Western Grain Transition Payments Regulations

Contents

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, pursuant to section 6 of the Western Grain Transition Payments Act, is pleased hereby to make the annexed Regulations respecting transition payments made to owners of farmland in Western Canada on which grain is grown.^note

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These Regulations may be cited as the Western Grain Transition Payments Regulations.

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In these Regulations,

Act means the Western Grain Transition Payments Act; (Loi)

apportionment means the percentage of all transition payments that is apportioned to each part of the eligible area set out in subsection 4(5) of the Act; (quote-part)

Creston-Wynndel Areas means that part of British Columbia bounded by the boundary with the United States to the South, Duck Lake to the North, the Selkirk Mountains to the West and the Purcell Mountains to the East; (régions de Creston-Wynndel)

distance factor means the factor referred to in section 9; (facteur de distance)

dryland acres means the acres of an applicant’s farmland that were not irrigated acres in 1994; (acres non irriguées)

dryland productivity factor means the factor determined in accordance with section 7; (facteur de productivité des terres non irriguées)

equitable arrangement means an agreement between an owner of farmland that is the subject of an application for a transition payment and the lessee of that farmland in respect of the transition payment; (entente équitable)

final payment factor means the factor determined in accordance with section 12; (facteur du second versement)

interim payment factor means the factor determined in accordance with section 10; (facteur du premier versement)

irrigated acres means the acres of an applicant’s farmland that in 1994 were subject to sufficient irrigation by artificial means so that water was not a limiting factor in crop production; (acres irriguées)

irrigation productivity factor means the factor determined in accordance with section 8; (facteur de productivité des terres irriguées)

lessee, in respect of farmland that is the subject of an application for a transition payment, means a person who, on August 1, 1995, holds

(a)a lease from the owner of the farmland; or

(b)in the case of farmland in a reserve within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act,

(i)a permit to use that farmland pursuant to subsection 28(2) of that Act, or

(ii)a lease of that farmland pursuant to subsection 53(1) or section 58 of that Act; (preneur)

part of the eligible area means

(a)Manitoba,

(b)Saskatchewan, or

(c)Alberta and those parts of British Columbia known as the Peace River District and the Creston-Wynndel Areas; (partie de la région désignée)

Peace River District means that part of British Columbia bounded by the boundary with Alberta to the East, with the Northwest Territories and the Yukon Territory to the North and the Rocky Mountains to the West and South. (district de Peace River)

^note

Ownership

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For the purpose of the definition own in section 2 of the Act, the following interests, which were in existence at the beginning of the day on February 28, 1995, are interests in farmland:

(a)a contract, court order or any other legal instrument under which a person is entitled to become the holder of the fee simple in farmland;

(b)a contract that is contingent on conditions being fulfilled to give effect to the contract, under which a person will be entitled to become the holder in fee simple in farmland, where those conditions are fulfilled by June 1, 1996;

(c)an interest in farmland in a reserve held by an Indian band within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act, unless an Indian is in lawful possession of the farmland under paragraph (d);

(d)an interest in farmland in a reserve held by an Indian who is in lawful possession of the farmland pursuant to subsection 20(1), (2) or (3), section 24, subsection 25(1), section 49 or subsection 50(4) of the Indian Act; or

(e)an agreement of sale held by a person with The Director, The Veterans’ Land Act, pursuant to the Veterans’ Land Act.

Criteria for Entitlement

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(1)For the purposes of subsection 4(1) of the Act, an applicant shall meet the following criteria:

(a)the applicant owns not less than ten acres of farmland located in the eligible area;

(b)the applicant completes and signs an application form approved by the Minister;

(c)except as provided in paragraph (d), where the farmland that is the subject of an application is owned by more than one person, each owner signs the application;

(d)where the farmland that is the subject of an application is owned by an Indian band as set out in paragraph 3(c), the number of members that constitute a quorum of the council of the band within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act sign the application;

(e)subject to subsections (3) and (4), the applicant delivers or mails the application to the Minister no later than November 1, 1995; and

(f)on request and no later than the date stipulated by the Minister, the applicant provides to the Minister any document or information relevant to the application.

(2)Where the Minister has received an application mailed or delivered in accordance with paragraph (1)(e), from a person other than the person who was the owner of the farmland at the beginning of the day on February 28, 1995, that owner may deliver or mail to the Minister, no later than March 1, 1996, an application in respect of that farmland.

(3)An application received by the Minister on or before February 29, 1996 shall be deemed to have been made in accordance with paragraph (1)(e) if it is accompanied by a statement, in a form acceptable to the Minister, that an equitable arrangement has been made between the applicant and the lessee of that applicant.

(4)An application received by the Minister after February 29, 1996 but no later than April 1, 1997 shall be deemed to have been made in accordance with paragraph (1)(e) if

(a)no application in respect of the farmland has been received from any other applicant who was, at the beginning of the day on February 28, 1995, the holder of the fee simple in the farmland; and

(b)the application is accompanied by a statement, in a form acceptable to the Minister, that an equitable arrangement has been made between the applicant and the lessee of that applicant.

Conditions of Payment

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(1)Where the Minister has received an application in accordance with paragraph 4(1)(e), a transition payment in respect of farmland leased by an applicant to a lessee shall be made, unless the Minister has received a letter, delivered or mailed on or before November 15, 1995, from the lessee stating that an equitable arrangement has not been made.

(2)Before a transition payment is made in respect of farmland leased by an applicant to a lessee where the Minister has received a letter referred to in subsection (1), the following conditions shall be met:

(a)on notification by the Minister of the receipt of the letter, the applicant shall deliver or mail to the Minister no later than May 1, 1996

(i)a statement, signed by both the applicant and the lessee of the farmland, stating that an equitable arrangement has been reached,

(ii)a binding decision of an arbitrator setting out the terms of the equitable arrangement, or

(iii)a report of an arbitrator stating that the lessee failed to appear for arbitration or failed to pay a deposit required by an arbitrator; and

(b)where by March 1, 1996 no arbitrator has been agreed upon by the owner and the lessee, the owner shall

(i)within 10 days after that date, select an arbitrator from a list of arbitrators supplied by the Minister,

(ii)within 20 days after that date, give notice to the lessee of the time and place of the arbitration and of the lessee’s one-half share of the arbitration fee, and

(iii)within 30 days after that date, deposit one-half of the arbitration fee which an arbitrator may require the owner and the lessee to deposit.

(3)The notice referred to in subparagraph (2)(b)(ii) shall be sent to the lessee by registered mail with an acknowledgement of receipt attached at

(a)the address that the lessee set out in the letter referred to in subsection (2); or

(b)the address of the lessee’s last known residence or place of business where no address for the lessee is set out in the letter referred to in subsection (2).

Calculation of Transition Payments

Interim Payment

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(1)The interim payment in respect of an applicant’s farmland shall be calculated as follows:

(2)Where the interim payment referred to in subsection (1) contains a fraction of a dollar, that fraction shall be expressed as a decimal fraction of three or more digits after the decimal point and

(a)the third and subsequent digits after the decimal point shall be dropped if the third digit is less than five; or

(b)the second digit after the decimal point shall be increased by one and the third and subsequent digits dropped if the third digit is five or greater than five.

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The dryland productivity factor in respect of an applicant’s farmland shall be determined using the historic average crop insurance yields for wheat, barley and canola on similar soils within a geographic area, such as a crop insurance risk area, having similar levels of productivity, weighted by the proportions of the acreage of wheat, barley, canola and summerfallow within a geographic area, such as a rural municipality.

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The irrigation productivity factor in respect of an applicant’s farmland shall be determined using the historic average of the yields of wheat, barley and canola weighted by the proportions of acreages of wheat, barley and canola on irrigated acres of farmland in the part of the eligible area.

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(1)Subject to subsection (2), the distance factor in respect of an applicant’s farmland shall be the number set out in column III of an item of the schedule for the station set out in column I of that item that is the closest station to both the centre of that farmland and the port set out in column II of that item.

(2)Where because of a natural barrier or the location of a transportation route, the closest station to an applicant’s farmland is not accessible, the Minister may substitute another station set out in column I of the schedule.

Interim Payment Factor

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(1)The interim payment factor for the part of the eligible area in which an applicant’s farmland is located shall not exceed but may be less than a factor calculated as follows:

(2)Where the interim payment factor referred to in subsection (1) contains a fraction, that fraction shall be expressed as a decimal fraction of 10 or more digits after the decimal point and

(a)the tenth and subsequent digits after the decimal point shall be dropped if the tenth digit is less than five; or

(b)the ninth digit after the decimal point shall be increased by one and the tenth and subsequent digits dropped if the tenth digit is five or greater than five.

Final Payment

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(1)The final payment in respect of an applicant’s farmland shall be calculated as follows:

(2)Where the final payment referred to in subsection (1) contains a fraction of a dollar, that fraction shall be expressed as a decimal fraction of three or more digits after the decimal point and

(a)the third and subsequent digits after the decimal point shall be dropped if the third digit is less than five; or

(b)the second digit after the decimal point shall be increased by one and the third and subsequent digits dropped if the third digit is five or greater than five.

Final Payment Factor

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(1)The final payment factor for the part of the eligible area in which an applicant’s farmland is located shall be calculated as follows:

(2)Where the final payment factor referred to in subsection (1) contains a fraction, that fraction shall be expressed as a decimal fraction of 10 or more digits after the decimal point and