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Canada announces new, stricter
laws to protect its marine environment
11 May, 2007: The government of
Canada has announced new and improved
marine regulations to protect local
waters from pollution.
These new requirements and
improvements to existing regulations
demonstrate the Canadian government’s
commitment to ensuring a cleaner and
healthier marine environment,
according to Lawrence Cannon, Minister
of Transport, Infrastructure and
Communities.
Canada has now consolidated
zero-tolerance national regulations
for the prevention of pollution from
ships and for dangerous chemicals.
These regulations apply to all boats
in all waters in Canada, and will help
eliminate the deliberate, negligent,
or accidental discharge of pollutants
from ships into the marine
environment.
The new regulations are a compilation
of existing requirements under the
Canada Shipping Act, and international
marine standards. They also introduce
various new requirements that are
necessary for Canada to conclude its
adoption of all the optional
provisions of the International
Convention for the Prevention of
Pollution from Ships and to adopt the
Anti-Fouling Systems Convention.
The key features of Canada’s new
regulations include:
- Requiring new oily water
filtering equipment and bilge alarms
to meet stricter approval standards.
- Requiring any vessel fitted with
a toilet to have a holding tank or
an approved marine sanitation device
for the treatment of sewage.
- Adding cargo sweepings and
residues from non-toxic bulk cargoes
to the definition of ‘garbage’ and
specifying the requirements for
record- keeping for garbage-related
operations on commercial carriers.
- Requiring ships to be inspected
and certified for compliance with
the provisions for air emissions,
limiting emissions of nitrogen oxide
from new diesel engines, banning the
release of ozone-depleting
substances, banning the burning of
specified substances in ships'
incinerators, and specifying the
quality of fuel that can be burned
by ships.
Banning the use of organotins in
anti-fouling systems on ships, and
requiring ships’ anti-fouling systems
to be inspected and certified.
These measures are in accordance with
the announcement of a new National
Water Strategy in Canada’s national
budget of 2007. The strategy includes
initiatives to advance the health of
the oceans and support greater water
pollution prevention, surveillance and
enforcement along Canada’s coasts.
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