Canadian Commercial Corporation Act

An Act to establish the Canadian Commercial Corporation Short title This Act may be cited as the Canadian Commercial Corporation Act. Definitions In this Act, Board means the Chairperson, the President and the other directors of the Corporation; (conseil) by-law means a by-law made under section 6; (règlement administratif) Corporation means the Canadian Commercial Corporation established by section 3; (Société) Minister 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. (ministre) President[Repealed, 2002, c. 4, s. 1] Corporation established There is hereby established a corporation to be known as the Canadian Commercial Corporation consisting of a Chairperson, a President and not more than nine or less than five other directors. Appointment of Chairperson and President The Chairperson and the President shall be appointed by the Governor in Council to hold office during pleasure for any term that the Governor in Council considers appropriate. Remuneration of Chairperson and President The remuneration of the Chairperson and the President, if they are not members of the federal public administration, shall be fixed by the Governor in Council and paid by the Corporation. Appointment of directors Each director of the Corporation, other than the Chairperson and the President, shall be appointed by the Minister, with the approval of the Governor in Council, to hold office during pleasure for a term not exceeding four years that will ensure, as far as possible, the expiry in any one year of the terms of office of not more than one half of the directors. Duties of Chairperson The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Board and shall perform any other duties that are assigned by the by-laws or by resolution of the Board. Absence of Chairperson If the Chairperson is absent from a meeting, the directors that are present at the meeting shall choose a director to preside at it. For that purpose, the director has all the powers and duties of the Chairperson. Duties of President The President is the chief executive officer of the Corporation and has on behalf of the Board the direction and management of the business of the Corporation. The President shall perform any other duties that are assigned by the by-laws or by resolution of the Board. Absence or incapacity of President If the President is absent or unable to act or the office of President is vacant, the Board may appoint a director or an officer of the Corporation to act as President and shall fix the remuneration and terms and conditions of the appointment. No person may be appointed for a term of more than 90 days without the approval of the Governor in Council. Agent of Her Majesty The Corporation is for all its purposes an agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada. Head office, branches The head office of the Corporation shall be in Ottawa and the Corporation may establish such branch offices, either inside or outside Canada, as it deems necessary to carry out this Act. Office accommodation, etc. The Corporation may provide office accommodation, supplies and equipment for the Board and persons employed under this Act. By-laws The Corporation may make such by-laws as it may deem necessary to carry out this Act. Corporation to act by resolution The Corporation shall act by resolution of the Board. Meetings of Board The Board shall meet as required by by-law, or on reasonable notice given by the President or any two directors of the Corporation at such convenient place as may be specified in the notice. [Repealed, 2002, c. 4, s. 3] Quorum Three members of the Board constitute a quorum. Employment of officers and employees The Corporation may employ such officers or employees as it deems necessary to carry out this Act and may determine their conditions of employment and their remuneration. Corporation pays remuneration The remuneration determined under subsection (1) shall be paid by the Corporation. Control and supervision The Corporation has, under the Minister, the control and supervision of the officers and employees employed under this Act. Purposes The Corporation is established for the following purposes: to assist in the development of trade between Canada and other nations; to assist persons in Canada to obtain goods and commodities from outside Canada, and to dispose of goods and commodities that are available for export from Canada; to exercise or perform, on behalf and under the direction of the Minister, any powers or functions vested in the Minister by any other Act that authorizes the Minister to employ the Corporation to exercise or perform them; and to exercise or perform any other powers or functions conferred on it by any other Act or for the exercise or performance of which it may be employed under any other Act. Directions The Corporation shall comply with any general or special direction given by the Minister with reference to carrying out its purposes. Idem Subsections 89(2) to (6) and section 153 of the Financial Administration Act apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to a direction given under subsection (2) as though it were a directive referred to in those provisions. Powers The Corporation may do such things as it deems expedient for, or conducive to, the attainment of the purposes set out in section 9, and, for greater certainty, but not so as to restrict the generality of the foregoing, the Corporation may carry on the business of importing goods or commodities into Canada; and exporting goods or commodities from Canada, either as principal or as agent, in such manner and to such extent as it deems advisable to achieve those purposes. Generality not restricted The generality of subsection (1) is not restricted by any provision of this Act other than section 9. Grants and advances to Corporation The Minister of Finance shall, on the request of the Minister, from time to time deposit to the credit of the Corporation in the Bank of Canada or in a bank designated by the Minister an amount or amounts not exceeding in the aggregate ten million dollars to be paid out of unappropriated moneys in the Consolidated Revenue Fund at any time while this Act is in force; and any other advances or grants to the Corporation that are otherwise authorized to be made by Parliament from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. Borrowing power The Corporation may borrow moneys from the Consolidated Revenue Fund or any other source for any purpose for which the Corporation was established, but the total amount outstanding on all of those loans at any time shall not exceed $90 million or any greater amount that may be specified in an appropriation Act. Loans to the Corporation The Minister of Finance may lend moneys from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to the Corporation on any terms and conditions that the Minister of Finance may determine. Corporation to retain moneys Subject to repayment of the loans made under subsection (2), the Corporation shall retain, for the purposes of this Act, all moneys received by it in the course of its business. Charges The Corporation may charge any amount that it considers appropriate for providing services to a person, department or agency, including an amount to cover the risk of any loss that the Corporation may incur as a result of a default or failure by that person, department or agency in respect of a transaction entered into with any of them. Administration of moneys All moneys that are placed to its credit under this section and all moneys received by it in the course of its business shall be administered by the Corporation exclusively in furtherance of the purposes for which it is constituted. Excess moneys Notwithstanding section 11, the Corporation shall, if the Minister so directs, pay to the Receiver General any part of the moneys administered by it that the Minister considers to be in excess of the amount required for the purposes of this Act. Return of excess moneys The Minister of Finance shall, on the request of the Minister, from time to time deposit to the credit of the Corporation in the Bank of Canada or in a bank designated by the Minister, out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, all or any part of the moneys paid to the Receiver General under subsection (1), if in the opinion of the Minister such moneys are again required for the purposes of this Act. Auditor The Auditor General of Canada is the auditor of the Corporation. Former employee Where a person who was an employee in the public service immediately before that person’s employment under this Act is retired from employment under this Act, that person may, in accordance with the Public Service Employment Act, be assigned to a position in the public service of the class from which that person was so retired or for which that person is qualified. Employee benefits continued A person employed under this Act, who immediately prior to that employment held a position in the public service or was an employee within the meaning of the Public Service Employment Act, continues to retain and is eligible for all the benefits, except salary as an employee in the public service, that that person would have been eligible to receive had that person remained an employee in the public service.