Question Period Note: 2022–2023 AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD CANADA’S (AAFC) FEES REPORT

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Departments and agencies are required to produce an annual fees report and table it in Parliament. A fee is defined as an amount payable for the provision of a service, the use of a facility, the conferral by means of a license, permit, or other authorization, of a right or privilege. The report covers all fees including those subject to the SFA and exemptions.
Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) prescribed the format of the report and requires totals for:
i. fees set by contract, and
ii. fees set by act, regulation or fees notice.

AAFC is reporting a total of $9,932,823 in fees collected in its report as follows:
i. fees set by contract (1 fee) $0
ii. fees set by act, regulation or fees notice (8 fees) $9,932,823

For ii. fees set by act, regulation or fees notice, the report provides detailed information on each fee. Some highlighted details include the 2022–23 fee amount, 2024–25 fee amount, service standards and performance results. AAFC reports the following 4 fee groupings under fees set by act, regulation or fees notice (covering 8 fees):
i) AgriStability Administrative Cost Share Fee (1 fee)
ii) Canadian Agricultural Loans Act (CALA) Registration Fee (1 fee)
iii) Canadian Pari-Mutuel Levy (1 fee)
iv) Research and Development Centre Facility Use and Personnel Fees (5 fees)

AAFC collected $1,058,152 more in fees set by act, regulation or fees notice compared to 2021–22 ($9,932,823 versus $8,874,671) which was mainly derived from the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Levy, which is applied to all bets made in Canada on horse racing. In 2022–23, betting increased and was close to reaching pre-pandemic activity levels.

AAFC met all service standards that are listed under the fees set by act, regulation or fees notice.

Fees charged under the Access to Information Act are subject to the SFA, however they are not included in departmental fees reports. Departments are to report these fees in their Annual Report on the Access to Information Act.
As per the SFA, the Research and Development Centre Facility Use and Personnel Fees are to be adjusted by the percentage change in the April 1 Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Canada. In April 2023, the CPI increased by 4.4% resulting in increases in the Research related fees for the 2024–25 fiscal year.
The 2022–2023 AAFC Fees Report indicates that for 2024–25, “the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Levy is unchanged and in 2023–24, AAFC is seeking an exemption by TBS pursuant to the amended SFA in order to be exempt from annually adjusting the levy in accordance with the Consumer Price Index as it is already adjusted for inflation”.

Departments must table their reports in both the House of Commons and the Senate by November 7, 2023. The President of the Treasury Board is also required to publish a report that consolidates all departmental reports by March 31, 2024.

• Like all departments, AAFC reports on any fees it collects from services it provides.
• The 2022–2023 AAFC Fees Report provides information for 9 fees.
• AAFC collected $9.9M in fees, primarily from the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Levy – an amount collected on bets to fund the regulatory regime for horse racing.