HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MARINE LIABILITY ACT

Part 1: Personal Injuries and Fatalities

• Revised provisions of Part XIV of the Canada Shipping Act dealing with fatal accidents.
• Modernized definitions.

Part 2: Apportionment of Liability

• New legislation establishing a uniform regime of apportionment of liability applicable to all torts governed by Canadian maritime law.
• Apportioning of liability on the degree of fault.

Part 3: Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims

• Existing provisions of Part IX of the Canada Shipping Act based on international convention (1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims as amended by its 1996 Protocol and as implemented in Chapter 6 of the Statutes of Canada, 1998).
• Procedures for updating of limits.
• Provisions for liability for small ships (less than 300 tonnes).
• Applications extended to all ships at sea and inland, not only seagoing ships.
• Expansion of limits of liability for owners of docks, canals, ports.

Part 4: Liability for Carriage of Passengers by Water

• New legislation establishing a regime of liability based on international convention (1974 Athens Convention on Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage as amended by its 1990 Protocol).
• Provisions which establish the basis of liability of shipowners to passengers, and the limits of liability which provide shipowners and their insurers with a degree of certainty with respect to potential liability.
• Exemptions from liability through contracts not allowed.
• Provisions that strike a balance between the interests of shipowners and passengers, while facilitating prompt settlement of claims.

Part 5: Liability for Carriage of Goods by Water

• Existing regime of liability of shipowners for cargo damage based on international convention (currently the 1968 Hague-Visby Rules).
• New provision on Canadian jurisdiction.

Part 6: Civil Liability and Compensation for Pollution

• Existing provisions of Part XVI of the Canada Shipping Act based on two international conventions (the 1969 Civil Liability Convention for Oil Pollution Damage and the 1971 Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Oil Pollution Damage).
• New provision to clarify the application to floating production, storage, and offloading units (FPSOs) and to floating storage units (FSUs).
• Conventions above were amended by the 1992 Protocols to which Canada acceded on May 29, 1999, following the passage in May 1998, of enabling legislation as implemented in Chapter 6 of the Statutes of Canada, 1998.
• Provisions which establish the liability of shipowners for environmental damage.
• Provisions to extend coverage to the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

(Housekeeping)

Part 7: Validation of Certain By-Laws and Regulations

• Validating legislation to correct technical errors made in the by-laws for increased harbour dues between 1983 and 1985 and in the regulations for fees collected by the Laurentian Pilotage Authority for a three-month period in 1994.