Canada Marine Act (S.C. 1998, c. 10)

Objectives

Marginal note:Objectives

78 The objectives of this Part are to

• (a) promote a commercial approach to the operation of the Seaway;

• (b) protect the integrity of the Seaway;

• (c) protect the rights and interests of communities adjacent to the Seaway;

• (d) protect the long-term operation and viability of the Seaway as an integral part of Canada’s national transportation infrastructure;

• (e) promote the competitiveness of the Seaway;

• (f) protect the significant investment that the Government of Canada has made in respect of the Seaway;

• (g) encourage user involvement in the operation of the Seaway; and

• (h) encourage new cooperative arrangements with the United States for the management of the transportation facilities and services in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region.

Powers of Minister

Marginal note:Powers of Minister

79 The Minister may

• (a) acquire lands for, and construct, maintain and operate the works that are necessary for, the operation of the Seaway, including works either wholly in Canada or in conjunction with works undertaken by an appropriate authority in the United States;

• (b) construct, maintain and operate any works in connection with the Seaway that the Governor in Council may deem necessary to fulfil an obligation undertaken or to be undertaken by Canada pursuant to any present or future agreement between Canada and the United States;

• (c) operate and manage bridges, including acquire lands for, and construct, maintain and operate, alone or jointly or in conjunction with an appropriate authority in the United States, bridges connecting Canada with the United States and, to that end or as incidental to it, acquire shares or property of any bridge company;

• (d) acquire lands for, and construct or otherwise acquire, maintain and operate, any works or other property that the Governor in Council may deem necessary for works undertaken pursuant to this Part;

• (e) fix the fees to be charged for the use of any property under the Minister’s administration that forms part of the Seaway or for any service provided or any right or privilege conferred in connection with the Seaway; and

• (f) take any measures that may be necessary for the purposes of any present or future agreement in respect of the Seaway.

Marginal note:Transfer

• 80 (1) The Minister may direct the Authority to transfer, on the terms and conditions specified by the Minister, all or part of its property or undertakings to the Minister, any other member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, any other person or any body established under an international agreement, and the Authority shall immediately comply.

• Marginal note:Transfer by Minister

  (2) Where any property or undertaking is transferred to the Minister under subsection (1), the Minister may transfer it to any other member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, any other person or any body established under an international agreement.

• Marginal note:Federal Real Property and Federal Immovables Act

  (3) The Federal Real Property and Federal Immovables Act does not apply to a transfer under subsection (1) or (2) unless it is a sale of land to a person or body other than the Minister or any other member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada.

• Marginal note:Surplus Crown Assets Act

  (4) The Surplus Crown Assets Act does not apply to a transfer under subsection (1) or (2).

• Marginal note:Agreements

  (5) The Minister may enter into agreements in respect of all or part of the Seaway and the property or undertakings referred to in subsection (1) or (2) and those agreements may be with a not-for-profit corporation that accords a major role to Seaway users, in particular in the way in which directors of the corporation are appointed and in its operations, or, where the Minister considers it appropriate, with any other person or any body established under an international agreement.

• Marginal note:Contents of agreements

  (6) An agreement may include any terms and conditions that the Minister considers appropriate, including provisions respecting

  • (a) the transfer of all or part of the property or undertakings referred to in subsection (1) or (2);

  • (b) the management and operation of all or part of the Seaway or the property or undertakings referred to in subsection (1) or (2);

  • (c) the construction, maintenance and operation of all or part of the Seaway;

  • (d) the charging of fees;

  • (e) the performance and enforcement of obligations under the agreement;

  • (f) the transfer of officers and employees of the Authority;

  • (g) the making of financial contributions or grants or the giving of any other financial assistance;

  • (h) the imposition of additional obligations of financial management; and

  • (i) where the agreement is with a body referred to in subsection (5), the application of any of the provisions of this Part relating to an agreement with a not-for-profit corporation or other person referred to in that subsection.

• Marginal note:Existing rights

  (7) A transfer of land under paragraph (6)(a) does not affect a right or interest of any person or body of persons, including an Indian band within the meaning of the Indian Act, that existed in the land before the coming into force of this Part.

• Marginal note:Termination of agreement

  (8) The terms of an agreement with a not-for-profit corporation or other person shall include

  • (a) a clause providing for the termination of the agreement in the event of the establishment of a body under an international agreement in respect of the Seaway; and

  • (b) a clause providing for the protection of the rights of privacy of persons affected by the agreement and, in that regard, may include a clause requiring the not-for-profit corporation or other person to obligate itself to provide for privacy protection in its contracts with or in respect of affected persons, including employment contracts and collective agreements.

• Marginal note:Authority to carry out agreements

  (9) The Minister may take any measures that the Minister considers appropriate to carry out an agreement and to protect the interests or enforce the rights of Her Majesty under an agreement, including, if the agreement so provides, making advances to, and receiving advances from, the person with whom the agreement is made and determining the rates of interest that apply.

• Marginal note:Security

  (10) The Minister may

  • (a) accept and hold on behalf of Her Majesty any security granted to Her Majesty under the agreement or any security granted in substitution for it; and

  • (b) release or realize on any security referred to in paragraph (a).

• Marginal note:Obligations

  (11) The obligations imposed in respect of a not-for-profit corporation under sections 83 to 89 apply equally to a person who has entered into an agreement under subsection 80(5) to the extent that the agreement so provides.

Marginal note:Consolidated Revenue Fund

81 An amount payable by the Minister under an agreement entered into under subsection 80(5) is payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Marginal note:Rights and obligations preserved

82 The rights and obligations of a person who enters into an agreement under subsection 80(5) are, where the agreement so provides and the Minister has published a notice in the Canada Gazette to that effect, as follows:

• (a) the name of the person shall be substituted for that of the Authority in every contract, collective agreement, lease, licence, permit or other document entered into or granted by the Authority, other than those set out specifically or by class in the agreement and notice; and

• (b) the personal property or movable, and any rights related to it, that the Authority administers, or the title to which it holds, on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada, whether or not in its own name, other than those set out specifically or by class in the agreement and notice, become the property and rights of the person.

Annual Meeting

Marginal note:Meeting open to public

• 83 (1) A not-for-profit corporation shall each year hold a meeting that is open to the public in each city mentioned in the agreement, in premises large enough to accommodate the anticipated attendance, to inform the public about its activities in respect of the operation of the Seaway.

• Marginal note:Notice of meeting

  (2) The not-for-profit corporation shall, at least thirty days before a meeting, have notice of the meeting published in a major newspaper published or distributed in each city mentioned in the agreement, setting out the time and location of the meeting and specifying that the financial statements relating to the operation of the Seaway are available to the public at its principal place of business.

• Marginal note:Availability to public

  (3) The not-for-profit corporation shall ensure, at each meeting,

  • (a) that there are available a sufficient number of copies of the most recent audited annual financial statements relating to the operation of the Seaway for the persons present at the meeting; and

  • (b) that its chief executive officer and directors are available to answer questions about the operation of the Seaway posed by the persons present at the meeting.

Financial Management

Marginal note:Public to get financial statements

• 84 (1) A not-for-profit corporation shall make available for inspection by the public, at its principal place of business during normal business hours at least thirty days before the meeting, its audited annual financial statements that deal with its activities in respect of the operation of the Seaway for the preceding fiscal year.

• Marginal note:Contents

  (2) The financial statements shall be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and consist of at least the following:

  • (a) a balance sheet;

  • (b) a statement of retained earnings;

  • (c) an income statement; and

  • (d) a statement of changes in financial position.

• Marginal note:Remuneration

  (3) The total remuneration that each director or officer receives in a year from the corporation, including any fee, allowance or other benefit, shall be set out in the annual financial statements for that year.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (4) The Governor in Council may make regulations in respect of the preparation, form and content of the documents referred to in paragraphs (2)(a) to (d) and the information referred to in subsection (3).

Marginal note:Books and systems

• 85 (1) A not-for-profit corporation shall, in respect of its activities in respect of the operation of the Seaway, ensure that

  • (a) books of account and accounting records are kept; and

  • (b) financial and management control and information systems and management practices are maintained.

• Marginal note:Keeping of books

  (2) The books, records, systems and practices shall be kept and maintained in a manner that will provide reasonable assurance that

  • (a) the assets of the Seaway managed by the corporation are safeguarded and controlled;

  • (b) the transactions of the corporation in relation to the Seaway are in accordance with this Part; and

  • (c) the financial, human and physical resources of the corporation in relation to the Seaway are managed economically and efficiently and the operations of the Seaway are carried out effectively.

Marginal note:Audit

86 The Minister may appoint an auditor to audit the books of account and accounting records referred to in subsection 85(1) to ensure compliance with the agreement.

Special Examinations

Marginal note:Special examinations

• 87 (1) A not-for-profit corporation shall have a special examination carried out to determine whether the books, records, systems and practices referred to in subsection 85(1) were, in the period under examination, maintained in a manner that provided reasonable assurance that they met the requirements of subsection 85(2).

• Marginal note:Time for examination

  (2) A special examination shall be carried out at least once every five years and at any additional times that the Minister may require.

• Marginal note:Plan

  (3) Before beginning a special examination, the examiner shall survey the systems and practices of the corporation in relation to the operation of the Seaway and submit a plan for the examination, including a statement of the criteria to be applied, to the corporation and, in the case where the Minister has required the special examination to be carried out, to the Minister.

• Marginal note:Resolution of disagreements

  (4) Any disagreement between the examiner and the corporation with respect to the plan is to be resolved by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Reliance on internal audit

  (5) The examiner shall, to the extent the examiner considers it feasible, rely on an internal audit carried out by the corporation in relation to the operation of the Seaway.

Marginal note:Report

• 88 (1) The examiner shall, on completion of the special examination, submit a report of the findings to the Minister and to the corporation.

• Marginal note:Contents

  (2) The examiner’s report shall include

  • (a) a statement as to whether in the examiner’s opinion, with respect to the criteria established under subsection 87(3), there is reasonable assurance that there are no significant deficiencies in the systems and practices examined; and

  • (b) a statement of the extent to which the examiner relied on internal audits.

• Marginal note:Notice of report

  (3) A not-for-profit corporation shall, as soon as is practicable after receiving the report, have notice of the report published in a major newspaper published or distributed in each city mentioned in the agreement.

• Marginal note:Report available to public

  (4) The corporation shall make the report available for inspection by the public at its principal place of business during normal business hours.

Marginal note:Examiner — other qualified auditor

89 Where, in the opinion of the Minister, someone other than the special examiner chosen by a not-for-profit corporation should carry out a special examination, the Minister may, after consulting with the corporation, appoint another auditor and may, after again consulting with the corporation, remove that auditor at any time.

Property

Marginal note:Federal Real Property and Federal Immovables Act

90 For the purposes of the Federal Real Property and Federal Immovables Act, the Minister or other member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada to whom any federal real property or federal immovable is transferred under subsection 80(1) or (2) has the administration of that property.