1997 Legislative Session: 2nd Session, 36th Parliament
FIRST READING


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


HONOURABLE UJJAL DOSANJH
ATTORNEY GENERAL AND
MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR
MULTICULTURALISM,
HUMAN RIGHTS AND
IMMIGRATION

BILL 48 -- 1997

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATIONS ACT

Contents

Section  
1  Definitions
2  Designation of emergency communications corporation
3  Purposes of emergency communications corporation
4  Members and members' agreements
5  Special corporate rules
6  Corporation must hold transferred radio licences
7  Members must pay assessed rates
8  Borrowing by corporation
9  Access to information
10  Immunity from legal action
11  Labour relations successorship
12  Orders in the public interest
13  Conflicts with this Act or a regulation or order under this Act
14  Regulation making authority
15-17  Consequential Amendments

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

Definitions

1 In this Act:

"emergency communications corporation" means a corporation incorporated under the Company Act that is designated as an emergency communications corporation under section 2;

"emergency services agency" means

(a) the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,

(b) an organization operating a police force or police department providing police services to the public, including a municipal police board under the Police Act,

(c) an organization operating a fire department providing fire protection services to the public,

(d) the Emergency Health Services Commission responsible for operating the British Columbia Ambulance Service under the Health Emergency Act, and

(e) any other organization designated by regulation;

"government agency" means an agent of, or a corporation that is wholly owned by, the Provincial government, the federal government, a municipality or a regional district;

"members' agreement" means an agreement in relation to an emergency communications corporation, or a corporation that proposes to become an emergency communications corporation, between parties who are or intend to become members of the corporation or between the corporation and one or more of those parties;

"municipality" includes the City of Vancouver.

Designation of emergency communications corporation

2 The minister may, by order, designate a corporation as an emergency communications corporation if

(a) the purposes of the corporation are those required or permitted under section 3, and

(b) the minister has reviewed and approved the members' agreement for the corporation.

Purposes of emergency communications corporation

3 (1) An emergency communications corporation must have as its primary purpose the provision of emergency communications and related services to its members.

(2) An emergency communications corporation may have as additional purposes

(a) the provision of communications and related services, for public safety and public service, to municipalities, regional districts, the Provincial government, the federal government, government agencies and emergency services agencies, whether or not they are members, and

(b) any other purposes prescribed by regulation under section 14 (2) (b) for the corporation.

Members and members' agreements

4 (1) Without limiting who may be a member of an emergency communications corporation, municipalities, regional districts, emergency services agencies and the Provincial government may enter into agreements for membership in an emergency communications corporation.

(2) As limits on the authority of a municipality or regional district under subsection (1),

(a) the council or board must enter into a members' agreement by bylaw, and

(b) in the case of a regional district, it must have the authority under establishing bylaw or letters patent to provide the service to which its membership relates.

(3) Despite sections 216 (2) and 796 (1) (d) of the Municipal Act, a municipality or regional district may become a member of an emergency communications corporation without the prior approval of the Inspector of Municipalities.

(4) The members' agreement of an emergency communications corporation may only be amended with the approval of the minister and in accordance with that agreement.

Special corporate rules

5 (1) Sections 41, 45 and 237 of the Company Act do not apply to an emergency communications corporation.

(2) Despite section 117 (1) of the Company Act, the directors of an emergency communications corporation are responsible for supervising the general management of the business and affairs of the emergency communications corporation.

(3) Despite section 133 (1) of the Company Act, an emergency communications corporation may have a general manager in place of a president.

(4) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by regulation, provide that additional provisions of the Company Act do not apply to a specified emergency communications corporation, subject to any alternative requirements, restrictions or conditions established by the regulation.

(5) The memorandum and articles of an emergency communications corporation may only be amended with the approval of the minister and in accordance with the Company Act.

(6) Within 60 days after the annual general meeting of an emergency communications corporation, the corporation must provide to the minister a copy of its annual financial statement under section 145 of the Company Act and the auditor's report on that financial statement.

Corporation must hold transferred radio licences

6 (1) Subject to the applicable federal legislation, a member of an emergency communications corporation must assign or transfer to the emergency communications corporation all licences and authorities for radio spectra held by the member that are related to the services that the corporation provides to the member.

(2) Subject to the applicable federal legislation, an emergency communications corporation

(a) must acquire and hold the licences or authorities for radio spectra assigned or transferred under subsection (1), and

(b) must manage and allocate the use of those spectra.

Members must pay assessed rates

7 Members of an emergency communications corporation must pay to the corporation all rates for operating expenses and capital expenditures that are assessed by the corporation.

Borrowing by corporation

8 (1) An emergency communications corporation may only borrow money required

(a) for capital purposes related to the purposes of the corporation required or permitted under section 3, or

(b) to meet its current operating expenses before its revenue, from all sources, to pay for those expenses has been received.

(2) The Municipal Finance Authority of British Columbia may provide financing to an emergency communications corporation for borrowing authorized under subsection (1).

(3) For the purposes of financing under subsection (2), the Municipal Finance Authority Act, except section 24, applies to an emergency communications corporation as if it were a regional district, except that no loan authorization bylaw or security issuing bylaw of the corporation is required for the borrowing.

Access to information

9 (1) For the purposes of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the records of an emergency communications corporation relating to any services provided to a member of the corporation are deemed to be the records of that member.

(2) An emergency communications corporation must provide a member with copies of records of the member under subsection (1), in order to allow the member to comply with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

(3) If subsection (2) applies in relation to a record, a person does not have a right of access under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to the record as being in the custody or under the control of the emergency communications corporation and, despite that Act, the person has that right only through written request to the member to whom the copy is to be provided under subsection (2).

(4) Despite the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, a person does not have a right of access under that Act to a record of, or in the custody or under the control of, an emergency communications corporation that relates to services provided by the corporation to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

(5) A members' agreement for an emergency communications corporation is void to the extent of any conflict between the agreement and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act as it applies under this section.

Immunity from legal action

10 (1) In this section, "protected person" means the following:

(a) an emergency communications corporation;

(b) a current or former member of an emergency communications corporation;

(c) a current or former director, employee or agent of an emergency communications corporation.

(2) No action lies and no proceedings may be brought against a protected person, and a protected person is not liable for any loss or damages suffered by any person, in relation to anything done or omitted to be done by the protected person in relation to the provision of or failure to provide emergency communications services by an emergency communications corporation.

(3) As an exception, the immunity from legal action otherwise provided to a person by subsection (2) does not apply if the person has been guilty of malice or wilful misconduct in relation to the subject matter of the action.

Labour relations successorship

11 (1) The establishment of an emergency communications corporation is to be considered a successorship for the purposes of section 35 of the Labour Relations Code and the Labour Relations Board has the authority provided by that section to determine any matters related to the successorship including, without limiting this, the authority to determine the question of trade union representation.

(2) A representation vote under the Labour Relations Code respecting a matter referred to in subsection (1) must be conducted in a manner that the Labour Relations Board considers fair and reasonable.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the Labour Relations Board

(a) may allow all employees that the Board considers will likely be affected within a reasonable time period by the successorship to participate in the vote, whether or not those employees have transferred to the emergency communications corporation by the date of the vote, and

(b) in order to provide alternative bargaining agent choices to the employees entitled to vote, may permit trade unions affected by the successorship to establish a new trade union in order to be placed on the ballot.

Orders in the public interest

12 (1) If the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers this necessary in the public interest, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make any order in relation to an emergency communications corporation that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers appropriate.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), an order under that subsection may provide that a resolution or other decision of an emergency communications corporation is void to the extent provided in the order, and may make other provisions in place of those declared void.

Conflicts with this Act or a regulation or order under this Act

13 (1) If there is a conflict between this Act or a regulation under this Act and a provision of the Company Act, this Act or the regulation under this Act prevails.

(2) If there is a conflict between

(a) this Act or a regulation or order under this Act, and

(b) a provision of the memorandum or articles of an emergency communications corporation or a provision of a members' agreement for an emergency communications corporation,

the provision of the memorandum, articles or agreement is deemed to be amended to the extent necessary to comply with this Act or the regulation or order.

Regulation making authority

14 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations referred to in section 41 of the Interpretation Act.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:

(a) designating an organization as an emergency services agency for the purposes of section 1;

(b) authorizing an additional purpose for an emergency communications corporation as referred to in section 3 (2) (b);

(c) providing for the transition or transfer of pension rights for persons becoming employees of an emergency communications corporation.

 
Consequential Amendments

 
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

15 Schedule 2 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 165, is amended by adding the following:

  Public Body:  Emergency Communications Corporation under the Emergency Communications Corporations Act
  Head: General Manager or President (as applicable) .

 
Pension (Municipal) Act

16 Section 2 of the Pension (Municipal) Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 355, is amended

(a) in subsection (2) by adding the following paragraph:

(q) an emergency communications corporation under the Emergency Communications Corporations Act to which this Act is declared to be applicable by order of the board, on receipt of a resolution passed by an affirmative vote of not less than 2/3 of the directors of the corporation, and those of the employees of the corporation employed on a permanent basis. , and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(2.1) Subsection (2) (q) does not apply to employees to whom the Pension (Public Service) Act applies.

 
Pension (Public Service) Act

17 Section 2 of the Pension (Public Service) Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 356, is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by adding the following paragraph:

(q) an emergency communications corporation under the Emergency Communications Corporations Act, in respect only of those employees to whom this Act continues to apply under subsection (5). , and

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

(5) If an employee to whom this Act applies is transferred to the employment of

(a) a regional health board, community health council or community health services society, or

(b) an emergency communications corporation under the Emergency Communications Corporations Act,

this Act continues to apply to the employee despite the transfer unless the employee elects to have the Pension (Municipal) Act apply, in which case that Act applies to the employee.

 
Explanatory Note

[Sections 15 to 17 of this Bill amend the Revised Statutes of British Columbia, 1996. The Revised Statutes of British Columbia, 1996 came into force on April 21, 1997.]

The purpose of this Act is to facilitate the cooperative establishment of systems for providing emergency communications services within different areas of British Columbia.


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