Industrial and Regional Development Act

An Act to provide for financial assistance for industrial development in all regions of Canada Short title This Act may be cited as the Industrial and Regional Development Act. Definitions In this Act, approved lender means an approved lender as defined by the regulations; (prêteur agréé) commercial operation means a commercial operation as defined by the regulations and includes such class of operations within the service industry as are designated by the Minister pursuant to subsection 7(2); (affaire commerciale) development index means the index that may be established pursuant to regulations made under paragraph 15(a); (indice de développement) district means a census division established by Statistics Canada for the purpose of tabulating and publishing census data; (district) eligible person means a person who carries on activities that support commercial operations and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes an economic, business or technological institute or centre, a municipal corporation or a municipal industrial development corporation; (personne admissible) 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; (ministre) prescribed means prescribed by regulations of the Governor in Council; (Version anglaise seulement) province does not include Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut. (province) Arrangement of districts into Tier Groups On or before July 1 of each year, the Minister shall, in accordance with subsection (2), arrange all districts into four groups, in this Act called Tier Groups. Limitation In arranging districts into Tier Groups, the Minister shall ensure that one Tier Group, called Tier Group IV, includes those districts, comprising not more than five per cent of the population of the provinces, that, as ranked under the development index, require the greatest assistance in creating opportunities for economic growth; one Tier Group, called Tier Group III, includes those districts, comprising not more than fifteen per cent of the population of the provinces, that, as ranked under the development index, require the greatest assistance, after those districts in Tier Group IV, in creating opportunities for economic growth, and Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut; one Tier Group, called Tier Group II, includes those districts, comprising not more than thirty per cent of the population of the provinces, that, as ranked under the development index, require the greatest assistance, after those districts in Tier Groups III and IV, in creating opportunities for economic growth; and one Tier Group, called Tier Group I, includes all districts in the provinces not included in Tier Group II, III or IV. Grants, contributions and loans in respect of projects of commercial operations Subject to this Act, on application therefor to the Minister by a commercial operation, the Minister may, in accordance with the regulations, make a grant, contribution or loan to the commercial operation in respect of a project carried out or to be carried out by the commercial operation for the purpose of establishing, expanding, modernizing or enhancing the productivity of the commercial operation; promoting the marketing of one or more products or services of the commercial operation; developing new or improved products or production processes of the commercial operation, or carrying on research in respect thereof; or restructuring the commercial operation so as to enable it to continue on a commercially viable basis. Guarantees in respect of commercial operations Subject to this Act, on application therefor to the Minister by a commercial operation, the Minister may, in accordance with the regulations, guarantee the repayment of any portion of the principal and interest owing on any loan made by an approved lender to the commercial operation in respect of a project carried out or to be carried out by the commercial operation for a purpose referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) to (d). Grants, contributions and loans to eligible persons Subject to this Act, on application therefor to the Minister by an eligible person, the Minister may, in accordance with the regulations, make a grant, contribution or loan to the eligible person, if the eligible person supports, directly or indirectly, commercial operations by carrying on activities that provide a framework for the establishment, modernization or expansion of a commercial operation; promoting the marketing of one or more products or services of commercial operations; carrying on research in respect of the development of new or improved products or production processes; or providing services, or engaging in other activities, of benefit to commercial operations. Guarantees in respect of eligible persons Subject to this Act, on application therefor to the Minister by an eligible person, the Minister may, in accordance with the regulations, guarantee the repayment of any portion of the principal and interest owing on any loan made by an approved lender to an eligible person if the eligible person supports, directly or indirectly, commercial operations in a manner described in paragraphs (1)(a) to (d). Terms and conditions in respect of projects of commercial operations Any grant, contribution or loan made, or any guarantee given, in respect of a project carried out or to be carried out by a commercial operation under section 4 shall be made or given in accordance with the terms and conditions prescribed in respect of the Tier Group that includes the district in which the project is carried out or is to be carried out. Terms and conditions in respect of eligible person Any grant, contribution or loan made to, or any guarantee given in respect of, an eligible person by virtue of his carrying on activities described in paragraph 5(1)(a) in respect of a commercial operation shall be made or given in accordance with the terms and conditions prescribed in respect of the Tier Group that includes the district in which the commercial operation is located. Where commercial operation in more than one district Where a project or a commercial operation is located in more than one district, it shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be located in such district as the Minister may determine. Designation of operations within the service industry The Minister may, by order, designate any class of operations within the service industry as commercial operations for the purposes of this Act. Where no contribution, loan, grant or guarantee permitted No contribution, loan or grant may be made to, or guarantee given in respect of, a commercial operation or an eligible person under this Act if, in the opinion of the Minister, it is probable that the project carried out or to be carried out by the commercial operation or the activity of the eligible person by which the eligible person supports commercial operations would proceed or would continue in the actual or proposed location, within the actual or proposed scope and within the actual or proposed time, whether or not the grant, contribution or loan is made or the guarantee given; or the project or the activity will not or would not make a significant contribution to the economic or social benefit of Canada. Stock options Subject to the regulations, the Minister may acquire, exercise, assign or sell a stock option obtained as a condition under which a contribution or loan was made or guarantee given under this Act. Limitation on loans guaranteed The aggregate amount of guarantees given under this Act and insurance of loans provided for by subparagraph (a)(i) of Industry, Trade and Commerce Vote 1a of Appropriation Act No. 1, 1980-81, chapter 3 of the Statutes of Canada, 1980-81-82-83, as amended by paragraph (a) of Industry, Trade and Commerce Vote 1e of Appropriation Act No. 4, 1981-82, chapter 90 of the Statutes of Canada, 1980-81-82-83, that are outstanding at any one time shall not exceed one billion two hundred million dollars. Recovery of contributions Where a contribution is made to a commercial operation or an eligible person under this Act and for any reason the commercial operation or eligible person is not entitled to the contribution, the amount of the contribution exceeds the amount to which the commercial operation or eligible person is entitled, or a term or condition to which the contribution is subject has not been met or has been contravened, the amount of the contribution or excess, as the case may be, together with interest determined as prescribed and computed from the date the contribution is made, is a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered as such from the commercial operation or eligible person in any court of competent jurisdiction. No recovery in certain cases Where a circumstance referred to in paragraph (1)(a), (b) or (c) occurs in respect of a contribution made to a commercial operation or an eligible person under this Act and the Minister has, under such conditions as are prescribed, advised the commercial operation or eligible person in writing that the amount of the contribution will not be recovered from the commercial operation or eligible person in that circumstance, subsection (1) shall, effective on the date the circumstance occurred, cease to apply in respect of the contribution. Offence and punishment Every one who, under this Act, submits any information or documentation, makes any statement or answers any question, whether in connection with an application for a grant, contribution, loan or guarantee or otherwise, knowing that the information, documentation, statement or answer is false or misleading or misrepresents or fails to disclose a material fact, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both; or on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both. Boards may be established The Minister may establish boards to advise him with regard to the administration of this Act. Remuneration and expenses Each member of a board established under subsection (1) is entitled to be paid, for each day that the member performs duties under this Act, such remuneration as is fixed by the Governor in Council and reasonable travel and other expenses incurred by him while absent from his ordinary place of residence in the course of those duties. Powers, duties and functions A board established under subsection (1) may exercise such powers and perform such duties and functions as may be prescribed. Report to Parliament The Minister shall cause to be laid before each House of Parliament, not later than June 1 next following the end of each fiscal year, or, if Parliament is not then sitting, on the first day thereafter that Parliament is sitting, a report respecting the administration of this Act for that fiscal year to the extent that information is available at the end of that fiscal year. Reference of report to Committee Every report laid before Parliament under this section stands permanently referred to any Committee of Parliament designated or established for the purpose of reviewing matters relating to regional and industrial expansion. Regulations The Governor in Council may make regulations providing the method of establishing a development index, which would include a ranking for each district in a province having regard, with respect to each district, to the per capita level of income in the district, the level of employment in the district and the capacity of the province in which the district is located to raise revenue; defining, for the purposes of this Act, the expressions “commercial operation” and “approved lender”; determining the scope of any of the activities referred to in paragraphs 4(1)(a) to (d) or 5(1)(a) to (d); prescribing, generally or with respect to each Tier Group, terms on which and conditions under which grants, contributions and loans may be made or guarantees given pursuant to this Act; establishing the method of calculating the maximum amount, generally or with respect to each Tier Group, of a grant, contribution or loan that may be made or guarantee that may be given under this Act; prescribing, generally or with respect to each Tier Group, the type of costs and activities in respect of which a grant, contribution or loan may be made or guarantee given under this Act; specifying the circumstances in which and the manner in which the Minister may acquire, exercise, assign or sell a stock option obtained as a condition under which a contribution or loan was made or guarantee given under this Act; prescribing anything that by this Act is to be prescribed; and generally, for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act. Expiration No grant, contribution, loan or guarantee may be made under this Act if the application therefor is received after June 30, 1988.