Merchant Seamen Compensation Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. M-6)

Marginal note:Minimum compensation

40 The amount of compensation to which an injured seaman is entitled for temporary total or permanent total disability under this Act shall not be less than one hundred and twenty-four dollars per week or, where his average earnings are less than one hundred and twenty-four dollars per week, the amount of those earnings, and for temporary partial or permanent partial disability a corresponding amount in proportion to the impairment of earning capacity.

Marginal note:Computation of average earnings

• 41 (1) Average earnings shall be computed in such a manner as is best calculated to give the rate per week or month at which a seaman was remunerated but not so as in any case to exceed the rate of twenty-seven thousand two hundred and fifty dollars per annum.

• Marginal note:In case of shortness of employment

  (2) Where, owing to the shortness of the time during which a seaman was in the employment of his employer or the casual nature of his employment or the terms thereof, it is impracticable to compute the rate of remuneration as of the date of an accident, regard may be had to the average weekly or monthly amount that, during the twelve months previous to the accident, was being earned by a person in the same grade employed at the same work by the same employer, or if there is no person so employed, then by a person in the same grade employed in the same class of employment on a ship of the same class.

• Definition of employment by the same employer

  (3) For the purpose of this section, the expression employment by the same employer means employment by the same employer in the grade in which the seaman was employed at the time of the accident, uninterrupted by absence from work due to illness or any other unavoidable cause.

• Marginal note:Special expenses not counted

  (4) Where an employer was accustomed to pay a seaman a sum to cover any special expense entailed on him by the nature of his employment, that sum shall not be reckoned as part of his earnings.

• Marginal note:Earnings at time of accident considered

  (5) If in any case it seems more equitable to do so, the Minister may award compensation, having regard to a seaman’s earnings at the time of an accident.

Marginal note:Payments, etc., during disability considered

• 42 (1) In fixing the amount of a weekly or monthly payment, regard shall be had to any payment, allowance or benefit that a seaman may receive from his employer during the period of his disability, including any pension, gratuity or other allowance provided wholly at the expense of the employer.

• Marginal note:No compensation if wages paid

  (2) No compensation is payable in respect of the period during which an employer is, under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, or otherwise, liable for the payment of wages and to defray the expenses of maintenance of an injured seaman.

• Marginal note:Compensation paid in full

  (3) Any sum payable by way of compensation by the owner of a ship under this Act shall be paid in full notwithstanding anything in Part 3 of the Marine Liability Act.

Marginal note:Semi-monthly or monthly payments

• 43 (1) Whenever the Minister considers it advisable, the payment of compensation may be made semi-monthly or monthly instead of weekly.

• Marginal note:Residence outside Canada

  (2) Subject to section 23, if a seaman or a dependant is not a resident of Canada or ceases to reside in Canada, the periods of payments may be otherwise fixed or the compensation commuted as the Minister considers appropriate.

Marginal note:Cases where compensation may be diverted

• 44 (1) If a seaman is entitled to compensation and it is made to appear to the Minister that the seaman’s spouse, former spouse, common-law partner, former common-law partner or children under 18 years of age are without adequate means of support, the Minister may divert the compensation in whole or in part from the seaman for their benefit.

• Marginal note:Diversion of compensation from survivor

  (2) If a seaman’s survivor is entitled to compensation under section 31 and it is made to appear to the Minister that the seaman’s spouse, former spouse, former common-law partner or children under 18 years of age are without adequate means of support, the Minister may divert the compensation in whole or in part from the survivor for their benefit.

• Marginal note:Meaning of “common-law partner”

  (3) In this section, common-law partner means a person who is cohabiting with a seaman in a conjugal relationship, having so cohabited for a period of at least one year, or who had been so cohabiting for a period of at least one year at the time of the seaman’s death.

Marginal note:If seaman or dependant is a minor

45 If a seaman or a dependant is a minor or under any other legal incapacity, the compensation to which they are entitled may be paid to any person or be applied in any manner that the Minister considers is to the seaman’s or the dependant’s best advantage.

Medical Aid

Marginal note:Seaman entitled to medical aid, etc.

• 46 (1) Every seaman entitled to compensation under this Act is entitled to such medical, surgical and dental aid, and hospital and skilled nursing services as may be necessary as a result of the injury, and is entitled to such artificial member or members and apparatus and dental appliances and apparatus as may be necessary as a result of the injury and to have the same kept in repair or replaced when deemed necessary.

• Marginal note:Responsibility of employer

  (2) The medical aid to which a seaman is entitled under subsection (1) shall be furnished and paid for by the employer of that seaman.

• Marginal note:Question of necessity

  (3) Any question as to the necessity, character and sufficiency of any medical aid furnished or to be furnished may be referred to the Minister for a decision.

• Marginal note:Fees or charges

  (4) The fees or charges for the medical aid under subsection (1) shall not be more than would be properly and reasonably charged to a seaman if that seaman were paying the bill, but shall not, in any case where the seaman is furnished with medical aid in Canada, exceed the fees or charges that would be paid in similar circumstances by the workers’ compensation board of the province in which the medical aid was furnished.

• Marginal note:Transportation to hospital

  (5) Every employer shall at his own expense furnish any seaman injured in his employment, who is in need of it, with immediate conveyance and transportation to a hospital, a physician or the seaman’s home within a reasonable limit.

Marginal note:Medical aid under one Act only

47 Notwithstanding anything in this Act, a seaman entitled to medical aid under Part 3 of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, or under any other Act that provides similar benefits, is not entitled to medical aid under this Act during the period and to the extent that medical aid is furnished under that Part or that other Act.

Marginal note:Reports by physician, etc.

48 Every physician, surgeon or hospital official attending, consulted respecting or having the care of any seaman shall furnish the employer from time to time with any reports that are required by the employer in respect of that seaman, and may charge for the preparation of those reports any reasonable fees that are agreed on with the employer or, in the absence of an agreement, that the Minister approves.

Rules and Orders

Marginal note:Minister may make rules and orders

49 The Minister may make any rules and orders that he or she considers expedient or necessary for regulating his or her procedure and for carrying any of the purposes or provisions of this Act into effect.

Delegation and Costs of Administration

Marginal note:Delegation

50 The Minister may delegate to any person the exercise of any power or the performance of any duty that may be exercised or performed by the Minister under this Act, except for the powers referred to in section 49.

Marginal note:Costs chargeable against employers

51 All costs incurred relative to the administration of this Act, including salaries, expenses, fees and commissions, are chargeable against the various employers, apportioned on a basis to be determined by the Minister.