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His Excellency the Governor General recommends to the House of
Commons the appropriation of public revenue under the circumstances,
in the manner and for the purposes set out in a measure entitled ``An Act
to An Act to amend the Canadian Wheat Board Act and to make
consequential amendments to other Acts''.
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This enactment makes changes to the Canadian Wheat Board in the
areas of corporate governance and operational flexibility. It replaces the
commissioner structure of senior management with a board of directors
and a president. Once the first directors elected to the board assume
office, the Canadian Wheat Board ceases to be an agent of Her Majesty;
however, borrowings will continue to be guaranteed by the federal
government. In the area of operations, the Canadian Wheat Board will
be authorized to buy grain and reimburse farmers for grain on more
flexible terms. A contingency fund, established by the Canadian Wheat
Board, will support certain of these operations.
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Clause 1: (1) The definition ``Board'' in subsection
2(1) reads as follows:
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``Board'' means The Canadian Wheat Board established by section 3;
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(2) The definition ``order'' in subsection 2(1) reads as
follows:
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``order'' means any order of the Board made under this Act and includes
``instructions to the trade'' issued by the Board;
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(3) The definition ``designated area'' in subsection
2(1) reads as follows:
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``designated area'' means that area comprised by the Provinces of Man
itoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and those parts of the Province of
British Columbia known as the Peace River District and the Creston-
Wynndel Areas, and such other areas as the Board may designate un
der subsection (3);
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(4) The definition ``Board'' in subsection 2(1) reads as
follows:
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``Board'' means The Canadian Wheat Board established by section 3;
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(5) New.
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(6) New.
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(7) New.
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(8) Subsection 2(3) reads as follows:
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(3) The Board may, by order, designate parts of the Province of
British Columbia, other than the Peace River District and the Creston-
Wynndel Areas, and parts of the Province of Ontario lying in the
Western Division that are included in the designated area for the
purposes of this Act.
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Clause 2: New.
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Clause 3: Sections 3.01 to 3.13 are new. Section 3 and
the heading before it read as follows:
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3. (1) There is hereby established a board called The Canadian
Wheat Board, which shall consist of not fewer than three or more than
five commissioners appointed by the Governor in Council.
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(2) One of the commissioners shall be appointed Chief Commission
er and another Assistant Chief Commissioner, and at sessions of the
Board the Chief Commissioner, and in the Chief Commissioner's
absence the Assistant Chief Commissioner, shall preside.
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(3) Each commissioner holds office during good behaviour but may
be removed for cause at any time by the Governor in Council, but no
commissioner shall hold office after attaining the age of seventy years.
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(4) The salaries of the commissioners shall be fixed by the Governor
in Council.
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(5) Two commissioners constitute a quorum.
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(6) The headquarters of the Board shall be at the city of Winnipeg in
the Province of Manitoba.
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Clause 4: Subsections 4(2) and (3) read as follows:
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(2) The Board is, for all purposes, an agent of Her Majesty in right
of Canada, and it may exercise its powers under this Act only as an agent
of Her Majesty in right of Canada.
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(3) Actions, suits or other legal proceedings in respect of any right
or obligation acquired or incurred by the Board on behalf of Her
Majesty, whether in its name or in the name of Her Majesty, may be
brought or taken by or against the Board, in the name of the Board, in
any court that would have jurisdiction if the Board were not an agent of
Her Majesty.
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Clause 5: The heading before section 5 reads as
follows:
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Clause 6: (1) and (2) Paragraphs 6(1)(c.01) and (c.2)
to (c.4) are new. The relevant portion of section 6 reads
as follows:
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6. The Board possesses the following powers:
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. . .
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(c) subject to the approval of the Minister of Finance, to enter into
commercial banking arrangements and to borrow money by any
means, including the issuing, reissuing, selling and pledging of
bonds, debentures, notes and other evidences of indebtedness of the
Board;
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(c.1) subject to the approval of the Minister of Finance, to invest
moneys of the Board in bonds, debentures, notes or other evidences
of indebtedness of or guaranteed by
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(i) the Government of Canada or of any province of Canada,
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(ii) the government of a foreign country or of any province or
state thereof, or
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(iii) a financial institution whether in or outside Canada;
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(3) New.
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Clause 7: Subsections 7(2) and (3) read as follows:
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(2) Profits realized by the Board from its operations in wheat under
this Act during any crop year, other than from its operations under Part
III, with respect to the disposition of which no provision is made
elsewhere in this Act, shall be paid to the Receiver General for the
Consolidated Revenue Fund.
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(3) Losses sustained by the Board
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(a) from its operations under Part III in relation to any pool period
fixed thereunder, during that pool period, or
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(b) from its other operations under this Act during any crop year,
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for which no provision is made in any other Part, shall be paid out of mo
neys provided by Parliament.
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Clause 8: Subsection 8(1) reads as follows:
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8. (1) The Board shall, at the time of realization, use every profit
realized by it on the sale of bonds, debentures, notes or other evidences
of indebtedness acquired by it under paragraph 6(c.1) in payment of
expenses incurred by the Board in its operations.
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Clause 9: The heading before section 12 and sections
12 to 17 read as follows:
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12. (1) There is hereby established for the purpose of assisting the
Board an Advisory Committee consisting of eleven members having
the qualifications prescribed by any regulations made pursuant to
section 17.
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(2) The members of the Advisory Committee shall be elected, in
accordance with section 17 and any regulations made pursuant thereto,
by actual producers having the qualifications prescribed by those
regulations.
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13. (1) The members of the Advisory Committee hold office for a
term of four years commencing on January 1 in the year next following
the year in which an election of members of the Advisory Committee
is held.
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(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the members of the Advisory
Committee hold office until their successors are declared elected
pursuant to subsection 17(6).
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(3) When a member of the Advisory Committee ceases to be a
member before the end of the term for which he was elected, whether
by reason of ceasing to have the qualifications prescribed by any
regulations made pursuant to section 17 or otherwise, the Minister may
appoint a person to be a member for the remainder of that term.
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14. (1) The members of the Advisory Committee may elect from
their number a chairman and vice-chairman.
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(2) A person elected to an office under subsection (1) holds that
office for a term of one year and ceases to hold that office if the person
ceases to be a member of the Advisory Committee.
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(3) The chairman of the Advisory Committee or, in the event of the
absence or incapacity of the chairman or if the office of chairman is
vacant, the vice-chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Advisory
Committee.
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15. (1) The Board shall pay to each member of the Advisory
Committee
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(a) such allowance as the Governor in Council may fix for each day
the member attends a meeting of the Committee;
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(b) such allowance as the Governor in Council may fix in respect of
the period spent by the member in travelling to and returning from
a meeting of the Committee, the allowance not to be paid in respect
of more than one day for any one meeting;
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(c) the necessary travel and living expenses incurred by the member
while travelling to, attending and returning from a meeting of the
Committee; and
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(d) any other expenses, not exceeding such amount as the Governor
in Council may fix, incurred by the member in the discharge of the
member's duties.
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(2) The Board may pay to each member of the Advisory Committee
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(a) such allowance as the Governor in Council may fix for each day
the member attends a meeting of a subcommittee of the Committee;
and
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(b) the necessary living expenses incurred by the member while
attending a meeting of a subcommittee of the Committee.
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16. (1) The Board shall call at least six meetings of the Advisory
Committee each year to be held at such time and place as the Board may
determine.
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(2) The Minister may call meetings of the Advisory Committee to be
held at such time and place as the Minister may determine.
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(3) The Advisory Committee, as soon as convenient after every
meeting, shall report the proceedings of the meeting to the Minister and
to the Board.
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17. (1) The Board shall hold an election of members of the Advisory
Committee in accordance with this section and any regulations
thereunder in the year 1978 and every fourth year thereafter.
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(2) Voting in an election of members of the Advisory Committee
shall be by ballot.
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(3) The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the
conduct of an election of members of the Advisory Committee and in
particular, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, may
make regulations
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(a) prescribing the time, within the year the election is to be held,
when the list of actual producers qualified to vote in the election is
to be prepared and revised, the nominations are to be made and the
poll is to be taken;
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(b) establishing the boundaries and names of eleven electoral
districts within the designated area;
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(c) prescribing the qualifications of members of the Advisory
Committee and of actual producers for the purposes of section 12;
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(d) providing for the preparation and revision of lists of actual
producers qualified to vote in the election;
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(e) governing the making and withdrawing of nominations;
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(f) respecting the amount, filing and forfeiture of deposits;
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(g) respecting acclamations;
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(h) prescribing the form of ballots; and
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(i) respecting the casting, counting, recounting, disqualification and
reporting of votes and the making of returns.
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(4) It is the duty of the Board to exercise direction and supervision
over the administrative conduct of an election of members of the
Advisory Committee and, for the purpose of fulfilling that duty, the
Board may
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(a) employ any person in the conduct or management of the election
and pay that person such fees, costs, allowances and expenses as the
Board may fix by tariff, contract or otherwise;
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(b) pay the costs of the election incurred by or on behalf of the Board,
including such costs incurred in the preparation, printing and
distribution of material describing individual candidates in the
election as the Board may authorize; and
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(c) provide each person who is qualified as a candidate in the election
with a list of the names and mailing addresses of the actual producers
qualified to vote in the electoral district for which that candidate is
nominated.
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(5) Where in accordance with paragraph (4)(c) the Board provides
a candidate with a list of actual producers qualified to vote in the
election, the candidate shall not use the list for any purpose other than
that of conducting the candidate's election campaign and shall, as soon
as possible after completion of the campaign, return the list and all
copies thereof to the Board.
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(6) On completion of the counting of all votes cast in an election of
members of the Advisory Committee, the Board shall declare elected as
members of the Advisory Committee the candidate in each of the eleven
electoral districts who has obtained the largest number of votes cast in
the electoral district for which the candidate was nominated.
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Clause 10: New.
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Clause 11: Section 19 and the heading before it read
as follows:
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19. The Governor in Council may authorize the Minister of Finance,
on behalf of Her Majesty,
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(a) to guarantee, on such terms and conditions as the Governor in
Council may approve, repayment with interest of loans or advances
made to the Board for the purpose of carrying on its operations, on
the security of grain held by the Board or otherwise, and payment
with interest of amounts owing to the Board in respect of the sale of
grain on credit; or
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(b) to make loans or advances to the Board on such terms and
conditions as may be agreed on.
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Clause 12: (1) Subsection 24(2) reads as follows:
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(2) Where grain is delivered by a producer to an elevator, the
manager or operator thereof shall, immediately on completion of the
delivery of the grain, truly and correctly record and enter the net weight
in tonnes, after dockage, of the grain so delivered in the permit book
under which delivery is made and shall initial the entry in the permit
book.
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(2) New.
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Clause 13: New.
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Clause 14: New.
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Clause 15: Paragraph 28(h.1) is new. The relevant
portion of section 28 reads as follows:
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28. The Board may, notwithstanding anything in the Canada Grain
Act, but subject to directions, if any, contained in any order of the
Governor in Council, by order,
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Clause 16: Subsection 29(1) reads as follows:
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29. (1) The Governor in Council may empower the Board to make
inquiries and investigations to ascertain the availability of delivery and
transportation facilities, supplies of grain and all matters connected with
the interprovincial or export marketing of grain, and for that purpose
empower the Board and the members thereof to exercise the powers of
commissioners under Part I of the Inquiries Act.
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Clause 17: Section 31 reads as follows:
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31. Subject to section 40, in this Part, ``pool period'' means a crop
year.
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Clause 18: (1) and (2) The relevant portion of
subsection 32(1) reads as follows:
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32. (1) The Board shall undertake the marketing of wheat produced
in the designated area in interprovincial and export trade and for that
purpose shall
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(a) buy all wheat produced in the designated area and offered by a
producer for sale and delivery to the Board at an elevator or in a
railway car in accordance with this Act and the regulations and the
orders of the Board;
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(b) pay to producers selling and delivering wheat produced in the
designated area to the Board, at the time of delivery or at any time
thereafter as may be agreed on, a sum certain per tonne basis in
storage at a pooling point to be fixed from time to time
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(i) by regulation of the Governor in Council in respect of wheat
of a base grade to be prescribed in those regulations, and
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(ii) by the Board, with the approval of the Governor in Council,
in respect of each other grade of wheat;
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. . .
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(c) where, pursuant to paragraph (b), the sum certain payable to
producers in respect of wheat of any grade is increased during a pool
period, pay to any person the amount of the increase in respect of
each tonne of wheat of that grade produced in the designated area
and sold and delivered by that person as a producer to the Board
during the pool period prior to the day on which the increase
becomes effective; and
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(d) issue to a producer, who sells and delivers wheat produced in the
designated area to the Board, a certificate indicating the number of
tonnes purchased and delivered and the grade thereof, which
certificate entitles the producer named therein to share in the
equitable distribution of the surplus, if any, arising from the
operations of the Board with regard to the wheat produced in the
designated area sold and delivered to the Board during the same pool
period.
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(3) Subsection 32(3) reads as follows:
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(3) The Board shall, if directed by regulation, pay to each producer
at the time of delivery of wheat to the Board, in addition to any other
payment authorized by this section, a sum per tonne on account of
storage of that wheat on the producer's farm, for such period of storage
as the Board in its sole discretion shall fix for the purposes of the storage
payment, which sum, however, shall equal the amount payable for
storage in a country elevator for the same period according to the
country elevator tariff rate filed with the Canadian Grain Commission.
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Clause 19: (1) to (3) Subparagraphs 33(1)(a)(i.1) and
(i.2) are new. The relevant portion of subsection 33(1)
reads as follows:
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33. (1) As soon as the Board receives payment in full for all wheat
produced in the designated area sold and delivered to it by producers
during any pool period and all credit sales have been concluded of such
wheat in respect of which payment is guaranteed pursuant to section 19,
there shall be deducted, from the aggregate of the total amount so
received, the principal so guaranteed and any interest that accrues
during that pool period in respect of sales of wheat on credit concluded
during any pool period, all moneys disbursed by or on behalf of the
Board
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(a) by way of payment in respect of that wheat and by way of
expenses incurred in connection with the operations of the Board
attributable to that wheat, including
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(i) the remuneration and allowances of the Commissioners,
members of the Advisory Committee and officers, clerks and
employees of the Board,
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(iii) the costs of an election of members of the Advisory
Committee incurred by or on behalf of the Board, and
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(4) Subsections 33(1.1) to (5) read as follows:
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(1.1) With the approval of the Governor in Council and subject to
such terms and conditions as the Governor in Council may prescribe, in
addition to any payment authorized by section 32, the Board may fix
and pay in respect of any pool period a sum per tonne to each producer
who has sold and delivered wheat to the Board in a railway car during
the pool period.
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(2) Subject to sections 33.1 to 33.5, the Board shall, on or after
January 1 of the year commencing after the end of any pool period,
distribute the balance remaining in its account in respect of wheat
produced in the designated area purchased by it from producers during
the pool period, after making the deductions therefrom provided for in
subsection (1) and the payments provided for in subsection (1.1),
among holders of certificates issued by the Board pursuant to this Part
during the pool period, by paying on surrender to it of each certificate,
unless the Board, by order, waives the surrender, to the person named
therein, the appropriate sum determined by the Board as provided in this
Act for each tonne of wheat referred to therein according to grade.
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(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), if the Governor in Council,
having regard to a report by the Board of the effect on its financial
position of an interim payment on account of the distribution of the
balance referred to in subsection (2), is of the opinion that an interim
payment can be made without loss, the Governor in Council may
authorize and direct that payment to be made.
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(4) Expenses incurred by the Board with respect to any international
organization for the purposes of marketing wheat and the expenses of
any commissioner or officer of the Board of and incidental to
attendance at meetings of that international organization or any
committee thereof shall be deemed to be expenses incurred in
connection with the operations of the Board within the meaning of this
section, but nothing in this subsection shall be construed as authorizing
the payment by the Board of any contributions required to be paid by
Canada to or in support of that international organization or any
committee thereof.
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(5) The Board shall, with the approval of the Governor in Council,
determine and fix the amounts to which producers are entitled per tonne
according to grade under certificates issued pursuant to this Part so that
each producer receives, in respect of wheat sold and delivered to the
Board during each crop year for the same grade of wheat, the same price
basis at a pooling point and that each price bears a proper price
relationship to the price for each other grade.
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Clause 20: New.
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Clause 21: (1) The relevant portion of subsection
37(1) reads as follows:
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37. (1) The Governor in Council may, by regulation,
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. . .
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(c) prescribe the conditions under which the right to payment under
a certificate issued pursuant to this Part may be transferred.
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(2) Subsection 37(2) reads as follows:
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(2) Except as provided by regulation, no certificate issued pursuant
to this Part or the right to payment thereunder shall be transferred or
assigned and no person other than the person therein named is entitled
to payment thereunder, and a statement to that effect shall be printed on
each certificate.
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Clause 22: Section 39.1 is new. Sections 38 and 39
read as follows:
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38. The Governor in Council may authorize the Board to adjust its
accounts at any time by transferring to the then current pool period all
wheat delivered during a preceding pool period and then remaining
unsold, and the Board shall credit to the accounts for that preceding pool
period, and charge against the accounts for the current pool period, such
amount as the Governor in Council deems to be a reasonable price for
the wheat so transferred, and all wheat so transferred shall,
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(a) for the purposes of the accounts relating to that preceding pool
period, be deemed to have been sold and paid for in full for that
amount; and
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(b) in the accounts relating to the current pool period, be dealt with
as though it had been sold and delivered to the Board by producers
in the current pool period and purchased by the Board for that
amount, but no further certificates in respect thereof shall be issued
under paragraph 32(1)(d).
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39. (1) Where producers of any grain sold and delivered during a
pool period have been for six years or more entitled to receive from the
Board payments in respect thereof under certificates issued pursuant to
this Act or out of an equalization fund, or otherwise, and there is an
undistributed balance remaining in the accounts of the Board in respect
of that grain, the Governor in Council may authorize the Board
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(a) to adjust its accounts
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(i) by applying the undistributed balance in payment of the
expenses of distribution of the balance mentioned in subsection
33(2) with respect to the same kind of grain in any earlier pool
period, and
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(ii) by transferring the remainder of the undistributed balance to
a separate account; and
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(b) to pay to the persons who are entitled to receive payments in
respect of that grain the amount to which they are entitled out of the
separate account.
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(2) Any balance transferred to the separate account pursuant to
subparagraph (1)(a)(ii), other than such part thereof as is required for
the payments referred to in paragraph (1)(b), shall be used for such
purposes as the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the
Board, may deem to be for the benefit of producers.
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Clause 23: The heading of Part IV reads as follows:
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Clause 24: New.
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Clause 25: (1) and (2) Paragraphs 46(c.1) and (c.2) are
new. The relevant portion of section 46 reads as follows:
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46. The Governor in Council may make regulations
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. . .
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(b) to exclude any kind of wheat, or any grade thereof, or wheat
produced in any area in Canada, from the provisions of this Part
either in whole or in part, or generally, or for any period;
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Clause 26: New.
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Clause 27: New.
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Clause 31: The definition ``Board'' in subsection 2(1)
reads as follows:
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``Board'' means The Canadian Wheat Board established by section 3 of
the Canadian Wheat Board Act.
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Clause 32: Subsection 85(1) reads as follows:
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85. (1) Divisions I to IV do not apply to the Bank of Canada, the
Canada Council, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Canadian
Film Development Corporation, the Canadian Wheat Board, the
International Development Research Centre or the National Arts Centre
Corporation.
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Clause 33: (1) and (2) Paragraph 118(g.1) is new. The
relevant portion of section 118 reads as follows:
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118. The Commission may make orders
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. . .
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(g) subject to any order made under the Canadian Wheat Board Act,
providing for the acceptance of deliveries of grain in the interests of
producers; and
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