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Vol. 138, No. 31 — July 31, 2004 Regulations Amending the Laurentian Pilotage Tariff RegulationsStatutory authority Pilotage Act Sponsoring agency Laurentian Pilotage Authority REGULATORY IMPACT Description The Laurentian Pilotage Authority (the Authority) is responsible for administering, in the interest of safety, an efficient pilotage service within Canadian waters in and around the province of Quebec, north of the northern entrance to Saint-Lambert Lock, except for the waters of Chaleur Bay, south of Cap d'Espoir. The Authority also prescribes tariffs of pilotage charges that are fair, reasonable and sufficient to permit the Authority to operate on a self-sustaining financial basis. The tariff amendment represents a general increase of pilotage charges of 4 percent, effective January 1, 2005. This general increase takes into account the costs resulting from the contracts negotiated with the pilot corporations, including binding Final Offer Selection in the case of the Mid St. Lawrence Pilot Corporation. A new docking charge of $213.36 has also been included for the docking of a ship at Saint-Lambert Lock. An amendment was made to subsection 8(1) of the French version of the Regulations following comments from the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations. Alternatives The Authority operating costs have been reduced where feasible and kept to the minimum consistent with maintaining a safe and efficient service. For example, to reduce costs, the Authority has decided to close the Quebec City Dispatch Office, for a saving of $92,000 per year on a recurring basis. In addition, the Authority has taken advantage of the expiration of its office lease by moving into another building offering a rent reduction of $25,000 per year. Benefits and costs The tariff increase for the year 2005 will generate additional revenue estimated to be $1,735,000. This represents an increase in the pilotage charges of approximately $128 per trip for a ship transiting the St. Lawrence River between the pilots' boarding stations at Les Escoumins and Montréal, i.e. 262 nautical miles. The average duration of such a trip is 20 hours. The average cost per mile is $12.86. The tariff increase is necessary to meet anticipated operating costs for 2005. This initiative will ensure the continued efficiency and safety of the pilotage service, and at the same time its financial autonomy. In accordance with the 1999 Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, and the Transport Canada Policy Statement on Strategic Environmental Assessment, a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of this amendment has been conducted, in the form of a Preliminary Scan. The outcome of the SEA is that the amendment does not have any impact on the environment. Consultation During the months of May and June 2004, the Authority held meetings with the main pilotage service user groups concerning the tariff increase proposed for 2005. The Shipping Federation of Canada has indicated that it will not readily accept a 4 percent increase. The Federation says that the new pilot service contract with the Mid St. Lawrence Pilots gives no assurance that pilotage services will be provided without restriction at night during the fall and winter navigation periods. The Canadian Shipowners Association has indicated that it will not accept any increase in excess of the cost of living index. In addition, the Association has indicated that the Authority will be required to take into consideration a pending arbitration decision which may lead to a substantial increase of pilotage tariffs in District No. 1 once the Court of Appeal has spoken. The St. Lawrence Operators Association has not yet stated its position on the matter. In spite of the hesitation of the users, the Authority believes that it is essential that it obtains the requested increase in order to meet its contractual obligations to its employees and to the pilots and avoid being in a deficit situation in 2005. Compliance and enforcement Section 45 of the Pilotage Act provides the enforcement mechanism for these Regulations; it states that no customs officer at any port in Canada shall grant a clearance to a ship if the officer is informed by an Authority that pilotage charges in respect of the ship are outstanding and unpaid. Section 48 of the Pilotage Act provides a penalty of up to $5,000 if the Regulations are contravened. Mr. Jean-Claude Michaud, Chief Executive Officer, Laurentian Pilotage Authority, 555 René-Lévesque Boulevard W, Suite 1501, Montréal, Quebec H2Z 1B1, (514) 283-6320 (telephone), (514) 496-2409 (facsimile). Notice is hereby given, pursuant to subsection 34(1) (see footnote a) of the Pilotage Act, that the Laurentian Pilotage Authority proposes to make, pursuant to subsection 33(1) of that Act, the annexed Regulations Amending the Laurentian Pilotage Tariff Regulations. Interested persons who have reason to believe that any charge in the proposed Regulations is prejudicial to the public interest, including, without limiting the generality thereof, the public interest that is consistent with the national transportation policy set out in section 5 of the Canada Transportation Act (see footnote b), may file a notice of objection setting out the grounds therefor with the Canadian Transportation Agency within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such notices must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be sent to the Canadian Transportation Agency, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N9. Persons making representations should identify any of those representations the disclosure of which should be refused under the Access to Information Act, in particular under sections 19 and 20 of that Act, and should indicate the reasons why and the period during which the representations should not be disclosed. They should also identify any representations for which there is consent to disclosure for the purposes of that Act.
JEAN-CLAUDE MICHAUD
REGULATIONS AMENDING THE LAURENTIAN AMENDMENTS 1. Paragraph 8(1)(e) of the French version of the Laurentian Pilotage Tariff Regulations (see footnote 1) is replaced by the following: e) qu'il quitte un quai ou une jetée auquel il était amarré dans un port, ou un autre navire auquel il était amarré, après que le pilote visé aux alinéas a) ou b) est monté à bord; 2. The portion of item 4 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations in Column 1 is replaced by the following:
3. The portion of items 1 to 11 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations in columns 3 to 8 is replaced by the following:
1 The number of chargeable hours of service is calculated from the later of the time for which the pilotage services are requested and the time at which the pilot reports for pilotage duty until the time of cancellation. COMING INTO FORCE 4. These Regulations come into force on January 1, 2005. [31-1-o] S.C. 1998, c. 10, s. 150 S.C. 1996, c. 10 SOR/2001-84 |
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