Regulatory charge (fee) for Vessel Remediation Fund

Problem vessels (wrecked, abandoned or hazardous vessels) can:

• damage the marine environment and ecosystem
• endanger the public
• interfere with commercial vessels and pleasure craft, and
• negatively impact local economies

The Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act made it illegal to abandon vessels. This means that the government can now hold vessel owners responsible if they abandon a vessel.

In 2016, the Government of Canada committed to creating an owner-financed fund to address problem vessels over the long term. This fund will help Transport Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard assess and deal with some high-priority problem vessels, and expand options to help owners manage their vessels responsibly.

We want your input on the proposed regulatory charge (fee), which would be paid by vessel owners to finance the fund.

Vessel Remediation Fund

Transport Canada wants to create a Vessel Remediation Fund to:

• deal with problem vessels particulary when the owners are unknown or are known but can't be found, and
• help vessel owners responsibly manage their vessels by funding:
  • projects to help vessel owners learn about their responsibilities
  • research and development to improve the way vessels are recycled and cleaned
  • projects that will help local communities, including in Indigenous communities, assess vessels and undertake disposal and recycling projects
  • programs that allow for the voluntary surrender of at-risk vessels by an owner to an organization or group that can accept vessels for recycling and disposal

Regulatory charge (fee)

This proposal would introduce a regulatory charge (fee) that vessel owners would pay when they register or license their vessel in Canada. This charge would be paid every 5 years.

Currently, it is very difficult to identify and locate the owners of many existing problem vessels in Canadian waters. As a result, it’s been hard for the government to hold these owners responsible for the damage their vessels cause and costs to clean up.

Until now, the government’s work dealing with problem vessels has been funded by taxpayers. By creating a fund, the group that benefits most from waterways that are clean and free of hazards (vessel owners), will fund this work. At present, vessel owners don’t pay any dedicated fees to help deal with problem vessels.

For pleasure craft, we propose to introduce a flat fee of $10.

For commercial and non-recreational vessels, fees would be based on a vessel’s size:

• small vessels below 15 gross tonnage: $250 fee
• a group or fleet of small vessels (registered to the same owner): $450 fee
• vessels from 15 to 150 gross tonnage: $500 fee
• vessels above 150 gross tonnage: $1,000 fee

These fees would be paid when:

• licensing or registering a pleasure craft for the first time
• renewing a pleasure craft license (every 5 years)
• transferring a pleasure craft license (by the new owner)
• registering a vessel and issuing a certificate of registry for the first time
• renewing a certificate of registry (every 5 years)
• issuing a certificate of registry for a vessel whose registration expired while it was out of service
• transferring a certificate of registry (by the new owner)

These new fees may be introduced around the same time as new or updated service fees are introduced for pleasure craft licensing and vessel registration.

Transport Canada consulted on introducing fees for pleasure craft licensing in 2020-21. We also plan to consult stakeholders on a proposal for vessel registry fees.

Read Transport Canada’s regulatory charge (fee) Proposal for Vessel Remediation Fund.

We want to hear from you:

1. Read the fee proposal to learn more about the vessel remediation fund and regulatory charge
2. Choose “Register” at the top of the page, and join our discussion under the “Have Your Say” tab
3. You can upload your comments using a Word or PDF document via the “Submissions” tab. You can also upload more than one document