Canada Shipping Act, 2001 (S.C. 2001, c. 26)

Proof of Offences by Vessels

Marginal note:Proof of offence

• 252 (1) In a prosecution of a vessel for an offence under this Act, it is sufficient proof that the vessel has committed the offence to establish that the act or omission that constitutes the offence was committed by the master or any person on board, other than a person carrying out an inspection under this Act or a pollution response officer, whether or not the person on board has been identified.

• Marginal note:Directions

  (2) For the purpose of prosecuting a vessel for contravening a direction given under this Act, a direction given to the master, a crew member or any person on board who is, or appears to be, in charge of the vessel, is deemed to have been given to the vessel.

Offences

Marginal note:Damage to environment and risk of death or harm to persons

• 253 (1) Every person is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction on indictment to a fine or to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, or to both, who, in committing an offence under this Act,

  • (a) intentionally or recklessly causes a disaster that results in the loss of life or serious damage to the environment; or

  • (b) shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons and thereby causes a risk of death or bodily harm to another person.

• Marginal note:Criminal negligence

  (2) Every person who, in committing an offence under this Act, shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons and thereby causes death or bodily harm to another person is subject to prosecution and punishment under section 220 or 221 of the Criminal Code.

Due Diligence

Marginal note:Persons

• 254 (1) No person may be found guilty of an offence under this Act if the person establishes that they exercised due diligence to prevent its commission.

• Marginal note:Vessels

  (2) No vessel may be found guilty of an offence under this Act if the person who committed the act or omission that constitutes the offence establishes that they exercised due diligence to prevent its commission.

Prohibitions on Conviction

Marginal note:Court order

255 If a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may, in addition to any other punishment it may impose, make an order

• (a) if the person is the holder of a Canadian maritime document, prohibiting the person from doing any act or thing authorized by the document at all times while the document is in force or for the period or at the times and places that may be specified in the order; or

• (b) prohibiting the person from operating a vessel or providing services essential to the operation of a vessel for the period or at the times and places that may be specified in the order.

Summary Conviction Proceedings

Marginal note:Limitation period

• 256 (1) Proceedings by way of summary conviction under this Act may be instituted within two years after the day on which the Minister of Transport or the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, as the case may be, becomes aware of the subject-matter of the proceedings.

• Marginal note:Certificate of Minister

  (2) A document that purports to have been issued by the Minister referred to in subsection (1), and that certifies the day on which that Minister became aware of the subject-matter of the proceedings, is admissible in evidence without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed the document and is evidence that the Minister became aware of the subject-matter on that day.

• Marginal note:Defendant outside Canada

  (3) If the proceedings cannot be commenced within two years because the proposed defendant is outside Canada, the proceedings may be commenced not later than two months after they arrive in Canada.

Jurisdiction

Marginal note:Jurisdiction in case of offences

• 257 (1) For the purpose of giving jurisdiction under this Act, every offence is deemed to have been committed and every cause of complaint to have arisen either in the place where the offence actually was committed or arose, or in any place where the offender or person or vessel complained against may be.

• Marginal note:Presumption of jurisdiction

  (2) If, in a legal proceeding under this Act, a question arises as to whether a vessel or person is within any of the provisions of this Act or the regulations, the vessel or person is deemed to be within those provisions unless the contrary is proved.

Marginal note:Jurisdiction over vessels lying off coasts

• 258 (1) If a district within which a court, justice of the peace or provincial court judge has jurisdiction either under this Act or under any other Act or at common law, for any purpose whatever, is situated on the coast of a sea, or abuts on or projects into navigable waters, the court, justice or provincial court judge has jurisdiction over any vessel on, or lying or passing off, that coast or in or near those navigable waters, and over all persons on board, in the same manner as if the vessel or persons were within the limits of the original jurisdiction of the court, justice or provincial court judge.

• Marginal note:Added power of courts

  (2) The jurisdiction under this section is in addition to and not in derogation of any jurisdiction or power of a court under the Criminal Code.

Damage Occasioned by Foreign Vessels

Marginal note:Power to detain foreign vessel that has caused damage

259 If the Federal Court is satisfied that damage or loss has in any part of the world been caused to property that belongs to Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province or to a qualified person by the fault, in whole or in part, of a foreign vessel that is at the time of the application in Canadian waters, on ex parte application the Federal Court may issue an order requiring any person named by the Court to detain the vessel until the applicant has been compensated for the damage or loss or until security, in the form and amount approved by the Court, is deposited with the Court.

Defence

Marginal note:Defence available in certain cases

260 It is a defence in proceedings under this Act for contravening a direction that the vessel to which or person to whom the direction was given

• (a) believed on reasonable grounds that complying with the direction would have imperilled life, the environment or any vessel or property; and

• (b) notified the person who gave the direction, as soon as feasible, of the contravention and of the reasons for it.

Depositions in Legal Proceedings

Marginal note:Depositions received when witness cannot be produced

• 261 (1) A deposition of a witness is admissible in evidence in the course of a proceeding under this Act if

  • (a) the testimony of the witness is required in relation to the subject-matter of the proceeding and the witness cannot be found in Canada;

  • (b) the deposition was made on oath outside Canada in relation to the same subject-matter before a justice or magistrate of another state or before a diplomatic or consular officer of Canada or a person recognized by Her Majesty in right of Canada as a diplomatic or consular officer of another state, and the deposition is signed by the justice, magistrate or officer; and

  • (c) in the case of a criminal proceeding, the deposition was made in the presence of the person accused and that fact is certified by the justice, magistrate or officer.

• Marginal note:Certificate as evidence

  (2) It is not necessary in any case to prove the signature or official character of the person who appears to have signed the deposition, and in a criminal proceeding a certificate under this section is, unless the contrary is proved, sufficient evidence that the deposition was made in the presence of the person accused.

• Marginal note:Certified copies

  (3) A copy of the deposition or an extract from one is admissible in evidence if it purports to be signed and certified as a true copy or extract by the justice, magistrate or officer.

Procedure

Marginal note:Examination of persons before trial

• 262 (1) A crew member who is likely to be obliged to leave the province in which an offence under this Act is prosecuted, or a witness who is sick, infirm or about to leave the province, may be examined before a commissioner for oaths or other proper authority in the same manner that a deposition is taken in a civil case.

• Marginal note:Use of examination

  (2) An examination under subsection (1) may be used at the trial or proceeding in respect of which it was taken if the crew member or witness is unable to attend or cannot be produced.

Marginal note:No stay of proceedings without order

263 The proceedings on a conviction or an order may not be stayed by reason of an application to remove the conviction or order to a superior court or of a notice of such an application unless the court or judge to whom the application is made or is to be made orders a stay of proceedings on special cause being shown.

Marginal note:Jurisdiction

264 If there is no judge having jurisdiction in respect of writs of certiorari resident at or near the place where a conviction or an order is made, in Ontario, a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, in Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, a judge of the Supreme Court, in Newfoundland and Labrador, a judge of the Trial Division of the Supreme Court, or, in New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta, a judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench has power to hear and determine an application for a stay of proceedings on the conviction or order.

Marginal note:Documents admissible in evidence

• 265 (1) A document made, given or issued under this Act and appearing to be signed by the Minister of Transport, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, the Chief Registrar or a registrar, a marine safety inspector, the Chair of the Marine Technical Review Board, a marine communications and traffic services officer, a person exercising powers under subsection 135(2), a pleasure craft safety inspector or an enforcement officer is admissible in evidence and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, is proof of the statements contained in the document without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed the document.

• Marginal note:Copies or extracts

  (2) A copy of or an extract from any record or other document that is made, given or issued under this Act by a person referred to in subsection (1) and that appears to have been certified under the signature of that person as a true copy or extract is admissible in evidence without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed it and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, has the same probative force as the original would have if it were proved in the ordinary way.

Marginal note:Admissibility of documents in evidence

266 A document that this Act declares to be admissible in evidence is, on its production from the proper custody, admissible in evidence in any court or before any person having by law or consent of the parties authority to receive evidence, and, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, is proof of the matters stated in the document without proof of the signature or the official character of the person appearing to have signed it.

Marginal note:Document entries as proof

267 In an action or proceeding under this Act, an entry in a record required under this Act to be kept is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof of the matters stated as against the person who made the entry or was required to keep the record or, if the record was kept in respect of a vessel, against the authorized representative or master.

Application of Fines

Marginal note:Paid to Receiver General

• 268 (1) Subject to subsection (2), all fines imposed under this Act must, despite any other Act, be paid to the Receiver General and deposited to the credit of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

• Marginal note:Application of fines

  (2) A court, justice of the peace or provincial court judge who imposes a fine under this Act may direct that the whole or a portion of it may

  • (a) be applied in compensating a person for any wrong or damage that may have been caused by the act or default in respect of which the fine was imposed;

  • (b) be applied in or toward payment of the expenses of the proceedings; or

  • (c) be paid to the provincial, municipal or local authority bearing in whole or in part the expense of prosecuting the contravention of this Act in respect of which the fine was imposed.