Farm Products Agencies Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. F-4)

Marginal note:Obstruction of inspectors

• 35 (1) No person shall obstruct or hinder an inspector engaged in carrying out their duties and functions under this Act.

• Marginal note:False statements

  (2) No person shall knowingly make a false or misleading statement, either orally or in writing, to an inspector engaged in carrying out their duties and functions under this Act.

Recovery of Debts Due an Agency

Marginal note:Licence fees, levies and charges

36 Where a marketing plan provides for licence fees or levies or charges payable by persons engaged in the production of a regulated product, or the marketing thereof, and any such licence fee, levy or charge remains unpaid after the time provided in the plan at which it was due and payable to an agency, the licence fee, levy or charge constitutes a debt payable to the agency and may be sued for and recovered as such by the agency in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Offences and Punishment

Marginal note:Contravention of Act, regulation, etc.

• 37 (1) Every person who

  • (a) contravenes any provision of this Act or of a marketing plan that an agency is authorized to implement,

  • (b) fails to comply with a requirement of the Council under paragraph 7(1)(h) or (i) that is applicable to that person, or

  • (c) contravenes any order or regulation made by an agency under paragraph 22(1)(f) or (g) that has been approved by the Council,

  is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars.

• Marginal note:Offence by employee, etc.

  (2) In any prosecution for an offence under this section, it is sufficient proof of the offence to establish that it was committed by an employee, or an agent or a mandatary, of the accused whether or not the employee, or agent or mandatary, is identified or has been prosecuted for the offence, unless the accused establishes that the offence was committed without knowledge or consent of the accused and that the accused exercised all due diligence to prevent its commission.

• Marginal note:Limitation period

  (3) Any proceedings by way of summary conviction in respect of an offence under this section may be instituted at any time within but not later than one year after the time when the subject-matter of the proceedings arose.

• Marginal note:Evidence as to geographical origin

  (4) In any prosecution for an offence under this section,

  • (a) the act or omission complained of in respect of which the prosecution was instituted shall, unless the contrary is established, be deemed to relate to the production or marketing of a farm product in interprovincial or export trade or to the duties of a person engaged in the production or marketing thereof; and

  • (b) any farm product referred to in the information laid in respect of the offence shall, unless the contrary is established, be deemed to have been grown or produced in Canada or in the particular province or region in Canada, if any, alleged in the information.

Winding-up of Agencies

Marginal note:Winding-up of an agency

38 The Governor in Council may order any agency established pursuant to this Act to wind up its affairs and may by proclamation dissolve any agency in respect of which such an order has been made, but an order or proclamation under this section becomes effective only on the expiration of ninety days after the date of publication thereof in the Canada Gazette.

PART IIIFarm Products Promotion and Research Agencies

Establishment

Marginal note:Establishment of agencies

• 39 (1) The Governor in Council may, by proclamation, establish a promotion-research agency with powers relating to one or more farm products, where the Governor in Council is satisfied that the majority of the aggregate of the producers or, where the import trade in one or more farm products is to be included, the majority of the aggregate of the producers and importers, of all those farm products, in Canada or in the region to which the proclamation relates, is in favour of the establishment of such an agency.

• Marginal note:Plebiscites

  (2) The Governor in Council, in order to determine whether the majority referred to in subsection (1) is in favour of establishing an agency with powers relating to one or more farm products, may request that each province concerned carry out a plebiscite of the producers or the producers and importers, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Agencies to be bodies corporate

  (3) An agency established pursuant to this Part is a body corporate.

Marginal note:Contents of proclamation

• 40 (1) A proclamation establishing an agency shall

  • (a) designate the farm products in relation to which, and, where applicable, the region of Canada within which, the agency may exercise its powers;

  • (b) designate any of the powers set out in section 42 that are not vested in the agency;

  • (c) set out the terms of any promotion and research plan that the agency is empowered to implement;

  • (d) state the corporate name of the agency and the place in Canada where the head office of the agency is to be situated; and

  • (e) subject to subsections (2) to (4), fix the number of members of the agency and provide for the manner of appointment of members and temporary substitute members and the term of their appointment if the manner and term are to be other than as provided in subsection 18(1).

• Marginal note:Number of members of agency

  (2) The number of members of an agency shall be not less than three and not more than sixteen.

• Marginal note:Majority of members of agency

  (3) Where an agency is authorized by proclamation to exercise its powers in relation to one or more farm products in import trade, the majority of the members of the agency shall be comprised of representatives of the following groups, namely,

  • (a) primary producers of those farm products, and

  • (b) importers of those farm products,

  and the number of representatives of each such group within that majority shall, subject to there being at least one of each group, be in proportion to the share of each such group in the aggregate of the total intraprovincial, interprovincial and import trade in all of those products and, where the agency is authorized by proclamation to exercise its powers in relation to one or more farm products in export trade, the export trade in all of those farm products.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (4) Where an agency is not authorized by proclamation to exercise its powers in relation to at least one farm product in import trade, the majority of the members of the agency shall be primary producers.

Marginal note:Object

41 The object of an agency is to promote a strong, efficient and competitive industry for the regulated products in relation to which it may exercise its powers by promoting the marketing and production of the products and by conducting and promoting research activities relating thereto, having due regard to the interests of producers and consumers and, where applicable, importers of the regulated products.

Marginal note:Powers

• 42 (1) Subject to the proclamation by which it is established and any amendment thereto, an agency may

  • (a) implement a promotion and research plan the terms of which are set out in the proclamation;

  • (b) prepare and submit to the Council

    • (i) a promotion and research plan, if it is not empowered to implement a promotion and research plan, or

    • (ii) any amendments to the promotion and research plan that the agency is empowered to implement,

    that it considers appropriate for the attainment of its object;

  • (c) undertake and assist in the promotion of the consumption and use of any regulated product in relation to which it may exercise its powers, the improvement of the quality and variety thereof and the publication of information in relation thereto;

  • (d) where it is empowered to implement a promotion and research plan, make such orders and regulations as it considers necessary in connection therewith, but all such orders and regulations shall, in the case of orders and regulations that are of a class to which paragraph 7(1)(d) is made applicable, be submitted to the Council before the making thereof, and in any other case, be submitted to the Council either before or after the making thereof, and

    • (i) any order or regulation that is submitted to the Council before the making thereof and that is thereafter made before the Council approves the order or regulation is of no force or effect, and

    • (ii) any order or regulation that is submitted to the Council after the making thereof and that is set aside by order of the Council thereupon ceases to be of any force or effect;

  • (e) by order, require any person designated by it, or any person who is a member of a class of persons designated by it, who is engaged in the marketing or importing of any regulated product in relation to which it may exercise its powers to deduct from any amount payable by that person to any other person engaged in the production, marketing or importation of the regulated product any amount payable to the agency by the other person by way of levies or charges provided for in any promotion and research plan that the agency is authorized to implement and to remit all amounts so deducted to the agency;

  • (f) refund, in accordance with the promotion and research plan, any amount remitted to the agency under an order made under paragraph (e);

  • (g) undertake research activities with respect to, and advertise and promote in any other manner, the regulated products in relation to which it may exercise its powers;

  • (h) purchase, lease or otherwise acquire and hold, mortgage, hypothecate, sell or otherwise deal with any real property or immovable;

  • (i) establish branches or employ agents or mandataries in Canada or elsewhere;

  • (j) expend any money received by it through the conduct of its operations, whether by way of levies or charges paid by persons engaged in the production, marketing or importing of any regulated product in relation to which it may exercise its powers or otherwise;

  • (k) invest any money in its possession or control that in its opinion is not immediately required for the purposes of its operations in securities of or guaranteed by the Government of Canada and sell any securities so acquired by it and reinvest the proceeds thereof or any part thereof in like manner;

  • (l) borrow money on the credit of the agency and on the security of any regulated product or other property held by it; and

  • (m) do all such other things as are necessary or incidental to the exercise of any of its powers or the carrying out of any of its functions under this Part.

• Marginal note:Additional powers in intraprovincial trade

  (2) An agency may perform on behalf of a province any function relating to intraprovincial trade in any regulated product in relation to which it may exercise its powers that is specified in an agreement entered into pursuant to section 31.

• Marginal note:Delegation of powers

  (3) An agency may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, grant authority to any body, authorized under the law of a province to exercise powers of regulation in relation to the marketing locally within the province of any regulated product in relation to which the agency may exercise its powers, to perform on behalf of the agency any function relating to interprovincial, export or import trade in the regulated product that the agency is authorized to perform.

Marginal note:Application of certain provisions of Part II

• 43 (1) Sections 18 to 20, 24 to 27, 29 to 31, 33 to 35 and 38 apply in respect of this Part.

• Marginal note:Modification for purpose of application

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a reference in any of those sections to “agency” shall be deemed to be a reference to “promotion-research agency”.

Marginal note:Levies and charges

44 Where a promotion and research plan provides for levies or charges payable by persons who are engaged in the production or importation of a regulated product, or the marketing thereof, and any such levy or charge remains unpaid after the time provided in the plan at which it was due and payable to an agency, the levy or charge constitutes a debt payable to the agency and may be sued for and recovered as such by the agency in any court of competent jurisdiction.