Good morning.
This morning I'm pleased to have the opportunity to speak about the amendments to the Marine Liability Act as contained in Bill C-3, the safeguarding Canada's seas and skies act.
The purpose of the Marine Liability Act amendments is to fill a gap in the current liability regime for ships and to ensure that Canadians and the environment are well protected from the risks of marine transport. This bill protects Canadians against the financial consequences of hazardous and noxious substance spills from ships by: one, ensuring that shipowners carry the appropriate amount of compulsory insurance for the risks associated with the cargoes they carry; and two, providing Canadians access to an international fund to provide compensation beyond the shipowner’s limit.
These amendments are important and necessary, because while Canada has an excellent marine safety record, it is important to have in place a robust liability and compensation regime to ensure that polluters pay for incidents and that Canadian interests are protected by modern legislation that includes proper compensation.
These amendments will facilitate the implementation of the 2010 hazardous and noxious substance, HNS, convention, an international liability and compensation convention adopted by the International Maritime Organization. Spills of dangerous substances can be costly to clean up, and these amendments will ensure that those affected by these spills are adequately compensated.
Shipping is truly and inherently a global industry. The international shipping industry is responsible for carrying about 90% of world trade, and is critical to the functioning of global commerce. Unlike other modes of transportation, which are more or less confined to our roads, railways, and airports, international ships have vast amounts of waterways to operate in and are constantly on the move from state to state to connect global supply chains and deliver goods and people to their markets and destinations.
Given this, it is important that Canada continue to contribute to the uniformity of international maritime law and continue its long-standing tradition of multilateralism with regard to international shipping. As I said, this is a global industry requiring global rules. Canada's intimate involvement in the advancement of the HNS convention is indicative of that long-standing tradition.
The 2010 hazardous and noxious substance convention establishes strict liability for the shipowner and also introduces compulsory insurance for their liability for the pollution damage caused by a spill of hazardous and noxious substances from a ship. This is a major improvement over the current regime when it comes to dangerous goods such as chemicals. The convention also includes membership to an international fund that will pay compensation for pollution damage caused by such spills.
Contributions to the international fund will be paid by cargo owners. By splitting the financial responsibility between the two principal parties involved, the shipowner and the cargo owner, this convention supports the very important polluter pays principle and will ensure that both the shipowner and cargo owner pay for pollution damage caused by their ship or goods.
This international convention is modelled on an existing regime for oil pollution from ships, which has served Canada well. The regime ensures that the risks associated with international shipping are shared globally. By ratifying this convention, Canada will gain access to approximately $400 million in compensation for a single spill of hazardous and noxious substances.
The hazardous and noxious substances convention covers a wide variety of substances, some 6,500 substances that are carried in bulk and in packages and containers along our coast and through Canadian waters. These substances include liquefied natural gas, propane, refined fuels, and other dangerous cargoes. The broad scope of coverage of these hazardous and noxious substances under this convention will go a long way in ensuring that Canadians are well compensated should an incident occur.
In the case of ship-sourced spills of refined fuel, compensation available from the ship-source oil pollution fund will continue to apply. This is a unique Canadian feature of our regime that will continue to benefit Canadians by ensuring that another tier of compensation is available to victims of oil pollution damage and by providing one of the highest amounts available globally for a spill of oil.
Transport Canada has consulted with Canadians and stakeholders who widely support the passage of the proposed amendments to the Marine Liability Act. The shipping industry had recently written to the chair of this committee to express their strong support for the proposed amendments to the Marine Liability Act. The cargo owners who would pay into this HNS fund have also voiced their support for this bill.
In summary, these amendments will ensure that shipowners carry adequate insurance and are held strictly liable for the damage caused by hazardous and noxious substances from their ship, and set out the legal framework for an international compensation fund to provide compensation to victims. It's a significant step forward in advancing the ship-sourced liability and compensation regime and in ensuring that victims of spills of hazardous and noxious substances are adequately compensated.
Thank you.