Generally speaking, looking to case law, I have sometimes seen the term “peut“, and sometimes the term “doit“. And, as a rule, we would not even say “doit“, but rather “le ministre paie la province“. In my experience, we would usually see the expression “peut payer“. One rarely sees the imperative or directive form used in an act, even when the payment in question will imperatively be paid. I have always wondered why laws were drafted in this way.
On April 26th, 2007. See this statement in context.