Canadian Industrial Hemp Promotion-Research Agency

Summary#

This is a proposed proclamation to create the Canadian Industrial Hemp Promotion-Research Agency under the Farm Products Agencies Act. If approved, the Agency would be able to ask for a national levy (initially proposed at 0.5%) to pay for research and marketing for Canada’s hemp sector; the Canada Gazette notice invites comments within 30 days of publication (April 20, 2024).

What it does#

• Creates a national promotion-and-research body called the Canadian Industrial Hemp Promotion-Research Agency with a nine‑member board and a head office in Calgary.
• Lets the Agency develop a levies order and collect levies on interprovincial sales, imports and exports after approval by the Farm Products Council of Canada.
• Sets out that levies would be charged on the value of sales and imports of specified hemp products; the industry group that proposed this suggested an initial levy of 0.5%.
• Estimates initial levy revenue at about $200,000, with potential to grow to over $400,000 if production and prices increase.
• Authorizes the Agency to fund and run promotion campaigns and research projects to improve production, product quality and market access.
• Requires the Agency to submit annual budgets and business plans to the Farm Products Council of Canada and to be financially self‑sustaining.
• Would come into force on registration; an interim board must nominate the first directors within 3 months of proclamation.

Who's affected#

• Licensed hemp growers and producers across Canada — especially those who already sell hemp into interprovincial or export markets.
• Importers and buyers of primary and processed hemp products, who would be invoiced for the levy.
• Hemp processors, retailers and other parts of the supply chain that buy primary hemp products.
• Small hemp businesses (the government expects only a small financial impact on them).
• The voluntary industry group Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance and provincial governments — notably Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba (where most production currently occurs), and other provinces where hemp is growing like Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.
• It is not entirely clear from the notice how the levy would be collected inside each province until the Agency signs memoranda of understanding with provincial governments.

Why it matters#

• The levy would turn an industry’s voluntary “checkoff” into a formal national funding stream for research and marketing. That could pay for projects to improve yields, products, and export opportunities.
• At 0.5%, the levy is expected to be small and have a negligible effect on consumer prices, but it could still provide steady funding to help the sector grow.
• The Agency aims to make the Canadian hemp industry more competitive domestically and internationally and to support rural economic activity.
• This is a proposal, not law yet: the Farm Products Council of Canada already reviewed and recommended the idea, and stakeholders supported it in hearings (including a public hearing on January 29, 2019) and internal approvals (Minister approval on August 6, 2021), but final levies and rules require further steps and FPCC approval.