Bill 99 — Third Session, 16Th Legislature, 19 Elizabeth Ii the Legislative Assembl'R "Of' Atibe"Rt'X' Bill 99 An Act Respecting the Department of Agriculture (Legislature 16, Session 3)

L16 S3 4791

Alberta — Bills

1970 Bill 99 Third Session, 16th Legislature, 19 Elizabeth II THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBL'r "OF' AtiBE"RT'X' BILL 99

An Act respecting the Department of Agriculture THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE First Reading ............................. . Second Reading ............................ . Third Reading ............................. . PrInted by L. S. Wall, Queen's Printer, Edmonton

BILL 99 1970

An Act respecting the Department of Agriculture (Assented to , 1970) HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Alberta, enacts as follows: 1. This Act may be cited as The Department of Agricul ture Act. 2. There shall be a department of the public service of the Province called the Department of Agriculture over which shall preside the lTIember of the Executive Council appointed by the Lieutenant Governor under the Great Seal of the Province as Minister of Agriculture. 3.

Unless responsibility therefor is specifically assigned to some other Minister, that part of the administration of the Government relating to agriculture is under the admin istration of the Minister of Agriculture (in this Act called the "Minister") 4. In accordance with The Public Service Act, 1968 there may be appointed a Deputy Minister of Agriculture and such other employees as are required to carryon the busi ness of the Department. 5.

(1) The Minister may frOln time to time appoint ex~ perts or persons having special technical or other knowl edge to advise him or to inquire into and report to him on matters within the Minister's jurisdiction.

(2) A person appointed under this

section may be paid such remuneration and expenses as the Minister may pre scribe. 6.

(1) The Minister may establish such boards, com~ mittees or councils as he considers necessary or desirable to act in an advisory or administrative capacity in connection with any of the policies, programs, services or other mat~ ters under his administration.

Explanatory Notes I. This Bill will revise and replace The Agricultural Department Act being

chapter 4 of the Revised Statutes. Sections 7 and 10 of the Bill are derived from equivalent provisions of The Utiliza tion of Lands and Forests Aot which will be repealed by the proposed Environment Conservation Act: See Bill 52. 2. Establishment of Department. 3. Jurisdiction of Minister. 4. Personnel. 5. Authority to engage consultants. 8. Advisory committees.

(2) The Minister may, with respect to any board, com mittee or council established under this section, (

a) appoint or provide for the manner of appointment of its members, (

b) prescribe the term of office of any member, (

c) designate a chairman, vice-chairman and secre tary, and (

d) authorize, fix and provide for the payment of re muneration and expenses to its members.

(3) A board, committee or council established pursuant to this

section may make rules of procedure, subject to the approval thereof by the Minister, governing the calling of meetings, the procedure to be used at and conduct of the meetings, reporting and such other matters as required.

(4) A board, committee or council established pursuant to this

section may exercise such powers and shall perform such duties and functions as the Minister may approve, confer or impose upon it. 7.

(1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations providing for the guarantees by the Government of the principal amounts of loans made for the purpose of providing financial assistance for (

a) the cost of clearing and breaking land for agri cultural purposes, or (

b) the cost of sloping, levelling or preparing land for any agricultural purpose, or (

c) the cost of improving or developing land in any way for any agricultural purpose, or (

d) any other purpose prescribed in the regulations that pertains to or is incidental to the development of land for agricultural purposes.

(2) RegUlations under subsection (1) may (

a) prescribe the procedure for the submission of ap plications for a Government guarantee of a loan, the form and content of the applications, and the conditions required to be met by applicants to render them eligible for the guarantee, (

b) prescribe the terms and conditions upon which the guarantees are to be given, (

c) prescribe the duties and obligations of a person to whom a guaranteed loan is made during the period that his indebtedness is outstanding, (

d) prescribe the security to be given to the Govern ment by applicants in consideration of the guar antee,

7. Land development loan guarantees. This is a continuation of

section 15 of The Utilization of Lands and Forests Act. 2

(

e) authorize the payment by the Government of inter est payable under the loans and prescribe the con ditions upon which the persons whose loans are guaranteed will be liable to the Government for the repayment of interest so paid, (

I) authorize the payment by the Government to per sons whose loans are guaranteed of bonuses for repayment in full of their loans prior to the due date for repayment thereof, and prescribe the con ditions on which such bonuses may be paid, (

g) authorize the Minister or any other person to do any act for the purpose of carrying out the pro visions of any agreement entered into by the Min ister of Agriculture pursuant to The Federal-Pro vincial Farrn Assistance Act and relating to the pur poses for which the regulations are made, (

h) prescribe, for the purposes of subsection (1), clause (d), any other purposes for which loans may be guaranteed, and (

i) generally, provide for any other matter necessary for the purpose of administering the program estab lished by the regulations. 8.

(1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations providing for the guarantees by the Govern ment of the principal and interest or principal or interest in respect of loans made for the purpose of undertaking or developing proj ects directly beneficial to the agriculture industry.

(2) Regulations under subsection (1) may (

a) prescribe the procedure for the submission of ap plications for a Government guarantee of a loan, the form and content of the applications, and the con ditions required to be met by the applicants to render them eligible for the guarantee, (

b) prescribe the terms and conditions upon which the guarantees are to be given, (

c) prescribe the duties and obligations of a person to whom a guaranteed loan is made during the period that his indebtedness is outstanding, (

d) prescribe the security to be given to the Govern ment by applicants in consideration of the guar antee, (

e) define, for the purposes of this section, under takings and developments constituting projects di rectly beneficial to the agriculture industry, (

I) classify proj ects defined under clause (

e) and pre scribe a maximum percentage or amount that may 3

8. Emergency loan guarantees. 3

be guaranteed in respect of any class of project or anyone proj ect in a class, (

g) prescribe the types or classes of lending institutions in respect of whose loans guarantees may be given, and (

h) generally, provide for any other matter necessary for the purpose of administering the giving of guar antees under the regulations. 9. A guarantee of a loan pursuant to the regulations under

section 7 or 8 (

a) shall be in the form approved by the Provincial Treasurer, and (

b) may be executed on behalf of the Government by the Provincial Treasurer, the Deputy Provincial Treasurer or by any other person designated by an order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and the signature on the guarantee by any person referred to in clause (

b) is conclusive proof that the relevant pro visions of the regulations have been complied with. 10.

(1) The Minister may, with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, purchase any estate or interest in land and any personal property in conj unction therewith (

a) for the purpose of withdrawing the land from agri cultural use where that land is of marginal quality, is too small to be an economically viable farm unit, is located in an area not suitable for agriculture or constitutes an isolated settlement, or (

b) for the purpose of assisting the owner of farm lands to withdraw from farming through a retrain ing or education up-grading program or for reasons of health or age, or (

c) for the purpose of implementing or carrying out the provisions of any agreement or arrangement entered into between the Government of Canada and the Minister on behalf of the Government of Alberta, or (

d) for any purpose of any program or development project relating to the conservation, utilization or management of natural resources.

(2) Land acquired under this

section shall be under the administration of the Minister of Lands and Forests unless the order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council specifies that it is to be under the administration of the Minister of Agriculture. 4

9. Form and execution of guarantees. 10. Power to acquire property for land assembly projects, etc. This

section is a more detailed version of the present provision on the land assembly program found in

section 11 of The Utilization of Lands and Forests Act.

(3) The Minister may sell, lease or otherwise dispose of any land under his administration and any personal pro perty acquired by him under this section. 11.

(1) The Provincial Treasurer, upon the requisition of the Minister, may advance out of the General Revenue Fund such sums of money as may be required to purchase process or market seed grain and livestock entrusted to th~ Department of Agriculture as an agent for sale or sold to the Department for resale or bought or sold in the course of administration of the business of the Department.

(2) Revenue received from activities authorized by sub section (1) shall be deposited with the Provincial Treas urer to meet the advances out of the General Revenue Fund. 12. The Minister may (

a) institute inquiries into and collect information and statistics relating to matters under his jurisdiction, and (

b) disseminate information in such manner and form as is found best adapted to promote the well being of the agricultural industry. 13.

(1) The Minister shall make and submit to the Lieutenant Governor in Council an annual report on the operation of his Department.

(2) The report shall (

a) be laid before the Legislative Assembly within 30 days after the commencement of the session next following the end of the year for which the report is made, and (

b) contain such information as may be required to enable the Legislative Assembly to judge the work ing of the Department of Agriculture. 14. The Agricultural Department Act being

chapter 4 of the Revised Statutes, is repealed. ' 15. This Act comes into force on July 1, 1970. 5

I I. Advances from General Revenue Fund. 12. Collection and dissemination of information. 13. Annual report. 5 Title: 1970 (16th, 3rd) Bill 99,

An Act respecting the Department of Agriculture

Document details

Collection	Alberta — Bills
Citation	L16 S3 4791
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	L16 S3 4791
Language	en
Format	json
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	17f8d25a30695e2b8d16b96e52e340980b165833

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