294. The purpose of the irrevocable and unconditional letter of credit provided for in subparagraph 4 of the first paragraph of section 291, and of the security and guarantee contract provided for in subparagraph 5 of the first paragraph of that section is to guarantee payment of the cost of the work where the obligations of sections 101 to 115 of the Act are not met. The contract must have a term of at least 12 months and must include clauses providing the following conditions:(1) in the case of non-renewal, termination, revocation or cancellation, the guarantor must notify the Minister at least 60 days before the date fixed for the expiry, termination, revocation or cancellation of the guarantee;
(2) in the case of non-renewal, termination, revocation or cancellation, the guarantor remains responsible, where the obligations of sections 101 to 115 of the Act are not met, for the payment of the cost of the work involved for the permanent well or underground reservoir closure and site restoration carried out before the date of expiry, termination, non-renewal or revocation up to the amount covered by the letter of credit, the security or guarantee policy. That responsibility must hold until the issue of the declaration of satisfaction or the certificate of release provided for in sections 112 and 114 of the Act, unless the person in question has deposited an alternative guarantee or the guarantor has deposited the amount covered by the letter of credit, the security or guarantee policy in a trust that complies with this Regulation where the Minister of Finance and the guarantor are joint beneficiaries;
(3) where applicable, the obligation is solidary, with a waiver of the benefits of discussion and division;
(4) the guarantor consents to the Minister’s being able at any time after the sending of a notice of 60 days to make changes to the permanent well and underground reservoir closure and site restoration plan and waives pleading against the Minister any ground of defence pertaining to the content of the plan;
(5) where the second paragraph of section 111 of the Act applies, payment of the guarantee is exigible at the Minister’s request;
(6) in the case of dispute, the courts of Québec are the sole competent courts.