2001 Legislative Session: 5th Session, 36th Parliament
THIRD READING
The following electronic version is for informational
purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
Certified correct as passed Third Reading on the 5th day of
April, 2001
Ian D. Izard, Law Clerk
HONOURABLE GRAEME BOWBRICK
ATTORNEY GENERAL AND MINISTER
RESPONSIBLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:
1 Section 1 of the Provincial Court Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 379, is amended by adding the following definition:
"judicial justice" means a justice designated as a judicial justice under section 30.1; .
2 Sections 11 (1) (a), (b) and (c), (2), (3), (4) (b) and (5), 23, 24 (1), (2) and (4), 26, 27 (3) and (5), 28 and 29 are amended by striking out "judge, justice or court referee" wherever it appears and substituting "judge or justice".
3 Sections 11 (1), 22 (a) and (b) and 42 are amended by striking out "judges, justices and court referees" wherever it appears and substituting "judges and justices".
4 Section 13 (7) is repealed and the following substituted:
(7) None of the individuals appointed to a committee may be a judge or judicial justice, a retired judge or judicial justice or a person employed in the public service or by a Crown corporation.
5 The following section is added:
15.1 (1) Subject to subsection (5), a judicial justice is entitled to annual vacation leave equivalent to the greater of
(a) 22 working days, or
(b) the number of working days prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
(2) The annual vacation must be scheduled by the chief judge.
(3) The chief judge may in special circumstances grant a judicial justice leave of absence from duties for more than the maximum annual vacation under subsection (1), at a salary, if any, that the chief judge determines.
(4) If the chief judge believes that a judicial justice who has not been granted a leave of absence under subsection (3) has been absent for more than the maximum annual vacation under subsection (1), the chief judge must report the absence to the Attorney General.
(5) A judicial justice designated by section 30.1 (3) is entitled to annual vacation leave equivalent to the greater of
(a) the maximum annual vacation provided under subsection (1) of this section, or
(b) the annual vacation leave to which the judicial justice is entitled for 2001.
6 Section 16 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "for judges." and substituting "for judges or judicial justices.", and
(b) in subsection (3) by striking out "A judge" and substituting "A judge or judicial justice".
7 Section 18 is amended by striking out "judge" wherever it appears and substituting "judge or judicial justice".
8 Section 30 (3) is repealed and the following substituted:
(3) Judges of the Provincial Court, Supreme Court and Court of Appeal are justices of the peace.
9 The following section is added:
30.1 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the council, designate a justice appointed under section 30 as a judicial justice.
(2) Subject to this Act, a judicial justice holds office during good behaviour.
(3) Every justice who, immediately before this section comes into force, held an appointment as a court referee under section 35, as it read immediately before this section comes into force, is deemed to have been designated as a judicial justice under subsection (1) of this section.
10 Section 32 is repealed and the following substituted:
32 (1) After consulting with the chief judge, the Attorney General must determine the remuneration to be paid to a justice other than a judicial justice.
(2) A judicial justice must be paid, out of the consolidated revenue fund, a salary
(a) recommended by a report laid before the Legislative Assembly under section 32.1 (11), or
(b) if a resolution is passed by the Legislative Assembly under section 32.1 (12), set by the resolution.
(3) A recommendation referred to in subsection (2) (a) or a resolution referred to in subsection (2) (b) may set different salaries for different responsibilities.
(4) A judicial justice must be reimbursed for reasonable travelling and out of pocket expenses incurred by the judicial justice in discharging his or her duties.
(5) The Public Service Pension Plan applies to a judicial justice on the judicial justice delivering to the Public Service Pension Board of Trustees notice of that judicial justice's election to have the plan apply to that judicial justice.
(6) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may order that the Public Sector Pension Plans Act applies to a particular justice other than a judicial justice.
(7) A judicial justice who is designated under section 30.1 (3) and to whom the Public Service Pension Plan applied immediately before that section comes into force need not give notice under subsection (5) of this section to have the Public Service Pension Plan continue to apply and, for this purpose, the Public Service Pension Plan continues to apply to that judicial justice.
32.1 (1) In this section, "committee" means a Judicial Justice Compensation Committee formed under subsection (2).
(2) On or before January 1, 2002 and on or before January 1 in every third year after that, 3 individuals must be appointed, in accordance with subsections (3) to (5), to form a committee to be known as the Judicial Justice Compensation Committee.
(3) The Attorney General must appoint one individual to each committee.
(4) The chief judge, after consulting with the Provincial Court of British Columbia Sitting Justices of the Peace Association, must appoint one individual to each committee.
(5) The 2 appointees to a committee must appoint one other individual to the committee to chair that committee.
(6) An individual appointed to one committee may be reappointed to a subsequent committee.
(7) None of the individuals appointed to a committee may be a judge or judicial justice, a retired judge or judicial justice or a person employed in the public service or by a Crown corporation.
(8) Not later than April 30 following its appointment, the committee must
(a) report to the Attorney General on all matters respecting the remuneration, allowances and benefits of judicial justices, and
(b) make recommendations with respect to those matters for the year in which the recommendations are made and for each of the 2 subsequent years.
(9) In preparing its report and making its recommendations, the committee must consider all of the following:
(a) the current financial position of the government;
(b) the need to provide reasonable compensation to judicial justices;
(c) the need to attract qualified applicants;
(d) the nature of the duties and functions of judicial justices;
(e) the laws of British Columbia;
(f) any other matter the committee considers relevant.
(10) Before preparing its report and recommendations, the committee may
(a) write and receive submissions,
(b) hold hearings in the manner the committee may decide, and
(c) with the approval of the Attorney General, engage and retain consultants the committee considers necessary.
(11) The Attorney General must lay the report and recommendations of the committee before the Legislative Assembly, and must advise the Legislative Assembly about the effect of subsection (13),
(a) if the Legislative Assembly is sitting at the date that the Attorney General receives the report, within 14 days after the date of its receipt, or
(b) if the Legislative Assembly is not then sitting or ceases to sit within 14 days after the date of the report's receipt, within 14 days after the opening of the next session.
(12) The Legislative Assembly may, by a resolution passed within 21 sitting days after the date on which the report and recommendations are laid before the Legislative Assembly under subsection (11),
(a) resolve to reject one or more of the recommendations made in the report as being unfair or unreasonable, and
(b) set the remuneration, allowances or benefits that are to be substituted for the remuneration, allowances or benefits proposed by the rejected recommendations.
(13) If a recommendation is not rejected by the Legislative Assembly within the time limited by subsection (12), judicial justices are entitled to receive the remuneration, allowances and benefits proposed by that recommendation beginning on January 1 of the year in respect of which the recommendation was made.
(14) If the Legislative Assembly does resolve to reject a recommendation under subsection (12) (a), judicial justices are, in respect of that recommendation, entitled to receive the remuneration, allowances and benefits specified by the resolution under subsection (12) (b) beginning on January 1 of the year in respect of which the recommendation was made.
(15) The members of the committee must be reimbursed for travelling expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred in the discharge of their duties, and, in addition, may be paid remuneration specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
(16) If a resolution referred to in subsection (12) or a recommendation referred to in subsection (13) conflicts with a provision of this Act, the resolution or recommendation prevails over that provision to the extent of the conflict.
(17) In addition to making recommendations referred to in subsection (8) (b), the committee that is appointed on or before January 1, 2002 must make recommendations with respect to the matters described in subsection (8) (a) for the year beginning January 1, 2001.
11 Section 33 is amended by adding the following subsection:
(4) A justice may resign by submitting a written resignation to the Attorney General stating the effective date of the resignation and the resignation becomes effective on that date.
12 Sections 35 to 40 are repealed.
13 The Supplement to the Provincial Court Act is repealed.
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