Complaints and disputes about marine transportation

Issues we can help with

  • Coasting trade applications

    The Agency is responsible for determining if Canadian ships are suitable and available to operate commercial services in Canadian waters, and in the case of the transportation of passengers, whether an identical or similar adequate marine service is offered. These services may otherwise be provided by foreign or non-duty paid ships upon request by a resident of Canada.

    For more information, see: 

  • Pilotage charges

    The pilotage authorities must establish or revise charges to be paid to the Authority based on legislated charging principles, for example setting charges at levels that allow the authority to be financially self-sufficient, and that are fair and reasonable. The Agency can determine whether the decision to establish or revise a charge have been made in accordance with the charging principles set out in the Pilotage Act and whether the proper notice process was followed. For more information, see section 34 of the Pilotage Act

  • Port authority fees

    The Agency can determine whether fees fixed by port authorities are unjustly discriminatory.

    For more information, see Part I, section 52 of the Canada Marine Act.

  • St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation fees

    The Agency can determine whether fees fixed by the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation are unjustly discriminatory.

    For more information, see subsection 94(2) of the Canada Marine Act.

  • Federal Bridge Corporation Ltd. fees (Champlain and Jacques Cartier bridges)

    The Agency can determine whether fees fixed by the Federal Bridge Corporation Ltd. are unjustly discriminatory.

    For more information, see subsection 5(4) of The Jacques-Cartier and Champlain Bridges Inc. Regulations.

  • Movement of goods by water for northern marine resupply

    A shipper that is moving goods to a municipality with a northern resupply marine carrier can settle a dispute about rates or conditions of service by making a submission for Final Offer Arbitration.

    For more information, see part IV, section 159 of the Canada Transportation Act.

  • Unreasonable price increases or reductions of service by a shipping conference

    The Agency can determine if there have been unreasonable price increases or reductions of service by a shipping conference (an association of ocean carriers).

    For more information, see the sections 13 and 16 of the Shipping Conferences Exemption Act, 1987.

Dispute resolution services

You could use a quick and relatively informal process to resolve your dispute:

Or you could use a more formal process:

See the overview and FAQs for a comparison of the dispute resolution options. If you're not sure about which option to choose, you can contact us anytime to see how we can help.

Date modified: