T-7.1, r. 3 - Regulation respecting public blueberry fields

Updated to 12 December 2023

This document has official status.

chapter T-7.1, r. 3

Regulation respecting public blueberry fields

Act respecting agricultural lands in the domain of the State

(chapter T-7.1, ss. 9 and 47).

DIVISION I APPLICATION

1. This Regulation applies to the leasing of ungranted land within the meaning of section 1 of the Act respecting agricultural lands in the domain of the State (chapter T-7.1) designated by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for blueberry production.

O.C. 672-92, s. 1.

2. The Minister shall designate for blueberry production land that is suitable for that production and shall thus constitute public blueberry fields from land referred to in section 1 and identified as such in the register referred to in section 4 of the Act.

O.C. 672-92, s. 2.

DIVISION II CONDITIONS FOR LEASING BLUEBERRY FIELDS

3. The Minister may lease a blueberry field to any person who submits an application and who fulfills the conditions provided for in this Regulation.

O.C. 672-92, s. 3.

4. An application for a lease shall be submitted to the Minister in writing and be accompanied by the fees provided for in the Regulation respecting administration fees payable under the Act respecting agricultural lands in the domain of the State (chapter T-7.1, r. 5).

O.C. 672-92, s. 4.

5. In order to submit an application for a lease, a natural person shall be domiciled in Québec.

O.C. 672-92, s. 5.

6. In order to submit an application for a lease, a legal person with share capital shall:

(1)  have its head office and principal establishment in Québec;

(2)  not be controlled directly or indirectly by one or more persons who are not domiciled in Québec or whose head office and principal establishment are not in Québec;

(3)  have share capital of which more than 50% of the number and value of the voting shares issued are held by one or more persons who are domiciled in Québec or who have their head office and principal establishment in Québec.

O.C. 672-92, s. 6.

7. In order to submit an application for a lease, a partnership within the meaning of the Civil Code shall:

(1)  have its principal establishment in Québec;

(2)  have more than half of its membership composed of persons who are domiciled in Québec or who have their head office and principal establishment in Québec and who own a greater than 50% interest in the aggregate value of the property of the partnership.

O.C. 672-92, s. 7.

8. In order to submit an application for a lease, a cooperative shall:

(1)  have its head office and principal establishment in Québec;

(2)  have more than half of its membership composed of persons who are domiciled in Québec or who have their head office and principal establishment in Québec.

O.C. 672-92, s. 8.

9. Where an application for a lease is submitted jointly by persons or partnerships referred to in sections 5 to 8, they shall meet the conditions applicable to them under those provisions in order to submit such an application.

O.C. 672-92, s. 9.

10. Every lessee of a blueberry field shall undertake to direct or carry out the cultivation of blueberries personally or to have that cultivation directed or carried out by the directors or shareholders who have signed a shareholders’ agreement in the case of a legal person, by the partners in the case of a partnership or by the manager, the directors or the members in the case of a cooperative.

O.C. 672-92, s. 10.

11. A person who submits to the Minister an application for a lease shall show that he has the knowledge, technical expertise, means of production and financial resources necessary to ensure the efficient operation of the blueberry field and the orderly marketing of the harvest.

O.C. 672-92, s. 11.

12. Where a number of applications for a lease are submitted to the Minister for the same blueberry field, that field shall be leased to the person who, according to the criteria set out in section 11, is best able to farm the blueberry field efficiently.

Where those applications are submitted by persons who already lease blueberry fields, the Minister shall lease that blueberry field to the person who requires the greatest increase in land area to maximize the yield of his agricultural operation.

O.C. 672-92, s. 12.

13. The Minister shall take into account the criteria set out in section 11 in determining the area of a blueberry field to be leased.

O.C. 672-92, s. 13.

14. The minimum annual rent shall be $1 per ha for areas usable for blueberry fields and $4 per ha for areas usable for silvicultural purposes. No rent shall be payable for uncultivated or unproductive areas mentioned in the lease.

The rent set in accordance with the first paragraph shall be indexed on 1 April of each year on the basis of the rate of increase in the general Consumer Price Index for Canada for the period ending on 31 December of the preceding year, as determined by Statistics Canada under the Statistics Act.

The Minister shall inform the public of the annual indexing by means of a notice published in the Gazette officielle du Québec or by such other means as he considers appropriate.

Where blueberries are cultivated in new fields, the lessee shall pay an additional rent equal to 30% of the net selling price obtained on all apparent cubic metres of wood exceeding an average yield of 55 apparent m3 per ha.

The net selling price used in calculating the additional rent shall be the average price obtained during the same year for 1 species by the wood producers’ union of the region in question.

The average yield for a newly cultivated area shall be established by the Minister on the basis of a report produced by a forest engineer belonging to the Ordre des ingénieurs forestiers du Québec.

O.C. 672-92, s. 14.

15. The lease may be granted for a term of 5 to 20 years and may be renewed for the same term or for a different term under the conditions applicable to the leasing of public blueberry fields at the time of the renewal, if the lessee has fulfilled the conditions applicable to him.

Where the lease is granted for a period exceeding 5 years, the annual rent shall be reviewed at the end of each 5-year period and the minimum annual rent then applicable under section 14 shall be taken into account.

O.C. 672-92, s. 15.

16. Any transfer of a lease is subject to prior authorization from the Minister and is possible only where the transferee or transferees, including the heirs, meet the conditions set out in this Regulation.

O.C. 672-92, s. 16.

DIVISION III OBLIGATIONS OF THE LESSEE

17. Every person who submits an application for a lease shall undertake to:

(1)  be registered, for the term of the lease, with the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation in accordance with the Regulation respecting the registration of agricultural operations and the payment of property taxes and compensations (chapter M-14, r. 1);

(2)  operate the blueberry field in accordance with the technical standards and cultivation methods described in the guide entitled “Petits Fruits” by the Conseil des Productions végétales du Québec, published by the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation;

(3)  apply each year, in accordance with the rotation system established, each of the cultivation methods referred to in paragraph 2 in an area at least equal to 1/3 of the total usable area, and harvest and market the blueberries produced;

(4)  ensure the protection of the blueberry field and of the plants, produce and facilities that it contains;

(5)  establish with the Minister, before April 30 of each year, a cultivation plan for the current year;

(6)  provide the Minister, at his request, with a financial report for the blueberry field and with a report on the area under cultivation and on the yields obtained during the last year of production or during any other period indicated in that request;

(7)  submit to the Minister any improvement or construction project before carrying it out;

(8)  obtain at his own expense, where he wishes to lease land inaccessible by public highway, a right of way for the term of the lease over land not under the authority of the Minister.

O.C. 672-92, s. 17; O.C. 817-2007, s. 13.

18. Except in the case of an express derogation authorized by the Minister, all parts of a blueberry field that are usable for silvicultural purposes shall be placed under forest management for the duration of the lease by means of a woodlot management plan or as part of a program administered by a beneficiary of a forest areas management contract referred to in Division II of Chapter IV of Title I of the Forest Act (chapter F-4.1).

The management plan shall be sent to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and may not be changed without his authorization, it being deemed to be an integral part of the lease.

O.C. 672-92, s. 18.

19. The cost of registration at the Land Registry Office shall be borne by the lessee.

The cost of preparing and receiving the deed where leasing is by notarial act shall also be borne by the lessee.

O.C. 672-92, s. 19; S.Q. 2020, c. 17, s. 113.

20. Where part of a parcel of land is under lease, the lessee shall, where necessary, have that part surveyed and registered at his expense.

O.C. 672-92, s. 20.

DIVISION IV TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

21. A lease granted prior to 4 June 1992 and still in force on that date shall continue to be governed by the regulatory provisions applicable thereto when it was signed.

O.C. 672-92, s. 21.

22. (Omitted).

O.C. 672-92, s. 22.

23. (Amendment integrated into R.R.Q., 1981, c. T-8, r. 1)

O.C. 672-92, s. 23.

24. (Omitted).

O.C. 672-92, s. 24.

REFERENCES

O.C. 672-92, 1992 G.O. 2, 2674

O.C. 817-2007, 2007 G.O. 2, 2628

S.Q. 2020, c. 17, s. 113