Vol. 148, No. 11 — May 21, 2014

Registration

SOR/2014-102 May 2, 2014

CANADA MARINE ACT

Regulations Amending the Seaway Property Regulations

P.C. 2014-481 May 1, 2014

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport, pursuant to section 98 (see footnote a) of the Canada Marine Act (see footnote b), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Seaway Property Regulations.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE SEAWAY PROPERTY REGULATIONS

AMENDMENTS

1. (1) Paragraphs 5(c) and (d) of the Seaway Property Regulations (see footnote 1) are replaced by the following:

(2) Paragraph 5(h) of the French version of the Regulations is amended by replacing “altérer la qualité” with “avoir un effect néfaste sur”.

2. Sections 7 and 8 of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

7. No person shall access Seaway property unless

SIGNS AND DEVICES

8. (1) The Manager may have signs or devices installed in the Seaway or on Seaway property for any of the following purposes:

(2) The Manager may have signs or devices installed in the Seaway or on Seaway property respecting any of the following subject-matters:

3. Subsection 9(1) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

9. (1) If a sign or device installed in the Seaway or on Seaway property under the authority of the Manager applies to a person in the Seaway or on Seaway property or in respect of a vehicle being operated by the person on Seaway property, the person shall obey the instructions on the sign or device unless he or she is authorized to do otherwise under section 33.1.

4. Section 10 of the Regulations and the heading “Registration and Permits” before it are repealed.

5. The heading before section 11 of the Regulations is repealed.

6. Section 11 of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

11. Every person who operates a vehicle on Seaway property shall do so in accordance with the laws of the province and municipality in which the Seaway property is situated.

7. Paragraph 13(c) of the French version of the Regulations is amended by replacing “vitesse minimale” with “vitesse moindre”.

8. Sections 14 and 15 of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

14. The Manager may have a vehicle that is on Seaway property moved or stored if the vehicle

15. If a vehicle referred to in section 14 interferes with navigation, the Manager may have it moved or stored at the expense of the owner or operator of the vehicle or at the expense of the person who was in possession of the vehicle at the time it was found to be parked or stopped.

9. Subsection 16(2) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

(2) If the person does not immediately remove the refuse, substance, object, cargo or ship’s gear, the Manager may have it removed and, if the refuse, substance, object, cargo or ship’s gear interferes with navigation, the Manager may have it removed at the person’s expense.

10. Subparagraph 18(a)(ii) of the French version of the Regulations is amended by replacing “envoyer” with “poster”.

11. The portion of section 20 of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

20. If a situation causes or is likely to cause death, bodily injury or any other emergency situation in the Seaway or on Seaway property or if the situation causes or is likely to cause damage to property or the environment, every person directly involved in the situation and, in the case of an activity conducted under a contract, lease, licence or authorization, the person authorized to conduct the activity shall

12. Section 22 of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

22. If, in the Seaway or on Seaway property, a person conducts an activity that is likely to have any of the results prohibited under section 5 and for which no authorization under these Regulations is required, the Manager may instruct the person to cease the activity or to take the precautions necessary to mitigate or prevent the result.

13. Paragraph 25(3)(b) of the French version of the Regulations is amended by replacing “constituer une entrave à” with “gêner”.

14. Paragraphs 30(2)(a) to (c) of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

15. Paragraphs 31(2)(c) to (e) of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

16. The Regulations are amended by adding the following after section 33:

33.1 The Manager shall give a temporary written or verbal authorization under this section to a person to not obey an instruction on a sign or device installed under the authority of the Manager if

17. (1) Subsection 34(1) is amended by adding “or” at the end of paragraph (c), by striking out “or” at the end of paragraph (d) and by repealing paragraph (e).

(2) Subsections 34(3) and (4) of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

(3) If the person does not immediately remove a thing referred to in subparagraph (2)(b)(i), the Manager may have it removed or stored and, if the thing interferes with navigation, the Manager may have it removed or stored at the person’s expense.

18. The portion of item 14 of the schedule to the Regulations in column 1 is replaced by the following:

Item Column 1

Activity
14. conducting a race, regatta, festival or other organized event

19. The portion of items 16 and 17 of the schedule to the Regulations in column 1 is replaced by the following:

Item Column 1

Activity
16. placing a placard, bill, sign or device that could be mistaken for a sign or device installed by the Manager
17. operating a commercial enterprise

20. Items 18 and 19 of the schedule to the Regulations are repealed.

21. The French version of the Regulations is amended by replacing “entraver”, “entrave” and “nuire” with “gêner”, “gêne” and “gêner”, respectively and with any necessary modifications, in the following provisions:

COMING INTO FORCE

22. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

The Seaway Property Regulations are required to deal with safety, order and the management of the St. Lawrence Seaway (the Seaway) and lands used in connection with the Seaway.

The Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations (SJCSR) identified provisions that it believes are outside the scope of the enabling authority (the Canada Marine Act); inconsistencies between and within the English and French versions; overly restrictive provisions regulating activities that may not be conducted in the Seaway or on the Seaway property; and a lack of certainty concerning the information required when seeking an authorization to conduct an activity in the Seaway or on Seaway property.

Background

The Seaway is a bi-national, deep-draft, inland waterway between Montréal and Lake Erie that consists of 15 locks and connecting canals/channels in two sections: the Montréal-Lake Ontario section with five Canadian and two American locks and the Welland Canal with eight Canadian locks.

The Seaway Property Regulations deal with the safety, order and management of the Seaway and lands used in connection with the Seaway by The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (the Manager).

Part 1 of the Regulations deals with general safety matters, such as access to Seaway property, operation of vehicles, fire protection, emergencies and precautionary measures. It also established activities which are prohibited in the Seaway and on lands used in connection with the Seaway, such as those that are likely to jeopardize safety or health or adversely affect sediment, soil, air or water quality.

Part 2 regulates the activities of the Manager itself by providing that it must take appropriate measures to mitigate any adverse results of its activities. The Manager is required to assess the impact of its marine works on navigation.

Part 3 of the Regulations provides a framework for the authorization of some activities that are listed in a schedule to the Regulations.

Objectives

The objective of the amendments is to address concerns raised by the SJCSR by providing regulations that are within the scope of the enabling authority, clear with respect to their applicability as well as their prohibitions and/or authorizations, and consistent between and within the English and French versions.

Description

Several sections are being deleted because they are either redundant or because they indirectly create offences or create new offences by way of regulation, which is not authorized by the Canada Marine Act.

Of the remaining amendments, the majority are solely housekeeping in nature, to provide consistency between and within the English and French versions. Examples include changing the words “entraver” and “nuire” to “gêner,” and “dispositif de signalisation” to “dispositif” in the French version.

The balance of the amendments are required because the SJCSR believes that elements of the sections are outside the scope of the enabling authority or to regulate activities that may not be conducted in the Seaway or on Seaway property in a less restrictive manner.

More specifically, certain sections currently authorize the Manager to remove objects from Seaway property at the risk and expense of the owner of the object in circumstances other than where the object interferes with navigation; and in one instance to conduct a restoration of Seaway property at the risk and expense of a person. In each section the word “risk” must be removed because it exempts the Manager from liability that might otherwise arise as a result of removing objects, and in the view of the SJCSR, falls outside the scope of the enabling authority. Also, to bring these sections within the scope of the Canada Marine Act, each must be revised such that the removal of an object may only be done at the expense of a person if that object interferes with navigation, and the references to “restore” and “restoration” must be removed, as this cannot be done at the expense of the person.

Part 3 of the Regulations provides a framework for the authorization of some of the activities that are listed in a schedule to the Regulations. The approach taken was to set down broad prohibitions of a wide range of activities, while allowing the Manager to determine who may then be exempted from these prohibitions. In the SJCSR’s view, that approach is not appropriate with respect to broad categories, which may include activities that pose no danger or interference. Thus, the SJCSR has asked that the activities be regulated in a less restrictive manner. The amendments accomplish this by narrowing the broad prohibitions, i.e. by making the descriptions of activities that are prohibited as precise as possible; and by providing the circumstances, procedural rules and criteria in which authorizations, i.e. exemptions, will be granted. For example, the amendment clarifies that

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to this proposal, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to this proposal, as there are no costs on small business.

Consultation

There were extensive consultations with officials of The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation regarding these Regulations. Seaway user groups were not consulted as these Regulations will have no impact on them.

Rationale

These Regulations amend the Seaway Property Regulations to address concerns raised by the SJCSR and will provide regulations that are within the scope of the enabling authority, clear with respect to their applicability as well as their prohibitions and/or authorizations, and consistent between and within the English and French versions.

Contact

Tim Meisner
Director General
Marine Policy
Transport Canada
Place de Ville, Tower C, 25th Floor
330 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N5
Email: tim.meisner@tc.gc.ca