Pilotage regulation and licensing moved to Transport Canada

Summary#

This is the federal order SI/2021-26 that made certain parts of the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1 come into force on the day the order was registered — June 9, 2021. The brought-into-force provisions amend the Pilotage Act to move some regulatory and licensing powers to the federal government.

What it does#

• Brings into force subsections 225(1) and 225(4) and sections 233, 235, 237, 242, 250, 251 and 255 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1.
• Transfers the authority to make and maintain pilotage regulations away from pilotage authorities and to the federal government (decisions now flow through the Minister of Transport and the Governor in Council).
• Moves the power to issue pilotage certificates and licences to the Minister of Transport.
• Allows the Minister of Transport to administer and enforce the law electronically, for example by accepting electronic licence applications and signatures, issuing licences electronically, and taking electronic payments.
• Finishes the final step in a multi-part modernization of the pilotage legal framework.
• Transport Canada planned to prepublish proposed new Marine Pilotage Regulations in fall 2021 and publish final regulations in 2022.

Who's affected#

• Pilotage authorities (the organizations that have been running pilotage services) — they lose the role of making regulations.
• Pilots and people seeking pilot licences or pilotage certificates — licensing and certificate issuance move to the Minister.
• Shipping companies, ship operators and crews that travel in compulsory pilotage areas — they will deal with a nationally consistent regulatory regime set by the federal government.
• Transport Canada and the Minister of Transport — they gain regulatory, licensing and electronic-administration responsibilities.
• Indigenous groups and local stakeholders were consulted during the broader reform process; the source does not specify any new, direct rights or obligations for them in this order.

Why it matters#

• The change centralizes rule-making and licensing for marine pilotage. That can make rules more consistent across Canada instead of varying by local pilotage authority.
• Moving to electronic administration can speed up licensing and payments and helps keep services running during public-health events like COVID-19.
• The federal shift aims to separate the job of making rules from the job of delivering pilotage services, which the government says should improve safety and oversight of marine navigation.
• This order is an administrative step that completes a planned series of changes; it does not itself set the new detailed pilotage rules — those are to come in the proposed Marine Pilotage Regulations.