Alberta Pulse Growers Marketing Regulation

(Consolidated up to 48/2024) ALBERTA REGULATION 129/99 Marketing of Agricultural Products Act ALBERTA PULSE GROWERS MARKETING REGULATION Table of Contents 1 Interpretation 2 Service charges 3 Variation of service charges 4 Collection of service charges 5 Refund of service charges 6 Dealer ’ s licence required 7 Application for dealer ’ s licence 8 Granting of dealer ’ s licence 9 Authority of dealer ’ s licence 10 Disposal of dealer ’ s licence 11 Refusal to grant a dealer ’ s licence 12 Suspension or cancellation of dealer ’ s licence 13 Hearing 14 Report to Commission 15 Information 16 Inspection of records 17 Use of funds 18 Interest 19 Legal action 20 Transitional 21 Repeal 22 Expiry Interpretation 1 (1) In this Regulation, (a) “Act” means the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act ; (b) “Plan” means the Alberta Pulse Growers Marketing Plan Regulation . (2) Words that are defined in either the Act or the Plan have the same meaning when used in this Regulation. Service charges 2 A producer who sells any regulated product must pay to the Commission a service charge at the rate of 0.75% of the total sale price of the regulated product sold. AR 129/99 s2;187/2003;150/2018 Variation of service charges 3 The Commission may, from time to time, vary the service charge if the variation of the service charge is approved by the eligible producers at an annual Commission meeting or at a special Commission meeting called for that purpose. Collection of service charges 4 (1) All dealers must deduct the amount of the service charge from any proceeds payable to or on behalf of the producer where a dealer (a) purchases regulated product from a producer, or (b) acquires regulated product from a producer for sale on the producer’s behalf. (2) Any dealer who collects a service charge must, subject to any directions given by the Commission, pay the amount of the service charge to the Commission within 55 days from the end of the month within which the service charge was collected. (3) If a dealer fails (a) to deduct a service charge in respect of regulated product sold by or on behalf of a producer in accordance with subsection (1), and (b) to pay the service charge to the Commission in accordance with subsection (2), the dealer is liable to the Commission for the amount of the service charge. (4) Any person required to collect and pay to the Commission the service charge payable by a producer must, on payment of the service charge to the Commission, provide to the Commission, in respect of that producer, a summary detailing (a) the amount, value and grade of regulated product obtained from the producer, (b) the amount of service charge being paid on behalf of the producer, and (c) the name, address, telephone number and, if available, email address of the producer. (5) If a producer sells any regulated product to a person who is not a dealer, the producer must (a) directly pay to the Commission a service charge at the rate set in accordance with sections 2 and 3 of this Regulation, and (b) subject to any directions given by the Commission, pay the amount of the service charge to the Commission within 55 days from the end of the month within which the regulated product was sold. (6) Any producer required to directly pay a service charge to the Commission must, on payment of the service charge to the Commission, provide to the Commission a summary detailing (a) the amount, value and type of the regulated product sold by the producer, (b) the amount of service charge being paid by the producer, and (c) the name, address, telephone number and, if available, email address of the producer. AR 129/99 s4;363/2003;201/2007;167/2009;209/2019 Refund of service charges 5 (1) A service charge that is paid by or on behalf of a producer is refundable to the producer on request of the producer in accordance with this section. (2) A request for a refund of the service charge must (a) be made in writing on a form that is established by the Commission, and (b) contain the following information: (i) the producer’s name; (ii) the producer’s mailing address, telephone number, email address, if available, and producer identification number, if available; (iii) if the service charge was collected by a dealer, a copy of the original cash ticket showing the deduction of the service charge; (iv) if the service charge was collected directly from the producer, documentation stating the quantity of product sold, the total sale price and the amount of the service charge paid by the producer; (v) the legal description of the land where the pulse crop was grown; (vi) any other information in respect of the refund that is requested by the Commission. (3) A request for a refund must be received by the Commission at its office (a) prior to the end of August, for a service charge collected during the period commencing on the previous February 1 and ending on July 31, and (b) prior to the end of February, for a service charge collected during the period commencing on the previous August 1 and ending on January 31. (4) Subject to subsection (5), a request for a refund that does not comply with subsections (2) and (3) must not be considered by the Commission and the producer is not entitled to a refund in respect of the service charge in question. (5) The Commission may consider a request for a refund that does not comply with subsection (2) or (3) if the Commission is satisfied that extenuating circumstances exist that warrant it doing so and may (a) refund the service charge in question, or (b) refuse to refund the service charge in question. (6) The Commission must refund the service charge to the producer (a) within 90 days after the end of August, if the request complies with subsection (2) and was received in accordance with subsection (3)(a), (b) within 90 days after the end of February, if the request complies with subsection (2) and was received in accordance with subsection (3)(b), or (c) within 90 days after receipt of the request, if the request was considered, and the service charge is to be refunded, under subsection (5). AR 129/99 s5;363/2003;209/2019;48/2024 Dealer ’ s licence required 6 (1) No person shall carry on the business of a dealer in the regulated product unless that person is licensed as a dealer under this Regulation. (2) Repealed AR 363/2003 s4. AR 129/99 s6;363/2003 Application for dealer ’ s licence 7 (1) Any person who wishes to market or process the regulated product must apply for and obtain a dealer’s licence from the Commission. (2) An application under subsection (1) must be in a form prescribed by the Commission and include (a) the name, telephone number, mailing address and, if available, email address of the applicant, (b) the address of the applicant, if it is different from the mailing address, and (c) such other information as the Commission may require. AR 129/99 s7;363/2003;209/2019 Granting of dealer ’ s licence 8 (1) If the Commission is satisfied that a dealer’s licence should be granted to the applicant, the Commission must grant the applicant a dealer’s licence in a form prescribed by the Commission. (2) The Commission must grant a dealer’s licence in a form prescribed by the Commission to a dealer known to the Commission. AR 129/99 s8;363/2003 Authority of dealer ’ s licence 9 A dealer’s licence is authority for the dealer to receive, market or process the regulated product in accordance with this Regulation. Disposal of dealer ’ s licence 10 (1) A dealer’s licence becomes void when the dealer’s business is sold, transferred, assigned or otherwise disposed of. (2) A dealer shall notify the Commission if the business is sold, transferred, assigned or otherwise disposed of within 30 days of the sale, transfer, assignment or other disposal of the business. AR 129/99 s10;363/2003;107/2014 Refusal to grant a dealer ’ s licence 11 The Commission may refuse to grant a dealer’s licence (a) if it is satisfied that the applicant will not comply with the Act, the Plan, this or other regulations that apply to the applicant or orders or directions of the Council or the Commission, or (b) for any other lawful reason the Commission considers proper. Suspension or cancellation of dealer ’ s licence 12 The Commission may suspend or cancel a dealer’s licence if the Commission is of the opinion that a holder of a dealer’s licence has (a) failed to comply with the Act, the Plan or any regulation under the Act, or (b) failed to comply with any order or direction of the Council or the Commission. Hearing 13 (1) The Commission must give written notice of its decision to any person who is refused a licence or whose licence is suspended or cancelled, as the case may be. (2) Where a person receives a notice under subsection (1), that person may make application to the Commission for a hearing to show cause why the dealer’s licence should not be refused, suspended or cancelled, as the case may be. (3) Where the Commission receives an application under subsection (2), it must give notice to the person who made the application of the date, place and time that a hearing into the matter will be held. (4) At the hearing referred to in subsection (3), the person who made the application under subsection (2) must be given an opportunity (a) to show cause why a dealer’s licence should be granted, or (b) to show cause why that person’s dealer’s licence should not be suspended or cancelled, as the case may be. (5) Following a hearing under this section, the Commission must give written notice of its decision to the person in respect of whom the hearing was held. (6) A dealer who receives a notice of suspension or cancellation under this section must, on receipt of the notice, immediately cease receiving the regulated product. Report to Commission 14 (1) A dealer must record for each month (a) the total volume of regulated product purchased by the dealer from producers, (b) the total amount paid by the dealer to producers for that regulated product so purchased, and (c) the type of pulse. (2) When recording the type of pulse for each month, a dealer may also record the variety of the pulse purchased. (3) At the conclusion of each month, a dealer must report to the Commission the information recorded under subsections (1) and (2). AR 129/99 s14;209/2019 Information 15 The Commission may request from a producer or a dealer the following information: (a) the amount of regulated product grown by a producer or to which the producer is entitled under a crop share arrangement; (b) the amount of regulated product marketed or processed by a producer and the details of the marketing; (c) the amount of regulated product marketed or processed by a person and the manner in which it is marketed; (d) such other general information relating to production, marketing or processing of the regulated product that the Commission requires to carry out its purpose under the Act and the Plan. Inspection of records 16 (1) Where the Commission is of the opinion that circumstances warrant it, the Commission may request in writing that a dealer produce for the Commission’s inspection any record in the possession or under the control of the dealer that relates to the collection of service charges by the dealer. (2) Where a dealer receives a request in writing under subsection (1), the dealer must comply with the request in accordance with its terms. (3) A dealer must, when requested by the Commission, assist the Commission in the compilation of lists of eligible producers. AR 129/99 s16;209/2019 Use of funds 17 Any funds received by the Commission under the Plan must be used by the Commission for purposes of paying its expenses and administering the Plan and the regulations. Interest 18 Interest must be paid to the Commission by the dealer for any late payment of service charges at the rate of 1% per month calculated on the balance due. AR 129/99 s18;209/2019 Legal action 19 The Commission (a) may commence and maintain any legal action that is necessary to enforce the payment of service charges that are payable under the Plan and this Regulation, and (b) shall recover solicitor-client legal costs incurred with respect to an action described in clause (a). AR 129/99 s19;107/2014 Transitional 20 On the coming into force of this Regulation, a person who holds a licence under the Alberta Pulse Growers Marketing Regulation (AR 176/89) that comes within the definition of a licence under this Regulation continues to hold that licence under this Regulation. Repeal 21 The Alberta Pulse Growers Marketing Regulation (AR 176/89) is repealed. Expiry 22 For the purpose of ensuring that this Regulation is reviewed for ongoing relevancy and necessity, with the option that it may be repassed in its present or an amended form following a review, this Regulation expires on June 30, 2031. AR 129/99 s22;363/2003;167/2009;107/2014;47/2019; 209/2019;48/2024