Bill C-44

56-57 ELIZABETH II

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CHAPTER 7

An Act to amend the Agricultural Marketing Programs Act

[Assented to 28th February, 2008]

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

AGRICULTURAL MARKETING PROGRAMS ACT

1. Subsection 2(1) of the Agricultural Marketing Programs Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

“livestock” means cattle, sheep, swine and bison and any other animals that may be designated by regulation.

2. (1) Paragraph 5(3)(e) of the Act is amended by striking out the word “and” at the end of subparagraph (i), by adding the word “and” at the end of subparagraph (ii) and by adding the following after subparagraph (ii):

(iii) despite subparagraphs (i) and (ii), in the case of an agricultural product that is livestock, it is of marketable quality and maintained so as to remain of marketable quality until disposed of in accordance with the repayment agreement;

(2) Section 5 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (3):

(3.01) An advance guarantee agreement may include any of the following terms and conditions governing advances and their repayment:

(a) the producer must agree to inform the administrator of the producer’s participation in any program listed in the schedule; and

(b) the producer must agree to assign, if in default, any amounts payable to the producer under a program listed in the schedule to

(i) the administrator, to the extent of the producer’s liability under section 22, and

(ii) the Minister, to the extent of the producer’s liability under section 23.

3. Subsection 5.1(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(2) Paragraph 5(3)(i), section 23 and, unless the agreement specifies otherwise, the following provisions do not apply to an advance guarantee agreement that the Minister enters into without making the guarantee referred to in paragraph 5(1)(a):

(a) paragraphs 5(3)(c) and (e) to (h);

(b) paragraphs 10(1)(g) and (h); and

(c) paragraphs 10(2)(b) and (c).

4. Section 7 of the Act is replaced by the following:

7. (1) The advance guarantee agreement may authorize the administrator to pay, subject to any terms and conditions set out in the advance guarantee agreement, a portion of an advance as an emergency advance to an eligible producer who

(a) has difficulty producing the producer’s agricultural product because of unusual production conditions that are attributable to weather or natural disaster, if it is reasonable to expect that the agricultural product will be marketable; or

(b) experiences severe economic hardship, if the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister and the Minister of Finance, has declared — taking into account any criteria prescribed by regulation — that severe economic hardship affects a class of eligible producers to which that producer belongs and that the severe economic hardship would likely be substantially mitigated by emergency advances.

(2) When acting under paragraph (1)(b), the Governor in Council must specify the time limit — not later than the day on which the production period ends — within which the emergency advances under that paragraph must be paid.

(3) The maximum amount of the emergency advance is

(a) in the case of an emergency advance under paragraph (1)(a), the lesser of $25,000, or the amount fixed by regulation, and 50%, or the percentage fixed by regulation, of the advance that the administrator expects to make to the producer in respect of the agricultural product on the basis of the amount of that product that is expected to be produced; or

(b) in the case of an emergency advance under paragraph (1)(b), the lesser of $400,000, or the amount fixed by regulation, and 100%, or the percentage fixed by regulation, of the advance referred to in paragraph (a).

(4) Paragraph 5(3)(e) does not apply to emergency advances under paragraph (1)(a) and, unless the advance guarantee agreement specifies otherwise, the following provisions do not apply to emergency advances under paragraph (1)(b):

(a) paragraphs 5(3)(e) and (g);

(b) subsection 5(3.01);

(c) paragraphs 10(1)(g) and (h);

(d) paragraphs 10(2)(b) to (c); and

(e) subsection 19(3).

(5) Unless paragraph 5(3)(g) applies under the advance guarantee agreement to emergency advances under paragraph (1)(b), the Minister’s percentage mentioned in paragraph 5(3)(i) and subsection 23(1) is 100% for an emergency advance under paragraph (1)(b) and shall not be determined by regulation.

(6) The advance guarantee agreement may specify, in the place of or in addition to the security required by regulations made for the purpose of section 12, the security that the administrator is required to take for an emergency advance under paragraph (1)(b).

5. (1) Subsection 10(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (f):

(f.1) the producer must demonstrate to the administrator that the producer is capable of meeting its obligations under the repayment agreement;

(2) Paragraph 10(1)(h) of the Act is amended by striking out the word “and” at the end of subparagraph (i), by adding the word “and” at the end of subparagraph (ii) and by adding the following after subparagraph (ii):

(iii) despite subparagraphs (i) and (ii), in the case of an agricultural product that is livestock, it is of marketable quality and maintained so as to remain of marketable quality until disposed of; and

(3) Subsection 10(1) of the Act is amended by striking out the word “and” at the end of paragraph (g) and by adding the following after paragraph (h):

(i) the producer must meet any additional requirements prescribed by regulation.

(4) Subparagraphs 10(2)(a)(iii) and (iv) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(iii) by paying directly to the administrator any amount received under a program listed in the schedule in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in the agreement,

(iv) by assigning to the administrator amounts payable to the producer under a program listed in the schedule in accord- ance with the terms and conditions specified in the agreement,

(5) Paragraph 10(2)(b) of the Act is amended by striking out the word “and” at the end of subparagraph (i), by adding the word “and” at the end of subparagraph (ii) and by adding the following after subparagraph (ii):

(iii) despite subparagraphs (i) and (ii), in the case of an agricultural product that is livestock, it will be maintained so as to remain of marketable quality until disposed of in accordance with the repayment agreement;

(6) Subsection 10(2) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (b):

(b.1) if required by the advance guarantee agreement, to inform the administrator of the producer’s participation in any program listed in the schedule;

(b.2) if required by the advance guarantee agreement, to assign, if the producer is in default, any amounts payable to the producer under a program listed in the schedule to

(i) the administrator, to the extent of the producer’s liability under section 22, and

(ii) the Minister, to the extent of the producer’s liability under section 23.

6. Section 23 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (3):

(4) No action or proceedings may be initiated by the Minister to recover any amounts, interest and costs that are owing more than six years after the day on which the Minister is subrogated to the administrator’s rights.

(5) The amounts, interest and costs that are owing may be recovered at any time by way of deduction from or set-off against any sum of money that may be due or payable by Her Majesty in right of Canada to the person who is liable or their estate or succession.

7. (1) Subsection 40(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a):

(a.1) designating animals as livestock for the purposes of the definition “livestock” in subsection 2(1);

(2) Paragraphs 40(1)(d.1) and (e) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(d.1) fixing an amount for the purposes of each of subsection 5(5), paragraphs 7(3)(a) and (b), subsection 9(1), paragraph 20(1)(b) and subsection 20(1.1), which amount may, for the purposes of subsection 9(1), paragraph 20(1)(b) or subsection 20(1.1), differ with regard to classes of producers;

(d.2) prescribing criteria for the purposes of paragraph 7(1)(b);

(e) fixing a percentage for the purposes of each of paragraphs 7(3)(a) and (b) and 9(2)(c), subsection 19(2) and paragraph 20(2)(c);

(3) Subsection 40(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (e.1):

(e.2) prescribing, for the purposes of paragraph 10(1)(i), additional requirements, including requirements based on different classes of producers or agricultural products, different amounts of potential producer liability and different risks associated with that liability;

(4) Subsection 40(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(2) Regulations made under paragraph (1)(d.1), and regulations made under paragraph (1)(e) to the extent that they fix a percentage for the purposes of paragraph 7(3)(a) or (b) or subsection 19(2), may be made only on the recommendation of the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance.

8. Section 42 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):

(1.1) The Ministers’ review of the provisions of this Act relating to emergency advances under paragraph 7(1)(b) and their application must specifically address whether those provisions are necessary and to what extent they should be retained or modified.

TRANSITIONAL PROVISION

9. (1) The Agricultural Marketing Programs Act, as it read immediately before the day on which this Act comes into force, continues to apply as of that day to any agreement entered into under Part I of that Act that is still in existence on the day on which this Act comes into force.

(2) However, the Agricultural Marketing Programs Act, as amended by this Act, applies to an agreement referred to in subsection (1) as of the day on which the parties amend the agreement to specify that that Act will apply and to bring the agreement into conformity with that Act.