Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada

Search

Veterans’ Land Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1594)

Regulations are current to 2024-03-06

Veterans’ Land Regulations

C.R.C., c. 1594

VETERANS’ LAND ACT

Regulations Made Pursuant to the Veterans’ Land Act

Short Title

 These Regulations may be cited as the Veterans’ Land Regulations.

Interpretation

  •  (1) In these Regulations,

    Act

    Act means the Veterans’ Land Act; (Loi)

    authorized officer

    authorized officer means an officer of the Director authorized by the Director to examine applications to participate in the benefits of the Act and to recommend as to the qualifications of a veteran and the suitability of property for settlement purposes; (fonctionnaire autorisé)

    certified veteran

    certified veteran means a veteran to whom a subsisting qualification certificate has been issued; (ancien combattant titulaire d’un certificat d’admissibilité)

    Director

    Director means The Director, The Veterans’ Land Act; (Directeur)

    district manager

    district manager means the officer in charge of a district office of the Director and includes any person authorized by the Director to act on behalf of that officer; (gérant de district)

    Minister

    Minister means the Minister of Veterans Affairs; (ministre)

    Provincial Advisory Board

    Provincial Advisory Board means a provincial advisory board appointed pursuant to section 21 of the Act; (conseil consultatif provincial)

    qualification certificate

    qualification certificate means a certificate certifying that a veteran is qualified to participate in the benefits of the Act; (certificat d’admissibilité)

    Regional Advisory Committee

    Regional Advisory Committee means a regional advisory committee appointed pursuant to section 44 of the Act; (comité consultatif régional)

    regional director

    regional director means the officer of the Director in a region who is charged with the administration of the several districts comprising the region and includes any person authorized by the Director to act on behalf of that officer. (directeur régional)

  • (2) For the purposes of the Act and these Regulations,

    agricultural value

    agricultural value, in relation to land, means the market value of the land or such lesser amount as the Director may determine taking into account the income of the veteran occupying the land; (valeur agricole)

    basic herd livestock

    basic herd livestock means female cattle, sheep or swine of a breeding age with or without an appropriate complement of male stock and may include

    • (a) in the case of cattle, up to a normal two-year progeny, and

    • (b) in the case of sheep, up to a normal one-year progeny; (animaux de ferme d’un troupeau de base)

    economic farm unit

    economic farm unit means a farm enterprise that will, in the opinion of the Director, provide sufficient income after operating expenses are paid to

    • (a) provide a reasonable livelihood for a veteran and those members of his family living with him, and

    • (b) repay the indebtedness of the veteran to the Director in accordance with the terms of the contract between them; (unité agricole économique)

    farm equipment

    farm equipment means the work horses, tools, equipment, implements and machinery normally used in the operation of a farm that are not affixed to the land; (outillage agricole)

    farm land

    farm land means land suitable for agriculture and includes

    • (a) buildings affixed to the land,

    • (b) apparatus, appliances and machinery normally used in the operation of a farm that are affixed to the land,

    • (c) a revenue-producing wood lot of a size that may be operated as part of a farm unit, and

    • (d) permanent plantings of fruit trees and grapevines. (terre ou bien-fonds agricole)

  • (3) For the purposes of subparagraphs 53(a)(iii) and (iv) of the Act, “circumstances beyond the control of the veteran” means

    • (a) the transfer of the veteran’s place of employment to another area;

    • (b) the inability of the veteran to secure employment in the area of his place of residence;

    • (c) ill-health of the veteran or his family;

    • (d) the land having been required and taken for public purposes; or

    • (e) existing housing accommodation that is, in the opinion of the Director, not suitable for the veteran and his family.

  • (4) For the purposes of subsection 55(3) of the Act, “circumstances beyond the control of the veteran” means

    • (a) the transfer of the veteran’s place of employment to another area;

    • (b) the inability of the veteran to secure employment in the area of his place of residence;

    • (c) ill-health of the veteran;

    • (d) ill-health of the veteran’s family necessitating the transfer of residence to another area;

    • (e) deficiencies or other disadvantages disclosed or developing subsequent to the commencement of construction that, in the opinion of the Director, rendered the land unsuitable; or

    • (f) the land having been required and taken for public purposes.

Application for Certificate

 A veteran who wishes to be certified as qualified to participate in the benefits of the Act shall submit to the Director, through the nearest office of the Director, an application for certification in writing, in such form and containing such information as the Director may from time to time determine.

Eligibility for Benefits

  •  (1) In determining the eligibility of a veteran with service in the Western hemisphere only to be certified, the 12 months active service required by paragraph (b) of the definition veteran in section 2 of the Act shall be calculated in days and 365 days active service constitutes 12 months active service.

  • (2) Time spent by a veteran in professional training in the faculty of medicine or dentistry in any university or in any hospital prior to appointment to a unit as a commissioned officer pursuant to Canadian Army Routine Orders Nos. 3202 and 3343, as amended, shall not be counted as active service under the Act.

  •  (1) No veteran is eligible for benefits under the Act in respect of service in the naval, army or air forces of Her Majesty subsequent to

    • (a) the day of his acceptance as a member of the regular forces, if he was so accepted after March 31, 1946;

    • (b) March 31, 1946, if on that day he was a member of the regular forces serving on active service; or

    • (c) March 31, 1946, if he volunteered and was accepted for service in the naval, army or air forces of Canada for a special period terminating on or after September 30, 1947, unless he was serving on overseas service on August 31, 1945, and remained continuously on the strength of an establishment, unit or ship on overseas service, in which case he is eligible for benefits in respect of all such service.

  • (2) A veteran eligible for benefits under the Act is eligible for benefits under the Act in respect of all of his full-time service, if he was not accepted as a member of the regular forces or was not accepted for service in the naval, army or air forces of Canada for a special period terminating on or after September 30, 1947.

  • (3) For the purposes of subsection (1), “overseas service” has the same meaning as it has in the War Service Grants Act.

Qualification of Veteran

 An applicant for a qualification certificate shall submit reasonable evidence that

  • (a) he is personally fit and able to carry on the occupation by which he proposes to gain his livelihood;

  • (b) by reason of his character, habits, knowledge and experience, he is capable of carrying on that occupation successfully;

  • (c) he understands the financial responsibility required by the Act; and

  • (d) in all other respects, including availability of initial capital, he is qualified to participate in the benefits of the Act.

 A qualification certificate shall not be issued to a veteran who intends to carry on full-time farming operations unless, in the opinion of the district superintendent, the veteran has had two years satisfactory farming experience, prior to the date of his application, in the operation and management of the type of farm the veteran proposes to operate.

Consideration of Applications

 An application for a qualification certificate shall be considered by an authorized officer or a Regional Advisory Committee, and where it is first considered by an authorized officer, it may be referred to a Regional Advisory Committee for further consideration.

 Upon request, an applicant and his spouse shall appear in person before the authorized officer or the Regional Advisory Committee to furnish such further or other information as may be required.

Recommendation

  •  (1) Where, in the opinion of an authorized officer or a Regional Advisory Committee, a veteran is qualified to participate in the benefits of the Act, that officer or the Regional Advisory Committee shall recommend to the regional director that a qualification certificate be issued to the veteran and indicate the type of establishment for which the veteran is qualified.

  • (2) Where, in the opinion of an authorized officer or a Regional Advisory Committee, a veteran is not qualified to participate in the benefits of the Act, that officer or Regional Advisory Committee shall so inform the regional director stating in his recommendation the reasons why the veteran is not so qualified and any conditions under which application for a qualification certificate will be reconsidered.

 The Director may, upon the recommendation of a regional director, authorize a district manager to receive the recommendation of an authorized officer or a Regional Advisory Committee and to act on the recommendation in lieu of a regional director.

Qualification Certificate

 A qualification certificate, in the form prescribed by the Director, indicating the province or region to which it applies and the type of settlement to which it relates may be issued to any veteran who is eligible and qualified to participate in the benefits of the Act.

  •  (1) The Director may at any time review a qualification certificate and may cancel that qualification certificate if

    • (a) in his opinion,

      • (i) the circumstances have altered to such an extent that had those altered circumstances existed at the time the veteran applied for a qualification certificate, the certificate would not have been issued, or

      • (ii) circumstances that existed at the time the certificate was issued are such that had they been known to the Director at that time the certificate would not have been issued;

    • (b) the veteran informs the Director in writing that he no longer wishes to retain his certificate; or

    • (c) an application by the veteran for a sale, advance, loan or grant under Part I of the Act was not received by the Director on or before March 31, 1975 and the veteran has not a subsisting contract with the Director on March 31, 1975.

  • (2) A qualification certificate becomes void upon a notification of cancellation being mailed to the veteran at his last address known to the Director.

Application for Assistance

  •  (1) A certified veteran may apply for assistance under the Act by filing an application therefor in writing in the form prescribed by the Director with the office of the Director nearest the land in respect of which the assistance is sought.

  • (2) An application for assistance shall be supported by the full cash deposit required by the Act.

 An authorized officer or Regional Advisory Committee may require an applicant for assistance and his spouse to appear in person before him or it, whether or not the veteran and his spouse have already appeared before a different authorized officer or Regional Advisory Committee for examination.

 Every applicant for assistance under the Act shall complete a declaration in writing that

  • (a) he or his agent has personally inspected and thoroughly examined the land with respect to which the application is made;

  • (b) he is satisfied that such land is suitable for the purpose for which it is intended to be used; and

  • (c) he understands and agrees that approval to purchase does not constitute a warranty or guarantee of any kind whatsoever by the Director as to the condition of the property or the suitability of the property for the purpose for which it is intended to be used.

 An application made under Part I or III of the Act that involves acquisition of land by the Director may, after inspection and appraisal by an officer of the Director of the land to which the application for assistance relates, be referred to the Regional Advisory Committee for consideration.

  •  (1) After determining whether the assistance applied for is intended for the purposes authorized by the Act, and taking into account the inspection and appraisal report and the suitability of the land for the settlement of the veteran, an authorized officer or Regional Advisory Committee shall make a recommendation to the regional director as to whether, in the opinion of the authorized officer or the Committee, the application should be approved or rejected, together with such other recommendations as the authorized officer or the Committee may see fit to make.

  • (2) A recommendation referred to in subsection (1) shall be sent to the regional director together with the application form, the report of inspection and appraisal and all other relevant documents.

Approval of Application

  •  (1) The approval of purchase or sale of property and the approval of construction authorized by the Act shall

    • (a) be given in writing, in the form prescribed by the Director, over the signature of the regional director; and

    • (b) specify the amounts approved, the purposes for which the amounts are approved and the terms of repayment.

  • (2) In no event shall the total loan and advances approved on the veteran’s behalf exceed the veteran’s capacity to repay as estimated by the Director.

Establishment of Land Value

  •  (1) In establishing the value of land for the purposes of section 17 of the Act, the Director may take into account the value that permanent improvements to be effected under that section may add to the value of the land.

  • (2) In establishing the market value of land, the Director may take into account the value that permanent improvements effected by the Director may add to the value of the land.

Standard Dates

 The standard dates for payments are

  • (a) November 1st in each year in the case of annual instalments;

  • (b) May 1st and November 1st in each year in the case of semi-annual instalments; and

  • (c) the 1st or the 15th of each month as may be determined by the Director, in the case of monthly instalments.

Execution of Documents

 No assistance shall be provided under the Act except under the supervision of the Director or an officer authorized to act for him and unless the veteran has executed such documents as may be required by the Act or by the Director.

 

Date modified: