Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
Marginal note: Short title
1 This Act may be cited as the Canada Revenue Agency Act .
Marginal note: Definitions
2 The definitions in this section apply in this Act.
means the Canada Revenue Agency continued by subsection 4(1). ( Agence )
means the Board of Management of the Agency established by section 14. ( conseil )
means the Commissioner of Revenue appointed under section 25. ( commissaire )
means the Minister of National Revenue, appointed to serve at pleasure by commission under the Great Seal. ( ministre )
means any other Act of Parliament or any instrument made under it, or any part of such an Act or instrument
Marginal note: Binding on Her Majesty
3 This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.
Marginal note: Continuation
Marginal note: Mandate
Marginal note: Powers, duties and functions of Minister
Marginal note: Designation of officers
7 The Minister may designate any person, or person within a class of persons, as an officer as defined in section 2 of the Excise Act or section 2 of the Excise Act, 2001 to exercise any powers or perform any duties and functions of an officer under those Acts that the Minister may specify.
Marginal note: Authorization to act on Minister’s behalf
Marginal note: Minister may direct on exercise of powers
9 The Minister may direct the Commissioner or any other person in the exercise of a power or the performance of a duty or function of the Minister that the Commissioner or the person is authorized to exercise or perform under subsection 8(1) or (4) or under the program legislation.
Marginal note: Direction from other federal ministers
10 If another federal minister authorizes the Commissioner or any other person employed or engaged by the Agency or who occupies a position of responsibility in the Agency to exercise a power or perform a duty or function, the Minister may, at the request of that federal minister, direct the person in the exercise of the power or performance of the duty or function.
Marginal note: Directions to the Agency
Marginal note: Compliance with directions
12 Every person who is directed by the Minister under section 9 or 10 or subsection 11(1) must comply with the direction.
Marginal note: Minister’s power of inquiry
13 The Minister may inquire into any activity of the Agency and has access to any information under the Agency’s control.
Marginal note: Establishment
14 There shall be a Board of Management of the Agency consisting of fifteen directors, including the Chair, the Commissioner, a director nominated by each province and one director nominated by the territories.
Marginal note: Appointment and tenure of directors
Marginal note: Qualifications of directors
Marginal note: Renewal of term
17 The Governor in Council may renew the term of office of a director, other than the Chair or the Commissioner, for a maximum of two further terms of not more than three years each, but in the case of a director nominated by a province or the territories, the nomination must first be renewed.
Marginal note: Continuation in office
18 If a director, other than the Chair or the Commissioner, is not appointed to take office on the expiry of the term of an incumbent director, the incumbent director may continue in office until a successor is appointed.
Marginal note: Part-time office
Marginal note: Expenses
20 The directors, other than the Commissioner, are entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses incurred by them in the course of performing their duties while absent from their ordinary place of residence.
Marginal note: Accident compensation
21 For the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and any regulation made under section 9 of the Aeronautics Act , the directors and the Deputy Commissioner appointed under subsection 26(1) are deemed to be employees in the federal public administration.
Marginal note: Appointment and tenure of Chair
22 The Chair of the Board must be appointed by the Governor in Council to hold office during pleasure for a term of not more than five years, which term may be renewed for one further term of not more than five years.
Marginal note: Incapacity or vacancy
23 In the event of the absence or incapacity of the Chair or a vacancy in that office, the Minister may appoint another director to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Chair, but no director may be so appointed for a term of more than sixty days without the approval of the Governor in Council.
Marginal note: Powers, duties and functions of Chair
24 The Chair must preside at meetings of the Board and exercise any powers and perform any duties and functions that are assigned by the by-laws of the Agency.
Marginal note: Appointment and tenure of Commissioner
25 The Commissioner of Revenue must be appointed by the Governor in Council to hold office during pleasure for a term of not more than five years, which term may be renewed for one or more further terms of not more than five years each.
Marginal note: Appointment and tenure of Deputy Commissioner
Marginal note: Incapacity or vacancy
27 In the event of the absence or incapacity of, or vacancy in the office of, the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner, the Minister may appoint an employee of the Agency to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Commissioner, but no employee may be so appointed for a term of more than sixty days without the approval of the Governor in Council.
Marginal note: Full-time office
Marginal note: Expenses
29 The Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner are entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses incurred by them in the course of performing their duties while absent from their ordinary place of work.
Marginal note: Matters over which Agency has authority
Marginal note: Role of the Board
Marginal note: By-laws
Marginal note: Advisory role
33 The Board may advise the Minister on matters that relate to the general administration and enforcement of the program legislation.
Marginal note: Limitation
34 The Board may not direct the Commissioner or any other person
Marginal note: Board’s access to information
35 Nothing in this Act authorizes the disclosure to the Board of information
Marginal note: Role of Commissioner
36 The Commissioner is the chief executive officer of the Agency and is responsible for the day-to-day management and direction of the Agency.
Marginal note: Authorization by Commissioner
Marginal note: Commissioner to keep Minister informed
Marginal note: Commissioner to keep departments informed
Marginal note: Commissioner to keep provinces informed
Marginal note: Reporting to provincial ministers
Marginal note: Duty of care
Marginal note: Disclosure of interest in contract
Marginal note: Avoidance standards
44 A material contract between the Agency and one or more of its directors or between the Agency and another person of which a director of the Agency is a director or an officer or in which the director has a material interest, is neither void nor voidable by reason only of that relationship or by reason only that a director with an interest in the contract is present at or is counted to determine the presence of a quorum at a meeting of the Board that authorized the contract, if
Marginal note: Application to court
Marginal note: Power to indemnify
Marginal note: Corporate business plan
Marginal note: Compliance with corporate business plan
48 The Agency must act in a manner consistent with its most recent corporate business plan and comply with any terms and conditions specified by the Treasury Board.
Marginal note: Summary of corporate business plan
Marginal note: Separate agency
50 The Agency is a separate agency under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act .
Marginal note: Human resources management
Marginal note: Group insurance and benefit programs
Marginal note: Appointment of employees
Marginal note: Staffing program
Marginal note: Mobility to departments
Marginal note: Public Service Commission reports
Marginal note: Political activities
57 Part 7 of the Public Service Employment Act applies to the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and employees of the Agency. For the purposes of that Part, the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner are deemed to be deputy heads as defined in subsection 2(1) of that Act and the employees of the Agency are deemed to be employees as defined in that subsection.
Marginal note: Negotiation of collective agreements
58 Before entering into collective bargaining with the bargaining agent for a bargaining unit composed of Agency employees, the Agency must have its negotiating mandate approved by the President of the Treasury Board.
Marginal note: Assessment of recourse
59 Following its third full year of operations and periodically after that, the Agency must have prepared, by a person or body other than the Agency, a director or an employee of the Agency, an assessment of the recourse that the Agency provides or administers in its management of human resources. The Agency must publish a summary of the assessment in its next annual report.
Marginal note: Unexpended appropriations
Marginal note: Contracts, agreements and arrangements
61 Subject to sections 63 and 65, the Agency may enter into contracts, agreements or other arrangements with governments, public or private organizations and agencies or any person in the name of Her Majesty in right of Canada or in its own name.
Marginal note: Contracts with Her Majesty
62 The Agency may enter into contracts, agreements or other arrangements with Her Majesty as if it were not an agent of Her Majesty.
Marginal note: Agreements to administer a tax
Marginal note: Agreements — organ donors
Marginal note: Interpretation
64 For greater certainty, nothing in this Act gives the Agency the power to enter into any agreement under Part III, III.1 or VII of the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act , or under the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act or the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act or to amend an agreement entered into under those Acts.
Marginal note: International contracts
65 The Agency may not enter into a contract, agreement or other arrangement, other than a contract for the procurement of goods and services by the Agency, with
Marginal note: Choice of service providers
66 Notwithstanding section 9 of the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act , the Agency may procure goods and services, other than legal services, from outside the federal public administration.
Marginal note: Legal services
Marginal note: Services by Public Service Commission
68 If the Agency requests it to do so, the Public Service Commission may, as a service to the Agency, perform any activity that the Commission is authorized to carry out under the Public Service Employment Act , and the Commission may recover its costs in providing the service.
Marginal note: Legal proceedings
69 Actions, suits or other legal proceedings in respect of any right or obligation acquired or incurred by the Agency, whether in its own name or in the name of Her Majesty in right of Canada, may be brought or taken by or against the Agency in the name of the Agency.
Marginal note: Assertions against third parties
70 Unless a person who deals with the Agency or with any person who has acquired rights from it knows that the facts asserted are true, the Agency may not assert against the person that
Marginal note: Intellectual property
71 The Agency may license, sell or otherwise make available any patent, copyright, industrial design, trademark or other similar property right that it holds or develops.
Marginal note: Inventions
72 Notwithstanding section 9 of the Public Servants Inventions Act , the administration and control of any invention made by an employee of the Agency and vested in Her Majesty by that Act and any patent issued with respect to the invention are vested in the Agency.
Marginal note: Definitions
73 The definitions in this section apply in this section and in sections 74 to 84.
means the right to use, manage, construct, maintain or repair real property and immovables. ( gestion )
means an immovable under the administration of the Agency. ( immeubles de l’Agence )
means real property under the administration of the Agency. ( biens réels de l’Agence )
has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Federal Real Property and Federal Immovables Act . ( immeuble )
has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Federal Real Property and Federal Immovables Act . ( permis )
has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Federal Real Property and Federal Immovables Act . ( biens réels )
Marginal note: Administration of real property and immovables
Marginal note: Acquisition and leasing of real property and immovables
Marginal note: Licences
76 The Agency may give, acquire, relinquish or accept the relinquishment of a licence.
Marginal note: Transfers to provinces
Marginal note: Grants and concessions
Marginal note: Signing instruments and acts
79 A licence, an instrument or an act granting, conceding or transferring Agency real property or Agency immovables, other than letters patent, must be signed by persons authorized to do so by the Agency.
Marginal note: Grants and concessions to Agency
80 The Agency may grant Agency real property, and may concede Agency immovables, to itself.
Marginal note: Utilities
Marginal note: Grants to municipalities
82 The Agency may make grants to a local municipality in an amount not greater than the taxes that might be levied by the municipality in respect of any Agency real property or Agency immovables if the Agency were not an agent of Her Majesty.
Marginal note: Consideration
83 Despite the Financial Administration Act , the amount of the rent or other consideration charged for the lease or easement of Agency real property, or the lease of or servitude over Agency immovables or a licence in respect of Agency real property or Agency immovables may be less than, equal to or more than the costs borne by Her Majesty in right of Canada in relation to the property.
Marginal note: Other provisions inapplicable
85 Section 61 of the Financial Administration Act and the Surplus Crown Assets Act do not apply to the Agency.
Marginal note: Expropriation
86 For the purposes of the Expropriation Act , the Minister is deemed to be a minister referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition in section 2 of that Act and the Agency is deemed to be a department named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act .
Marginal note: Audits
87 The Auditor General of Canada is the auditor for the Agency and must
Marginal note: Annual report
Marginal note: Review of Act after five years
89.1 For greater certainty, the Official Languages Act applies to the Agency and the Agency has the duty, under section 25 of that Act, to ensure that, where services are provided or made available by another person or organization on its behalf, any member of the public in Canada or elsewhere can communicate with and obtain those services from that person or organization in either official language, in any case where those services, if provided by the Agency, would be required under Part IV of that Act to be provided in either official language.
Marginal note: Powers, duties and functions
90 Any power, duty or function that, immediately before the coming into force of this section, was vested in the Deputy Minister of National Revenue or any employee under the Deputy Minister’s authority by virtue of an Act of Parliament or any instrument made under an Act of Parliament or under a contract, lease, licence or other document is transferred to the Commissioner or to the appropriate employee of the Agency, as the case may be.
Marginal note: Continuation of staff
Marginal note: Executive group
Marginal note: Term and other employees
93 On the coming into force of this section, every person employed in the Department of National Revenue who is not appointed for an indeterminate period continues as an employee of the Agency subject to the same terms and conditions of employment.
Marginal note: Continuation of positions
Marginal note: Employees on probation
Marginal note: Agency employees continued
96 On the coming into force of section 53, every employee who is deployed or appointed to the Agency under the Public Service Employment Act or transferred under sections 91 to 93 is deemed to have been appointed by the Agency and continues to be employed by the Agency with the same tenure of office.
Marginal note: Designated positions
97 A position that, immediately before the coming into force of this section, was a designated position in the Department of National Revenue, as that term is defined in section 2 of the Public Service Staff Relations Act , continues to be a designated position in the Agency until the first collective agreement is signed between the Agency and the appropriate bargaining agent.
Marginal note: Pending competitions and appointments
98 On the coming into force of section 53, a competition being conducted or an appointment being made under the Public Service Employment Act continues to be conducted or made as if that section had not come into force.
Marginal note: Eligibility lists
99 An eligibility list made under the Public Service Employment Act that is valid on the coming into force of section 53 continues to be valid for the period provided for by subsection 17(2) of that Act, but that period may not be extended.
Marginal note: Pending appeals
Marginal note: Pending grievances
Marginal note: Transfer of appropriations
102 Any amount appropriated, for the fiscal year in which this section comes into force, by an appropriation Act based on the Estimates for that year for defraying the charges and expenses of the public service of Canada within the Department of National Revenue, is an amount appropriated for defraying the charges and expenses of the Agency.
Marginal note: Rights and obligations transferred
Marginal note: Commencement of legal proceedings
Marginal note: Evidentiary presumption
105 Every affidavit sworn, or document purporting to be certified, by an officer of the Department of National Revenue before the day on which this section comes into force has the same probative value as if it were sworn or certified by an employee of the Agency on or after that day.
106 to 185.1 [Amendments]
186 [Repealed, 2005, c. 38, s. 52]
187 [Repeal]
Marginal note: Coming into force
Footnote * 188 This Act or any of its provisions comes into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.