WHEREAS it is desirable to improve the methods and practices of marketing agricultural products of Canada;
AND WHEREAS the legislatures of several of the provinces have enacted legislation respecting the marketing of agricultural products locally within the province;
AND WHEREAS it is desirable to cooperate with the provinces and to enact a measure respecting the marketing of agricultural products in interprovincial and export trade;
AND WHEREAS it is desirable to facilitate such marketing by authorizing the imposition of levies or charges for the equalization or adjustment among producers of the moneys realized from the marketing of the products.
THEREFORE Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
This Act may be cited as the Agricultural Products Marketing Act.
In this Act, agricultural product includes wood.
The Governor in Council may, by order, grant authority to any board or agency authorized under the law of any province to exercise powers of regulation in relation to the marketing of any agricultural product locally within the province, to regulate the marketing of that agricultural product in interprovincial and export trade and for those purposes to exercise all or any powers like the powers exercisable by the board or agency in relation to the marketing of that agricultural product locally within the province.
The Governor in Council may, by order, grant to any board or agency mentioned in subsection (1) authority in relation to the powers that may be granted to the board or agency under this Act with respect to the marketing of any agricultural product in interprovincial and export trade,
to fix, impose and collect levies or charges from persons engaged in the production or marketing of the whole or any part of any agricultural product and for that purpose to classify those persons into groups and fix the levies or charges payable by the members of the different groups in different amounts; and
to use the levies or charges for the purposes of the board or agency, including the creation of reserves, the payment of expenses and losses resulting from the sale or disposal of any such agricultural product and the equalization or adjustment among producers of any agricultural product of moneys realized from the sale thereof during such period or periods of time as the board or agency may determine.
Levies or charges imposed by a board or agency pursuant to the authority granted to it under subsection (2) constitute a debt due to that board or agency and may be sued for and recovered by it in any court of competent jurisdiction.
The Governor in Council may, by order, revoke any authority granted under this section.
The Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing the terms and conditions governing the granting and revocation of authority under section 2 and generally may make regulations for carrying the purposes and provisions of this Act into effect.
Every person who contravenes any regulation, or any order, rule or regulation made by any board or agency under this Act with reference to the marketing of an agricultural product in interprovincial and export trade, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both.
In any prosecution for an offence under this Act, the act or omission complained of, in respect of which the prosecution was instituted, shall, unless the accused proves the contrary, be deemed to relate to the marketing of an agricultural product in interprovincial and export trade.