Bill C-229

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First Reading

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	2nd Session, 35th Parliament, 45 Elizabeth II, 1996-97
	The House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-229
	An Act to provide for funding for intervenors in hearings before certain boards and agencies
	Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
Short title	1. This Act may be cited as the Intervenor Funding Act.
Purpose	2. The purpose of this Act is to require any person proposing a project that would affect a public interest or the environment and that is required by law to be reviewed by a public process before being approved by government or an agency of government to provide funding to assist organizations that represent a relevant public interest and that wish to intervene in the review process to represent that interest.
Definitions	3. In this Act,
``funding panel'' « commission d'aide financière »	``funding panel'' means a panel appointed by a review authority pursuant to this Act;
``funding proponent'' « promoteur tenu de fournir de l'aide financière »	``funding proponent'' means a person who, in the opinion of a funding panel, would be a major beneficiary of a project to be reviewed by a review authority;
``intervenor'' « intervenant »	``intervenor'' means an individual, group or organization that is granted status to intervene in a proceeding before a review authority;
``intervenor funding'' « aide financière aux intervenants »	``intervenor funding'' means funding to an intervenor ordered by a funding panel pursuant to this Act;
``project'' « project »	``project'' means any work, whether on public or private land, that by or pursuant to an Act of Parliament must be approved by a review authority before it is commenced, continued or altered;
``proponent'' « promoteur »	``proponent'' means a person who seeks approval for a project;
``review authority'' « autorité »	``review authority'' means any minister, official of the Government of Canada, board, commission, agency or other authority that has, under an Act of Parliament, the power to approve a project and is required to conduct a review of the project in which input from the public is permitted or required before the approval is granted.
Notice	4. (1) A review authority shall include, in any notice it publishes of the commencement of public proceedings to review a project, a statement that a person who is an intervenor may apply to the authority for intervenor funding.
Panel appointed	(2) A review authority that receives an application from an intervenor for intervenor funding shall appoint a funding panel from its membership.
Application for funding	(3) An intervenor in proceedings before a review authority may apply to the funding panel for intervenor funding and the panel shall
	(a) first determine which person or persons are funding proponents in the matter, which may include persons who are not parties to the proceedings, and give notice of the determination to the funding proponents;
	(b) hear the intervenor's application, having given the funding proponents the opportunity to be present;
	(c) consider the information the intervenor presents as to the public interest the intervenor represents, the contribution the intervenor intends to make to the proceedings, the reason it requires funding and the amount of funding it requires;
	(d) determine which intervenor or intervenors should be funded in order to best ensure the presentation of the public interest to the authority;
	(e) determine whether two or more intervenors should act jointly in order to qualify for joint funding;
	(f) consider any representation the funding proponents make concerning the application; and
	(g) make such order as it sees fit respecting any funding to be provided to the intervenor by each of the funding proponents.
Funding criteria	(4) A funding panel shall not order funding to be provided to an intervenor unless it is satisfied that the issues the intervenor intends to present are entirely or mainly issues respecting public interests rather than private interests and that
	(a) the intervenor represents a clearly ascertainable interest that is relevant to the issue before the review authority and that should be represented at the hearing;
	(b) the intervenor does not have sufficient financial resources to make the representation without funding;
	(c) the intervenor has made reasonable efforts to obtain funding from other sources;
	(d) the intervenor has an established record of concern for and commitment to the interest;
	(e) the intervenor has made reasonable efforts to cooperate with other intervenors that represent similar interests;
	(f) the absence of funding would adversely affect the representation of the interest; and
	(g) the intervenor has a proposal that specifies the use to which funding would be put, has the ability to record the expenditure of the funding, and has agreed to submit an accounting to the panel for the expenditure and allow the panel to examine its records to verify the accounting.
Proponent comply or appeal	(5) The funding proponent shall
	(a) comply with any order made by a funding panel; or
	(b) appeal the order to the review authority, which may, after hearing the proponent and the intervenor, confirm, vary or cancel the order.
Account	(6) The funding panel may order an intervenor to account to the panel for the expenditure of funding it receives.
Expenses	(7) Funding for intervenors shall be based on
	(a) legal aid rates for any legal services from lawyers in private practice; and
	(b) expenses for witnesses, experts, the obtaining of evidence, and office and administrative costs in amounts and subject to the limits set by the regulations.
Supplementar y funding	(8) An intervenor who has received funding under this section may apply to the panel for supplementary funding.
Appeal	5. (1) An intervenor or a funding proponent may appeal the order on a matter of law only to the Federal Court of Canada.
Court order	(2) The Court may order that the matter be re-heard by a funding panel, or may make such order respecting funding within the provisions of this Act as the Court sees fit.
Regulations	6. The Governor in Council may make regulations fixing rates and limits for the matters enumerated in paragraph 4(7)(b).
Crown bound	7. This Act binds the Crown in right of Canada.
Coming into force	8. This Act shall come into force on a date to be set by order of the Governor in Council.

Bill C-229

BILL C-229