Canada won’t sign cargo shipping liability reform

OTTAWA — Transport Canada has decided not to get on board with the so-called "Rotterdam Rules" — and international agreement that attempts to set liability limits for lost or damaged marine cargo.

The formal name for the rules, the Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea, is an attempt to replace the Hague Rules and modernize maritime carrier liability guidelines, which were first set out in the 1920s.

They were ratified at a Rotterdam conference last week and now open to accession by countries.

While the focus is largely on marine transport, if adopted they would have impacted land leg carriers of a marine cargo as well and perhaps created two sets of liability limits for certain carriers.

Transport Canada acknowledged the rift amongst stakeholders after six years of negotiations.

"Taking into account the diverse views among stakeholders on the new Convention and the need to undertake further consultations on some of its provisions, particularly those related to domestic carriage of goods by water, Canada will not be in a position to sign the new Convention in Rotterdam," the agency stated in a memo recently.

"…we will continue to monitor closely the future developments and international acceptance of the Rotterdam Rules, with the view of ensuring that our legislation on cargo liability is consistent with the laws of our major trading partners, as is the case today."