Tug and Tow

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Tug and Tow Towage vs Carriage It is always important to distinguish a contract of towage from one of carriage as different legal regimes apply. A contract of towage is one where the tug owner supplies a tug to tow (or push or assist) a ship, barge or other object belonging to someone else. Examples of towage are where a …

Admiralty Practice & Procedure

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Admiralty Practice & Procedure For an overview of the law of Admiralty practice and procedure review the paper entitled  Admiralty Practice and Procedure: An Overview – 2005. For sister ship arrest, see the paper Sister Ship Arrest in the Federal Court of Canada: A Wreck in Need of Salvage, which considers the cases involving sister ship arrest and exposes a …

Carriage by Air

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Carriage by Air Domestic Air Carriage The domestic carriage of goods by air is not extensively governed by legislation. The Carriage by Air Act does not apply to domestic carriage. The only legislation governing the form and content of domestic air carriage contracts is the Air Transportation Regulations passed pursuant to the provisions of the Canada Transportation Act. These regulations …

Admiralty Jurisdiction

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Admiralty Jurisdiction The cases under this title consider the Admiralty jurisdiction of the courts and which court has jurisdiction to hear a particular matter. More specifically, because the provincial superior courts have inherent jurisdiction, the cases usually concern the whether the Federal Court’s admiralty jurisdiction is invoked. It is important to note that the Admiralty jurisdiction of the Federal Court …

Limitation of Liability

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Limitation of Liability Note: Where a limitation amount is expressed in SDRs we have used an exchange rate of 1 SDR=Cdn$1.75. This rate does however fluctuate. The current rate of exchange can be found at various internet sites including here. Introduction Limitation of liability is dealt with in Part 3 of the Marine Liability Act. Part 3 of the MLA …

Limitation Periods

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Limitation Periods The limitation periods that apply to claims governed by maritime law are not always easy to identify or locate. The federally prescribed limitation periods for many of the more common claims subject to maritime law are addressed below. For those claims for which there is not a specific limitation period, s. 140 of the Marine Liability Act now …

Carriage of Goods by Road

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Carriage of Goods by Road The law applicable to carriage of goods by road depends on whether the carriage is intra-provincial (within a single province) or extra-provincial (between provinces or between a province and a foreign state). Where the carriage is intra-provincial, the law of the province in which the carriage occurs applies and most provinces have legislation addressing the …

Salvage and Wreck

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Salvage and Wreck We are frequently asked questions about the law of salvage and wrecks. These questions are usually something like "If I find a vessel adrift or in trouble and put a line on it or otherwise save it, is it mine?" or "If something washes up on the beach, can I keep it?" or "If I find lost …

Constitutional Issues in Canadian Maritime Law

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Constitutional Issues/Canadian Maritime Law The cases under this topic consider the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments under the Constitution Act in relation to maritime matters. Such issues normally arise where a provincial law of general application purports to apply to a fact situation with a marine component or where a provincial law provides a different remedy …

Pollution

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Pollution Marine pollution is predominantly now governed by statute law but the common law can still have some application. The torts of nuisance, trespass and negligence and the Rylands v Fletcher doctrine still can have some application. The main federal statutes that address pollution from ships are: Canada Shipping Act 2001, Parts 8 and 9 Marine Liability Act, Parts 6 …