First Session, 45th General Assembly

53 Elizabeth II, 2004

BILL 36

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE

FISH PROCESSING LICENSING BOARD

Received and Read the First Time

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent

HONOURABLE TREVOR TAYLOR

Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture

Ordered to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would establish the Newfoundland and

Labrador Fish Processing Licensing Board.

The board was recommended to be established

by the Final Report of the Fish Processing Policy Review Commission, the

"Dunne Report", which was endorsed in principle by government in

February, 2004.

A BILL

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE FISH PROCESSING

LICENSING BOARD

Analysis

Short title

Definitions

Board established

Objectives of the board

Composition of board

Term of office

Secretariat

Operation of the board

Powers and duties of the board

Application procedure

Release of recommendation

Members not liable

Fees and forms

By-laws

Annual report

Commencement

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

Short title

1. This

Act may be cited as the Fish Processing Licensing Board Act .

Definitions

2. In

this Act

(a) "board" means the Fish Processing

Licensing Board established in

section 3;

(b) "department" means the department

presided over by the minister;

(c) "minister" means the minister

appointed under the Executive Council Act to administer this Act; and

(d) "person" includes a corporation and

the heirs, executors, administrators or other legal representatives of a person.

Board established

3. The

Fish Processing Licensing Board is established.

Objectives of the

board

4. The

objectives of the board are

(

a) to assess and make recommendations to the

minister regarding fish processing licensing applications, including applications

for new licences, and the consolidation and transfer of fish processing licences;

(

b) to assess and make recommendations to the

minister regarding applications for the addition of new species to existing

fish processing licences, and where appropriate, make recommendations regarding

licensing on a regional basis;

(

c) to assess and make recommendations to the

minister regarding corporate concentration, merger and acquisition issues in

the context of fish processing licensing matters; and

(

d) those other objectives that the minister may

determine.

Composition of

board

(1) The

board shall consist of 5 members appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in

Council, who shall serve at pleasure.

(2) The membership of the board shall include:

(

a) one member who shall be designated by the

Lieutenant-Governor in Council as the chairperson of the board; and

(

b) one member who shall be elected

vice-chairperson of the board by internal vote of the board.

Term of office

(1) Members

of the board shall be appointed for a period of 4 years.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), members of the

first board appointed under this Act shall be appointed in the following

manner:

(

a) the chairperson and 2 members of the board

shall be appointed for a period of 4 years; and

(b) 2 members of the board shall be appointed for

a period of 2 years.

(3) Where a vacancy occurs on the board, the

Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall appoint a person for the unexpired portion

of the term of the person whose leaving created the vacancy or for a longer

term as the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may determine.

(4) A member of the board who misses 3 consecutive

meetings of the board without cause shall be considered, upon a report by the

board to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, to have vacated his or her

position on the board.

(5) A board member who, during the course of his

or her term acquires holdings or interests or changes his or her holdings or

interests in the fish processing sector, the fish harvesting sector or a

related sector shall report that acquisition or change to the minister.

(6) Where the minister receives a report under

subsection (5), the minister may, in his or her discretion inform the Lieutenant-Governor

in Council of the contents of that report.

(7) Members of the board may be reappointed.

Secretariat

(1) The

minister may appoint those members of the department he or she considers

necessary to form a secretariat which shall provide administrative support to

the board.

(2) One member of the secretariat shall act as

recording secretary for the board.

(3) Members of the secretariat referred to in

subsection (1) who attend meetings of the board shall be non-voting members of

the board and shall not be counted for a quorum of the board.

Operation of the

board

(1) Meetings

of the board shall be scheduled at the call of the chairperson or in his or her

absence, the vice-chairperson, but there shall be no fewer than 6 meetings in a

calendar year.

(2) Meetings of the board may be conducted by

teleconference or videoconference or by other means provided that, in a meeting,

all members may participate simultaneously and instantaneously.

(3) A board member participating in a meeting by

teleconference, videoconference or other method referred to in subsection

(2) shall be counted as a member present at the meeting for the purpose of

establishing a quorum under subsection (4).

(4) A quorum of the board shall be 3 members, one

of whom shall be the chairperson or vice-chairperson.

(5) In the case of a tie vote of the board, the

chairperson, or in the case of his or

her absence or abstention, the vice-chairperson, shall have the casting vote.

(6) A board member shall not abstain from voting

on a motion or resolution of the board unless he or she has been permitted to abstain

by a majority vote of other board members in attendance at the meeting.

(7) Notwithstanding subsection (5), where the

chair has abstained from voting and there is a tie vote, the motion or

resolution may be deferred to the next meeting of the board.

(8) Board members shall be remunerated in accordance

with Treasury Board guidelines.

(9) Board members shall be reimbursed for reasonable

expenses incurred in the course of their duties in accordance with Treasury

Board guidelines.

Powers and duties

of the board

(1) The

board shall

(

a) consider an application for a fish processing

licence which has been properly made to it, including an application for a new

licence, a consolidated licence or a transfer of licence;

(

b) consider an application made to it under this

Act which it is authorized to consider;

(

c) consider a matter referred to it by the

minister, where that matter is of one of general application which does not

refer specifically to a particular fish processing licence;

(

d) consider an application related to corporate concentration,

merger and acquisition issues in the context of fish processing licensing matters;

and

(

e) after considering a matter referred to in

paragraphs (

a) to (d), make a recommendation, including its reasons for that recommendation,

to the minister with respect to a course of action on that matter.

(2) The board may

(

a) request that the minister provide professional

or technical assistance or advice required by it to make its recommendations to

the minister; and

(

b) generally, do those other things that are necessary

to fulfil its mandate and make the required recommendations to the minister

regarding an application under this Act.

Application procedure

(1) A

person who wishes to make an application to the board shall

(

a) advertise, in the required form, his or her

intention to make the application at least once a week for 2 consecutive weeks

(

i) a newspaper of general circulation, and

(ii) a newspaper having circulation in the region

affected by the application; and

(

b) contemporaneously, submit to the board his or

her application under this Act, together with the particulars that the board may

require,

but in no circumstance shall the board

consider the application until the advertising process required by paragraph

(

a) is completed.

(2) The board

(

a) shall consider an application properly made to

it under subsection (1) according to the Fish Processing Policy Framework or

the other policy guidelines, criteria or directions given to it by the

minister;

(

b) may hold an open public meeting with respect

to the application in question; and

(

c) shall, after considering the application, make

a recommendation to the minister regarding that application, including its

reasons for that recommendation.

(3) The Fish Processing Policy Framework referred to

in subsection (2) and any other policy guidelines, criteria or directions given

to the board by the minister shall be made publicly available in the manner that

the minister shall direct, and for greater certainty, may be made available

through the Internet.

Release of recommendation

11. The

minister shall consider a recommendation of the board made to him or her under

paragraph 10(2)(

c) and shall, following his or her decision with respect to the

application, release both the recommendation of the board and his or her

decision regarding the application first to the applicant and then to the

public.

Members not

liable

12. A

member of the board is not liable for an action done in good faith in carrying

out his or her duties and responsibilities as a board member.

Fees and forms

13 . The

minister may prescribe fees and forms for the purpose and administration of

this Act.

By-laws

14. The

board may make by-laws to enable it to more effectively carry out its duties

and responsibilities and for the management of the board.

Annual report

15. The

board shall submit to the minister an annual report of its operations in the

form and containing the information required by the minister.

Commencement

16. This Act shall come into force on January 1, 2005 .

Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer