Vol. 151, No. 9 — May 3, 2017

Registration

SOR/2017-68 April 20, 2017

CANADA MARINE ACT

Regulations Amending the Schedule to the Canada Marine Act

The Minister of Transport, pursuant to subsection 6(2) (see footnote a) of the Canada Marine Act (see footnote b), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Schedule to the Canada Marine Act.

Ottawa, March 13, 2017

Marc Garneau
Minister of Transport

Regulations Amending the Schedule to the Canada Marine Act

Amendments

1 Item 1 of Part 1 of the schedule to the Canada Marine Act (see footnote 1) is repealed.

2 Item 6 of Part 1 of the schedule to the Act is repealed.

3 Item 17 of Part 1 of the schedule to the Act is repealed.

4 Part 2 of the schedule to the Act is amended by adding the following after item 2:

3 Vancouver Fraser Port Authority

Coming Into Force

5 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 schedule of the Canada Marine Act (CMA or the Act) lists Canada Port Authorities (CPAs) incorporated or continued under the CMA. However, it does not correctly list all of the current CPAs. So as to be accurate, the schedule of the CMA has been amended to list all CPAs as follows: former CPAs that were amalgamated to become the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) — the Fraser River Port Authority, the North Fraser Port Authority and the Vancouver Port Authority — formerly listed in Part 1 of the schedule to the CMA are removed; the VFPA is added to Part 2 of the schedule of the CMA to provide a complete inventory of current CPAs for which Letters Patent of incorporation have been issued under the Act, and to clarify that the VFPA is subject to the same legal framework as all the other CPAs.

Background

The CMA sets out the legislative framework under which all 18 CPAs operate. The incorporating documents of CPAs are Letters Patent which are issued by the Minister of Transport and provide detail regarding the management framework for CPAs in respect of governance, major activities and powers, borrowing capacity, and set out the land and navigable waters under a Canada Port Authority’s management. As per subsection 6(1), the CMA applies to every CPA set out in the schedule and to every port authority for which Letters Patent of incorporation have been issued under the Act. Part 1 of the schedule to the CMA lists CPAs that were initially incorporated in 1999. Part 2 lists the CPAs that were incorporated after 1999. Subsection 6(2) of the CMA provides that the Minister of Transport may, by regulation, amend the schedule.

Objectives

The objective was to update Parts 1 and 2 of the schedule to the CMA to reflect the amalgamation of the three former west coast port authorities (Fraser River Port Authority, the North Fraser Port Authority, and the Vancouver Port Authority) to form the VFPA.

Description

The Minister of Transport has, by Regulation, amended the schedule to

“One-for-One” Rule

This ministerial amendment to Parts 1 and 2 of the schedule to the CMA has no impact or costs to government, business, consumers or Canadians.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to the Regulations, as there are no costs to small business.

Consultation

The VFPA has existed and been in operation since the Fraser River, North Fraser and Vancouver Port Authorities were legally amalgamated by the Government of Canada in 2008. These amendments are housekeeping items in that they update the schedule of the CMA to reflect the amalgamation of these Port Authorities.

Transport Canada consulted the management of the VFPA with respect to the amendment. As this is an administrative amendment, and because the VFPA has been operating under this legal title since the amalgamation, no public consultation was deemed necessary for this initiative.

Rationale

The CMA clearly applies to the VFPA by virtue of the issuance of Letters Patent of incorporation that were issued under the Act. So as to avoid the impression uncertainty resulting form that the absence of the VFPA from the schedule of the CMA or the consistent application of federal legislation to which all CPAs are subject, the VFPA was added to the schedule of the CMA.

Contact

Tamara Rudge
Director
Ports Policy
Transport Canada
Place De Ville, Tower C, 25th Floor
330 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A ON5
Email: tamara.rudge@tc.gc.ca