Canada takes marine safety and security, and the well-being of all Canadians seriously. For this reason, it took action to financially protect marine passengers, their families, and businesses in case of a marine accident.
Namely, Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, announced new regulations which require Canadian passenger vessel operators to carry a minimum of $250,000 in liability insurance for every passenger on board. This will make sure that all passengers and their families receive fair compensation in case of injury or fatality in a marine accident, while protecting vessel operators against catastrophic losses and possible civil actions from passengers.
The new regulations will come into force on January 11, 2019. After the regulations apply, vessel operators who do not have liability insurance could have their vessel detained and face fines of up to $100,000.
Most vessel operators already carry this level of insurance. Nevertheless, the new regulations make liability insurance mandatory under the Marine Liability Act for passenger vessels.
They also align marine transportation with all other modes of transportation where mandatory insurance for passengers is the norm.
