Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
CANADIAN MARITIME LEGISLATION AND DECISIONS 1996–1997
William Tetley*
LEGISLATION
A. Canada Shipping Act (Maritime Liability) (Bill S–4)
An Act to amend the Canada Shipping Act (maritime liability),1 introduced in the Canadian Senate, will enable Canada to become a party to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 19762, as amended by its 1996 Protocol3, as well as to the 1992 Protocols4 to the Civil Liability Convention 19695 and the Fund Convention 19716. The Bill in effect reintroduces Bill C–58 of 1996, which died on the Order Paper when Parliament was dissolved in April 1997 for the federal General Election of June 1997. Once enacted, Bill S–4 will significantly increase the compensation available in respect of maritime liability, replacing the existing Canada Shipping Act provisions based on the Limitation of Shipowners’ Liability Convention 19577 with the greater limitations of the 1976 Limitation Convention and its 1996 Protocol. The maximum compensation for oil pollution will also increase, from approximately Can. $120 million to approximately Can. $270 million, including the limitation amount payable under the Civil Liability Convention 1969 and a supplementary sum available from the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Fund. Claimants will also be entitled to recover the costs of preventive measures taken in expectation of a spill from a tanker, and shipowners will be liable for reasonable measures of reinstatement in cases where oil pollution from a ship results in environmental impairment. The legislation will cover both Canada’s inland waters and territorial sea and extend to its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Canadian law
* Q.C., Professor of Law, McGill University and counsel to Langlois, Gaudreau, O’Connor of Montreal. The author is indebted to Robert C. Wilkins for his assistance in the preparation and correction of the text, and to Mark A.M. Gauthier, Senior Counsel, Transport Legal Services, Department of Justice of Canada.
1. Bill S–4 of 1997, expected to be adopted in early 1998.
2. Adopted at London, 19 November 1976 and in force internationally as of 1 December 1986.
3. Protocol of 1996 to Amend the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976, adopted at London, 3 May 1996, but not yet in force.
4. Protocols of 1992 to amend the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1969 and the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage 1971, adopted at London, 27 November 1992 and in force internationally as of 30 May 1996.
5. International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, adopted at Brussels, 29 November 1969 and in force internationally as of 19 June 1975.
6. International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, adopted at Brussels, 18 December 1971, and in force internationally as of 16 October 1978.
7. International Convention relating to the Limitation of the Liability of Owners of Sea-going Ships, adopted at Brussels, 10 October 1957, and in force internationally as of 31 May 1968.
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