Bill C-306

2nd Session, 40th Parliament,

57-58 Elizabeth II, 2009

house of commons of canada

BILL C-306

An Act respecting the use of government contracts to promote economic development

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 Canadian Products Promotion Act.

INTERPRETATION

2. The following definitions apply in this Act.

“acquisition” means acquisition by such methods as purchase, lease or rental, with or without an option to purchase.

“Canada” means the territory of Canada, including the exclusive economic zone of Canada.

“Canadian product” means any product

(a) of which more than 50% of the total value originates in Canada; or

(b) in the case of a natural resource, of which more than 75% of the total value originates in Canada.

“Government of Canada” means

(a) the Government of Canada or any department or agent of that government;

(b) any Crown corporation; or

(c) any foundation or trust established by the Government of Canada that receives over 75% of its income or funding from that government.

“NAFTA country” means a country that is a party to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

“partially Canadian product” means

(a) any good or service of which more than 25% but less than 50% of the total value originates in Canada; or

(b) in the case of a natural resource, any good of which more than 37.5% but less than 75% of the total value originates in Canada.

“product” means a good or a service.

“similar price” means a final delivery price that

(a) in the case of a Canadian product, does not exceed the price of a non-Canadian product by an amount greater than 7.5%; or

(b) in the case of a partially Canadian product, does not exceed the price of a non-Canadian product by an amount greater than the amount determined by the formula

(i) 7.5% x (the percentage of the product’s total value that originates in Canada) / 50, or

(ii) in the case of a natural resource, 7.5% x (the percentage of the product’s total value that originates in Canada) / 75.

“similar product” means any product whose nature, quality or terms of delivery are substantially the same as those of another product and meet the requirements of the entity that procures it.

ABSOLUTE PREFERENCE GIVEN TO CANADIAN PRODUCTS

3. When the Government of Canada procures a product, it shall, where similar products at similar prices are available,

(a) give preference to a Canadian product over a partially Canadian product or a non-Canadian product; and

(b) give preference to a partially Canadian product over a non-Canadian product.

4. Where the Government of Canada considers it advisable, it shall give absolute preference to Canadian products by

(a) giving them exclusive access to a government contract; or

(b) giving them a price preference greater than the 7.5% specified in paragraph (a) of the definition “similar price” in section 2.

5. Where the Government of Canada considers it appropriate, it may impose additional conditions on access to a government contract, notably in order to benefit small business, suppliers from certain minority groups or suppliers from certain regions or communities.

6. Insofar as possible, the Government of Canada shall ensure an equitable distribution of the acquisitions it makes among the provinces and shall not, in a fiscal year, obtain more than 50% of the value of its Canadian products from a single province.

DEVELOPMENT OF POLICIES

7. Not later than six months after this Act receives royal assent, the President of the Treasury Board shall develop and adopt a policy respecting the goods and services procured by every department and agent of the Government of Canada, and shall cause the policy to be laid before each House of Parliament and published in the Canada Ga- zette.

8. Not later than six months after this Act receives royal assent, each minister shall develop and adopt a policy respecting the goods and services procured by every Crown corporation for which the minister is responsible, unless that Crown corporation is subject to the policy described in section 7, and shall cause the policy to be laid before each House of Parliament and published in the Canada Gazette.

9. Not later than six months after this Act receives royal assent, the board of directors of every foundation and trust referred to in the definition “Government of Canada” in section 2 shall develop and adopt a policy respecting the goods and services procured by that foundation or trust. The policy shall be submitted to the minister responsible for the department from which the foundation or trust receives the largest share of its funding, and the minister shall cause the policy to be laid before each House of Parliament.

EXCEPTIONS

10. A policy referred to in section 7, 8 or 9 may provide for exceptions to sections 3 to 6 if

(a) a product is required to deal with an emergency in which there is danger to public health or safety, and there are reasonable grounds to believe that it would not be possible to procure the product in the quantity or within the time period required to deal with the emergency;

(b) there are reasonable grounds to believe that it would not be possible to procure a product in the quantity or within the time period required;

(c) a product is acquired to provide humanitarian assistance outside Canada or for the purposes of international development, and the acquisition of a Canadian product could reasonably be expected to decrease the effectiveness of the assistance or development; or

(d) access to a government contract is extended to a least developed country for the purposes of international development.

11. The minister responsible for an entity that avails itself of an exception under section 10 in the acquisition of a product whose value exceeds $5,000 shall, within 30 days after the start of the acquisition process, cause a notice justifying the exception to be published in the Canada Gazette.

NON-APPLICATION

12. As regards NAFTA countries, this Act does not apply to contracts in respect of which the North American Free Trade Agreement requires that Canada accord to the suppliers of another NAFTA country treatment no less favourable than that which it accords to its own suppliers.

13. As regards countries that are parties to the Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization and with which Canada has negotiated mutually acceptable commitments, this Act does not apply to contracts subject to that Agreement in respect of which Canada has made specific commitments.

14. Section 13 does not apply in respect of a country that is a party to the Agreement referred to in that section if the acquisition is for a service in respect of which the country has not accorded Canada reciprocal access.

REGULATIONS

15. The Governor in Council may make any orders and regulations that are necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Act, and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, orders and regulations

(a) for ensuring reciprocity between Canada and any other NAFTA country by expanding the benefits accorded to the enterprises of that NAFTA country if that country provides Canadian suppliers with greater access to its government contracts than the access required by the North American Free Trade Agreement;

(b) for suspending certain benefits accorded to the enterprises of any NAFTA country in accordance with the provisions of Chapter Twenty of the North American Free Trade Agreement;

(c) for ensuring reciprocity between Canada and any country that is a party to the Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization by expanding the benefits accorded to the enterprises of that country if that country provides Canadian suppliers with greater access to its government contracts than the access required by that Agreement; and

(d) for suspending certain benefits accorded to the enterprises of any country that is a party to the Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization.

COMING INTO FORCE

16. This Act comes into force six months after the day on which it receives royal assent.