C-215 – An Act to amend the Marine Liability Act (national strategy respecting pollution caused by shipping container spills) – creates a new National Strategy for addressing pollution caused by shipping container spills.
This Strategy will be created by the Minister of Transport in collaboration with Indigenous communities. Planning for the Strategy will start with an independent study to:
- Identify any gaps in the current handling of shipping container spills
- Review current salvage capabilities for handling these spills
- Assess current measures to prevent or fix pollution caused by these spills, as well as our ability to track containers lost at sea
- Assess current requirements around ship manifests
- Evaluate the potential benefits of starting a fund to compensate for cleaning up shipping container spills
The Minister will be expected to publish the results of this study as well as any recommendations before creating the Strategy. The Strategy will need to address any recommendations from the study, as well as measures to:
- Prevent shipping container spills
- Enhance communication between responders, stakeholders, and coastal communities
- Create a joint spill response task force from representatives of the federal and provincial governments as well as local authorities, Indigenous groups, and commercial fishing organizations
- Monitor and remove debris from shipping container spills
- Address any gaps in the current regulations and handling of shipping container spills
- Fund research on the effects of various plastics on waters and methods to remove them
The Minister will have one year to create the Strategy, and will need to publish an annual report on its progress.
Progress of C-215
C-215 is currently outside of the Order of Precedence.
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