Regulations Amending the Laurentian Pilotage Authority Regulations: SOR/2018-78

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 152, Number 9

Registration

April 23, 2018

PILOTAGE ACT

P.C. 2018-430 April 20, 2018

RESOLUTION

The Laurentian Pilotage Authority, pursuant to subsection 20(3) of the Pilotage Act ^{footnote a}, published a copy of the proposed Regulations Amending the Laurentian Pilotage Authority Regulations, substantially in the annexed form, in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on December 9, 2017

Therefore, the Laurentian Pilotage Authority, pursuant to subsection 20(1) of that Act, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Laurentian Pilotage Authority Regulations.

Montreal, January 22, 2018

Fulvio Fracassi
Chief Executive Officer
Laurentian Pilotage Authority

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport, pursuant to subsection 20(1) of the Pilotage Act ^{footnote a}, approves the annexed Regulations Amending the Laurentian Pilotage Authority Regulations, made by the Laurentian Pilotage Authority.

Regulations Amending the Laurentian Pilotage Authority Regulations

Amendments

1 (1) Paragraph 19(1)(a) of the Laurentian Pilotage Authority Regulations ^{footnote 1} is replaced by the following:

• (a) be the holder of a certificate of competency for a Master Mariner or Master, Near Coastal; and

(2) The portion of paragraph 19(1)(b) of the French version of the Regulations before subparagraph (i) is replaced by the following:

• b) avoir piloté dans cette circonscription, selon le cas :

(3) Paragraph 19(2)(c) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

• (c) have
  • (i) in the case of a holder who has obtained a passing mark in the examination referred to in paragraph (a) at the first attempt,
    • (A) served as an apprentice pilot holding a Class D apprentice pilot permit for that District and while so serving have completed during a period of not less than four months but not more than six months, 200 movages in that District, if, during the five years before the day on which the application for the permit is made, the holder completed at least 12 months of sea service as master, or
    • (B) served as an apprentice pilot holding a Class D apprentice pilot permit for that District and while so serving have completed during a period of not less than six months but not more than 12 months, 300 movages in that District, if, during the five years before the day on which the application for the permit is made, the holder completed at least 24 months of service as the person in charge of the deck watch of a ship,
  • (ii) in the case of a holder who has obtained a passing mark in the examination referred to in paragraph (a) at a second or subsequent attempt,
    • (A) served as an apprentice pilot holding a Class D apprentice pilot permit for that District and while so serving have completed 300 movages in that District, if, during the five years before the day on which the application for the permit is made, the holder completed at least 12 months of sea service as master, or
    • (B) served as an apprentice pilot holding a Class D apprentice pilot permit for that District and while so serving have completed 400 movages in that District, if, during the five years before the day on which the application for the permit is made, the holder completed at least 24 months of service as the person in charge of the deck watch of a ship, or
  • (iii) completed during the 12 months before the day on which the licence is issued, while holding a Class B licence for District No. 1, at least two-thirds of the average number of pilotage assignments completed by licensed pilots for that part of District No. 1 between Montréal and Trois-Rivières.

2 (1) The portion of paragraph 20(3)(d) of the Regulations before subparagraph (i) is replaced by the following:

• (d) in the case of holder who has obtained a passing mark in the examination referred to in paragraph (a) at the first attempt, have effected, in the appropriate District, while holding a Class D apprentice permit,

(2) Subsection 20(3) of the Regulations is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (c) and by adding the following after paragraph (d):

• (e) in the case of a holder who has obtained a passing mark in the examination referred to in paragraph (a) at the second attempt, have effected, in the appropriate District, while holding a Class D apprentice permit, 150% of the number of dockings, undockings, arrivals, departures, trips or movages required under subparagraphs (3)(d)(i) to (iii), rounded up to the next highest whole number, if necessary; and
• (f) in the case of a holder who has obtained a passing mark in the examination referred to in paragraph (a) at a third attempt, have effected, in the appropriate District, while holding a Class D apprentice permit, 175% of the number of dockings, undockings, arrivals, departures, trips or movages required under subparagraphs (3)(d)(i) to (iii), rounded up to the next highest whole number, if necessary.

3 Paragraphs 26.1(c) and (d) of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

• (c) be the holder of a certificate of competency for Master Mariner or Master, Near Coastal;
• (d) have served on board a ship that is over 70 m in length or over 2 000 tons gross tonnage and have accumulated on board such a ship the sea service required under section 12 of the General Pilotage Regulations;

4 Paragraph 26.2(d) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

• (d) be the holder of a certificate of competency for Master Mariner or Master, Near Coastal, have served on board a ship that is over 70 m in length or over 2 000 tons gross tonnage and have accumulated on board such a ship the sea service required under section 12 of the General Pilotage Regulations; and
  

5 Paragraph 26.3(e) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

• (e) either
  • (i) a letter of recommendation
    • (A) from the applicant’s most recent employer, or
    • (B) from each of the applicant’s two most recent employers, if the applicant was employed by the most recent employer for less than two years, or
  • (ii) the applicant’s testimonials of sea service prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Marine Personnel Regulations for the two years preceding the date of the application.

6 (1) Paragraph 28(3)(a) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

• (a) a first written test on general knowledge of near coastal navigation, including knowledge of ship handling, navigational instruments, chartwork, meteorology, ice navigation on the St. Lawrence River and calculation of tides;
  

(2) Subsection 28(7) of the Regulations is amended by striking out “or” at the end of paragraph (a) and by replacing paragraph (b) with the following:

• (b) in the case of an applicant who takes the tests referred to in subsection (2.1) in order to obtain a first licence for District No. 1-1, have 18 months from the day on which a Class D apprentice pilot permit is issued to satisfy all of the requirements for the issuance of a licence;
• (c) in the case of an applicant who takes the tests referred to in subsection (2.1) in order to obtain a first licence for District No. 1 or District No. 2, have 36 months from the day on which a Class D apprentice pilot permit is issued to satisfy all of the requirements for the issuance of a licence; or
• (d) in the case of an applicant who attends the pilotage training program referred to in paragraph (6)(a), have 30 months following the day on which the first test taken under paragraph (6)(b) was successfully completed to complete the training program and to successfully complete the remaining tests.

7 Section 29 of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

29 (1) An applicant who fails one of the tests referred to in paragraphs 26.1(f) and 26.2(e) three times is no longer eligible to take those tests.

(2) An applicant who fails one or more of the tests referred to in subsection 28(2.1) three times is no longer eligible to take those tests.

(3) An applicant who fails the test referred to in paragraph 28(3)(a) three times is no longer eligible to take that test.

(4) An applicant who fails one or more of the tests referred to in paragraph 28(3)(b) three times is no longer eligible to take those tests.

(5) An applicant who has attended the pilotage training program referred to in paragraph 28(6)(a) and who fails one or more of the tests referred to in paragraph 28(6)(b) that assess mandatory skills for basic certification four times or who fails one or more of the tests referred to in paragraph 28(6)(b) that assess optional skills that can be added to a certificate twice is no longer eligible to take a test under the pilotage training program.

8 (1) Paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

• (a) two holders of a certificate of competency for Master Mariner or Master, Near Coastal, one of whom is an officer of the Authority and one of whom is an examiner, as defined in subsection 1(1) of the Marine Personnel Regulations; and

(2) The portion of paragraph 30(2)(a) of the Regulations before subparagraph (ii) is replaced by the following:

• (a) three holders of a certificate of competency for Master Mariner or Master, Near Coastal,
  • (i) one of whom is an examiner, as defined in subsection 1(1) of the Marine Personnel Regulations,

Coming into Force

9 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

It is important to amend the eligibility criteria for the apprentice pilot program to ensure that the Laurentian Pilotage Authority (the Authority) meets the demand for marine industry services. The current criteria appear unnecessarily restrictive in that they restrict the pool of potential candidates.

Background

The pool of candidates eligible for apprentice pilot training and, ultimately, marine pilot licences, has decreased significantly in recent years. This has resulted in difficulties recruiting new pilots, without which the Authority cannot provide efficient pilot services. Since navigation safety depends on the presence of pilots on ships at specific times, it is important that the Authority amend the Regulations to invite a larger base of applicants who will be able to take and pass marine pilot training.

Objectives

The Authority is amending the Laurentian Pilotage Authority Regulations (the Regulations) to broaden the pool of candidates who qualify for an apprentice pilot licence, without compromising their ability of becoming marine pilots.

Description

The key amendments consist of removing certain criteria set out in the Regulations, in favour of those prescribed by the General Pilotage Regulations.

The requirement to have been a captain for 10 of the last 24 months, or to have been a deck watch officer for 20 of the previous 48 months is removed from the Regulations. As a result, candidates for the apprentice pilot permit must instead meet the requirements of section 12 of the General Pilotage Regulations.

The number of failures a candidate can undergo before being excluded from the recruitment process is increased. The apprentice candidate who fails the General Knowledge Exam three times, or fails the Ship Maneuver Exam three times, will no longer be eligible to write an exam. The current regulation imposes a maximum of three failures for these two examinations, considered together.

The amendments will stipulate 12 months to complete the training program in the Port of Montreal riding, as none currently exist.

An apprentice pilot who has failed the examination held by the Examination Board shall complete the number of undockings, dockings, arrival, departure, travel and movage determined by the application of new formulas added to the Regulations

Finally, the amendments take into account the requests of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations. Paragraphs 19(1)(b), 19(2)(c) and 28(3)(a) have been re-worded thus harmonizing the French and English version of these provisions.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to these amendments, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to these amendments, as there are no costs on small businesses.

Consultation

Following the consultations held with the associations representing the clients, in this case the Shipping Federation of Canada, the Canadian Shipowners Association and the St. Lawrence Shipoperators, and with the two pilot corporations with which the Authority signed a service contract, there is no opposition to the amendments.

These amendments were pre-published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on December 9, 2017, and allowed a 30-day comment period to provide interested persons with the opportunity to make comments or to file a notice of objection. No comments were received and no notices of objection were filed.

Rationale

The main regulatory amendment will help broaden the pool of candidates eligible for apprentice pilot training. With this, a larger number of licensed pilots will be available to provide efficient pilot services and ensure navigation safety.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

Section 45 of the Pilotage Act (the Act) contains a mechanism for the enforcement of the Regulations. Under this section, a pilotage authority can inform a customs officer at a port in Canada not to grant clearance to a ship if the pilotage charges in respect of the ship are outstanding and unpaid. Section 48 of the Act stipulates that every person who fails to comply with Part 1 of the Act, other than section 15.3, or with the Regulations, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.

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