Canada Marine Act

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Canada Marine Act: a shorter, easy-to-understand version

The Canada Marine Act (CMA) was passed in 1998 to modernize Canada’s ports so they’re competitive, efficient, and commercially oriented. It creates port authorities, allows for divesting some harbours, and commercializes parts of maritime trade such as the St. Lawrence Seaway and ferry services. It also updates related laws.

What happened under the CMA
- 19 ports were designated as economically important and each got a port authority to run them.
- Other ports can also receive port authorities in the future.
- About 150 smaller ports were moved to the control of the provinces or municipalities where they are located. 34 remote ports remain under the federal Department of Transport.

Notable exceptions and related areas
- Churchill, Manitoba (the Arctic port) stays under federal supervision.
- The Port of Sydney, Nova Scotia is not part of the system.
- The Welland Canal (part of the St. Lawrence Seaway) is managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada under a different act.
- Canal operations have historical ties to the government departments that handled them in the past; some heritage waterways are now governed by Parks Canada or other agencies.

How the act is kept current
- The CMA is supplemented by regulations and letters patent published in the Canada Gazette.
- Transport Canada keeps records, including land transactions for port authorities.
- In French, a port authority is called Administration Portuaire.

Governance of port authorities
- The Minister of Transport appoints the chair of each port authority.
- The other board members are chosen in consultation with the minister by port users (as defined by the law).
- Port users are not allowed to be city councillors, civil servants, or directors of port customers.
- Each port authority typically has a website with its legal documents and information.

Overall, the CMA aims to make Canada’s ports more modern and capable of supporting maritime trade and related services.