Special Areas Act

An Act to provide for assistance to areas of Canada requiring special measures to facilitate economic expansion and social adjustment Short title This Act may be cited as the Special Areas Act. Definition of "Minister" In this Act, Minister, in relation to any class of matters to which this Act extends in any province or region of a province, means such member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada as is designated by the Governor in Council as the Minister for the purposes of this Act in relation to that class of matters in that province or region of a province. Designation of special areas The Governor in Council, after consultation with the government of any province, may by order designate as a special area, for the period set out in the order, any area in that province that is determined to require, by reason of the exceptional inadequacy of opportunities for productive employment of the people of that area or of the region of which that area is a part, special measures to facilitate economic expansion and social adjustment. Plans for economic expansion The Minister shall in cooperation with other departments, boards and agencies of the Government of Canada, formulate plans for the economic expansion and social adjustment of special areas; and with the approval of the Governor in Council, provide for coordination in the implementation of those plans by departments, boards and agencies of the Government of Canada and carry out such parts of those plans as cannot suitably be undertaken by such other departments, boards and agencies. Cooperation and participation In formulating and carrying out plans under subsection (1), the Minister shall make provision for appropriate cooperation with the provinces in which special areas are located and for the participation of persons, voluntary groups, agencies and bodies in those special areas. Agreements in respect of plans The Minister may, in cooperation with any province, formulate a plan of economic expansion and social adjustment in a special area and, with the approval of the Governor in Council and subject to the regulations, enter into an agreement with that province for the joint carrying out of the plan. Prior approval of plan Notwithstanding subsection (1), detailed negotiation of any draft agreement under this section shall not be undertaken by or on behalf of the Minister unless the plan to which the draft agreement relates has first been approved by the Governor in Council. Provisions in agreements An agreement entered into pursuant to this section may be entered into with one or more provinces in respect of one or more special areas and shall provide for the use, where appropriate, of the services and facilities of other departments, boards and agencies of the Government of Canada; may provide for the payment by Canada to a province of contributions in respect of the costs of the programs and projects to which the agreement relates that are to be undertaken by the government of the province or any agency thereof or any of those programs or projects; and may provide that Canada and a province may procure the incorporation of one or more agencies or other bodies, to be jointly controlled by Canada and the province, for the purpose of undertaking or implementing programs or projects to which the agreement relates or any part of such programs or projects. Agreements in respect of works or facilities The Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council and subject to the regulations, enter into an agreement with any province providing for the payment by Canada to the province of a grant or loan in respect of a part of the capital cost of establishing, expanding or modernizing any work or facility for the economic expansion of a special area. Restriction No agreement shall be entered into pursuant to subsection (1) unless the Minister is satisfied that the establishment, expansion or modernization of the work or facility is essential to the successful implementation of a plan undertaken pursuant to section 4 or 5 and that assistance is required to enable the work or facility to be established, expanded or modernized. Agreements in respect of commercial undertakings Where the Minister is satisfied that the establishment, expansion or modernization of any commercial undertaking in a special area is essential to the successful implementation of a plan undertaken pursuant to section 4 or 5 and that special assistance is required to enable the undertaking to be established, expanded or modernized, the Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council and subject to the regulations, enter into an agreement with the person carrying on or proposing to carry on the commercial undertaking in the special area providing for the guarantee by Canada of payment of the principal or interest of any loan required to be obtained by that person to enable him to establish, expand or modernize the undertaking; the payment by Canada of a grant or loan in respect of a part of the capital cost of establishing, expanding or modernizing the undertaking; or the payment by Canada of a grant in respect of such part of the costs of bringing into commercial production and operating the new, expanded or modernized undertaking that are incurred within a period not exceeding three years from the date the new, expanded or modernized undertaking is first brought into operation as, in the opinion of the Minister, is attributable to factors associated with the location of the undertaking in the special area. Limitation on special assistance An agreement described in subsection (1) shall not provide for special assistance in any amount greater than the amount, as determined by the Minister, that is required to enable the person carrying on or proposing to carry on the commercial undertaking to which the agreement relates to establish, expand or modernize the undertaking in the special area. Approval of Governor in Council not required The approval of the Governor in Council is not required of an agreement described in subsection (1) where the amount of the special assistance provided under the agreement does not exceed such amount as is prescribed by regulation; or the special assistance provided under the agreement is for a commercial undertaking that comes within a class of commercial undertakings prescribed by regulation. Regulations The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the factors relating to inadequacy of opportunities for productive employment to be taken into account in determining whether an area, or the region of which an area is a part, requires special measures to facilitate economic expansion and social adjustment; defining, for the purposes of this Act, the expressions "work or facility for the economic expansion of a special area" and "commercial undertaking"; respecting the factors to be taken into account in determining the form and extent of any special assistance that may be provided in respect of any commercial undertaking pursuant to section 7; prescribing anything required by this Act to be prescribed by regulation; and generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act. Annual report The Minister shall cause to be laid before each House of Parliament, not later than the fifth sitting day of that House after January 31 next following the end of each fiscal year, a report on the administration of this Act for that fiscal year.