also, if the officer is a consular officer, that it has his sanction, and if the attestation is not made the burden of proving that the engagement was made as required by this Act lies on the master.

(2) If a master fails to comply with this section, he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 181.

180. (1) When a seaman serving in a foreign-going ship, or in a home-trade ship of or over fifty tons register tonnage, whether registered within or outside Canada, is on the termination of his engagement discharged in Canada, he shall, whether the agreement with the crew is an agreement for the voyage or a running agreement, be discharged in the presence of a shipping master.

(2) If the master or owner of a home-trade ship of less than fifty tons register tonnage or an inland waters or minor waters ship so desires, the seamen of that ship may be discharged in the same manner as seamen discharged from a foreign-going ship.

(3) If the master or owner of a ship acts in contravention of this section, he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 182.

181. (1) The master shall sign and give to a seaman discharged from his ship, either on his discharge or on payment of his wages, a certificate of his discharge in a continuous discharge book in a form approved by the Minister, or any form approved by the proper authority in that Commonwealth country in which the ship is registered, specifying the period of his service and the time and place of his discharge, but not containing any statement respecting his wages or the quality of his work unless requested by the seaman.

(2) The master shall, on the discharge of every seaman whose certificate has been delivered to and retained by him, return the certificate to the seaman.

(3) If the master fails to comply with subsection (1), he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars, and if he, without reasonable cause, fails to comply with subsection (2) he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars.

R.S., 1985, c. S-9, s. 181; R.S., 1985, c. 6 (3rd Supp.), s. 22.

182. (1) Where a seaman is discharged before a shipping master, the master shall make and sign, in a form approved by the Minister, or in any form approved by the proper authority in that Commonwealth country in which the ship is registered, a report of the conduct, character, and qualifications of the seaman discharged, or may state in the form that he declines to give any opinion on those particulars, or on any of them, and the shipping master shall, if the seaman desires, give to him a copy of the report, in this Act referred to as the “report of character”.

(2) The shipping master shall transmit the reports to the Minister, or to such other person as the Minister may direct, to be recorded.

(3) Every person who

(a) makes a false report of character under this Act, knowing the report to be false,

(b) forges or fraudulently alters any certificate of discharge or report of character or copy of a report of character,

(c) assists in committing, or procures to be committed, any of the acts referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b), or

(d) fraudulently uses any certificate of discharge or report of character or copy of a report of character that is forged or altered or does not belong to him,

is guilty of an indictable offence.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 184.

183. (1) Except in a case in which the seaman by the agreement is paid by a share of the profits of the adventure, the master or owner of every foreign-going Canadian ship shall pay to each seaman belonging to that ship his wages, if demanded, within three days after the delivery of the cargo, or on the seaman’s discharge, whichever happens first.

(2) Where a seaman is discharged before a shipping master in Canada, he shall receive his wages through or in the presence of the shipping master, unless a competent court otherwise directs.

(3) If the master or owner of a sea-going ship or of a home-trade ship of over eighty tons register tonnage pays wages to a seaman where he is discharged before a shipping master otherwise than through or in the presence of the shipping master, unless a competent court otherwise directs, he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 185.

184. (1) The master of every ship shall before discharging or paying off a seaman deliver, at the time and in the manner provided by this Act, a full and true account, in a form approved by the Minister, of the seaman’s wages and of all deductions to be made therefrom on any account whatever.

(2) The account referred to in subsection (1) shall be delivered

(a) where the seaman is not to be discharged before a shipping master, to the seaman himself not less than twenty-four hours before his discharge or the payment of his wages; and

(b) where the seaman is to be discharged before a shipping master, either to the seaman himself at or before the time of his leaving the ship, or to the shipping master not less than twenty-four hours before his discharge or the payment of his wages.

(3) If the master of a ship fails, without reasonable cause, to comply with this section, he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 186.

185. (1) A deduction from the wages of a seaman shall not be allowed unless it is included in the account delivered pursuant to section 184, or is in respect of a matter happening after the delivery.

(2) The master shall during a voyage enter the various matters in respect of which the deductions are made, with the amounts of the respective deductions, as they occur, in a book to be kept for that purpose, and shall, if required, produce the book at the time of the payment of wages, and on the hearing before any competent authority of any complaint or question relating to that payment.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 187.

186. (1) Where the master of a ship disrates a seaman, he shall forthwith enter or cause to be entered in the official log-book of the ship a statement of the disrating and furnish the seaman with a copy of the entry, and any reduction of wages consequent on the disrating shall not take effect until the entry has been made and the copy furnished.

(2) Any reduction of wages consequent on the disrating of a seaman shall be deemed to be a deduction from wages within the meaning of sections 184 and 185.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 188.

187. (1) Where in the case of a foreign-going ship a question respecting wages is raised before a shipping master between the master or owner of the ship and a seaman or apprentice, and the amount in question does not exceed twenty-five dollars, the shipping master may, on the application of either party, adjudicate, and the decision of the shipping master in the matter is final, but if the shipping master is of opinion that the question is one that ought to be decided by a court of law, he may refuse to decide it.

(2) Where any question, of whatever nature and whatever the amount in dispute, between a master or owner and any of his crew is raised before a shipping master, and both parties agree in writing to submit the question to him, the shipping master shall hear and decide the question so submitted, and an award made by him on the submission is conclusive with respect to the rights of the parties, and a document purporting to be the submission or award is admissible as evidence thereof.

R.S., c. S-9, s. 189.

188. (1) In any proceeding under this Act before a shipping master relating to the wages, claims or discharge of a seaman, the shipping master may require the owner, his agent or the master or any mate or other member of the crew to produce any log-books, papers or other documents in his possession or power relating to a matter in question in the proceeding, and may require the attendance of and examine any of those persons, being then at or near the place, on the matter.

(2) Every person so required who fails, without reasonable cause, to comply with the requisition is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars.

R.S., 1985, c. S-9, s. 188; R.S., 1985, c. 6 (3rd Supp.), s. 87(F).

189. Where a seaman has agreed with the master of a Canadian ship for payment of his wages in Canadian dollars or any other money, any payment of, or on account of, his wages if made in any other currency than that stated in the agreement shall, notwithstanding anything in the agreement, be made at the rate of exchange for the money stated in the agreement, for the time being current at the place where the payment is made.

R.S., 1985, c. S-9, s. 189; 1998, c. 16, s. 22.