Order Fixing the Day on Which this Order is Registered as the Day on Which Certain Provisions of that Act Come into Force: SI/2021-26

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 155, Number 12

Registration
SI/2021-26 June 9, 2021

BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION ACT, 2019, NO. 1

Order Fixing the Day on Which this Order is Registered as the Day on Which Certain Provisions of that Act Come into Force

P.C. 2021-470 June 1, 2021

His Excellency the Administrator of the Government of Canada in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport, pursuant to subsections 269(1), (2), (4) and (5) of the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1, chapter 29 of the Statutes of Canada, 2019, fixes the day on which this Order is registered as the day on which subsections 225(1) and (4) and sections 233, 235, 237, 242, 250, 251 and 255 of that Act come into force.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order will set the day on which it is registered as the day on which subsections 225(1) and 225(4) and sections 233, 235, 237, 242, 250, 251, and 255 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1, chapter 29 of the Statutes of Canada, 2019, come into force, pursuant to section 269 of that Act. These provisions will amend the Pilotage Act.

Objective

The objective of this Order is to bring into force certain amendments to the Pilotage Act (the Act) in support of the Government of Canada (the Government) commitments to enhance safe navigation, prevent marine incidents and protect the environment.

Background

In 1972, the Act was introduced to provide the legislative framework for the delivery of marine pilotage services in Canada. The Act allowed for the creation of four pilotage authorities to operate and maintain safe and efficient pilotage services in designated areas across the country. The pilotage authorities, created pursuant to the Act, operate at arm's length from the Government as Crown corporations. Under the original Act, each pilotage authority had the right, within its geographic area of operation, to determine (1) where and how marine pilotage services were provided; and (2) the framework for pilotage certification, licensing, fee setting and enforcement.

Until June 2019, the Act remained largely unchanged. The modernization of the Act was an important element of the Government's efforts to prevent marine incidents and protect coastal environments. As a result, the modernization of the Act was identified as a priority of the Oceans Protection Plan (OPP). Under the OPP, a comprehensive review of the Act was completed. The aim of the review was to modernize the Act while continuing to support safe pilotage in Canada. The “Pilotage Act Review Final Report” was completed in April 2018 and published in May 2018. This report highlighted the need to modernize the framework for marine pilotage services in Canada and identified 38 areas for improvement, including transferring the responsibility for developing and maintaining regulations from the pilotage authorities to Transport Canada.

In June 2019, the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1 received royal assent, amending the Act to provide for a pilotage system with increased national consistency, greater efficiency and more accountability. The amendments to the Act were designed to come into force gradually and in an organized stepwise fashion, through a series of four orders in council, in order to minimize disruptions and to avoid legislative gaps during the transition to the new pilotage system. On August 7, 2019, the first Order in Council restructured the Act and introduced new labour and governance provisions. On March 18, 2020, the second Order in Council brought into force the enforcement and oversight provisions of the Act, including the transfer of enforcement responsibilities from the pilotage authorities to the Minister of Transport. The second Order in Council also brought provisions into force giving the Minister of Transport new powers related to oversight and compliance. On June 4, 2020, the third Order in Council brought into force sections of the Act that removed pilotage fee-setting from the regulatory process; enabled pilotage authorities to directly set non-discriminatory, fair, and reasonable pilotage charges in accordance with a publicly available methodology; outlined the financial requirements that should be considered when developing pilotage charges; amended the grounds for complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency; established that a ship that proceeds through a compulsory pilotage area while not under the conduct of a licensed pilot or pilotage certificate holder is liable to that authority for all pilotage charges as if it had been under the conduct of a licensed pilot; and amended paragraph 52.5(a) of the Act to exempt resolutions made in relation to pilotage charges from the Statutory Instruments Act.

Implications

This Order in Council is the fourth and the last in the series and concludes the modernization implementation process. This Order in Council will bring into force sections of the Act that transfer the authority to develop and maintain regulations, respecting the provision of pilotage services, from the pilotage authorities to Transport Canada (i.e. moving forward regulations will be made by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport). It will also shift to the Minister of Transport the authority to issue pilotage certificates and licences. Furthermore, it will allow the Minister to administer and enforce the Act using electronic means. This will, for example, allow

The COVID-19 pandemic has made the availability of these provisions more important than ever to ensure the continuation of uninterrupted service, while protecting people by respecting health guidelines and physical distancing.

In addition, the coming into force of these provisions will conclude the separation of the regulatory role from the service delivery role of the pilotage authorities and establish a nationally coherent pilotage service that is aligned with the Canadian marine safety and security regime.

Following the making of this Order in Council, Transport Canada will continue working toward the goal of prepublishing the proposed Marine Pilotage Regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part I, in fall 2021, and publishing the new Marine Pilotage Regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part II, in 2022.

The proposed Marine Pilotage Regulations would change the existing regulatory framework for the delivery of marine pilotage services in Canada. The existing framework consists of a set of five operational regulations that would remain in force until they are repealed and replaced by the proposed Marine Pilotage Regulations.

Consultation

The amendments to the Act, in the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1, were welcomed by pilotage stakeholders, including the shipping industry, pilots and pilotage authorities. Extensive consultation occurred in the development of the amendments to the Act.

The amendments were developed following an independent review of the Act, which involved detailed analysis and consultation. The review consisted of extensive engagement with 124 stakeholders from August 2017 to March 2018. During consultations, there were 58 bilateral meetings and 13 roundtable discussions with pilots, the pilotage authorities, shipping companies, shippers, and Indigenous peoples from the northern coast of British Columbia. In addition, a total of 35 written submissions from stakeholders and 10 comments through Transport Canada's “Let's Talk - Oceans Protection Plan” portal were received.

Following completion of the review, the Minister of Transport hosted a roundtable meeting with key stakeholders on July 4, 2018, and Transport Canada officials held a series of meetings with stakeholders throughout the summer of 2018. Finally, as part of the OPP's outreach activities, pilotage was discussed by departmental officials in a number of engagement sessions across the country, including sessions specifically with Indigenous peoples.

Since the amendments to the Act received royal assent in June 2019, Transport Canada has been engaging with pilotage authorities and stakeholders regarding the implementation and coming into force of the amended provisions. Although Transport Canada's principal forum for engagement has been the national Canadian Marine Advisory Council meetings, departmental officials have also conducted numerous bilateral and multilateral meetings with a variety of stakeholders and have welcomed all verbal and written input.

Contacts

Julie Gascon
Director General
Marine Safety and Security
Transport Canada
Telephone: 343‑572‑1277
Email: Julie.Gascon@tc.gc.ca

Julie Bédard
Director
Pilotage Program
Transport Canada
Telephone: 613‑302‑9634
Email: Julie.Bedard@tc.gc.ca