Fort-Falls Bridge Authority Act (S.C. 1970-71-72, c. 51)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Fort-Falls Bridge Authority Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

2 In this Act,

• Authority

  (a) Authority means the Fort-Falls Bridge Authority established by this Act; and

• Bridge

  (b) bridge means the bridge authorized by this Act and includes the approaches, lands, works and facilities appertaining or appurtenant to such bridge.

PART IBridge Authority

Incorporation

Marginal note:Fort-Falls Bridge Authority established

3 There is hereby established a corporation to be known as the Fort-Falls Bridge Authority, which, in Canada, shall have such powers as are set out in this Act and which, in the United States, shall have such powers as the appropriate authority in the United States allows and be subject to such limitations as the appropriate authority in the United States imposes.

Objects and Powers

Marginal note:Objects

• 4 (1) The objects of the Authority are to construct, maintain and operate a bridge across the Rainy River from a point in or near the town of Fort Frances, in the province of Ontario, to a point in or near the city of International Falls, in the state of Minnesota, for pedestrian and vehicular traffic and for any other like purpose.

• Marginal note:Agreement

  (2) The Authority shall not commence the actual construction of the bridge or exercise any of its powers under this Act, other than the power to enter into the agreement hereinafter mentioned, until the Authority has entered into an agreement with the State of Minnesota or other competent authority in the United States for the construction of the bridge.

Marginal note:Powers

• 5 (1) In furtherance of its objects, the Authority may

  • (a) acquire, hold and dispose of real property for the purposes of the Authority;

  • (b) make traffic surveys and engineering, architectural and other studies;

  • (c) obtain legal, engineering, architectural, accounting, financial and other services;

  • (d) in order to maintain adequate facilities for the traffic carried over it, extend, add to, enlarge or otherwise alter the bridge; and

  • (e) generally, do all things necessary, convenient or proper for the purposes of carrying out the objects of the Authority or powers incidental thereto.

• Marginal note:Bus services

  (2) The Authority may acquire and maintain buses and, subject to the Ontario highway traffic laws, operate such buses across the bridge for the purposes of carrying passengers and their personal luggage and effects to and from a terminal in the town of Fort Frances and to and from a terminal in the city of International Falls, but no such bus shall carry any passengers whose departure and destination points are both within the town of Fort Frances.

• Marginal note:Leasing for other uses

  (3) The Authority may enter into leases or other contractual agreements permitting the use of the bridge to support power or communication transmission equipment, pipelines or any other similar facilities so long as the use of the bridge for such facilities is not inconsistent with its use for pedestrian and vehicular traffic; and the consideration to the Authority under any such lease or agreement need not be directly related to the traffic carried by any such facility.

• Marginal note:Application of section 20 of the Interpretation Act

  (4) For greater certainty, it is hereby declared that section 20 of the Interpretation Act applies to the Authority.

Marginal note:Expropriation

• 6 (1) The Authority may, with the approval of the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Works, take or acquire without the consent of the owner any lands or interest therein actually required for the construction, maintenance and operation of the bridge, and section 218 to 246 of the Railway Act apply with such modifications as the circumstances require.

• Marginal note:Approval of Governor in Council

  (2) The approval of the Governor in Council for the taking or acquiring of any lands or interest therein pursuant to subsection (1) shall only be given if he is satisfied that

  • (a) such lands or interest are reasonably required for the construction, maintenance and operation of the bridge; and

  • (b) the Authority has made reasonable efforts to acquire such lands or interest and has been unable to do so and it is in the public interest that such approval be given.

• Marginal note:Railway Act applicable

  (3) In applying sections 218 and 246 of the Railway Act, the term “the Authority” shall be substituted for the term “the company”, and the date that approval is given pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be substituted for the date of the deposit of the plan, profile and book of reference in subsections (2) and (3) of section 224 of that Act.

Constitution

Marginal note:Composition of Authority

• 7 (1) Subject to section 28, the Authority shall consist of eight members,

  • (a) four of whom shall be Canadian citizens ordinarily resident in Canada, hereinafter referred to as the “Canadian members”, who shall be appointed by the Governor in Council or such other authority in Canada as the Governor in Council may designate; and

  • (b) four of whom, hereinafter referred to as the “United States members”, shall be appointed by such authority, in such manner and upon such terms as the appropriate authority in the United States prescribes.

• Marginal note:Quorum

  (2) A majority of the members of the Authority constitutes a quorum for the transaction of its business.

• Marginal note:Vacancies

  (3) Subject to subsection (5), vacancies occurring in the membership of the Authority do not impair the powers of the Authority, and any such vacancy shall be filled by the appropriate appointing authority under subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Officers and conduct of affairs

  (4) The members of the Authority shall appoint a chairman and vice-chairman from among the members thereof and may establish rules and regulations for the conduct of the meetings and the management of the affairs of the Authority.

• Marginal note:Affirmative vote of United States and Canadian member required

  (5) Notwithstanding subsection (2), the affirmative vote of at least one Canadian member and at least one United States member shall be required for any action to be taken by the Authority.

Marginal note:Term of Canadian members

• 8 (1) Canadian members of the Authority hold office during the pleasure of the appointing authority.

• Marginal note:Alternate Canadian member

  (2) Canadian members may, with the approval of the appointing authority, appoint deputies in writing to attend any meetings of the Authority and to act and vote in their stead.

Marginal note:No compensation

9 The members of the Authority shall serve without remuneration but are entitled to be reimbursed out of the revenues of the Authority for travel, living and other necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of the duties of the Authority under this Act.

Marginal note:Authority may acquire staff

• 10 (1) The Authority may employ such officers and employees, and may engage the services of such professional and expert personnel, as it deems necessary for the proper performance of the duties of the Auhtority.

• Marginal note:Pension and other benefits

  (2) The Authority may provide, or make provision for, pension, welfare, hospital or other benefits for its officers and employees and may contribute toward the costs of any such benefits.

Revenues

Marginal note:Tolls

• 11 (1) The Authority may

  • (a) subject to the Railway Act, fix and charge reasonable tolls for the use of the bridge and regulate the tolls to be charged; and

  • (b) charge fares for carrying passengers and their personal luggage and effects on buses acquired pursuant to subsection (2) of section 5.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) The tolls shall be so fixed and regulated as to provide a fund sufficient to pay the reasonable cost of maintaining, repairing and operating the bridge and to provide a sinking fund sufficient to amortize the cost of the bridge, including reasonable interest and financing cost, as soon as possible but in any case within a period not in excess of forty years from the completion thereof.

• Marginal note:Surplus revenues to be paid into sinking fund

  (3) Revenues of the Authority that are not required to maintain, repair and operate the bridge or to maintain and operate the buses acquired pursuant to subsection (2) of section 5 shall be paid in to the sinking fund described in subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Uniform classification and uniform rates

  (4) The Authority shall establish uniform classifications for all traffic carried over the bridge and the tolls collected by the Authority pursuant to this section shall be at a uniform rate with respect to the traffic falling within each classification.

• Marginal note:Qualification on classifying power

  (5) The class of goods or commodities carried in or upon any vehicle shall not be taken into account in establishing uniform classifications under subsection (4) for traffic carried over the bridge.

Marginal note:No tolls chargeable for official passages

12 Notwithstanding section 11, no toll shall be charged by the Authority for the passage of any person or of any vehicle used by him when the passage is in connection with the discharge of his duties as a member, officer or employee of the Authority.

Marginal note:Application of revenues

• 13 (1) All revenues of the Authority shall be applied in conformity with this Act.

• Marginal note:Liabilities to charge only revenues

  (2) The Authority may not incur any liability not dischargeable solely from revenues or funds received by the Authority under this or any other Act of the Parliament of Canada or under any enactment of the appropriate authority in the United States.

Issuance of Bonds

Marginal note:Bond issues authorized

• 14 (1) Subject to the approval of the Governor in Council or such other authority in Canada as the Governor in Council may designate and such authority in the United States as the appropriate authority in the United States prescribes, the Authority may issue bonds, debentures or other securities, hereinafter referred to as “bonds”, in Canada or in the United States or in both countries,

  • (a) to an amount not in excess of fifteen million dollars, in aid of the construction of the bridge; and

  • (b) in an amount approved from time to time by the Governor in Council, for the purpose of maintaining and operating the bridge after the construction costs have been fully paid off.

• Marginal note:Authority may bind tolls and revenues

  (2) For the purpose of securing the issue of its bonds, the Authority may bind the tolls that it charges and the revenues that it receives pursuant to the provisions of this Act.

Marginal note:Excess proceeds from bond issue

• 15 (1) If the proceeds from any issue of bonds exceed the cost, as finally determined, of carrying out the purposes for which any bonds were issued, the excess of proceeds over such cost shall be added to the sinking fund described in subsection (2) of section 11.

• Marginal note:Bond prices and interest and other requirements

  (2) A bond issued by the Authority

  • (a) shall bear interest at a coupon rate determined by the Authority not exceeding the rate prescribed by the Schedule;

  • (b) shall be sold at such price as the Authority may fix, but not less than a price at which the interest yield base will equal the rate of interest as determined by the Authority under paragraph (a);

  • (c) shall be payable solely from funds obtained by the Authority pursuant to statutory authority conferred by this or any other Act of the Parliament of Canada and pursuant to authority conferred by the appropriate authority in the United States; and

  • (d) shall mature not more than forty years after its date of issue in respect of bonds issued for the purpose described in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 14 and not more than twenty-five years after its date of issue in respect of bonds issued for the purpose described in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of that section.

• Marginal note:Types of bond provisions that may be used

  (3) In the discretion of the Authority, a bond issued by it

  • (a) may be issued with a call provision reserving to the Authority the right to redeem the bond before maturity at a price or prices not exceeding the sum of the accrued interest plus one hundred and five per cent of the par value;

  • (b) may be temporary, with or without coupons, and exchangeable for definitive bonds upon the issuance of the latter; or

  • (c) may be issued in bearer form, or registrable as to principal, or registrable as to principal and interest.

• Marginal note:Currency of repayment of bond issue

  (4) A bond issued by the Authority may be made payable in the currency of Canada or of the United States in the discretion of the Authority.

• Marginal note:Bond anticipation notes

  (5) The Authority may, in its discretion, issue bond anticipation notes payable from the proceeds of its bonds when issued; and a reference in this Act to bonds of the Authority includes bond anticipation notes.

• Marginal note:Repurchase of its bonds by Authority

  (6) The Authority may purchase any bond issued by it at a price not exceeding the sum of the accrued interest plus one hundred and five per cent of the par value of the bond, and may exercise any contractual rights reserved to itself under authority of paragraph (a) of subsection (3) or otherwise when in the judgment of the Authority it may be to its financial interest to do so.

Marginal note:Trust agreement for bond issues

• 16 (1) The Authority may enter into trust agreements to secure any bonds issued or to be issued by it.

• Marginal note:Bank or trust company to be trustee

  (2) A trust agreement for the purpose referred to in subsection (1) may be made with any bank or trust company in Canada or the United States legally qualified to execute such a trust agreement.

• Marginal note:Contents of trust agreement

  (3) In specifying the rights and duties of the Authority, the trustee and the bondholders, a trust agreement may, subject to the rights of the holder of any bonds of the Authority then outstanding and subject to section 19, contain such provisions and covenants affecting the security or protection of any bonds issued by the Authority as may be appropriate, including but not limited to the following:

  • (a) setting forth any function that the Authority may perform pursuant to this Act and providing that the Authority will faithfully perform such function;

  • (b) limiting the purposes and uses for which the proceeds of sale of any bonds issued by the Authority may be employed and pledging such proceeds to secure the payment of any bonds issued by the Authority;

  • (c) specifying the conditions that must exist before additional bonds may be issued, limiting the amount thereof, and specifying any terms and conditions that such additonal bonds and associated security instruments shall contain;

  • (d) providing that such bonds shall be payable from any or all lawful revenues of the Authority and pledging the revenues of the Authority for such purpose;

  • (e) providing for the appointment of trustees, depositaries and paying-agents to receive, hold, disburse, invest and reinvest all or any part of the funds of the Authority, for the approval by a representative of the bond-holders of the security given by any bank or trust company with which funds of the Authority may be deposited and for any other means of safeguarding funds of the Authority;

  • (f) setting forth

    • (i) procedures, if any, by which the terms and conditions of any contract with bondholders may be granted or abrogated, and

    • (ii) the amount of the bonds the holders of which must consent to such contract and the manner in which such consent may be given; and

  • (g) imposing reasonable restrictions upon the right of action of individual bondholders.