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Vol. 141, No. 6 — February 10, 2007 Tariff Amending the Ships Registry and Licensing Fees TariffStatutory authority Canada Shipping Act, 2001 Sponsoring department Department of Transport
REGULATORY IMPACT (This statement is not part of the Tariff.) Description The existing Ships Registry and Licensing Fees Tariff (the Tariff) was made pursuant to paragraph 48(j) of the Canada Shipping Act (CSA). It was created to provide a standard of fees with respect to the registration, listing or licensing of a ship. The CSA is the principal legislation governing the activities of Canadian ships in all waters and of foreign ships in Canadian waters. The new Canada Shipping Act, 2001 (CSA 2001) will replace the CSA with modernized, streamlined legislation, which will enhance navigation safety, encourage viable, effective and economical marine transportation, and better protect the marine environment. The CSA 2001 received Royal Assent on November 1, 2001, and upon entry into force, which is expected to occur in early 2007, will replace the CSA. Paragraph 35(1)(g) of the CSA 2001 is the authority to make the proposed Tariff Amending the Ships Registry and Licensing Fees Tariff. The title of the Tariff (the Ships Registry and Licensing Fees Tariff) is inconsistent with the terminology used in the CSA 2001. Under the CSA, ships of 15 gross tonnage or less are not required to be registered, but if they are not registered, they are required to be licensed. Under the CSA 2001, vessels that are not pleasure craft must be registered or listed, but may not be licensed. Therefore, it is being proposed that the provisions of the Tariff be amended to refer to "vessels" instead of "ships" to be consistent with the terminology used in the CSA 2001. Accordingly, it is also being proposed that the title of the Tariff be amended to be the Vessels Registry Fees Tariff. The proposed amendments would also provide for certain changes to the fee charges, all of which are fully described in the "Benefits and costs" section. Alternatives There are no reasonable alternatives to amending the Tariff upon entry into force of the CSA 2001, because of inconsistencies between existing provisions and terminology in the Tariff as compared to that of the CSA 2001. Benefits and costs No increases to existing fees or costs are being proposed. In fact, some fees currently provided for in the Tariff will be discontinued, such as the $300 fee for processing an application for the registration of a ship built outside of Canada that is a commercial ship exceeding 15 tons gross tonnage, and the $100 fee for processing an application for the registration of a ship built outside of Canada that is a commercial ship that does not exceed 15 gross tonnage or a pleasure craft (refer to items 2(a) and (b) in the Table set out in section 2 of the current Tariff). These two fees will become redundant because they were based upon a requirement that was contained in the CSA that required the Minister of Transport to consent to the registration of a ship built outside of Canada. This requirement no longer exists. In addition, it is proposed that section 3 of the Tariff would be amended to reflect the fact that the fee payable for registering a vessel in the small vessel register that is not a pleasure craft would be $50 for each five-year period. In the existing Tariff, section 3 provides for a $50 fee for the issuance of a small commercial vessel licence for each five-year period. In essence, then, the existing section 3 sets a fee for the licensing of a ship while the proposed amendments would set a fee for the registration of a vessel and, subject to the following explanation, the $50 fee is considered to remain unchanged. The proposed amendments would include a provision to allow for a flat rate payment of $50 for each five-year period for the registration of a "fleet" of vessels. To qualify as a fleet, there must be two or more vessels, each being 5 gross tonnage or less and owned by the same person. This provision would not apply to government vessels or to vessels owned or in the service of a municipality or in the exclusive possession of a municipality. Somewhat surprisingly, this is not expected to diminish overall revenues, since it is anticipated that this new provision would encourage greater compliance and should enhance revenues marginally. User Fees Act The provisions of the User Fees Act are not applicable to these proposed amendments. Strategic environmental assessment A preliminary scan for environmental impacts has been undertaken in accordance with the criteria of Transport Canada's Strategic Environmental Assessment Policy Statement — March 2001. The preliminary scan has led to the conclusion that a detailed analysis is not necessary. Further assessments or studies regarding environmental effects of this initiative are not likely to yield a different determination. Consultation The proposed amendments primarily update terminology found in the Tariff that will be inconsistent with the new CSA 2001 when it is brought into force and replaces the current licensing regime with one of registration for small vessels that are not pleasure craft. Moreover, the remaining significant changes relate to the discontinuance of certain redundant fees and the reduction of fees in the case of qualified fleets of vessels. Consultations with respect to these proposed amendments took place with Marine Safety's main stakeholder forum, the Canadian Marine Advisory Council (CMAC), over the course of the CMAC National Meeting in May 2006. As anticipated, CMAC members were very supportive of all of the proposed amendments to the Tariff. Compliance and enforcement The issue of enforcement and compliance does not pertain to these proposed amendments but rather relates to the obligation to register the vessels for which the fees are imposed, which is set out in the new CSA 2001 itself. As such, any enforcement of the proposed amendments would not impact the overall established compliance mechanism for Marine Safety and would not require additional resources to ensure compliance. Keith Bell, AMSX, Project Manager Team Leader, Regulatory Services and Quality Assurance, Transport Canada, Marine Safety, Place de Ville, Tower C, 330 Sparks Street, 11th Floor, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N5, 613-949-3819 (telephone), 613-991-5670 (fax), bellk@tc.gc.ca (email). Notice is hereby given that the Governor in Council proposes, pursuant to paragraph 35(1)(g) (see footnote a) of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 (see footnote b) to make the annexed Tariff Amending the Ships Registry and Licensing Fees Tariff. Interested persons may make representations to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities with respect to the proposed Regulations within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. All representations must be in writing and cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be sent to Keith Bell, Project Manager Team Leader, Regulatory Services and Quality Assurance, Marine Safety, Transport Canada, Place de Ville, Tower C, 330 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N5 (tel.: 613-949-3819; fax: 613-991-5670; e-mail: bellk@tc.gc.ca). 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. Ottawa, February 1, 2007
MARY O'NEILL
TARIFF AMENDING THE SHIPS REGISTRY AND AMENDMENTS 1. The title of the Ships Registry and Licensing Fees Tariff (see footnote 1) is replaced by the following: VESSELS REGISTRY FEES TARIFF 2. Sections 2 and 3 of the Tariff are replaced by the following: 2. (1) The fee payable for a service set out in column 1 of an item of the table to this section is the fee set out in column 2 of the item. (2) This section does not apply in respect of vessels that are registered in the small vessel register. TABLE
3. (1) The fee payable for registering a vessel or a fleet of vessels in the small vessel register for a five-year period is $50. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of pleasure craft. (3) For the purposes of this section, "fleet of vessels" means two or more vessels of less than 5 gross tonnage that are owned by the same person and are not (a) government vessels; or (b) vessels owned by and in the service of a municipality or in the exclusive possession of a municipality. COMING INTO FORCE 3. This Tariff comes into force on the day on which section 2 of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, chapter 26 of the Statutes of Canada, 2001, comes into force. [6-1-o] S.C. 2005, c. 29, s. 16(1) S.C. 2001, c. 26 SOR/2002-172 |
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