As we noted in our Nov. 6th newsletter, amendments to the federal oil pollution response regime are now before Parliament as part of omnibus budget implementation Bill C-86. The amendments are to the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, in relation to response measures generally, and to the Marine Liability Act in relation to the Ship-Source Oil Pollution Fund’s role.
No doubt because it is a budget bill, although it also seeks to amend various legislation which is not directly or at all budget-related, C-86 is being put on an accelerated progress through Parliament. The Bill has already been given Second Reading in the House of Commons and has moved into committee hearings, and is now being moved also into Senate committee hearings prior to the Bill actually being sent to the Senate after passage in the House.
Because of the varied subject-matter, different committees are involved. The pollution response parts are being considered by the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications.