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6. Tier II - Procedures
7. Marine Technical Review Board Process for Granting a Regulatory Exemption or Replacement

Marine Technical Review Board Process for Granting a Regulatory Exemption or Replacement

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1. Process Flowchart

Process Flowchart - Regions

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Process Flowchart - HQ

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2. Purpose

2.1 This procedure details how to prepare and process Records of Board Decisions made by the Marine Technical Review Board (MTRB).

This procedure is intended to ensure that

• records of Board Decisions are prepared in a consistent manner;
• the Rules of Procedure for the Marine Technical Review Board for the Processing of Exemptions or Replacements are followed;
• applications are reviewed and decided upon in a timely manner; and
• a databank of Board Decisions is available for reference by all Marine Safety personnel.

3. Authority

3.1 This procedure is issued under the general authority of the Chair of the MTRB pursuant to Rule 12 of the Rules of Procedure for the Marine Technical Review Board for the Processing of Applications for Exemptions or Replacements.

4. Background

4.1 The procedure is established pursuant to the Rules of Procedure for the Marine Technical Review Board for the Processing of Applications for Exemptions or Replacements, approved by the Minister on 3 July 2007.  The Rules were made pursuant to subsection 28(10) of the CSA 2001. 

4.2 The MTRB is an administrative body established pursuant to the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, and replaces the Board of Steamship Inspection.  Part I of the CSA 2001 (subsection 26(1)) establishes the Board to make decisions on applications for an exemption from, or the replacement of, any requirement under the regulations in respect of a Canadian vessel or in respect of the issuance of a Canadian maritime document to a person, other than a requirement with respect to fees.

4.3 Section 28 of CSA 2001 states that any person may make an application for an exemption or replacement decision by the MTRB.

5. Scope

5.1 This procedure applies nationally to Marine Safety employees dealing with applications to the MTRB and preparing and processing of Records of Board Decisions.

6. Timeline

6.1 Requests for decision should be prepared in the Regions and forwarded to the Secretariat with recommendations within five working days of receipt from the applicant.

6.2 Requests for decision should be reviewed by the Panel and granted or denied within

6.2.1 five working days of receipt from the Region when a precedent is provided, or

6.2.2 ten working days of receipt from the Region when no precedent is provided.

6.3 Complex requests may take longer to process at either of the above two stages.

6.4 Decisions should be issued to the applicant within three working days of the end of Panel deliberations.

7. Responsibility

7.1 The Chair of the MTRB is responsible for the development, implementation, maintenance and improvement of the procedure.

8. Procedure

8.1 People and Non-delegated Vessels - Regions

8.1.1 The applicant applies for a decision of the Marine Technical Review Board by submitting an application by mail, fax, or e‑mail to the Regional or District Transport Canada Centre (TCC), along with any supporting background documentation. 

The application should include:

• applicant's name & address;
• particulars of vessel, if applicable;
• request for exemption or replacement;
• relevant regulation, title and section number;
• rationale for exemption or replacement; and
• known precedent(s) for exemption or replacement.

8.1.2 The TCC scans the application and background documentation into RDIMS, filed under the vessel's file (Z 8562-XXXXX) or individual's file (Z 8600-15). 

8.1.3 The Originator, a Marine Safety Inspector,

• reviews the application and background documentation, ensures its completeness and accuracy, researches for any Board Decision precedents, and consults with appropriate Manager;
• prepares the request for decision and saves it in RDIMS;
• indicates the urgency of the decision;
• recommends an expiry date;
• recommends that the application be granted or denied;
• adds Board Decision information in the appropriate records (e.g., RDIMS). 
• notifies the appropriate Manager by e-mail that a request for decision is awaiting his review; and
• following review within the region, makes amendments to the request for decision to reflect changes proposed by the Manager or Regional Vice-Chair.

8.1.4 Manager reviews the request for decision prepared by the Originator,

• if not satisfied with the contents, proposes amendments to the request for decision, documents the rationale for the amendment and returns it to the Originator; or,
• if satisfied with the contents, recommends that the application be granted or denied and notifies the Regional Vice‑Chair by e-mail that a request for decision is awaiting his review. 

8.1.5 The Regional Vice-Chair reviews the request for decision,

• if not satisfied with the contents, proposes amendments to the request for decision, documents the rationale for the amendment and returns it to the Originator; or,
• if satisfied with the contents, recommends that the application be granted or denied and notifies the Secretariat by e-mail that a request for decision awaits review in RDIMS.

8.1.6 The Regional Vice-Chair should include RDIMS references to all background documentation in his e-mail to the Secretariat if not contained in the request.

8.2 Delegated Vessels – Classification Societies

8.2.1 The applicant applies for a decision of the Marine Technical Review Board by submitting an application by mail, fax, or e‑mail to their classification society, along with any supporting background documentation. 

The application should include:

• applicant's name & address;
• particulars of the vessel;
• request for exemption or replacement;
• relevant regulation, title and section number;
• rationale for exemption or replacement; and
• known precedent(s) for exemption or replacement.

8.2.2 The Classification Society,

• reviews the application and background documentation, ensures its completeness and accuracy, and researches for any Board Decision precedents;
• prepares the request for decision and saves it electronically;
• indicates the urgency of the decision;
• recommends an expiry date;
• recommends that the application be granted or denied; and
• submits the request for decision, the original application and all background documentation by e-mail to the Secretariat and the Regional Vice-Chair monitoring the vessel under the Delegated Statutory Inspection Programme.

8.3 Headquarters

8.3.1 Upon receipt of the request for decision, the Secretariat conducts a review to ensure that threshold legal requirements are met.  These requirements include whether the subject matter actually relates to a regulatory requirement or whether the request relates only to one person or vessel. 

8.3.2 The time period referred to in 6.2 begins once the application meets the threshold legal requirements and sufficient information is included for the panel to make a decision.

8.3.3 If the request has no precedent, the Secretariat has the request translated and sent out to the HQ and Regional Directors for comment.  Directors have 5 days to make their comments.

8.3.4 Once the request has been reviewed and any comments have been received, the Secretariat proposes potential panel members and submits them to the Chair.  The Chair strikes a panel to consider the request.  The Regional Vice-Chair will always be a panel member for requests originating in his region.   

8.3.5 The Secretariat prepares one of more draft MTRB Decisions based on the request, which specifies the regulatory provision(s) to which the exemption or the replacement relates and any conditions proposed to be included in the decision.

8.3.6 The Secretariat forwards the request for decision and the draft MTRB Decisions to the appointed panellists for their review and vote.  Panel members have 5 days to review and vote on the request. (Complex requests may take longer)

8.3.7 The panellists consider the application based on the request for decision, the proposed expiry date and any other relevant information.  A panellist may request additional information from the Originator through the Secretariat.

8.3.8 If a panellist wishes to propose an amendment to the request or the draft MTRB decision, the Secretariat must be advised accordingly. In this case, the request or the draft MTRB decision will be re‑circulated by the Secretariat for reconsideration by all panel members.

8.3.9 Once all amendments are completed, panellists vote to grant or deny the application.  The Chair has a second vote in the case of a tie.

8.3.10 The Chair then signs the MTRB Decision that reflects the decision of the majority of the panellists. 

8.3.11 Once the MTRB Decision is signed, the Secretariat

• prepares the Final Record of Board Decision (Final Record) in both official languages that includes
  1. an identification number,
  2. an effective date,
  3. an expiry date,
  4. the names of Panel Members, and
  5. the signature of the Chair 
• scans the Final Record and saves it in RDIMS under the national vessel's file (Z 8562-XXXXX) or individual's file (Z 8600‑15)
• updates the BDD with the Final Record's RDIMS number
• inputs the translated Final Record data into the BDD fields.
• on behalf of the Chair, sends a copy of the MTRB Decision to the applicant, to the appropriate Regional Vice-Chair and, if the decision is precedent-setting, to all regions.
• if the exemption or replacement relates to a provision of an international convention to which Canada is a signatory, sends a copy of the MTRB Decision to the International Maritime Organization on behalf of the National Vice-Chair.
• if the exemption or replacement relates to a vessel that is under the Delegated Statutory Inspection Program, sends a copy of the MTRB Decision to the classification society responsible for the vessel on behalf of the appropriate Regional Vice-Chair.
• publishes positive MTRB Decisions on the website.

8.3.12 As the case may be, the Final Record is recorded in SIRS by HQ IT or ACES by AMSP. 

9. Related Documents

9.1 Positive decisions of the MTRB are available on the Marine Safety Internet site at http://www.tc.gc.ca/marinesafety/rsqa/cea/bd/menu.html. 

9.2 Tier III – Work Instruction - MTRB Work Instructions for Equivalencies and Exemptions

10. Date of Application

10.1 This procedure comes into effect on 1 July 2007.

11. Date for Review

11.1 This procedure is subject to review every three (3) years.

12. RDIMS Reference

12.1 The English version of this document is saved in RDIMS under reference number 562407.  The applied naming convention is PUBLICATION – TP 13585 – PROCEDURE – MARINE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD PROCESS FOR GRANTING A REGULATORY EXEMPTION OR REPLACEMENT. 

12.2 La version française du présent document est dans le SGDDI et porte le numéro de référence 3691217.   La règle d'affectation des noms est PUBLICATION – TP 13585 – PROCÉDURE – TRAITEMENT DES DEMANDES D'EXEMPTION OU D'ÉQUIVALENCE ADRESSÉES AU BUREAU D'EXAMEN TECHNIQUE EN MATIÈRE MARITIME.

12.3 This is the second approved and finalized revision of the English version of this document.  Previous versions may be found under the same RDIMS number.

13. Keywords

• Marine Technical Review Board
• Exemption
• Replacement
• Equivalency
• Regulations

 

Date modified:

2012-02-02

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