Canada Grain Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. G-10)

Grain Standards Committees

Marginal note:Grain standards committees

• 20 (1) The Commission shall, by by-law, constitute a western grain standards committee and an eastern grain standards committee, in this Part referred to as the Western Standards Committee and the Eastern Standards Committee, for the purpose of

  • (a) recommending specifications for grades of grain and selecting and recommending primary standard samples and export standard samples of grain; and

  • (b) performing such other duties in connection with the determination of grain standards as may be assigned to each committee by the Commission.

• Marginal note:Membership of Western Standards Committee

  (2) The Commission shall, with the approval of the Minister, appoint to the Western Standards Committee

  • (a) a commissioner, a grain inspector and a scientist;

  • (b) [Repealed, 2012, c. 31, s. 354]

  • (c) two persons nominated by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food;

  • (d) [Repealed, 2011, c. 25, s. 25]

  • (e) two persons selected from among processors of grain;

  • (f) two persons selected from among exporters of grain;

  • (g) twelve actual producers of western grain; and

  • (h) any additional persons not exceeding four in number that the Commission considers advisable.

• Marginal note:Membership of Eastern Standards Committee

  (3) The Commission shall, with the approval of the Minister, appoint to the Eastern Standards Committee

  • (a) a commissioner, a grain inspector and a scientist;

  • (b) one person nominated by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food;

  • (c) four persons selected from among processors and exporters of grain;

  • (d) not more than four persons representative of producers of eastern grain; and

  • (e) such additional persons not exceeding three in number as the Commission deems advisable.

• Marginal note:Chairman

  (4) A commissioner shall preside as chairman at each meeting of a grain standards committee.

Marginal note:Oath of office

• 21 (1) Each member of a grain standards committee who is not a commissioner and is not employed in the federal public administration shall, before entering on his duties as a member of the committee, take an oath of office in prescribed form.

• Marginal note:Term of office

  (2) The Commission shall, by by-law, establish the terms of office of those members of a grain standards committee who are not employed in the federal public administration.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) and subsections 20(2) and (3), no person, except a person employed in the federal public administration, shall serve as a member of a grain standards committee for a period of more than seven consecutive years.

• Marginal note:Quorum

  (4) The quorum of a grain standards committee shall be at least half of the number of members in office.

Marginal note:Remuneration and expenses

22 Each member of a grain standards committee is entitled to be paid

• (a) if the member is not employed in the federal public administration, an allowance for the member’s services in an amount to be fixed by by-law of the Commission; and

• (b) reasonable travel and other expenses while absent from his ordinary place of residence in the course of his duties under this Act.

Primary Standard Samples and Export Standard Samples

Marginal note:Preparation of samples

23 As early as possible in each crop year the Commission shall cause to be collected representative samples of the crop of western grain and the crop of eastern grain of that crop year and, from those samples and from such other samples of the stocks of grain from any previous crop year as the Commission considers to be representative of the existing stock of any grain, cause to be prepared representative samples of

• (a) each grade of grain established by regulation that the Western Standards Committee or the Eastern Standards Committee considers advisable;

• (b) any other grade of western grain or eastern grain for which, in the opinion of the Commission, it would be appropriate to designate primary standard samples or export standard samples or both; and

• (c) any grain in respect of which the Commission wishes to obtain a recommendation pursuant to paragraphs 24(2)(b) and (c).

Marginal note:Meetings to be convened

• 24 (1) When representative samples of grain have been prepared pursuant to section 23 and such reports on the milling, baking and other qualities of the samples as the Commission deems necessary have been obtained, the Commission shall convene a meeting of each grain standards committee.

• Marginal note:Duties of grain standards committees

  (2) A grain standards committee shall examine the samples of grain supplied to the committee by the Commission and

  • (a) select and recommend to the Commission samples of each grade of grain for which a representative sample was prepared pursuant to paragraph 23(a) that in the opinion of such committee represent as accurately as possible the minimum of that grade;

  • (b) recommend to the Commission names and specifications for other grades of grain that, in the opinion of the committee, should be established for the current crop year; and

  • (c) select and recommend to the Commission samples of each grade of grain recommended pursuant to paragraph (b) that, in the opinion of the committee, represent as accurately as possible the minimum of that grade.

• Definition of grain standards committee

  (3) In subsection (2), grain standards committee,

  • (a) in the case of western grain, means the Western Standards Committee; and

  • (b) in the case of eastern grain, means the Eastern Standards Committee.

• Marginal note:Recommendation of export standard samples

  (4) The Western Standards Committee shall, in respect of

  • (a) each grade of western red spring wheat and western amber durum wheat that, in the opinion of the Commission, is likely to be sold for export, and

  • (b) any other grade of western grain that the Commission refers to it for consideration,

  examine the samples of grain of that grade supplied to the Committee by the Commission and select and recommend to the Commission samples of the grade that, in the opinion of the Committee, represent as accurately as possible the average of grain of that grade received at any or all elevators at any or all inspection points.

Marginal note:Delegation of duties

25 A grain standards committee may

• (a) delegate to a subcommittee of its members, which shall include an inspector, any function assigned to the committee by paragraph 24(2)(b) or (c); and

• (b) if a sample of any grade of grain is not available in a crop year, or if the committee is of the opinion that the quality of a grade of grain has not varied significantly from the immediately preceding crop year, recommend to the Commission a sample approved by the Commission for that grade in a previous crop year.

Marginal note:Designation of primary standard samples and export standard samples

26 The Commission shall, for each crop year,

• (a) on considering the recommendations of a grain standards committee made pursuant to subsection 24(2), designate primary standard samples of each grade of grain for which a representative sample was prepared pursuant to paragraph 23(a) and of such other grades of grain as the Commission considers advisable; and

• (b) on considering the recommendations of the Western Standards Committee made pursuant to subsection 24(4), designate export standard samples of each grade of western grain for which a representative sample was prepared pursuant to paragraph 23(a) and of such other grades of western grain as the Commission considers advisable.

Marginal note:Export standard samples

• 27 (1) The export standard sample that is designated for a grade of grain

  • (a) shall be used as the visual grading standard in the grading of western grain of that grade discharged from a terminal elevator or process elevator; and

  • (b) constitutes the minimum visual quality of the grade for that grain.

• Marginal note:Primary standard samples

  (2) The primary standard sample that is designated for a grade of grain

  • (a) shall be used as a visual grading guide in the grading of grain of that grade, other than western grain discharged from a terminal elevator or process elevator; and

  • (b) constitutes the minimum visual quality of the grade for that grain.

• Marginal note:Non-visual criteria of quality

  (3) Where

  • (a) protein content is a criterion of quality that applies to a grade of grain, or

  • (b) any other criterion of quality that cannot be determined visually by comparison with a primary standard sample or export standard sample applies to a grade of grain,

  that criterion shall be taken into consideration in determining the grade of the grain.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (4) No person shall, on the basis of the use of a primary standard sample,

  • (a) assign a grade to any grain that does not meet the specifications for that grade established by or under this Act; or

  • (b) refuse to assign a grade to any grain that meets the specifications so established for that grade.

Marginal note:Grain of variety not registered under Seeds Act

28 Notwithstanding paragraph 27(4)(b), where grain of any kind is of a variety produced from seed of a variety that is not registered under the Seeds Act for sale in or importation into Canada, no person shall, except with the permission of the Commission, assign to that grain a grade that is higher than the lowest grade established by regulation for that kind of grain.

Inspection of Grain

Marginal note:Provision for inspection

29 The Commission shall make provision for the inspection of grain at such places as the Commission may, by by-law, determine.

Marginal note:Order of inspection

• 30 (1) Subject to the regulations, an inspector

  • (a) shall, on application for inspection and in the order of receipt of applications for inspection, make an official inspection of grain at any place where provision for inspection has been made; and

  • (b) on making an official inspection of grain, shall take an official sample of the grain in the manner prescribed and retain the sample for fifteen days or such longer period as may be prescribed.

• Marginal note:Grading of unofficial samples

  (2) An inspector may, on application for grading, grade unofficial samples of grain in the prescribed manner.