Vol. 145, No. 7 — March 30, 2011

Registration

SOR/2011-66 March 10, 2011

BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION ACT, 2009

ARCHIVED — Order Extending Export Development Canada’s Temporary Domestic Powers

P.C. 2011-397 March 10, 2011

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, pursuant to subsection 263(2) of the Budget Implementation Act, 2009 (see footnote a), hereby extends the period referred to in subsection 263(1) of that Act to March 12, 2012.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Order.)

Issue and objectives

As part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan in 2009, the Government provided Export Development Canada (EDC) with temporary flexibilities in order to fill gaps in business credit availability. Through the Budget Implementation Act of 2009, the Export Development Act was amended for a two-year period to include domestic activities in EDC’s mandate and the regulations governing its domestic financing and insurance activities were suspended. EDC implemented this new mandate in partnership with the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and private sector lenders through the Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP). These temporary powers were set to expire on March 12, 2011.

The objective of the Order is to extend the temporary domestic powers currently available to EDC until March 12, 2012, pending a Government decision on EDC’s role in the domestic financing market.

Description and rationale

Pursuant to the Budget Implementation Act of 2009, the Governor in Council may, by order, extend the period of application of paragraph 10(1)(a) and subsection 10(1.01) of the Export Development Act. These provisions were put in place through the Budget Implementation Act of 2009 to enable EDC to support and develop, directly or indirectly, domestic trade and Canadian capacity to engage in that trade and to respond to domestic business opportunities in a manner that complements the products and services available from commercial financial institutions and commercial insurance providers. Paragraph 10(1)(a) and subsection 10(1.01) of the Export Development Act, which provide EDC with temporary powers to provide domestic financing support, were set to expire on March 12, 2011.

The extension of such temporary powers until March 12, 2012, will facilitate support available to Canadian business by maintaining the additional flexibility for EDC to fill potential gaps in the domestic market in a complementary manner to other financial institutions. The extension will also provide the Government with time to come to a decision on EDC’s appropriate role in the domestic financing market while ensuring that Canadian business continue to have access to credit. Failure to extend the temporary powers could limit EDC’s ability to support some exporters in certain circumstances where private sources of credit are scarce. There are no costs associated with this Order.

Consultation

The Department of Finance, in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, conducted stakeholder consultations in the fall of 2010 to seek views on EDC’s domestic financing powers. Stakeholders expressed a broad range of views on the appropriate role of EDC in the domestic market.

Contact

Philippe Hall
Chief
International Finance Section
International and Finance Branch
Department of Finance Canada
Telephone: 613-995-5564

Footnote a
S.C. 2009, c. 2