BILL C-43 - First Reading

	1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46-47 Elizabeth II, 1997-98
	The House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-43
	An Act to establish the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency and to amend and repeal other Acts as a consequence
	Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
	SHORT TITLE
Short title	1. This Act may be cited as the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency Act.
	INTERPRETATION
Definitions	2. The definitions in this section apply in this Act.
``Agency'' « Agence »	``Agency'' means the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency established by subsection 4(1).
``Board'' « conseil »	``Board'' means the Board of Management of the Agency established by section 14.
``Commission er'' « commissai- re »	``Commissioner'' means the Commissioner of Customs and Revenue appointed under section 25.
``Minister'' « ministre »	``Minister'' means the Minister of National Revenue, appointed to serve at pleasure by commission under the Great Seal.
``program legislation'' « législation fiscale et douanière »	``program legislation'' means any other Act of Parliament or any instrument made under it, or any part of such an Act or instrument
	(a) that the Governor in Council or Parliament authorizes the Minister, the Agency, the Commissioner or an employee of the Agency to administer or enforce, including the Customs Act, Customs Tariff, Excise Act, Excise Tax Act, Income Tax Act and Special Import Measures Act; or
	(b) under which the Minister or another minister authorizes the Agency, the Commissioner or an employee of the Agency to administer a program or carry out an activity.
	HER MAJESTY
Binding on Her Majesty	3. This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.
	ESTABLISHMENT AND MANDATE OF THE AGENCY
Establish- ment	4. (1) There is hereby established a body corporate to be called the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.
Agent of Her Majesty	(2) The Agency is for all purposes an agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada.
Headquarters	(3) The headquarters of the Agency must be in the National Capital Region, as described in the schedule to the National Capital Act.
Mandate	5. (1) The Agency is responsible for
	(a) supporting the administration and enforcement of the program legislation;
	(b) implementing agreements between the Government of Canada or the Agency and the government of a province or other public body performing a function of government in Canada to carry out an activity or administer a tax or program;
	(c) implementing agreements or arrangements between the Agency and departments or agencies of the Government of Canada to carry out an activity or administer a program; and
	(d) implementing agreements between the Government of Canada and an aboriginal government to administer a tax.
Ancillary functions	(2) The Agency may provide any support, advice and services that can be provided in the course of carrying out its mandate under subsection (1).
	MINISTER
Powers, duties and functions of Minister	6. (1) The powers, duties and functions of the Minister extend to and include all matters over which Parliament has jurisdiction, not by law assigned to any department, board or agency of the Government of Canada other than the Agency, relating to
	(a) duties of customs and matters incident thereto;
	(b) duties of excise;
	(c) stamp duties and the preparation and issue of stamps and stamped paper, except postage stamps, and the Excise Tax Act, except as therein otherwise provided;
	(d) internal taxes, unless otherwise provided, including income taxes; and
	(e) such other subjects as may be assigned to the Minister by Parliament or the Governor in Council.
Minister responsible	(2) The Minister is responsible for the Agency.
Designation of officers	7. The Minister may designate any person, or person within a class of persons, as an officer as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Customs Act or in section 2 of the Excise Act to exercise any powers or perform any duties and functions of an officer under those Acts that the Minister may specify.
Authoriza- tion to act on Minister's behalf	8. (1) The Minister may authorize the Commissioner or any other person employed or engaged by the Agency or who occupies a position of responsibility in the Agency, subject to any terms and conditions that the Minister may specify, to exercise or perform on the Minister's behalf any power, duty or function of the Minister under any Act of Parliament or of a province.
Application	(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where an Act of Parliament, other than this Act, or an Act of a province authorizes the Minister to delegate the power, duty or function to any person or authorizes any person to exercise or perform it.
Limitation	(3) Subsection (1) does not include
	(a) a power to make regulations; or
	(b) a power, duty or function of the Minister under this Act, other than those referred to in subsection 6(1) or section 7.
Commissio- ner's authorization	(4) The Commissioner may authorize any person employed or engaged by the Agency or who occupies a position of responsibility in the Agency to exercise or perform on the Minister's behalf any power, duty or function that the Commissioner is authorized to exercise or perform under subsection (1).
Minister may direct on exercise of powers	9. The Minister may direct the Commissioner or any other person in the exercise of a power or the performance of a duty or function of the Minister that the Commissioner or the person is authorized to exercise or perform under subsection 8(1) or (4) or under the program legislation.
Direction from other federal ministers	10. If another federal minister authorizes the Commissioner or any other person employed or engaged by the Agency or who occupies a position of responsibility in the Agency to exercise a power or perform a duty or function, the Minister may, at the request of that federal minister, direct the person in the exercise of the power or performance of the duty or function.
Directions to the Agency	11. (1) The Minister may issue a written direction to the Agency, addressed to the Chair of the Board, on any matter within the authority or responsibility of the Board that, in the Minister's opinion, affects public policy or could materially affect public finances.
Statutory instruments	(2) A direction issued under subsection (1) is not a statutory instrument for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act.
Compliance with directions	12. Every person who is directed by the Minister under section 9 or 10 or subsection 11(1) must comply with the direction.
Minister's power of inquiry	13. The Minister may inquire into any activity of the Agency and has access to any information under the Agency's control.
	STRUCTURE OF THE AGENCY
	Board of Management
Establish- ment	14. There shall be a Board of Management of the Agency consisting of fifteen directors, including the Chair, the Commissioner, a director nominated by each province and one director nominated by the territories.
Appointment and tenure of directors	15. (1) Each director, other than the Commissioner and the Chair, must be appointed by the Governor in Council to hold office during pleasure for any term of not more than three years that will ensure, as far as possible, the expiry in any one year of the terms of office of not more than one half of the directors.
Directors nominated by the provinces and territories	(2) Each director nominated by a province or the territories must be selected by the Governor in Council from a list of nominees submitted by the minister responsible for revenue administration in the province or a territory, or by another minister that the province or a territory designates.
Absence of nomination	(3) If a province does not submit, or none of the territories submit, a list of nominees who are qualified for appointment as directors within six months after the day on which this Act is assented to, or within six months after the day on which the position of the director nominated by the province or territories becomes vacant, the Governor in Council may appoint a director, notwithstanding subsection (2).
Qualifica- tions of directors	16. (1) The directors must be persons who, in the opinion of the Governor in Council, have the experience and the capacity required for discharging their functions.
Persons not eligible for appointment	(2) No person may be appointed or continue as a director of the Agency who
	(a) is not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident under the Immigration Act;
	(b) is a member of the Senate or House of Commons or a member of a provincial or territorial legislature; or
	(c) is employed on a full-time basis in the public service of Canada or of a province or territory.
Limitation	(3) Paragraph (2)(c) does not apply to the Commissioner.
Renewal of term	17. The Governor in Council may renew the term of office of a director, other than the Chair or the Commissioner, for a maximum of two further terms of not more than three years each, but in the case of a director nominated by a province or the territories, the nomination must first be renewed.
Continuation in office	18. If a director, other than the Chair or the Commissioner, is not appointed to take office on the expiry of the term of an incumbent director, the incumbent director may continue in office until a successor is appointed.
Part-time office	19. (1) All the directors except the Commissioner must carry out the duties and functions of their office on a part-time basis.
Directors' fees	(2) The Agency must pay the directors, other than the Commissioner, the fees fixed by the Governor in Council for attendance at meetings of the Board or any committee of directors, or for the performance of other duties.
Expenses	20. The directors, other than the Commissioner, are entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses incurred by them in the course of performing their duties while absent from their ordinary place of residence.
Accident compensation	21. For the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and any regulation made under section 9 of the Aeronautics Act, the directors and the Deputy Commissioner appointed under subsection 26(1) are deemed to be employees in the public service of Canada.
	Chair
Appointment and tenure of Chair	22. The Chair of the Board must be appointed by the Governor in Council to hold office during pleasure for a term of not more than five years, which term may be renewed for one further term of not more than five years.
Incapacity or vacancy	23. In the event of the absence or incapacity of the Chair or a vacancy in that office, the Minister may appoint another director to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Chair, but no director may be so appointed for a term of more than sixty days without the approval of the Governor in Council.
Powers, duties and functions of Chair	24. The Chair must preside at meetings of the Board and exercise any powers and perform any duties and functions that are assigned by the by-laws of the Agency.