Agriculture and Rural Credit Act (amended)

BILL NO. 85

(as introduced)

3rd Session, 61st General Assembly
Nova Scotia
60 Elizabeth II, 2011

Government Bill

Agriculture and Rural Credit Act
(amended)

The Honourable John MacDonell
Minister of Agriculture

First Reading: November 8, 2011

(Explanatory Notes)

Second Reading: November 14, 2011

Third Reading: November 28, 2011 (LINK TO BILL AS PASSED)

Explanatory Notes

Clause 1 adds a definition for "agri-rural business" and updates the name of the Department.

Clause 2

(a) removes the five-member maximum on the number of persons serving on the Board;

(b) replaces the reference to a "member" of the Board with a "director";

(d) amends the requirement for a quorum from three members to two thirds of the serving directors.

Clause 3 clarifies that all officers, staff and employees report to the Minister.

Clause 4 adds duties and powers to the Board to enable it to

(a) make or guarantee loans relating to quota or farm dwellings;

(b) make loans to pay out or refinance third-party loans;

(d) acquire expropriated land to encourage agricultural development;

(e) deal with a greater variety of applications for agriculture-related purchases; and

(f) deal with loan applications or guarantees.

Clause 5 adds regulation-making power to require borrowers to obtain insurance.

Clause 6 provides that documents must be executed by designated and approved officers of the Board.

Clause 7 removes the deadline for annual reporting to assist the Board in coordinating the annual report with the preparation and production of other corporate reports thereby reducing duplication.

An Act to Amend Chapter 7
of the Revised Statutes, 1989,
the Agriculture and Rural Credit Act

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 Section 2 of Chapter 7 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Agriculture and Rural Credit Act, is amended by

(a) relettering clause (a) as (aa) and adding immediately preceding that clause the following clause:

(a) "agri-rural business" means a business that primarily produces or adds value to inputs to or outputs from farming operations;

(b) striking out "and Marketing" in the second line of clause (c); and

2 (1) Subsection 3(1) of Chapter 7 is repealed and the following subsections substituted:

(1) There shall be a corporation, to be called the Nova Scotia Farm Loan Board, consisting of such number of directors as the Governor in Council may from time to time determine.

(1A) Directors shall be appointed by the Governor in Council to hold office during pleasure for a term not exceeding five years.

(2) Subsection 3(2) of Chapter 7 is amended by striking out "members" in the second and in the third lines and substituting in each case "directors".

(3) Subsection 3(3) of Chapter 7 is repealed and the following subsection substituted:

(3) A director is eligible for re-appointment upon the expiration of the director's term of office, but is not eligible to be appointed to the Board for more than two consecutive terms.

(4) Subsection 3(4) of Chapter 7 is amended by striking out "members" in the first line and substituting "directors".

(5) Subsection 3(5) of Chapter 7 is amended by striking out "Three members" in the first line and substituting "Two thirds of the directors serving at any time".

3 Section 5 of Chapter 7 is amended by adding "and all such officers, staff and employees shall report to the Minister" immediately after "Board" in the last line.

4 Section 7 of Chapter 7, as amended by Chapter 24 of the Acts of 2004, is further amended by

(a) adding immediately after clause (a) the following clauses:

(aa) to make loans to, or guarantee loans of, a borrower for the purpose of acquiring quota or for acquiring, building or improving a farm dwelling;

(ab) to make loans to a borrower for the purpose of paying out or refinancing existing loans of that borrower;

(b) adding immediately after clause (b) the following clause:

(ba) to acquire, develop or improve real or personal property that is used or intended to be used in an agri-rural business;

(d) striking out ", agricultural machinery or equipment" in the second line of clause (h) and substituting "or agricultural personal property"; and

(e) adding immediately after clause (h) the following clause:

(ha) to approve or reject loan applications or loan guarantees upon such terms as the Board may determine.

5 Clause 8(l) of Chapter 7 is amended by adding "acquire and" immediately after "to".

6 Section 10 of Chapter 7 is amended by striking out "and on behalf of the Board under its corporate seal by the Chairman or Vice-chairman of the Board and the Secretary" in the last three lines and substituting "officers of the Board as designated by the directors of the Board and approved by the Deputy Minister of the Department".

7 Section 12 of Chapter 7 is amended by striking out ", not later than the thirty-first day of July in each year," in the first two lines.

This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2011 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created November 8, 2011. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.

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