1993 Legislative Session: 2nd Session, 35th Parliament
FIRST READING


The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.


HONOURABLE GLEN CLARK
MINISTER OF FINANCE AND
CORPORATE RELATIONS

BILL 36 -- 1993

FINANCE AND CORPORATE RELATIONS STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 1993

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

 
Educational Institution Capital Finance Act

1 Section 6 of the Educational Institution Capital Finance Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 102, is amended by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) The members of the authority may, by resolution, delegate any of their powers or the powers of the authority under this section or section 8 to the chairman or secretary of the authority.

 
Financial Information Act

2 Section 5 of the Financial Information Act, S.B.C. 1985, c. 8, is repealed and the following substituted:

Directives

5 The Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations may issue directives

(a) providing for the form and manner of providing public access to financial information held by the government and any corporation, and

(b) respecting compliance by corporations with this Act.

3 Schedule 1 is amended by striking out "Workers Compensation Act".

4 Schedule 2 is amended

(a) by striking out "British Columbia Development Corporation" and "Expo 86", and

(b) by striking out "British Columbia Health Care Research Foundation" and substituting "British Columbia Health Research Foundation".

 
Home Purchase Assistance Act

5 Section 13 (2) of the Home Purchase Assistance Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 172, is repealed and the following substituted:

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the minister may issue and file with the Supreme Court a certificate where

(a) a mortgage given under section 9 is removed from the title of the mortgaged residence

(i) under or as a result of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or

(ii) as a result of any act or omission of any person, and

(b) the Crown has not received payment in full of the principal, interest, taxes, costs and expenses payable under the mortgage.

(2.1) A certificate referred to in subsection (2) shall state

(a) the amount that must be paid to the Crown under the mortgage in order to provide the Crown with payment in full of the amounts referred to in subsection (2) (b), and

(b) the name of each person liable to pay.

 
Hospital District Finance Act

6 Section 7 of the Hospital District Finance Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 179, is amended by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) The members of the authority may, by resolution, delegate any of their powers or the powers of the authority under this section or section 8 to the chairman or secretary of the authority.

 
Real Estate Act

7 Sections 1, 3 (2), 9, 11 (3), 14 (1), 15 (2), 17 (2), 23, 23X, 24, 30 (1), 31, 32, 33, 37 (1) and 50 (8) of the Real Estate Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 356, are amended by striking out "salesman" wherever it appears and substituting "salesperson".

8 Sections 3 (2) and 21 (1) are amended by striking out "salesman's" wherever it appears and substituting "salesperson's".

9 Sections 9 (1), 10, 13, 18.7 (1), 18.71 (1) and (2) and 44 are amended by striking out "salesmen" wherever it appears and substituting "salespersons".

10 Section 11 is amended

(a) by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:

(1) The Real Estate Council is continued comprising

(a) 3 salespersons,

(b) any combination of 14 agents, or agent's nominees, and

(c) 2 persons appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

(1.1) A person referred to in subsection (1) (a) or (b) shall be elected to the council in accordance with the regulations and this section and shall hold office for a prescribed term and after that until a successor takes office.

(1.2) A person appointed under subsection (1) (c) shall hold office for the term set out in the appointment. ,

(b) in subsection (3) by striking out "on the council" and substituting "under subsection (1) (a) and (b) on the council", and

(c) by repealing subsection (5) and substituting the following:

(5) Where a vacancy occurs on the council,

(a) if the vacancy occurs as a result of a representative referred to in subsection (3) ceasing to hold office for any reason or as a result of a district referred to in subsection (3) failing to elect a representative, the council may, from the district for which a representative is required, appoint a person qualifying for election to the council to hold office on the council until a successor is elected, or

(b) if the vacancy occurs as a result of a person appointed under subsection (1) (c) ceasing to hold office for any reason, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint a replacement member to hold office on the council for the term the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers appropriate.

 
School District Capital Finance Act

11 Section 7 of the School District Capital Finance Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 376, is amended by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) The members of the authority may, by resolution, delegate any of their powers or the powers of the authority under this section or section 8 to the chairman or secretary of the authority.

 
Social Service Tax Act

12 Section 1 of the Social Service Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 388, is amended by adding the following subsection:

(3) For the purposes of this Act, any of the following is proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that an individual resides in the Province:

(a) the receipt by the individual of a grant under section 2 of the Home Owner Grant Act;

(b) the receipt by a person of a grant in respect of the individual's residence and for the individual's benefit under section 3, 3.1 or 3.2 of the Home Owner Grant Act;

(c) the enrollment of the individual as a beneficiary under the medical services plan continued under the Medical and Health Care Services Act.

13 Section 2 (4.013) (a) is amended by striking out "5" and substituting "3".

14 Section 4 (1) (z.98) is amended by adding "drill bits and" before "prescribed explosive supplies,".

15 Section 12 (1) is amended by striking out "30" and substituting "15".

16 Section 17 is amended by renumbering the section as section 17 (1) and by adding the following subsection:

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) renders a lessee liable to pay a levy under section 2.4 on tangible personal property that is leased or that forms part of tangible personal property that is leased by the lessee.

17 Section 33 (1.1) is amended by striking out "17," and substituting "17 (1),".

 
Vancouver Stock Exchange Act

18 Section 3 (2) and (2.1) of the Vancouver Stock Exchange Act, S.B.C. 1907, c. 62, is repealed and the following substituted:

(2) The by-laws shall set, at a number not less than 6, the number of the Governors referred to in subsection (1) who shall be Public Governors.

(2.1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall appoint 6 of the Public Governors required under the by-laws and the remaining Public Governors, if any, required under the by-laws shall be elected by the other Governors.

(2.2) The term of office of a Public Governor appointed or elected under subsection (2.1) expires on

(a) the date of the second annual general meeting to follow the appointment or election if,

(i) in the case of a Public Governor appointed under subsection (2.1), a term of that length is specifically provided for in the appointment, or

(ii) in the case of a Public Governor elected under subsection (2.1), a term of that length is specifically provided for in the by-laws, or

(b) in any other case, the date of the first annual general meeting to follow the appointment or election.

(2.3) The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall ensure that, of the persons appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under subsection (2.1), one of the appointees is a member in good standing of the Law Society of British Columbia and one is a member in good standing of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia.

(2.4) A person who is or has been a Public Governor is eligible for reappointment or re-election for successive or additional terms but is not eligible to be a Public Governor for more than 6 years in total.

(2.5) A person is not qualified to be a Public Governor unless the person

(a) is, at the time of the person's appointment or election as a Public Governor, independent of the corporation and its members, and

(b) was independent of the corporation and its members throughout at least the 24 months immediately preceding that appointment or election.

(2.6) For the purposes of this section, independence is a question of fact but a person is not independent who is

(a) a person under the jurisdiction of the corporation within the meaning of section 2 (1.1),

(b) a member of the immediate family of a person referred to in paragraph (a), or

(c) a person who beneficially owns 5% or more of the outstanding voting shares of a person referred to in paragraph (a).

(2.7) For the purposes of subsection (2.6), the immediate family of a person referred to in subsection (2.6) (a) includes

(a) the person's spouse, parent and child, and

(b) any relative of the person or the person's spouse, who resides with the person.

(2.8) A Public Governor who becomes aware that he or she is not qualified to be a Public Governor shall

(a) if appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under subsection (2.1), promptly

(i) cease to be involved in any proceedings of the Board of Governors, and

(ii) advise the minister responsible for the administration of the Securities Act of the disqualification, or

(b) if elected by the Governors under subsection (2.1), promptly submit a resignation to the Board of Governors which resignation shall be effective on its receipt by the Board of Governors.

(2.9) Where a Public Governor contravenes this section, any interested party may apply to the court for an order that the Public Governor be removed from the Board of Governors on terms and conditions the court considers appropriate.

(2.91) If a Public Governor appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under subsection (2.1) ceases, for any reason, to be a Public Governor before the end of the term for which that person was appointed, the Lieutenant Governor in Council

(a) may appoint a replacement Public Governor to hold office for the unexpired portion of the term, and

(b) shall, if the replaced Public Governor was one of the Public Governors referred to in subsection (2.3), ensure that the replacement appointee meets the same qualification test that the replaced Public Governor had been required to meet in order to qualify under that subsection for appointment.

(2.92) If a Public Governor elected by the Governors under subsection (2.1) ceases, for any reason, to be a Public Governor before the end of the term for which that person was elected, the Governors may elect a replacement Public Governor to hold office for the unexpired portion of the term.

19 Section 5 is amended by adding "who are to be elected under this Act" after "the Governors".

Validation

20 (1) Every certificate issued by the minister under the Home Purchase Assistance Act on or after June 30, 1976 and filed in the Supreme Court or, if filed before July 1, 1990, in the Supreme Court or a County Court, has the same validity and effect as if the certificate had been issued by the minister and filed in the Supreme Court under section 13 of the Home Purchase Assistance Act as amended by this Act.

(2) Subsection (1) applies for all purposes, including, without limitation, for the purposes of

(a) any application, action, proceeding or matter commenced, pending or proceeding in respect of a certificate before a court or the Ombudsman, or

(b) any proceedings that have been or may be brought or taken on the certificate by or on behalf of the Crown to recover from the person named in the certificate the amount certified.

Inquiry

21 (1) Despite section 18 of the Inquiry Act,

(a) the Vancouver Stock Exchange shall, on demand by the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations, pay to the minister 85% of the costs and expenses incurred in connection with the inquiry referred to in Order in Council 638/93 up to such maximum amount as may be ordered by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and

(b) the minister may, despite section 9.1 (4) and (5) of the Securities Act, withdraw from the British Columbia Securities Commission special account established under section 9.1 (1) of the Securities Act the whole or any portion of that part of the costs and expenses that is not paid or payable by the Vancouver Stock Exchange under paragraph (a).

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) prevents the government from paying any or all of the costs and expenses incurred in connection with the inquiry out of the consolidated revenue fund under section 18 of the Inquiry Act before seeking recovery of those costs and expenses under subsection (1).

(3) Despite section 7 of the Vancouver Stock Exchange Act, the Vancouver Stock Exchange may, in order to raise some or all of the money that it is obliged to pay under subsection (1), impose a levy on

(a) persons under the jurisdiction of the corporation as that term is defined in section 2 (1.1) of the Vancouver Stock Exchange Act, and

(b) corporations that have one or more of their securities listed for trading on the exchange.

(4) The Vancouver Stock Exchange may impose a levy under subsection (3) on one or more persons or classes of persons that differs from the levies imposed on other persons or classes of persons under that subsection.

Commencement

22 (1) Sections 7 to 10, 18 and 19 come into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

(2) Section 21 shall be deemed to have come into force on May 13, 1993 and is retroactive to the extent necessary to give it effect on and after that date.

 
Explanatory Notes

 
Educational Institution Capital Finance Act

SECTION 1: allows the authority to delegate borrowing powers to the Minister or Deputy Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations.

 
Financial Information Act

SECTION 2: broadens the power of Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations to issue directives for the purpose of the Financial Information Act.

SECTION 3: removes the reference in Schedule 1 to Workers Compensation Act. In February, 1993, a reference to the Workers' Compensation Board was added by regulation to Schedule 2 of the Financial Information Act.

SECTION 4: British Columbia Development Corporation now has no assets or liabilities. Expo 86, the body incorporated for the exposition held in Vancouver in 1986, has since been dissolved. There has been a name change to "British Columbia Health Research Foundation".

 
Home Purchase Assistance Act

SECTION 5: clarifies the circumstances under which the minister was and is able to issue and file with the court a certificate under section 13 of the Home Purchase Assistance Act or its predecessor section, section 11 of the Home Purchase Assistance Act, S.B.C 1976, c. 20.

 
Hospital District Finance Act

SECTION 6: allows the authority to delegate borrowing powers to the Minister or Deputy Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations.

 
Real Estate Act

SECTIONS 7, 8 and 9: replace references in the Real Estate Act to salesmen with references to salespersons.

SECTION 10: provides for 2 lay people to be appointed to the Real Estate Council by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

 
School District Capital Finance Act

SECTION 11: allows the authority to delegate borrowing powers to the Minister or Deputy Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations.

 
Social Service Tax Act

SECTION 12: clarifies that, for the purposes of the Social Service Tax Act, a resident of the Province includes a person for whose residence a home owner grant has been received and a person who is a beneficiary under the Medical and Health Care Services Act.

SECTION 13: harmonizes the time period specified in this section with other provisions of the Social Service Tax Act relative to tax on aircraft and aircraft parts.

SECTION 14: clarifies that drill bits are to be exempted in addition to the exemption provided for explosive supplies.

SECTION 15: reduces the period for the payment of estimated assessments from 30 days to 15 days.

SECTION 16: clarifies that lessees are not liable to pay levies imposed under section 2.4 of the Social Service Tax Act.

SECTION 17: harmonizes the wording of section 33 of the Social Service Tax Act with the proposed amendments to section 17 of that Act.

 
Vancouver Stock Exchange Act

SECTION 18:

SECTION 19: harmonizes the wording of section 5 of the Vancouver Stock Exchange Act with the amendments proposed to that Act by section 18 of this Bill.

SECTION 20: provides that every certificate issued and filed under the Home Purchase Assistance Act has the same validity and effect as if issued and filed under section 13 of that Act as amended by section 5 of this Bill.

SECTION 21: establishes the basis on which funding for the inquiry referred to in Order in Council 638/93 is to be provided.


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