Offences and Punishment

Marginal note:Contravention of Act or regulations

• 78. (1) Every person commits an offence who contravenes

  • (a) subsection 57(4) (wilfully defacing, altering, concealing or removing markings); or

  • (b) a provision of the regulations made under paragraph 77(h).

• Marginal note:Punishment

  (2) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or to both.

Marginal note:Contravention of Act or regulations

• 79. (1) Every person commits an offence who contravenes

  • (a) subsection 46(2) (register vessel);

  • (b) an order made under subsection 52(4) (renaming of vessel);

  • (c) subsection 57(1) (mark vessel);

  • (d) subsection 57(3) (maintenance of markings);

  • (e) subsection 58(1) (notify of changes — authorized representative);

  • (f) subsection 58(2) (notify of alteration — authorized representative);

  • (g) subsection 58(3) (notify if no authorized representative — owner);

  • (h) subsection 58(4) (notify of completion of construction);

  • (i) subsection 63(1) (operation of vessel without a certificate on board);

  • (j) subsection 63(2) (deliver certificate to person entitled to operate vessel);

  • (k) subsection 63(3) (deliver certificate to Chief Registrar);

  • (l) subsection 64(2) (fly Canadian flag); or

  • (m) a provision of the regulations made under any of paragraphs 77(a) to (g).

• Marginal note:Punishment

  (2) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $10,000.

• Marginal note:Continuing offence

  (3) If an offence under paragraph (1)(a) or (c) is committed or continued on more than one day, the person who committed it is liable to be convicted for a separate offence for each day on which it is committed or continued.

PART 3PERSONNEL

Interpretation

Definition of “Minister”

80. In this Part, “Minister” means the Minister of Transport.

Application

Marginal note:Canadian vessels

81. This Part applies in respect of Canadian vessels, other than pleasure craft, everywhere. Subsections 86(2) to (4) also apply in respect of foreign vessels in Canadian waters.

Masters

Marginal note:Presentation of documents

• 82. (1) The master of a Canadian vessel shall ensure that every person who is employed in a position on board presents to the master all Canadian maritime documents that they are required under this Part to have for that position.

• Marginal note:Sufficient and competent staff

  (2) No master of a Canadian vessel shall operate it unless it is staffed with a crew that is sufficient and competent for the safe operation of the vessel on its intended voyage, and is kept so staffed during the voyage.

• Marginal note:Obstruction prohibited

  (3) No crew member shall wilfully obstruct a master’s operation of a Canadian vessel unless the master is, without just cause, putting at risk the safety of the vessel or of any person on board.

Marginal note:Detention of persons

• 83. (1) The master of a Canadian vessel may detain any person on board if the master has reasonable grounds to believe that it is necessary to do so to maintain good order and discipline on the vessel or for the safety of the vessel or of persons or property on board. The detention may last only as long as necessary to maintain order and discipline or to ensure the safety of persons or property.

• Marginal note:Custody

  (2) The master of a Canadian vessel on a voyage may take into custody without warrant any person on board who the master has reasonable grounds to believe has committed an offence under this Act or any other Act of Parliament, and must as soon as feasible deliver that person to a peace officer.

• Marginal note:Use of force on a voyage

  (3) The master of a Canadian vessel on a voyage is justified in using as much force as the master believes on reasonable grounds is necessary for the purpose of maintaining good order and discipline on the vessel, but the master must not use force that is intended or is likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm unless the master believes on reasonable grounds that it is necessary for self-preservation or the preservation of anyone on the vessel from death or grievous bodily harm.

Stowaways and Other Persons

Marginal note:Liable for discipline

84. Every person whom the master of a Canadian vessel is compelled to take on board and convey, and every person who stows away on a Canadian vessel or hides in cargo that is subsequently loaded on a Canadian vessel, is, as long as the person remains on board, subject to the same rules and orders for preserving discipline, and to the same punishments for contravening the rules or orders constituting or tending to a breach of discipline, as are crew members.

Contract of Employment

Marginal note:Masters’ contracts

• 85. (1) In every contract of employment between the authorized representative and the master of a Canadian vessel there is implied, notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, an obligation on the authorized representative that the authorized representative and every agent charged with loading the vessel, preparing it for a voyage or sending it on a voyage use all reasonable means to ensure its seaworthiness for the voyage when the voyage commences and to keep the vessel in a seaworthy condition during the voyage.

• Marginal note:Crew members’ contracts

  (2) In every contract of employment between the authorized representative and a crew member of a Canadian vessel there is implied, notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, an obligation on the authorized representative that the authorized representative, the master and every agent charged with loading the vessel, preparing it for a voyage or sending it on a voyage use all reasonable means to ensure its seaworthiness for the voyage when the voyage commences and to keep the vessel in a seaworthy condition during the voyage.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) Nothing in this section subjects the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel to any liability by reason of the vessel’s being sent to sea in an unseaworthy condition if sending the vessel to sea in that condition was reasonable and justifiable in order to mitigate unsafe circumstances.

Liens and Claims

Marginal note:Liens

• 86. (1) The master, and each crew member, of a Canadian vessel has a maritime lien against the vessel for claims that arise in respect of their employment on the vessel, including in respect of wages and costs of repatriation that are payable to the master or crew member under any law or custom.

• Marginal note:Foreign liens

  (2) The master and each crew member of a vessel on whom a maritime lien against the vessel is conferred by a jurisdiction other than Canada in respect of employment on the vessel has a maritime lien against the vessel.

• Marginal note:Liens for necessaries

  (2.1) The master of a Canadian vessel has a maritime lien against the vessel for claims that arise in respect of disbursements made or liabilities incurred by the master for necessaries on account of the vessel.

• Marginal note:Claims

  (3) The master, and each crew member, of a vessel may maintain an action against the vessel in the Federal Court, or any court of competent jurisdiction whose rules provide for in rem procedure in respect of vessels, for claims in respect of which a lien is conferred by subsection (1), (2) or (2.1).

• Marginal note:Priority

  (4) Liens conferred by subsection (1) or (2) rank in priority to all other claims, secured or unsecured, against the vessel, other than

  • (a) claims for costs relating to the arrest and the judicial sale of the vessel; or

  • (b) any lien arising from a claim for salvage in respect of the vessel.

• Marginal note:Priority — liens for necessaries

  (5) Liens conferred by subsection (2.1) rank in priority to all other claims, secured or unsecured, against the vessel, other than

  • (a) liens conferred by subsection (1) or (2);

  • (b) claims for costs relating to the arrest and the judicial sale of the vessel; or

  • (c) any lien arising from a claim for salvage in respect of the vessel.

Certificates

Marginal note:Positions on board Canadian vessels

87. Every person who is employed on board a Canadian vessel in a position in respect of which a certificate is required under this Part shall hold the certificate and comply with its terms and conditions.

Marginal note:Eligibility

• 88. (1) Only a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration Act may hold a certificate of competency that is issued under this Part.

• Marginal note:Foreign certificates of competency

  (2) The Minister may, on application by a person described in subsection (1), issue a certificate of competency in respect of certain requirements under this Act to the holder of a certificate of competency that was issued under the laws of a foreign state if the Minister is satisfied that the requirements under those laws for the foreign certificate meet or exceed the requirements under this Act. Before issuing the certificate, the Minister may require that the holder take an examination set by the Minister.

Marginal note:Acceptance of foreign certificates

• 89. (1) If the government of a foreign state has entered into a reciprocal arrangement with the Government of Canada to accept certificates of competency issued under this Part in lieu of certificates of competency of that state and if the Minister is satisfied that the requirements under the laws of the foreign state for a certificate of competency meet or exceed the requirements under this Act, the Minister may direct, subject to any conditions that the Minister specifies, that the foreign certificate may be accepted in lieu of a certificate of competency issued under this Part.

• Marginal note:Suspension or cancellation

  (2) A foreign certificate that is accepted under subsection (1) may, in so far only as concerns its validity in Canada, be suspended or cancelled by the Minister as though it were a Canadian maritime document, and the holder of any certificate so suspended or cancelled must deliver it to the Minister, who must then return it to the authority that issued it.

Medical or Optometric Information

Marginal note:Minister to be provided with information

• 90. (1) If a physician or an optometrist believes on reasonable grounds that the holder of a certificate issued under this Part has a medical or optometric condition that is likely to constitute a hazard to maritime safety, the physician or optometrist shall inform the Minister without delay of that opinion and the reasons for it.

• Marginal note:Patient to advise

  (2) The holder of a certificate issued under this Part in respect of which standards of medical or optometric fitness are required shall, before being examined by a physician or an optometrist, advise the physician or optometrist that they hold the certificate.

• Marginal note:Use by Minister

  (3) The Minister may use any information provided under subsection (1) for the purpose of determining whether the holder of a certificate meets the requirements in respect of that certificate.

• Marginal note:No proceedings shall lie

  (4) No legal, disciplinary or other proceedings lie against a physician or optometrist for anything they do in good faith in compliance with this section.

• Marginal note:Deemed consent

  (5) The holder of a certificate is deemed, for the purposes of this section, to have consented to the Minister being informed under subsection (1) in the circumstances referred to in that subsection.

Articles of Agreement, Discharge and Record of Sea Service

Marginal note:Articles of agreement

• 91. (1) The master of a vessel who is required by the regulations made under this Part to enter into articles of agreement shall

  • (a) ensure that every crew member has entered into and received articles of agreement, in the form and manner specified by the Minister, with respect to their position on the vessel; and

  • (b) display, in a location that is accessible to the crew, the provisions of the articles of agreement that are common to each crew member.

• Marginal note:Information

  (2) The articles of agreement between the master and a crew member must state the surname and other names of the crew member, the respective rights and obligations of each of the parties and any other information required by the regulations made under this Part.

Marginal note:Discharge

92. When a crew member of a Canadian vessel is discharged, the authorized representative shall provide the member with a certificate of discharge in the form and manner specified by the Minister.

Marginal note:Record of sea service

• 93. (1) The authorized representative and every crew member of a Canadian vessel shall each maintain, in the form and manner and for the period specified by the Minister, a record of sea service of the member.

• Marginal note:Copies to the Minister

  (2) On request, the authorized representative shall provide the Minister with a copy of, or an extract from, a crew member’s record of sea service.

Return of Crew Members

Marginal note:Return and payment of expenses

• 94. (1) Subject to the regulations and except in the case of desertion or mutual agreement, if a crew member is left behind when a Canadian vessel sails or is shipwrecked, the authorized representative shall ensure that arrangements are made to return the crew member to the place where they first came on board or to another place to which they have agreed, and pay the expenses of returning the crew member as well as all expenses, including medical expenses, that the crew member reasonably incurs before being returned.

• Marginal note:Exception if insurance

  (2) The authorized representative is not responsible to pay any expenses covered by insurance for which the authorized representative paid.

• Marginal note:If authorized representative does not comply

  (3) If the authorized representative does not comply with subsection (1), the Minister may act in place of the authorized representative and any expenses incurred by the Minister constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada by the authorized representative and may be recovered as such in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Marginal note:Desertion or serious violation of contract

95. If a crew member deserts a Canadian vessel or has committed a serious violation of their contract of employment, the authorized representative or, if the authorized representative entered into an agreement with another person to provide the crew member, that person may return the crew member to the place where they first came on board or to another place on which they and the authorized representative or the other person, as the case may be, have agreed. The expenses of returning the crew member may be deducted from any remuneration due to them.

Births and Deaths

Marginal note:Informing the Minister

96. The authorized representative of a Canadian vessel must, in the form and manner specified by the Minister, inform the Minister of every birth or death on board.

Marginal note:Death of crew member

• 97. (1) Subject to any other law, if a crew member of a Canadian vessel dies, the master shall

  • (a) without delay inform the Minister or a diplomatic or consular officer of Canada of the circumstances surrounding the death; and

  • (b) at the option of the person, if any, whom the crew member identified as a contact in case of emergency, arrange to bury or cremate the body or, if the person and the master agree on a place to return the body to, return it to that place.

• Marginal note:Cremation or burial

  (2) If the contact person referred to in paragraph (1)(b) cannot be consulted within a reasonable period, the master shall, subject to any other law, bury or cremate the body, taking into account the deceased’s wishes if known.

• Marginal note:Exceptional circumstances

  (3) If, in the opinion of the master, it is not feasible, because of the type of voyage or the lack of facilities, to follow the wishes of the contact person referred to in paragraph (1)(b) or of the deceased crew member, the master shall, subject to any other law, bury or cremate the body.

• Marginal note:Property of a deceased crew member

  (4) The authorized representative of a Canadian vessel shall give any property that belonged to a deceased crew member and was on board to the contact person referred to in paragraph (1)(b) or the deceased crew member’s estate or succession.

Obligation of Persons Who Provide Crew Members

Marginal note:If an agreement to provide crew members

98. If the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel entered into an agreement with another person to provide crew members, that other person shall, in lieu of the authorized representative or the master with respect to those crew members, comply with the obligation of the authorized representative or master set out in

• (a) paragraph 91(1)(a) (enter into articles);

• (b) section 92 (provide certificate of discharge);

• (c) subsection 93(1) (maintain record of sea service);

• (d) subsection 93(2) (provide copy of record of sea service); and

• (e) subsection 94(1) (pay expenses), except in respect of any expenses covered by insurance for which that other person or the authorized representative paid.

Resolution of Disputes

Marginal note:Adjudication by Minister

99. The Minister may, on the request of the authorized representative and a crew member of a Canadian vessel, adjudicate any dispute between them that arises under this Part. The Minister’s decision is binding on the parties.