Bill C-34

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	PART II
	PRICE POOLING PROGRAM
Purpose	26. The purpose of this Part is to facilitate the marketing of agricultural products under cooperative plans by guaranteeing minimum average prices of products sold by marketing agencies.
Conditions for price guarantee agreements	27. The Minister may, with the approval of the Minister of Finance, establish conditions under which price guarantee agreements may be made.
Minister may make agreements	28. (1) Once the Minister has established the conditions, the Minister may make a price guarantee agreement with a marketing agency.
Contents of agreement	(2) The price guarantee agreement must provide that
	(a) the Minister is to pay amounts based on the difference obtained by subtracting
	(i) the average wholesale price of an agricultural product
	from
	(ii) the initial payment made by the marketing agency for the agricultural product, together with the marketing agency's costs;
	(b) the initial payment and the marketing agency's costs applicable to the agricultural product are those relating to the volume, grade, type and variety of the product at the time of sale;
	(c) the average wholesale price is to be a reasonable price, as determined at the time of sale and, in case of a dispute, the Minister determines the price;
	(d) the initial payment, the marketing agency's costs and the average wholesale price are to be determined in the manner specified in the agreement, including specified maximum amounts; and
	(e) the marketing agency is to comply with this Part and any other terms and conditions specified in the agreement.
Require- ments for marketing agency	(3) The cooperative plan administered by the marketing agency must apply to
	(a) a significant portion of the producers in the area where the plan applies; or
	(b) a significant portion of the agricultural product produced in that area.
	In addition, the Minister must be satisfied that marketing the product under the cooperative plan will benefit the producers.
Cooperative plan	(4) The cooperative plan must be an agreement or arrangement for marketing that provides for
	(a) an initial payment to producers for delivery, in accordance with the agreement or arrangement, of an agricultural product produced in Canada;
	(b) pooling the proceeds of the sale of the agricultural product;
	(c) equal returns to the producers for like grades, varieties and types of the agricultural product; and
	(d) returning to the producers the proceeds of the sale of all of the agricultural product delivered under the agreement or arrangement and produced during a period of 12 months or less specified in the agreement or arrangement, after deducting the marketing agency's costs and any reserves.
Production and delivery of product	29. (1) The agricultural product must be
	(a) produced by the producer who received the initial payment during the period specified under paragraph 28(4)(d); and
	(b) delivered during that period to the marketing agency under a single cooperative plan.
Discontinuing delivery	(2) During the period specified under paragraph 28(4)(d), the Minister may give notice to the marketing agency that the price guarantee agreement will not apply to any quantity of the agricultural product delivered after the date specified in the notice.
Payment of liabilities under agreement	30. The Minister of Finance may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, pay out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund any amount that the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food becomes liable to pay under a price guarantee agreement.
	PART III
	GOVERNMENT PURCHASES PROGRAM
Powers of Minister	31. (1) The Minister may, with the authorization of the Governor in Council,
	(a) sell or deliver agricultural products to a government or government agency of any country under an agreement made by Her Majesty with the government or government agency, and for that purpose may purchase agricultural products and make any arrangements for their purchase, sale or delivery that the Minister considers necessary or desirable;
	(b) purchase, or negotiate contracts for the purchase of, agricultural products on behalf of a government or government agency of any country;
	(c) buy, sell or import agricultural products;
	(d) require any person on reasonable notice to give, at a specified time, any information about agricultural products that may be necessary for the administration of this Part; and
	(e) store, transport or process agricultural products, or make contracts for their storage, transportation or processing.
Limitation	(2) Except with the approval of the Governor in Council, the Minister may not sell an agricultural product under paragraph (1)(a) or (c) at a price lower than the purchase price plus handling, storage and transportation costs.
	PART IV
	GENERAL PROVISIONS
	Contractual and Financial Matters
Cost recovery regulations	32. For the purpose of recovering costs incurred by the Minister under this Act, the Minister may make regulations for charging fees related to making advance guarantee agreements and price guarantee agreements and fees for any other services provided by the Minister under this Act.
Expenditures of the Board	33. All expenditures made by the Board in the administration of this Act, other than those reimbursed to the Board by the Minister under section 23, are deemed to be expenses of the Board for the purposes of section 33 of the Canadian Wheat Board Act.
	Offences and Punishment
Information relating to advance guarantees	34. (1) An administrator commits an offence if, for the purpose of obtaining a guarantee from the Minister under Part I or evading compliance with any obligation relating to the guarantee, the administrator
	(a) gives false or misleading information to the Minister; or
	(b) fails to disclose any relevant information to the Minister.
Information relating to guaranteed advances	(2) A person commits an offence if, for the purpose of obtaining a guaranteed advance under Part I, or evading, or helping someone evade, compliance with an undertaking to repay it, the person
	(a) gives false or misleading information to an administrator or to the Minister; or
	(b) fails to disclose any relevant information to an administrator or to the Minister.
Deductions and entries in permit books	(3) A person who contravenes section 17 commits an offence.
Use of permit books	(4) A person who uses a permit book in contravention of section 18 commits an offence.
Information relating to price guarantee agreements	35. (1) A marketing agency commits an offence if, for the purpose of negotiating a price guarantee agreement, or obtaining a payment or evading compliance with any obligation under the agreement, the marketing agency
	(a) gives false or misleading information to the Minister; or
	(b) fails to disclose any relevant information to the Minister.
Information relating to payments	(2) A person commits an offence if, for the purpose of obtaining a payment under Part II, the person
	(a) gives false or misleading information to a marketing agency or to the Minister; or
	(b) fails to disclose any relevant information to a marketing agency or to the Minister.
Non- compliance with information requirements	36. (1) A person who does not comply with a requirement to provide information under paragraph 31(1)(d) commits an offence.
Evidence of requirements	(2) In a prosecution under subsection (1), evidence of a requirement may be given by the production of a copy of the requirement appearing to be certified as a copy by the Minister or another official of the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
Punishment	37. A producer, administrator, marketing agency or other person who commits an offence under this Act is
	(a) if the offence is committed wilfully, liable on proceedings by way of indictment to a fine of not more than $500,000, to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, or to both; and
	(b) in any other case, liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more that $10,000, to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both.
Prosecution of partnership	38. (1) A prosecution under this Act against a partnership may be brought in the name of the partnership and, for the purpose of the prosecution, the partnership is deemed to be a person. Anything done or omitted by a partner or agent of the partnership within the scope of their authority to act on behalf of the partnership is deemed to have been done or omitted by the partnership.
Officers, etc., of corporations or partnerships	(2) If a corporation or partnership commits an offence under this Act, whether or not it has been prosecuted or convicted, any officer, director, partner or agent of the corporation or partnership who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to and guilty of the offence and is liable to the punishment provided for the offence.
Limitation period	39. A prosecution under this Act may be instituted no later than five years after the act or omission giving rise to the prosecution occurred.
	Regulations
Governor in Council regulations	40. (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations
	(a) defining
	(i) ``supported'' for the purposes of the definition ``administrator'' in subsection 2(1),
	(ii) ``non-processed'' for the purposes of the definition ``crop'' in subsection 2(1), and
	(iii) ``continuously own'' and ``responsible for marketing'' for the purposes of paragraph 10(1)(a);
	(b) for determining for the purposes of paragraph 5(2)(a) what is a significant portion of a crop;
	(c) for determining a method of calculating the administrator's percentage mentioned in paragraph 5(3)(g), but the percentage must be at least 1% and not more than 15%;
	(d) for determining a method of calculating the Minister's percentage mentioned in paragraph 5(3)(i) and subsection 23(1);
	(e) prescribing attributable percentages for the purposes of paragraphs 9(2)(c) and 20(2)(c);
	(f) prescribing an amount for the purposes of subparagraph 10(2)(a)(iii);
	(g) respecting the attempts to be made by an administrator to collect on a producer's liability under section 22 before and after the administrator requests payment from the Minister under subsection 23(1);
	(h) for determining for the purposes of subsection 28(3) what is a significant portion of producers or agricultural product; and
	(i) generally, for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act.
Exception for crop years beginning in 1997 or 1998	(2) Despite any regulations made under paragraph (1)(c), the administrator's percentage for crop years beginning in 1997 or 1998 is 2%, except for crops for which the Board is the administrator, in which case the prescribed percentage is 0%.