Agricultural Marketing Programs Act (S.C. 1997, c. 20)

Marginal note:Security

12 An administrator that makes a guaranteed advance for an agricultural product to a producer in a program year shall take the security required by regulations made under paragraph 40(1)(f.2) for the amount of the producer’s liability under sections 22 and 23.

Marginal note:Security that includes animal — special case

13 If the security referred to in section 12 includes an agricultural product that is an animal raised in a particular area, the value of that agricultural product is considered to be 50%, or the percentage fixed by regulation, of the average price that in the Minister’s opinion will be payable to producers of that agricultural product in that area.

14 [Repealed, 2011, c. 25, s. 17]

15 [Repealed, 2006, c. 3, s. 10]

16 [Repealed, 2011, c. 25, s. 17]

17 [Repealed, 2011, c. 25, s. 17]

18 [Repealed, 2011, c. 25, s. 17]

Amount of Advances

Marginal note:Amount of advance to be guaranteed

• 19 (1) Subject to subsection (3), the amount of an advance eligible for a guarantee under this Part is calculated by multiplying

  • (a) the number of production units for which the advance is to be made

  by

  • (b) the rate per production unit that is specified by the Minister for the agricultural product for the production period for which the advance is made, or for a specified portion of the production period for which the advance is made.

  by

  • (c) the rate obtained by subtracting the administrator’s percentage, as determined under the regulations, from 100%.

• Marginal note:Administrator’s percentage

  (1.1) The administrator’s percentage mentioned in paragraph (1)(c), as determined under the regulations, must not exceed 10%. If the regulations establish a method of calculating that percentage, when the calculation results in a percentage that is less than 3%, that percentage is deemed to be 3% and when the calculation results in a percentage that is greater than 10%, that percentage is deemed to be 10%.

• Marginal note:Rate per production unit

  (2) The rate per production unit may be specified for a particular agricultural product in a particular area, but it must not exceed 50%, or the percentage fixed by regulation, of the average price that in the Minister’s opinion will be payable to producers of the agricultural product in that area.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) If, because of paragraph 10(1)(h), the amount of the advance must be covered by a program listed in the schedule or the security referred to in section 12, the maximum amount of an advance eligible for a guarantee under this Part is

  • (a) in the case when the advance is covered by such a program, the lesser of the amount calculated under subsection (1) and the percentage, specified in the advance guarantee agreement, of the maximum amount that the producer could receive under that program; or

  • (b) in the case when the advance is covered by such a security, the lesser of the amount calculated under subsection (1) and the amount of the value of that security.

Marginal note:Annual maximum guarantee for each producer

• 20 (1) Subject to subsection (1.1), the maximum amount of advances in any program year that are eligible for a guarantee under this Act is

  • (a) for a particular agricultural product produced by a producer, the amount specified in the advance guarantee agreement for that agricultural product; and

  • (b) for all agricultural products produced by a producer or a related producer, to the extent that advances for the agricultural products are attributable to the producer under subsection (2), $400,000 or the amount fixed by regulation.

• Marginal note:Overlapping production periods

  (1.1) The maximum amount of all advances that are eligible for a guarantee under this Act in relation to a producer, or to a related producer to the extent that the advances are attributable to the producer under subsection (2), may not, at any one time, exceed $400,000, or the amount fixed by regulation.

• Marginal note:Attribution

  (2) If a producer is related to another producer, the amounts of advances received by, or attributed to, the other producer are attributable to the producer in accordance with the percentage or method of calculation set out in the regulations.

Default

Marginal note:Circumstances constituting default

• 21 (1) For the purposes of this Part, a producer is in default under a repayment agreement if the producer

  • (a) has not met all of their obligations under the agreement within 21 days after the day on which the administrator mails or delivers a notice to the producer stating that the producer has had, in the administrator’s opinion, adequate opportunity to meet the obligations, and requesting the producer to meet them;

  • (b) has not met all of their obligations under the agreement at the end of the production period for which the advance was made;

  • (c) has not met all of their obligations under the agreement when the producer files an assignment under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act or a bankruptcy order is made under that Act against the producer;

  • (c.1) becomes the subject of proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and has not met all of their obligations under the agreement;

  • (c.2) has made an application under section 5 of the Farm Debt Mediation Act and has not met all of their obligations under the agreement;

  • (d) at any time breaches an obligation under the agreement and, if the breach relates to the obligation to store the agricultural product or to maintain it so that it remains of marketable quality, section 11 does not apply;

  • (d.1) is, in the administrator’s opinion, at fault for causing or contributing to a decrease in the value of the security taken by the administrator under section 12 and, as a result, in the administrator’s opinion, the value of the security is less than the value of the outstanding amount of the advance; or

  • (e) provides false or misleading information to the administrator for the purpose of obtaining a guaranteed advance, or evading compliance with an undertaking to repay it.

• Marginal note:Stay of default

  (2) Subject to any regulations, if a default is impending, the Minister may, at the administrator’s request, order the default to be stayed for a specified period on any terms and conditions that the Minister may establish.

• Marginal note:Liability of producer

  (2.1) A producer in respect of whom a stay of default is ordered is liable to the administrator for the costs incurred by the administrator in relation to the stay of default, other than the costs that the administrator has recovered by means of a fee charged to the producer under subsection 5(4).

• Marginal note:When default ceases

  (3) A producer ceases to be in default on the full discharge of the producer’s liability under sections 22 and 23.

• Marginal note:Ineligibility period

  (4) An advance guarantee agreement may provide that a producer continues to be ineligible for a guaranteed advance from the administrator for any period specified in the agreement, even though the producer has ceased to be in default.

Marginal note:Liability of defaulting producer to administrator

22 A producer who is in default under a repayment agreement is liable to the administrator for

• (a) the outstanding amount of the guaranteed advance;

• (b) the interest at the rate specified in the repayment agreement on the outstanding amount of the advance, calculated from the date of the advance;

• (c) the costs, including legal costs, incurred by the administrator to recover the outstanding amounts and interest, if those costs are approved by the Minister, other than the costs that the administrator has recovered by means of a fee charged to the producer under subsection 5(4); and

• (d) any other outstanding amounts under the repayment agreement.

Marginal note:Payments to be made by Minister

• 23 (1) If the producer is in default under the repayment agreement and the Minister receives a request for payment from the administrator or lender to whom the guarantee is made, the Minister must, in accordance with the advance guarantee agreement and subject to any regulations made under paragraph 40(1)(g) or (g.1), pay to the lender or the administrator, as the case may be, an amount equal to the amounts referred to in paragraphs 22(a) and (c) and the interest, other than the interest paid by the Minister under subsection 9(1), at the rate specified in the advance guarantee agreement on the outstanding amount of the advance, calculated from the date of the advance.

• Marginal note:Payments may be made by Minister

  (1.1) The Minister may, subject to any regulations made under paragraph 40(1)(g) or (g.1), pay to the lender or the administrator, as specified in the advance guarantee agreement, an amount equal to the amounts referred to in paragraphs 22(a) and (c) and the interest, other than the interest paid by the Minister under subsection 9(1), at the rate specified in the advance guarantee agreement on the outstanding amount of the advance, calculated from the date of the advance, if

  • (a) the producer is in default under the repayment agreement and has made an application under section 5 of the Farm Debt Mediation Act; or

  • (b) the producer has been in default under the repayment agreement for the period specified in the advance guarantee agreement.

• Marginal note:Subrogation

  (2) The Minister is, to the extent of any payment under subsection (1) or (1.1), subrogated to the administrator’s rights against the producer in default and against persons who are liable under paragraphs 10(1)(c) and (d) and may maintain an action, in the name of the administrator or in the name of the Crown, against that producer and those persons.

• Marginal note:Recovery of interest and costs

  (3) The producer is liable to the Minister for interest on the subrogated amount, calculated in accordance with the repayment agreement, and the costs incurred by the Minister to recover that amount, including legal costs.

• Marginal note:Limitation or prescription period

  (4) Subject to the other provisions of this section, no action or proceedings may be taken by the Minister to recover any amounts, interest and costs owing after the six year period that begins on the day on which the Minister is subrogated to the administrator’s rights.

• Marginal note:Deduction, set-off or compensation

  (5) The amounts, interest and costs owing may be recovered at any time by way of deduction from, set-off against or, in Quebec, compensation against any sum of money that may be due or payable by Her Majesty in right of Canada to the person or their estate or succession.

• Marginal note:Acknowledgment of liability

  (6) If a person acknowledges liability for the amounts, interest and costs owing, whether before or after the end of the limitation or prescription period, the time during which the limitation or prescription period has run before the acknowledgment of liability does not count in the calculation of the limitation or prescription period and an action or proceedings to recover the amounts, interest and costs may be taken within six years after the day of the acknowledgment of liability.

• Marginal note:Types of acknowledgment

  (7) An acknowledgement of liability means

  • (a) a written promise to pay the amounts, interest and costs owing, signed by the person or his or her agent or other representative;

  • (b) a written acknowledgment of the amounts, interest and costs owing, signed by the person or his or her agent or other representative, whether or not a promise to pay can be implied from it and whether or not it contains a refusal to pay;

  • (c) a payment, even in part, by the person or his or her agent or other representative of any of the amounts, interests and costs owing;

  • (d) any acknowledgment of the amounts, interest and costs owing made by the person, his or her agent or other representative or the trustee or administrator in the course of proceedings under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the Farm Debt Mediation Act or any other legislation dealing with the payment of debts; or

  • (e) the person’s performance of an obligation under the repayment agreement referred to in subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Period excluded

  (8) Any period in which it is prohibited to commence or continue an action or proceedings against the person to recover the amounts, interest and costs owing does not count in the calculation of a limitation or prescription period under this section.

• Marginal note:Enforcement proceedings

  (9) This section does not apply in respect of an action or proceedings relating to the execution, renewal or enforcement of a judgment.

24 [Repealed, 2011, c. 25, s. 18]

Marginal note:Payments out of the C.R.F.

25 Payments that the Minister or the Minister of Finance is liable to make under this Part are to be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

PART IIPrice Pooling Program

Marginal note: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.

Marginal note: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.

Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note:Requirements 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.

• Marginal note: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.