Vol. 149, No. 13 — July 1, 2015

Registration

SOR/2015-146 June 12, 2015

PILOTAGE ACT

Regulations Amending the Laurentian Pilotage Authority Regulations

P.C. 2015-806 June 11, 2015

RESOLUTION

The Laurentian Pilotage Authority, pursuant to paragraph 20(1)(e) of the Pilotage Act (see footnote a), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Laurentian Pilotage Authority Regulations.

Montréal, April 8, 2015

FULVIO FRACASSI
Chief Executive Officer
Laurentian Pilotage Authority

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport, pursuant to subsection 20(1) of the Pilotage Act (see footnote b), approves the annexed Regulations Amending the Laurentian Pilotage Authority Regulations, made by the Laurentian Pilotage Authority.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE LAURENTIAN PILOTAGE AUTHORITY REGULATIONS

AMENDMENTS

1. (1) Subsection 15(3) of the Laurentian Pilotage Authority Regulations (see footnote 1) is replaced by the following:

(3) A Class A licence or pilotage certificate permits its holder to perform pilotage duties on any ship in District No. 1 or District No. 2 or any part of those districts.

(2) The portion of subsection 15(4) of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

(4) A Class B licence or pilotage certificate permits its holder to perform pilotage duties

(3) The portion of subsection 15(5) of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

(5) A Class C licence or pilotage certificate permits its holder to perform pilotage duties

COMING INTO FORCE

2. 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

Section 15 of the Laurentian Pilotage Authority Regulations (the Regulations) stipulates that only the holder of a certificate for District No. 1-1 may perform movages in the Harbour of Montreal. In periods of high traffic, there may not be enough pilots to provide services in the Harbour of Montreal, which may cause delays in ship movements. The Regulations must therefore be amended to avoid causing inconvenience to clients because of these delays.

Background

The Laurentian Pilotage Authority (the Authority) is responsible for providing marine pilotage on the St. Lawrence River and the Saguenay River. To fulfill its obligation, the Authority issues pilotage licences for Districts No. 1, No. 1-1 and No. 2. The Harbour of Montreal has belonged to Districts No. 1 and No. 1-1 since the Authority was created. Pilots holding a licence for District No. 1-1 have been authorized since then, and they have exclusive rights to travel in the Harbour of Montreal. Until recently, these certificate holders were employed by the Authority. However, they now belong to the Corporation des pilotes du Saint-Laurent Central (CPSLC), which provides services between Montréal and Québec.

Objectives

The Authority would like to improve the efficiency of its services by authorizing pilotage licence holders for District No. 1 who work in the Trois-Rivières–Montréal area, excluding the Harbour of Montreal, to now work in the Harbour of Montreal. Therefore, more pilots will be available to offer services in this port. The Authority’s objective is to increase the number of pilots who are able to provide services, thereby avoiding delays in ship movements.

Description

The purpose of this regulatory amendment is to authorize pilots of District No. 1, between Trois-Rivières and Montréal, to perform ship movages in the Harbour of Montreal.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to the Regulations, as there is no change in administrative costs to businesses.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply, as this proposal does not impose any costs on small businesses.

Consultation

This regulatory amendment resolves a problem that has been the subject of discussions between the Authority and the CPSLC since August 2014. The CPSLC would like this amendment to be made, as would the associations representing the Authority’s clients that have also been consulted. This proposal is not considered controversial by any party. It is in the interest of both pilots and clients.

Since CPSLC pilots already work in the Harbour of Montreal when conducting berthing or anchoring activities, no training is required for these pilots to move ships there. The exclusion that the regulatory amendment seeks to remove was justified by the fact that the ship movements in the port were previously carried out exclusively by employee pilots. Since they joined the CPSLC, this exclusion is no longer justified. Pilots holding a pilotage licence for District No. 1 have always been authorized to carry out all pilotage missions in the Harbour of Montreal under this exception. The pilots therefore have the required skills.

These amendments were prepublished in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on February 21, 2015, followed by a 30-day comment period to provide interested persons with the opportunity to make comments or to file a notice of objection. No comments were received and no notices of objection were filed.

Rationale

More pilots can deliver services that contribute to navigation safety in the Harbour of Montreal. The elimination of delays in ship movements also avoids clients having to face financial losses and other inconveniences caused by lost time. The regulatory amendment therefore helps maintain the competitiveness of the marine industry that does business in the Harbour of Montreal.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

Section 45 of the Pilotage Act (the Act) sets out a mechanism for enforcing the Regulations. Under this section, a pilotage authority can inform a customs officer at a port in Canada not to grant clearance to a ship if the pilotage charges in respect of the ship are outstanding and unpaid. Section 48 of the Act stipulates that every person who contravenes Part 1 of the Act, other than section 15.3, or the Regulations, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.

Contact

Fulvio Fracassi
Chief Executive Officer
Laurentian Pilotage Authority
999 De Maisonneuve Boulevard West, Suite 1410
Montréal, Quebec
H3A 3L4
Telephone: 514-283-6320
Fax: 514-496-2409
Email: fulvio.fracassi@apl.gc.ca