Regulatory Framework

The International Maritime Organization and the International Labour Organization provide the regulatory framework for the Port State Control program. The following provides a list of major international maritime conventions to which Canada has acceded :

• International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS),
• International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL),
• International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 (STCW),
• Load Lines (LL),
• Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREG),
• International Labour Organization Convention No. 147 Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) (ILO 147).

The Canada Shipping Act (CSA) and the Canada Labour Code are the two pieces of domestic legislation into which these conventions and standards have been incorporated.  In 2007, many of the CSA regulations will be replaced by the new Canada Shipping Act, 2001 as part of the Transport Canada's regulatory reform process.