1998/99 Legislative Session: 3rd Session, 36th Parliament
FIRST READING


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


HONOURABLE JOY K. MacPHAIL
MINISTER OF FINANCE AND
CORPORATE RELATIONS

BILL 36 -- 1998

GREATER VANCOUVER TRANSPORTATION
AUTHORITY ACT

 
Contents

Section
1  Definitions and interpretation
 
Part 1 -- Structure, Power and Responsibilities of Authority
2  Authority established
3  Purpose of the authority
4  Responsibilities of authority
5  Approval of independent transit services
6  Powers of the authority
7  Financial administration
8  Board of directors
9  Responsibilities of the board
10  Employees
11  Pensions
12  Health and benefit trust
13  Labour relations matters
14  Strategic transportation plan
15  Required consultation
16  GVRD approval or ratification
 
Part 2 -- Major Road Network
17  Identifying major roads
18  Major road network
19  Standards for major road network
20  Funding for major road network
21  Limits on municipal authority
22  Movement of dangerous goods
23  Authority's highways
24  Weight and dimension requirements
 
Part 3 -- Funding
25  Property tax assessed by the authority
26  Collection of taxes
27  Levy and collection of property taxes
28  Power levies assessed by the authority
29  Charges and fees
30  Parking tax
31  Borrowing by authority
32  Funding major projects
33  Rapid Transit Project
34  Power to exempt
 
Part 4 -- Transition
35  Exemptions from consultation requirements
36  Interim funding
37  Transferred employees
38  Transfer of assets and liabilities
39  Trusts
40  Transfer to government
41  Government guarantees
42  Transfer not a default
43  Statutory rights of way
44  Declassification of highways
 
Part 5 -- General
45  Offence Act
46  Power to make regulations
 
Part 6 -- Transitional Provisions -- British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority
47  Transfer of financing authority assets and liabilities
48  Restructuring of non-GVRHD debt
49  Restructuring of GVRHD debt
50  Trusts
51-127  Consequential Amendments
128  Commencement

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

Definitions and interpretation

1 (1) In this Act:

"authority" means the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority established under section 2;

"BC Transit" means British Columbia Transit continued under the British Columbia Transit Act;

"board" means the authority's board of directors appointed under section 8;

"construction" has the same meaning as in section 25 of the Highway Act;

"custom transit services" means transportation services provided in the transportation service region for persons with special needs;

"designated employees" means

(a) all employees of BC Transit whose work responsibilities relate primarily to BC Transit's activities in the transportation service region,

(b) all employees of the government whose work responsibilities relate to the operation of the Albion ferries, and

(c) all employees of the government, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia or the Greater Vancouver Regional District who have been identified by name, classification or other description in an order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council made on the recommendation of the authority;

"employee" includes officer;

"highway" has the same meaning as in the Highway Act;

"independent transit services" means bus transportation services or rail transportation services that are provided in the transportation service region by a person or municipality other than the authority or its subsidiaries or contractors;

"maintenance" has the same meaning as in section 25 of the Highway Act;

"major development proposal" means a proposal for a development project that satisfies the criteria established under section 4 (3);

"major road" means a highway in the transportation service region, other than a highway that is part of the provincial highway system, that falls within the guidelines established for a major road under section 17;

"major road network" means those major roads and parts of major roads, and those private roads and parts of private roads, that are designated under section 18 (2) (a) and (5) as being part of the major road network;

"motor vehicle" means a vehicle propelled other than by muscular power, but does not include

(a) airplanes,

(b) the cars of electric and steam railways, or

(c) other vehicles running only on rails or tracks;

"municipality" means the corporation into which the residents of an area in the transportation service region have been incorporated as a municipality under any Act, and includes the City of Vancouver;

"official community plan" has the same meaning as in section 848 of the Municipal Act;

"project toll charge" means a toll charge assessed under section 29 (1);

"provincial highway system" means all highways

(a) that are located in the transportation service region but outside the municipalities, or

(b) that are arterial highways within the meaning of the Highway Act;

"Rapid Transit Project" means a rail transportation system connecting a location in the general vicinity of the intersection of Broadway Avenue and Granville Street in the City of Vancouver to a location in the general vicinity of the Coquitlam Centre at the intersection of Lougheed Highway and Barnet Highway in the City of Coquitlam and connecting to a location in the general vicinity of a Skytrain station in the City of New Westminster;

"regional growth strategy" means the regional growth strategy of the Greater Vancouver Regional District;

"regional transportation system" means a system for the transportation, in the transportation service region, of passengers and goods by any means, which system

(a) is operated by the authority or by its subsidiaries or contractors,

(b) may include, without limitation, ferries, a cycling path network, custom transit services, a bus transportation system, a rail transportation system and the major road network, and

(c) does not include independent transit services;

"residential dwelling unit" means a detached house, cottage or other single family dwelling, a duplex, an apartment building, a strata lot, a townhouse, a rowhouse, a rest home or a nursing home, and includes that part of a multi-use building that is used for the purpose of single family dwellings, but does not include

(a) a hotel,

(b) a motel,

(c) a lodge,

(d) a resort,

(e) a hospital,

(f) any other institutional building, bunk house or camp building used on commercial or construction projects, or

(g) those parts of any building that are used for any purpose other than residential;

"securities" includes notes, bonds, debentures and other evidences of indebtedness;

"strategic transportation plan" means a strategic transportation plan prepared and ratified in accordance with section 14;

"subsidiary" means a subsidiary established or acquired by the board under section 9 (3) (g) to carry out a purpose or responsibility, or to exercise a power, of the authority, and includes British Columbia Rapid Transit Company Ltd. and West Coast Express Ltd.;

"transportation demand management" means strategies and programs that are designed to influence the demand for and choice of transportation services by the public;

"transportation service region" means all municipalities and rural areas located in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, and includes any area added to the region under subsection (2);

"transportation services" includes the services and facilities necessary for the establishment, maintenance and operation of a transportation system.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the authority may enter into an agreement with a municipality, regional district or other entity that has jurisdiction over an area, to add that area to the transportation service region.

(3) An agreement under subsection (2) does not come into effect until the agreement is ratified by a resolution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors and approved by an order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Part 1 -- Structure, Power and Responsibilities of Authority

Authority established

2 (1) The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority is established as a corporation, consisting of the directors appointed under section 8.

(2) The Company Act does not apply to the authority, but, on request of the authority, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may order that one or more provisions of that Act apply to the authority.

(3) The authority is not an agent of the government.

Purpose of the authority

3 The purpose of the authority is to provide a regional transportation system that

(a) moves people and goods, and

(b) supports

(i) the regional growth strategy, and

(ii) the air quality objectives and economic development of the transportation service region.

Responsibilities of authority

4 (1) Subject to this Act, the authority must do the following to carry out its purpose:

(a) manage and operate the regional transportation system;

(b) develop and implement transportation demand management strategies and programs;

(c) develop and administer programs for certifying motor vehicle compliance with regulations, made under section 50 of the Motor Vehicle Act, that do one or both of the following:

(i) establish exhaust emission standards;

(ii) specify the maximum levels of air contaminants that motor vehicles may emit into the outside atmosphere;

(d) generate and manage funds necessary for its purpose;

(e) acquire, construct and maintain any assets, facilities and other real or personal property required for the regional transportation system;

(f) review, and advise the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the municipalities and the government regarding the implications to the regional transportation system of,

(i) the regional growth strategy and any amendments to it,

(ii) official community plans applicable to any part of the transportation service region and any amendments to those plans, and

(iii) major development proposals and provincial highway infrastructure plans in the transportation service region;

(g) prepare and implement strategic, service, capital and operational plans for the regional transportation system, including a strategic transportation plan;

(h) from time to time, negotiate agreements with the government for contribution by the government to the funding of the capital costs of maintaining, improving or expanding the regional transportation system;

(i) establish criteria by which a person's eligibility for custom transit services may be determined;

(j) make copies of its bylaws available to the public at its offices for a reasonable fee it determines.

(2) Despite subsection (1), the authority is not responsible for

(a) construction, maintenance or regulation of any part of the provincial highway system or of any highway that is not a major road,

(b) the management, operation, construction or maintenance of the major road network, except

(i) as specified in Part 2, or

(ii) to the extent that the authority has responsibility under the strategic transportation plan for the planning of the major road network, or

(c) the planning, acquisition or construction of the Rapid Transit Project except as contemplated in section 33.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) (f), the authority must, with each municipality, establish the criteria that will be used in that municipality to determine whether a development proposal in that municipality is a major development proposal.

Approval of independent transit services

5 (1) Despite any other enactment, no person or municipality may establish or operate or approve the establishment or operation of independent transit services in the transportation service region unless it does so

(a) with the approval of the authority, and

(b) under any terms and conditions the authority requires.

(2) The authority may give an approval under subsection (1) if the independent transit services will not reduce the effectiveness or financial viability of the regional transportation system.

(3) The authority must not provide financial support for any independent transit services approved under subsection (1).

(4) After consultation with a person or municipality that has been given approval under subsection (1), the authority may withdraw its approval.

Powers of the authority

6 (1) The authority has the capacity, rights, powers and privileges of an individual of full capacity.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1) and in order to carry out its purpose, the authority

(a) subject to the Expropriation Act, may expropriate land within the meaning of that Act from a person or municipality,

(b) as permitted in this Act, may raise revenues by means of

(i) taxes,

(ii) levies,

(iii) project toll charges,

(iv) user fees, and

(v) motor vehicle charges,

(c) may make bylaws, and may recommend regulations, permitted under this Act and required for the regional transportation system,

(d) by agreement, may provide transportation services, and any other services it offers, to areas outside the transportation service region,

(e) may appoint advisory committees to provide the authority with advice respecting its transportation services, and may reimburse the members of those committees for any reasonable travel and incidental expenses necessarily incurred by those members in the discharge of their duties,

(f) may enter into an agreement with the government for the collection of taxes imposed under sections 4 (1) (c) and 10 (1) (c) of the Motor Fuel Tax Act and under section 61 (1) and (1.1) (b) of the Social Service Tax Act,

(g) may exercise within a municipality in or through which a rail transportation system is planned, acquired, constructed, maintained or operated, all the powers in relation to that rail transportation system that a municipality authorized to lay out, construct and maintain highways may exercise in carrying out that authorization,

(h) has, for the purposes of planning, acquiring, constructing, maintaining and operating a rail transportation system on a highway in a municipality,

(i) all the rights, powers and advantages conferred by any enactment on that municipality with respect to that highway, and

(ii) the right to enjoy and exercise any right of way, easement or licence owned, enjoyed or exercised by that municipality in connection with or for the purposes of the municipality's operation of that highway, and

(i) may exercise the rights, powers and advantages, and may enjoy and exercise the rights of way, easements or licences, referred to in paragraph (h) in the same manner and to the same extent as the municipality referred to in that paragraph might have done if the highway had not become part of a rail transportation system.

Financial administration

7 (1) The authority must establish and maintain an accounting system in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

(2) All records of account and other financial records respecting funds that the government has provided to the authority or to its subsidiaries must be open at all times for inspection by the Auditor General and the Comptroller General.

(3) As soon as possible, but within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year of the authority, the authority must prepare

(a) an annual report of the operations of the authority and its subsidiaries for the preceding fiscal year, and

(b) audited financial statements of the authority and its subsidiaries for the preceding fiscal year.

(4) The fiscal year end of the authority is December 31.

(5) The Financial Information Act applies to the authority as if it were a corporation within the meaning of that Act.

(6) The authority must adopt an annual budget on or before March 31 of the fiscal year to which the budget applies.

(7) Each annual budget adopted under subsection (6) must

(a) set out all of the revenues that the authority anticipates it will receive in the fiscal year and all accumulated surpluses from previous fiscal years,

(b) set out all of the operating expenditures that the authority anticipates it will incur in the fiscal year, the total amount of which must not be greater than the total amount of the revenues and accumulated surpluses referred to in paragraph (a), and

(c) include, as one of the operating expenditures set out under paragraph (b), any deficit that was incurred in the previous fiscal year.

Board of directors

8 (1) Subject to any regulations made under subsection (8), the board of directors of the authority consists of 15 members appointed in accordance with this section.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Greater Vancouver Regional District must appoint 12 of the members of the board and each of the directors appointed by the Greater Vancouver Regional District must be

(a) a mayor of a municipality, or

(b) a member of the Greater Vancouver Regional District's board of directors.

(3) Subject to any regulations made under subsection (8), of the directors appointed under subsection (2),

(a) 3 must be elected officials in the City of Vancouver or in Electoral Area A of the Greater Vancouver Regional District,

(b) 3 must be elected officials in the City of Burnaby, the Corporation of the City of New Westminster, the City of Coquitlam, the Corporation of the City of Port Coquitlam, the City of Port Moody, the Corporation of the District of Pitt Meadows, the Corporation of the District of Maple Ridge, the Village of Anmore or the Village of Belcarra,

(c) one must be an elected official in the Corporation of the City of North Vancouver, the Corporation of the District of North Vancouver, the Corporation of the District of West Vancouver or the Village of Lions Bay or in Electoral Area C of the Greater Vancouver Regional District,

(d) 4 must be elected officials in the City of Richmond, the Corporation of the City of Surrey, the City of Langley, the Corporation of the City of White Rock, the Corporation of the Township of Langley or the Corporation of Delta, and

(e) one must be an elected official in a municipality or in an electoral area of the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

(4) The Lieutenant Governor in Council must appoint 3 of the members of the board, and each of the directors appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council must be

(a) a member of the Legislative Assembly who represents a constituency that is located, in whole or in part, in the transportation service region, or

(b) a minister with responsibility for municipal affairs or transportation or any other matter directly related to the purpose of the authority.

(5) A director appointed

(a) under subsection (2) holds office,

(i) in the case of the first directors appointed by the Greater Vancouver Regional District under subsection (2), until December 31, 1999, and

(ii) in any other case, for one year,

(b) under subsection (4) holds office at the pleasure of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and

(c) under subsection (2) or (4) may be reappointed for further terms.

(6) If an individual ceases to satisfy the requirements of subsection (2), (3) or (4), as the case may be, that individual continues as a director until the earlier of

(a) the appointment of another director in his or her place, and

(b) the expiration of 90 days after that individual ceases to satisfy the requirements.

(7) If, for any reason, a director ceases to be a member of the board, no act or proceeding of the directors occurring within 90 days after the date on which that director ceases to be a member of the board is invalid merely because of there being in office less than the number of directors required by this section.

(8) Without limiting section 46, on the recommendation of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by regulation, amend one or more of subsections (1) to (4) of this section as follows:

(a) by changing the representation of directors required by subsection (3) of this section to reflect changes in the distribution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District's population;

(b) by changing the number of directors required by one or more of subsections (1), (2) and (4) and the representation of directors required by subsection (3) to accommodate changes in the boundaries of the transportation service region, including determining in which paragraph of subsection (3) a new area of the transportation service region is to be included.

Responsibilities of the board

9 (1) The board must appoint, from among its directors, a chair of the board for a one year term, and the chair may be reappointed for further terms.

(2) The board must appoint a chief executive officer of the authority and, subject to section 11, must establish his or her terms and conditions of employment.

(3) The board must supervise the management of the affairs of the authority and may, unless otherwise provided in this Act, by resolution,

(a) exercise the powers and duties of the authority and the powers and duties conferred on the board under this Act,

(b) establish a plan of organization to carry out the powers and duties of the authority,

(c) delegate, to a person employed by the authority or to a subsidiary, the exercise of a power of the authority, other than a power described in section 5, 6 (2) (a), (b) and (c), 17, 18, 19, 22, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30 or 46 (4),

(d) delegate a duty of the authority to a person employed by the authority, to a subsidiary or to a contractor of the authority,

(e) establish committees of directors and delegate to those committees the powers and duties of the board, except the power to appoint a chair, to appoint a chief executive officer or to delegate a power of the board,

(f) subject to subsection (4), establish rules of procedure for the conduct of meetings of, and rules of conduct for

(i) the board,

(ii) the authority,

(iii) any committee of directors established by the board, and

(iv) any advisory committee appointed under section 6 (2) (e),

(g) subject to section 15 (7) of this Act, establish subsidiaries under the Company Act, or acquire subsidiaries, to carry out the authority's purpose and responsibilities, and

(i) appoint the boards and chairs of those subsidiaries,

(ii) establish rules of conduct for the boards of those subsidiaries, and

(iii) review and approve the annual operating budgets of those subsidiaries, and

(h) establish guidelines for the payment by the authority of

(i) reimbursement to its directors for expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties, and

(ii) fees to its directors and to the chair of the board for performing their respective duties.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), each meeting of the board must be open to the public.

(5) The board may, when it is appropriate to do so, exclude persons other than directors from all or part of a meeting.

Employees

10 The chief executive officer must, as agent for the authority,

(a) employ or retain persons necessary for the business and operations of the authority and for the functioning of the board,

(b) define the duties of those persons, and

(c) in accordance with any guidelines established by the board, determine the compensation of those persons.

Pensions

11 (1) Subject to the exclusions in subsection (2) of this section, the Pension (Public Service) Act applies to

(a) designated employees who are transferred by an order made under section 37 of this Act, and

(b) all other employees of the authority and its subsidiaries.

(2) The Pension (Public Service) Act does not apply to employees who are members of or will be entitled to become members of a pension plan registered under the Income Tax Act (Canada) other than that provided under the Pension (Public Service) Act.

(3) The Pension (Public Service) Act applies to those designated employees who immediately before their transfer were contributors under the Pension (Municipal) Act.

(4) After the transfer of designated employees to the authority or to a subsidiary, the authority or subsidiary, as the case may be, is deemed to be an employer, and, subject to subsection (2), the employees described in subsection (1) of this section are deemed to be its employees, within the meaning of the Pension (Public Service) Act.

(5) Subject to subsection (2), the authority and each subsidiary referred to in subsection (4) must

(a) make the deductions required under section 9 of the Pension (Public Service) Act from the salaries of the persons who are deemed, under subsection (4) of this section, to be its employees and pay the money deducted to the Public Service Pension Fund continued under section 5 of that Act, and

(b) in addition, pay, to the Public Service Pension Fund, the employer's contributions in the amounts equivalent to the amounts required under that Act.

(6) The amounts payable under subsection (5) (b) of this section by the authority or by a subsidiary are reduced by the amounts determined by the commissioner under the Pension (Public Service) Act to have been paid by the authority or the subsidiary, as the case may be, to the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority Plan

(a) under the agreement entered into under section 7 (3) of the Metro Transit Operating Company Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 257, and

(b) as reimbursement for the cost of increases in the pension benefits received under that Plan.

(7) The authority or subsidiary, as the case may be, may continue its participation in a pension plan other than that provided under the Pension (Public Service) Act in respect of those employees or future employees referred to in subsection (2) of this section.

Health and benefit trust

12 (1) In this section, "trust" means the BC Transit Employees' Health and Benefit Trust and includes any successor trust created for the benefit of members of groups of employees who were, before the creation of the successor trust, beneficiaries of the BC Transit Employees' Health and Benefit Trust.

(2) If the authority or any of its subsidiaries is a successor employer to BC Transit within the meaning of the Labour Relations Code, that successor employer must

(a) deduct from the compensation of employees who are beneficiaries of the trust any amounts that are set, by the trustees of the trust, in accordance with the agreement and declaration of trust that established the trust, and

(b) remit those amounts to the trust.

Labour relations matters

13 (1) For the purposes of section 38 of the Labour Relations Code,

(a) the authority must not be treated as one employer with any person, including a subsidiary, and

(b) a subsidiary must not be treated as one employer with any person, including another subsidiary.

(2) Every collective agreement between the authority and a trade union or between a subsidiary and a trade union is deemed to provide that it is the function of the employer, subject to the provisions of the collective agreement, to manage the employer's affairs.

(3) For the purpose of subsection (2), "manage the employer's affairs" includes, without limitation, the right to determine

(a) the employment, complement and organization of employees necessary to carry on the business and operations of the authority or the subsidiary, as the case may be, and

(b) the work methods and procedures applicable to the provision of transportation services.

Strategic transportation plan

14 (1) To guide the authority in carrying out its responsibilities, the authority must, within 2 years after it is established, prepare and adopt a strategic transportation plan respecting

(a) the provision of the regional transportation system, and

(b) transportation demand management.

(2) The strategic transportation plan must

(a) identify the major actions that the authority plans to undertake during the period to which the plan applies,

(b) set out the relationship between the major actions planned by the authority and

(i) the regional growth strategy, and

(ii) the air quality objectives for, and the economic development of, the transportation service region, and

(c) include a long range capital and financial plan.

(3) The authority must prepare all its capital and service plans and policies and carry out all its activities and services in a manner that is consistent with its strategic transportation plan.

(4) The authority must submit its strategic transportation plan, and any amendments to it, for ratification by a resolution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors.

(5) Every time the regional growth strategy is reviewed under section 869 of the Municipal Act, the authority must review its strategic transportation plan, make any appropriate revisions to it and resubmit it under subsection (4) of this section.

Required consultation

15 (1) When the authority is required under this section to consult before taking any proposed action, the authority must

(a) adopt a consultation plan that the authority considers will provide opportunities for

(i) consultation, in the manner required in this section, with the public, municipalities, organizations, the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the government and trade unions, and

(ii) consultation with any other persons or organizations that the authority considers will be affected by the proposed action or consultation plan, and

(b) consider any comments provided during the consultation process before taking the action.

(2) A failure to comply with a consultation plan under subsection (1) does not invalidate the action taken as long as the authority has made a reasonable attempt to consult in accordance with subsection (1).

(3) Subject to subsection (4) and section 35, the authority must consult with the public, all the municipalities and any other organizations that the authority considers will be affected before

(a) assessing any taxes under section 25 (2),

(b) assessing any project toll charges, user fees or motor vehicle charges under section 29,

(c) assessing any parking taxes under section 30 (2), or

(d) finalizing the preparation of the strategic transportation plan and any amendments to the plan.

(4) The authority need not consult in relation to an assessment under subsection (3) (a), (b) or (c) if the assessment results in a decrease in the taxes, project toll charges, user fees, motor vehicle charges or parking taxes, as the case may be.

(5) The authority must consult with the government, all the municipalities and the Greater Vancouver Regional District before

(a) establishing any standards under section 19, or

(b) entering into an agreement under section 1 (2) to add an area to the transportation service region.

(6) The authority must consult with all the municipalities before taking any action under sections 18 (2) (b) and 22 (3).

(7) If the establishment or acquisition of a subsidiary by the authority will alter a bargaining unit, the authority must, before establishing or acquiring that subsidiary, consult with any trade unions representing employees who may be affected by the establishment or acquisition of the subsidiary.

GVRD approval or ratification

16 (1) If the authority requires the approval or ratification of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors before taking any action under this Act, the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors must, on request of the authority for approval or ratification, respond to that request by a resolution made

(a) within 120 days after receipt of the request, or

(b) within any longer period agreed by the board of the authority and the board of directors of the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

(2) If the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors fails to respond to the request referred to in subsection (1) within the required period of time, that board of directors is deemed to have approved or ratified the action.

(3) A bylaw assessing a tax, a project toll charge, a motor vehicle charge or a parking tax does not require ratification by the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors before coming into force if

(a) the board of the authority, after full examination of the capital and operating expenditures of the authority and its subsidiaries, determines that assessing the proposed taxes or charges is necessary and unavoidable in order to meet the debt obligations properly incurred by the authority under section 31, and

(b) the board of the authority has passed a resolution by a vote of at least 2/3 of its members present at the meeting

(i) confirming that the circumstances in paragraph (a) exist, and

(ii) declaring that, despite section 25 (3), 29 (5) or 30 (5), as the case may be, ratification of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors is not required.

Part 2 -- Major Road Network

Identifying major roads

17 The authority must establish guidelines, consistent with the authority's purpose, for identifying highways in the transportation service region as major roads.

Major road network

18 (1) The authority must, by bylaw made on or before December 31, 1998, establish the major road network comprising an integrated system of highways throughout the transportation service region.

(2) The authority may, by bylaw,

(a) designate the whole or any specified part of one or more major roads as forming part of the major road network, and

(b) remove all or any of those designations.

(3) A designation under subsection (2) (a) may be removed in respect of the whole or any part of a designated highway that no longer falls within the guidelines, established under section 17, for identifying major roads.

(4) The authority must have the consent of each of the municipalities within which a major road is located before designating that major road as being part of the major road network under subsection (2) (a), but the consent of those municipalities is not required to remove the designation under subsection (2) (b).

(5) With the agreement of the owner of a private road and with the consent of each municipality in which that private road is located, the authority may, by bylaw, designate the whole or any specified part of that road as forming part of the major road network, but the agreement of the owner and the consent of those municipalities is not required to remove the designation.

Standards for major road network

19 Subject to this Part, the authority may, by bylaw, establish standards for the management, operation, construction and maintenance of all or any part of the major road network.

Funding for major road network

20 Within the limits of its powers under this Act, the authority must, in accordance with an agreement with a municipality under paragraph (c), contribute funds to the municipality for the purpose of maintaining or constructing any part of the major road network that is located in that municipality if

(a) the municipality is complying, to the satisfaction of the authority, with all of the management, operation, construction and maintenance standards established by the authority under section 19,

(b) in the case of construction, the construction project in respect of which funds are to be contributed is included in the capital plans approved by the authority and the authority's contribution to the cost of the construction of that project is included in the capital budget approved by the authority,

(c) the authority and the municipality enter into an agreement in respect of the maintenance or construction, as the case may be, and

(d) the municipality complies with the terms and conditions of the agreement referred to in paragraph (c).

Limits on municipal authority

21 (1) Despite the Vancouver Charter or any other enactment, a municipality must not, without the approval of the authority, take, authorize or permit any action that would reduce or limit the capacity of all or any part of the major road network to move people.

(2) Despite the Vancouver Charter or any other enactment but subject to subsection (3) of this section, a municipality must not, without the approval of the authority, take, authorize or permit any action that would prohibit the movement of trucks on all or any part of a highway in the transportation service region.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to a highway in the provincial highway system.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), a municipality's bylaw that prohibits the movement of trucks on a highway in the transportation service region is deemed to have been approved by the authority under subsection (2) if the bylaw was made

(a) with the approval of the Minister of Transportation and Highways under section 545 of the Municipal Act, and

(b) before the coming into force of this section.

(5) Any amendment or replacement of a bylaw referred to in subsection (4) requires the approval of the authority under subsection (2) of this section.

(6) The approval of the Minister of Transportation and Highways is not required under section 545 (1) of the Municipal Act for a bylaw, described in subsection (4) of this section, that is passed after this section comes into force.

Movement of dangerous goods

22 (1) In this section, "dangerous goods" has the same meaning as in the Transport of Dangerous Goods Act.

(2) Despite section 23 of the Transport of Dangerous Goods Act, a municipality must not make a bylaw under that section in respect of a highway that is part of the major road network.

(3) The authority, by bylaw,

(a) must designate routes and times of travel on the major road network for motor vehicles transporting dangerous goods, and

(b) may prohibit the transportation of dangerous goods in motor vehicles

(i) on designated routes in the major road network, or

(ii) at certain times of travel.

(4) A designation may not be made under subsection (3) (a) without the consent of each municipality in which a part of the designated route is located.

(5) A bylaw made by a municipality under section 23 of the Transport of Dangerous Goods Act in respect of any part of the major road network ceases to have effect when, under subsection (3) of this section, the authority adopts a bylaw in respect of that part of the major road network.

Authority's highways

23 (1) If the authority has purchased or taken land for a highway and has had title to the highway registered in the name of the authority, the following do not apply to the highway:

(a) section 534 (1) of the Municipal Act;

(b) section 289 of the Vancouver Charter.

(2) Despite section 533 of the Municipal Act, the authority has the right of possession of any highway referred to in subsection (1) of this section.

(3) Despite section 30 of the Highway Act, the authority is responsible for and has control of the construction and maintenance of, any highway referred to in subsection (1) of this section.

(4) If all or any part of a highway referred to in subsection (1) is located within a municipality, the authority has and may exercise, within that municipality, all the powers with respect to that highway that the municipality has to lay out, construct and maintain a highway.

Weight and dimension requirements

24 (1) Despite any standards set by the authority under section 19 respecting weight and dimensions for motor vehicles on the major road network, the requirements prescribed for motor vehicles in a regulation made under section 11 (2) (a) or (m) of the Commercial Transport Act apply to the major road network subject to any specific limitations set by the authority under subsection (2) (d) of this section.

(2) Despite

(a) requirements prescribed for motor vehicles under section 11 (2) (a) or (m) of the Commercial Transport Act,

(b) a bylaw of a municipality respecting weight and dimensions for motor vehicles travelling on any part of the major road network, and

(c) any standards set by the authority under section 19 of this Act,

the authority may, if the authority considers that a part of the major road network does not have the capacity to accommodate those requirements, do one or both of the following:

(d) by bylaw, further limit the requirements described in paragraphs (a) to (c) of this subsection on any specified part of the major road network;

(e) recommend to the Lieutenant Governor in Council that the requirements prescribed for motor vehicles under section 11 (2) (a) or (m) of the Commercial Transport Act be further limited to specified requirements on any specified part of the major road network.

(3) Without limiting the Commercial Transport Act or section 46 of this Act, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, after receiving a recommendation from the authority under subsection (2) (e) of this section, amend any regulation made under section 11 (2) (a) or (m) of the Commercial Transport Act to prescribe the specified requirements in relation to the specified part of the major road network.

(4) Without limiting any other offences or liability that might arise in relation to weight or dimension requirements referred to in subsection (2) (a) to (c), a person commits an offence if the person operates, on a part of the major road network, a motor vehicle the weight or dimensions of which exceed the requirements, as limited by a bylaw made by the authority under subsection (2) (d), that are applicable to that part of the major road network.

(5) A person referred to in subsection (4) commits an offence whether or not the motor vehicle referred to in that subsection complies with the requirements referred to in subsection (2) (a) to (c).

(6) The authority may, in the place of the minister under section 8 of the Commercial Transport Act, issue permits under that section with respect to motor vehicles if and to the extent that the permits relate to highways in the major road network, and any prescribed fees payable under that section in relation to those permits are payable to the authority.

Part 3 -- Funding

Property tax assessed by the authority

25 (1) In this section and in section 26:

"assessment commissioner" means the assessment commissioner appointed under the Assessment Authority Act;

"improvements" has the same meaning as in the Assessment Act;

"land" has the same meaning as in the Assessment Act.

(2) The authority

(a) may, by bylaw, assess a tax on the net taxable value of land and improvements in the transportation service region, other than land and improvements that are taxable for school purposes only by special Act, and

(b) must, in assessing that tax, adopt a variable tax rate system in which individual tax rates are determined and imposed for each property class.

(3) Subject to subsection (4) of this section and section 16 (3), a bylaw made under subsection (2) does not come into force until the bylaw is ratified by a resolution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors.

(4) A bylaw made under subsection (2) does not require ratification by the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors under subsection (3) before coming into force if

(a) the bylaw is the first bylaw made by the authority under subsection (2), or

(b) the bylaw results in a decrease in the tax assessed under subsection (2).

(5) On or before May 1 in each year, the authority must send to the collector in each municipality and to the Surveyor of Taxes a notice setting out the tax rates that are applicable to the taxes assessed by the authority under subsection (2).

(6) If, after the authority has made its first bylaw under subsection (2), the authority increases the tax assessed under this section, the authority must adopt a variable tax rate system that

(a) is applicable only to that increase, and

(b) uses the same relationships between tax rates, and the same formulas for calculating those relationships, as does the variable tax rate system prescribed for regional districts under section 333 of the Municipal Act.

(7) In a bylaw under subsection (2), the authority may

(a) establish zones in the transportation service region, and

(b) adopt different tax rates for land and improvements in different zones based on the benefit that the authority considers accrues to the land and improvements in a zone as a result of proximity to a transportation station, or to another major transportation facility, that has been constructed or funded by the authority.

(8) The minister may direct that the authority include in any amount to be raised under this section in a rural area of the transportation service region an amount for the costs and outlays of collection of the taxes assessed under this section.

(9) If required by the authority, the assessment commissioner must certify and forward to the authority the current year net taxable values of all land and improvements in respect of which tax may be assessed under this section for any municipality or any rural area in the transportation service region.

Collection of taxes

26 (1) If taxes are assessed under section 25, a municipality must collect those of the taxes that are assessed on the net taxable value of land and improvements in the municipality and the Surveyor of Taxes must collect those of the taxes that are assessed on the net taxable value of land and improvements in any rural area in the transportation service region.

(2) In each year in which the authority assesses taxes under section 25, the municipality or the Surveyor of Taxes, as the case may be, must pay to the authority

(a) by August 1 of the year for which the taxes are assessed, all of the assessed taxes that had been collected by July 15 of that year, and

(b) by December 31 of the year for which the taxes are assessed, the balance of the assessed taxes, whether or not all of the assessed taxes have been collected.

(3) The amounts payable by the Surveyor of Taxes to the authority under subsection (2) do not include any amount assessed under section 25 (8).

(4) In addition to any money payable under subsection (2), if, in any year (the "grant year") a grant in place of taxes for land and improvements in a municipality or rural area in the transportation service region is received by the collector of the municipality or by the Surveyor of Taxes from

(a) the government of Canada under the Municipal Grants Act (Canada),

(b) a corporation included in Schedule III or IV of the Municipal Grants Act (Canada), or

(c) a public body as defined in the Auditor General Act,

the municipality or the Surveyor of Taxes, as the case may be, must pay to the authority, on or before February 1 in the following year, the amount determined by the following formula:

required payment = amount of grant X [authority's taxes/local taxes]

where

  amount of grant means the full amount of the grant provided in the grant year to the municipality or the Surveyor of Taxes, as the case may be, for the land and improvements;
  authority's taxes means the taxes assessed by the authority for the grant year under section 25 on land and improvements in the municipality or rural area, as the case may be;
  local taxes means,
    (a) in the case of a grant provided to the collector of a municipality, the taxes levied by the municipality for the grant year on land and improvements in the transportation service region that are located in that municipality, or
    (b) in the case of a grant provided to the Surveyor of Taxes, the taxes levied by the Surveyor of Taxes for the grant year on land and improvements in that part of the transportation service region that consists of rural area.

(5) Without an appropriation other than this subsection, the amounts that the Surveyor of Taxes must pay to the authority under subsections (2) and (4) must be paid out of the consolidated revenue fund.

(6) Section 27 (1) (a) of the Financial Administration Act does not apply to the appropriation under subsection (5) of this section.

(7) If a municipality fails to pay the authority the amount it is required to pay the authority under this section, the authority may do one or more of the following:

(a) cease providing any of the funding it is obliged to, or has agreed to, provide under this Act;

(b) set off the amounts due against any of the funding it is obliged to, or has agreed to, provide under this Act;

(c) bring an action to recover the amount as a debt due and owing;

(d) on summary application to the Supreme Court, request the appointment of a receiver of any taxes, fees or other revenues of the municipality for the purposes of enforcing payment of the amounts payable under this section.

Levy and collection of property taxes

27 (1) Subject to this Act and the Assessment Act, all of the provisions of the Municipal Act, the Vancouver Charter and the Taxation (Rural Area) Act apply to the following in the same manner as they would apply to property taxes imposed under those Acts:

(a) the assessment, levy, collection and recovery of taxes assessed under section 25 of this Act in a municipality or rural area, as the case may be;

(b) the addition of penalties and interest on the taxes that are in arrears or are delinquent.

(2) The collector of each municipality or the Surveyor of Taxes, as the case may be, must prepare and mail to each person named on the property tax roll who is liable for taxes under section 25 as the assessed owner in the municipality or rural area, a notice setting out the tax payable.

(3) A notice under subsection (2) must

(a) form part of the taxation notice for raising money for other purposes, and

(b) set out the total amount of taxes assessed under section 25 in respect of each property on which they have been assessed.

(4) Each taxation notice under subsection (2) must conform with any applicable specifications prescribed under the Municipal Act, the Vancouver Charter or the Taxation (Rural Area) Act and must also provide the details and particulars of the taxes required under those Acts.

(5) Sections 130 to 132 of the School Act apply in respect of assessment and taxation under this Act.

Power levies assessed by the authority

28 (1) In this section:

"account" means an electric service account rendered to a person liable for payment for the supply of electricity supplied by or through a collector;

"collector" means the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, the Corporation of the City of New Westminster or a public utility as defined in the Utilities Commission Act;

"power levy" means the amount established under subsection (2);

"supply" has the same meaning as in the Hydro and Power Authority Act.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (5), the authority may, by bylaw, establish a power levy and require a collector to add the power levy to every residential dwelling unit account in the transportation service region.

(3) The power levy must be the same for every account and must not exceed $1.90 per month for each account.

(4) A power levy added to an account of a person under this section is deemed to be a debt owed to the collector by the person liable for payment as part of the rates payable by that person for electricity.

(5) If a person is liable for more than one account for the supply of electricity on the same parcel of land, the authority

(a) may, on application by that person, pass a resolution exempting the person from payment of the power levies added to the second and any additional accounts, and

(b) must, promptly after passing a resolution under paragraph (a), give notice of that resolution to the collector.

(6) After the collector has been notified of a resolution passed under subsection (5), the collector is not required to collect the power levies referred to in that resolution and they are not part of the rates payable for electricity by the person in respect of whom the resolution was passed.

(7) Subject to subsection (8), the collector must pay to the authority an amount equivalent to the total power levies added to and included in accounts under this section, which payments must be made monthly, in the manner required by the authority.

(8) If a collector has added a power levy to an account and that account is written off by the collector as a bad debt, the collector may deduct the amount of the power levy that was added to that account from amounts that are payable under subsection (7).

(9) Despite any other enactment, money collected by a collector on an account is deemed to be paid firstly on account of the power levy added under this section.

(10) The collector must, on request by the authority, provide all records and information required by the authority respecting matters related to the collection of the power levy under this section.

Charges and fees

29 (1) The authority may, to recover all or any part of the costs associated with improvements to a part of the major road network, assess, by bylaw, toll charges on persons using that part of the major road network.

(2) The authority may, by bylaw, assess user fees on persons using custom transit services or services of a ferry, bus transportation system or rail transportation system in the transportation service region.

(3) The authority may, by bylaw, assess motor vehicle charges on any owner or operator of a motor vehicle that is principally used in the transportation service region or that uses all or any designated part of the regional transportation system.

(4) The authority may, in a bylaw made under subsection (1), (2) or (3),

(a) establish different classes of users, operators, owners, motor vehicles, designated parts of the regional transportation system or of the major road network or designated areas in the transportation service region,

(b) establish different or variable project toll charges, motor vehicle charges or user fees in respect of any of the classes, parts or areas described in paragraph (a) or any combination of those classes, parts or areas,

(c) establish stations for the collection of charges and fees under this section, and

(d) exempt any class of users, operators, owners or motor vehicles from the project toll charges, motor vehicle charges or user fees.

(5) Subject to subsection (6) and section 16 (3), a bylaw made under subsection (1) or (3) of this section does not come into force until the bylaw is ratified by a resolution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors.

(6) A bylaw made under subsection (1) or (3) does not require ratification by the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors under subsection (5) before coming into force if the bylaw results in a decrease in the project toll charge or motor vehicle charge, as the case may be, assessed under this section.

Parking tax

30 (1) In this section:

"improvements" has the same meaning as in the Assessment Act;

"land" has the same meaning as in the Assessment Act;

"motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in the Motor Vehicle Act;

"parking site" means, in respect of land located in the areas of the transportation service region to which the parking tax under this section applies, the part of the land and any improvements on the land that is used, available or designed for the parking of motor vehicles and for any purpose that is in any way related or ancillary to that parking, whether or not there is a fee for that parking and whether or not the parking is available to the general public, and includes, without limitation, any part of the land and the improvements on the land

(a) that provides access to the space used, available or designed for parking, including, without limitation, ramps, driveways, turning areas and places on which motor vehicles may be driven,

(b) that separates or marks parking spaces, lanes for driving and other spaces, whether by way of painted markings or by curbs, walls, columns, pillars or other objects,

(c) on which is constructed a booth or other improvement for the use or occupancy of one or more parking attendants, and

(d) on which is erected anything in any way related or ancillary to parking, including, without limitation, lighting for the parking site and machines or devices used, available or designed for one or more of the collection of parking fees, the provision of parking tickets and the insertion of parking cards;

"parking space" means

(a) the part of a parking site that is marked out, by painted lines or otherwise, as being intended or available for the parking of a single motor vehicle, or

(b) for an unmarked parking site, a part of it that is established under a bylaw to be a parking space;

"residential parking" means parking on a parking site that is located in or in close proximity to a specific building, by persons who, as a result of being owners or lessees of or tenants in a residential dwelling unit in the building,

(a) have an exclusive right to park on all or any specific part of the parking site, or

(b) in the case of a parking tax imposed under subsection (2), have an exclusive right to park on all or any specific parking spaces located in the parking site,

whether or not there is an additional charge for the residential parking over the purchase price, lease payment or rent paid for the residential dwelling unit;

"taxable parking area" means the area, calculated in the manner set out in the bylaw made under subsection (2), of that part of a parking site that is not used or available solely for residential parking;

"taxable parking space" means a parking space that is not used or available solely for residential parking;

"unmarked parking site" means a parking site or a part of a parking site that does not contain parking spaces marked as set out in paragraph (a) of the definition of "parking space".

(2) The authority may, by bylaw, assess a parking tax on one or both of

(a) the taxable parking area of parking sites located in the transportation service region, and

(b) the taxable parking spaces of parking sites located in the transportation service region.

(3) The tax referred to in subsection (2) must be set at a flat rate per square metre of taxable parking area or per taxable parking space, as the case may be.

(4) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), the authority may

(a) determine the areas of the transportation service region to which the parking tax applies, and

(b) establish the rate for the tax or establish different rates of tax for different areas of the transportation service region.

(5) Subject to subsection (6) of this section and section 16 (3), a bylaw made under subsection (2) of this section does not come into force until the bylaw is ratified by a resolution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors.

(6) A bylaw made under subsection (2) does not require ratification by the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors under subsection (5) before coming into force if the bylaw results in a decrease in the parking tax assessed under subsection (2).

(7) Without limiting section 46, on the recommendation of the authority, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations under this section respecting the following:

(a) the preparation of a parking tax assessment roll;

(b) the provision of notices of assessment to owners of parking sites to be taxed;

(c) revisions to the parking tax assessment roll;

(d) appeals of or related to assessments under this section.

Borrowing by authority

31 (1) The outstanding debt obligations of the authority arising from borrowings, calculated in accordance with a regulation made under section 46 (1), must not be greater than $1 billion 50 million or any increased amount proposed by a resolution of the board and ratified by a resolution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors.

(2) The Municipal Finance Authority of British Columbia may provide financing for and on behalf of the authority for borrowing authorized under this Act.

(3) For the purposes of financing under subsection (2) of this section, the Municipal Finance Authority Act, except section 24 of that Act, applies to the authority as if it were a regional district, except that a loan authorization bylaw or security issuing bylaw of the authority is not required for the borrowing.

(4) Without limiting section 6, but subject to subsection (1) of this section, the authority may, to carry out its purpose,

(a) borrow sums of money the authority considers necessary, and

(b) on its own, through any fiscal agent it appoints or otherwise, issue securities bearing interest at rates, if any, and payable as to principal and interest in currencies, at places, at times and in a manner the authority determines.

(5) A recital or a declaration in a resolution of the board authorizing the issue of securities, to the effect that the issue of the securities authorized under this section is being made for the purpose of the authority and that the amount is necessary to realize the net sum required for that purpose, is conclusive evidence of the fact.

(6) The board may, by resolution,

(a) delegate any of the powers of the authority under this section to any director, committee of directors or officer of the authority or to any person named in a resolution of the board, and

(b) establish requirements for all matters in any way related to the issue, execution and delivery, repayment, refunding, repurchase or redemption of securities of the authority.

(7) The securities of the authority may be made redeemable in advance of maturity at the times and at the prices the authority determines when the securities are issued.

(8) Without limiting section 6, the authority, on terms it considers necessary or advisable, may do any of the following:

(a) issue or otherwise dispose of the securities of the authority, either at par value or at less or more than par value;

(b) charge, pledge, hypothecate, deposit or otherwise deal with the securities of the authority as collateral security;

(c) provide for the creation, management and application of sinking funds, including the setting of terms and conditions that will apply to those sinking funds, with respect to securities issued by the authority;

(d) enter into any of the following agreements for the purpose of reducing risks or maximizing benefits in relation to the borrowing or investment of money:

(i) currency exchange agreements;

(ii) spot and future currency agreements;

(iii) interest rate exchange agreements;

(iv) future interest rate agreements.

(9) The securities of the authority

(a) must be in the form determined by the board, and

(b) may be held by a depository agency in a book-based system for the central handling of securities that provides for the transfer of the securities by bookkeeping entry without physical delivery of the securities.

Funding major projects

32 (1) In this section, "major project" means a project that is proposed by the authority and that both the government and the authority expect

(a) will significantly improve the regional transportation system or will have a significant impact on the authority's ability to maintain the regional transportation system, and

(b) will provide economic benefit to the transportation service region.

(2) The government must enter into negotiations with the authority respecting the government's contribution to the capital costs of a major project.

Rapid Transit Project

33 (1) The government may plan, acquire and construct the Rapid Transit Project.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the government must contribute funding for 60% of the capital costs of the Rapid Transit Project and the authority must contribute funding for 40% of the capital costs of the project if

(a) the government plans the acquisition and construction of the project, and

(b) the authority and the government agree on the design, scope and cost of the project.

(3) If the government contributes the funding required under subsection (2), the government must have and must retain, at least until the government's debt obligations associated with financing the government's share of the capital costs have been discharged, a 60% interest in the assets of the Rapid Transit Project.

(4) At the time or times agreed on by the authority and the government, all or any part of the Rapid Transit Project becomes part of the regional transportation system.

Power to exempt

34 (1) Subject to subsection (2), on the recommendation of the authority, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by order, exempt from taxation and payment of fees under, and from licensing requirements under, the Municipal Act, the Vancouver Charter or the Motor Carrier Act

(a) the authority or any of its subsidiaries or contractors in relation to the construction, acquisition or operation by any of them of the regional transportation system, and

(b) a municipality in relation to its construction, acquisition or operation of independent transit services approved under section 5 (1).

(2) An exemption may not be given under subsection (1) in respect of the taxation of real property.

(3) Despite subsections (1) and (2), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by order, exempt a person the Lieutenant Governor in Council specifies from liability for taxation under the Assessment Authority Act, the School Act, the Hospital District Act, the Municipal Finance Authority Act, the Municipal Act, the Vancouver Charter and this Act, in respect of any land and improvements, within the meaning that applies to those terms under the Act in respect of which the exemption is given, that the Lieutenant Governor in Council designates in the order as owned or used by that person for the purpose of the construction, acquisition or operation of

(a) the Rapid Transit Project,

(b) an advanced light rapid transit system, or

(c) a rail transportation system.

Part 4 -- Transition

Exemptions from consultation requirements

35 The authority need not consult under section 15 (3) in relation to the following:

(a) the first bylaw made under section 25 (2);

(b) the first bylaw made under section 29 (2).

Interim funding

36 By December 31, 1999, the authority must pay to the government any amount, to a maximum of $2.5 million, advanced by the government before the coming into force of this section to fund the activities required to prepare for the implementation of this Act.

Transferred employees

37 (1) In this Act, "transferred employee" means a designated employee who is transferred by an order made under subsection (2).

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, for the purpose of effecting a transfer of a designated employee under this section, make an order

(a) naming the authority or any of its subsidiaries to be the employer to whom the designated employee is transferred, and

(b) setting transfer dates.

(3) An order under subsection (2) in relation to designated employees referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition of "designated employees" in section 1 may only be made on the recommendation of the authority.

(4) An order under subsection (2) may transfer individual designated employees or one or more classes of designated employees.

(5) On the transfer date set by an order under subsection (2), a designated employee who is identified in the order or who is a member of a class of designated employees identified in the order

(a) ceases to be an employee of an employer described in the definition of "designated employees", and

(b) becomes an employee of whichever of the following is named in the order as the employer:

(i) the authority;

(ii) a subsidiary.

(6) Nothing in this section affects the rights any transferred employee has under a collective agreement with respect to a transfer.

(7) A transferred employee must not suffer a reduction in seniority, salary or superannuation, pension plan or other benefits merely because his or her employment has been transferred under this section.

(8) A question or difference between an employer to whom a designated employee is transferred under this section and

(a) a transferred employee who is a member of a unit of employees for which a trade union has been certified under the Labour Relations Code, or

(b) a trade union representing transferred employees,

respecting the application of the Labour Relations Code or the interpretation or application of this section, may be referred to the Labour Relations Board in accordance with the procedure set out in the Labour Relations Code and its regulations.

(9) The Labour Relations Board may, in respect of a question or difference referred to in subsection (8) of this section, decide the question or difference in any of the ways, and by applying any of the remedies, available under the Labour Relations Code.

Transfer of assets and liabilities

38 (1) For greater certainty but without limiting any other provision of this Act, in this section and in sections 39, 40 and 42:

"asset" includes rights and property;

"liability" includes obligations.

(2) Subject to any orders made under subsection (8) (a), on the date that this subsection comes into force,

(a) all assets and liabilities of BC Transit that are located in the transportation service region or are associated with the provision of transportation services in that region, become the assets and liabilities of the authority, and

(b) BC Transit is released from those liabilities.

(3) On the date that this subsection comes into force, all assets and liabilities of the government that are

(a) located in the transportation service region or associated with the provision of transportation services in that region, and

(b) specified in an order made under subsection (8) (b)

become the assets and liabilities of the authority, and the government is released from those liabilities.

(4) On the date that this subsection comes into force, all of the shares of British Columbia Rapid Transit Company Ltd. and West Coast Express Ltd. that are held by the government are transferred to and vest in the authority.

(5) On the date that this subsection comes into force, the regional transit fund balance held by BC Transit on behalf of the Vancouver Regional Transit Commission becomes the asset of the authority.

(6) Subject to any orders made under subsection (8) (d), on the date that this subsection comes into force, the authority is granted a lease, for a nominal rental, to use, operate and generate revenues from the assets of BC Transit that are specified in an order made under subsection (8) (c).

(7) The sinking funds established for repayment of any of those debt obligations of BC Transit that are transferred under subsection (2) of this section or under section 40 are deemed, on the date of that transfer, to be held for the benefit of the authority, BC Transit and the government respectively in the proportions respectively identified in an order made under subsection (8) (e) of this section.

(8) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make orders

(a) excluding from subsection (2) any assets or liabilities or proportions or parts of assets or liabilities of BC Transit,

(b) specifying any assets or liabilities or proportions or parts of assets or liabilities of the government for the purposes of subsection (3),

(c) specifying any assets of BC Transit for the purposes of subsection (6),

(d) respecting the terms and conditions of a lease under subsection (6), including specifying different terms and conditions for different assets referred to in that subsection, and

(e) respecting the proportions to be applied under subsection (7).

(9) An order made under subsection (8) may identify assets and liabilities by name, class or description.

(10) Subject to subsection (11) and to an order made under subsection (8), on the date that an asset or liability becomes an asset or liability of the authority, a reference to the government or BC Transit in any commercial paper, contract, lease, licence, permit or other instrument or document that is evidence of that asset or liability is deemed to be a reference to the authority.

(11) If, under this section, a proportion or part of an asset or liability is transferred to the authority, any commercial paper, contract, lease, licence, permit or other instrument or document that is evidence of that asset or liability is, on the date of that transfer, deemed to be amended to reflect the interests of the authority and others in that asset or liability as a result of the operation of this section.

(12) Despite the Social Service Tax Act and the Land Title Act, the authority is, in respect of any transfer of assets under this section and in respect of any registration of any interest in land transferred under this section,

(a) exempt from taxes imposed by the Social Service Tax Act, and

(b) exempt from the requirement to pay fees under section 386 of the Land Title Act.

Trusts

39 (1) There may be established one or more trusts, to be administered by the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations or by another person designated by that minister,

(a) for the purpose of repayment of those debt obligations that are

(i) transferred to the authority under section 38 (2), and

(ii) owed to a person other than the government,

(b) for the purpose of making payments under the capital leases that are transferred to the authority under section 38 (2),

(c) for the purpose of repayment of that part of the government's debt obligations that was incurred by the government to make loans to BC Transit if and to the extent that the liabilities under those loans are transferred under section 38 (2) to the authority, or

(d) for any other purpose designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council that relates to the payment of government guarantees of liabilities transferred under section 38 (2).

(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make orders respecting the time or times within which and the conditions under which the authority must deposit assets into a trust established under subsection (1) of this section and may identify assets by name, class or description.

(3) The authority must deposit assets into each trust established under subsection (1) at the time or times set out in, and in accordance with, any orders made under subsection (2), which assets must

(a) have a value, and be of a type or class of assets, acceptable to the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations, and

(b) be capable of generating cash flows sufficient to discharge fully the payment or repayment for which the trust is established under subsection (1).

(4) When the authority deposits the required assets under subsection (3), the proportions of the sinking funds that, under section 38 (7), are deemed to be held for the benefit of the authority are transferred to the authority or, if another person has been designated by the authority, to the designated person.

(5) When the authority deposits the required assets under subsection (3) for the purpose described in subsection (1) (c), the part of the loan liabilities of BC Transit that

(a) was owed by BC Transit to the government, and

(b) is transferred to the authority under section 38 (2),

is released.

(6) Subsections (4) and (5) do not apply if and to the extent that the assets deposited under subsection (3) are securities issued by the authority.

Transfer to government

40 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make orders specifying liabilities or proportions or parts of liabilities of BC Transit that are to become the liabilities of the government under this section.

(2) On the date that this subsection comes into force,

(a) the liabilities or proportions or parts of liabilities referred to in an order made under subsection (1) become the liabilities of the government, and

(b) BC Transit is released from those liabilities to the extent that those liabilities have become liabilities of the government under this subsection.

(3) If a sinking fund has been established for the repayment of any of the liabilities referred to in subsection (2), the proportion of that sinking fund that corresponds to the proportion of that liability that becomes a liability of the government under subsection (2) is, on the date that subsection (2) comes into force, deemed to be held for the benefit of the government.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), on the date that a liability becomes a liability of the government under subsection (2), a reference to BC Transit in any commercial paper, contract, lease, licence, permit or other instrument or document that is evidence of that liability is deemed to be a reference to the government.

(5) If, under this section, a proportion or part of a liability is transferred to the government, any commercial paper, contract, lease, licence, permit or other instrument or document that is evidence of that liability is, on the date of that transfer, deemed to be amended to reflect the interests of the government and others in that liability as a result of the operation of this section.

(6) The Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations may make payments out of the consolidated revenue fund, without an appropriation other than this subsection, for the payment of liabilities transferred to the government under this section.

Government guarantees

41 Nothing in sections 38 and 40 qualifies or releases any guarantee given by the government for

(a) securities issued by BC Transit, or

(b) leases to which BC Transit is a party.

Transfer not a default

42 None of the following constitute a breach or contravention of or a default under any instrument that evidences an asset or liability:

(a) a transfer of that asset or liability under section 38 or 40;

(b) the release of a person from that liability under section 38 or 40;

(c) an amendment to the instrument effected under section 38 (10) or (11) or 40 (4) or (5).

Statutory rights of way

43 (1) Without limiting section 38, a transfer to the authority, under that section, of an interest of BC Transit or the government in a statutory right of way under section 218 of the Land Title Act is effective to vest in the authority the transferred interest in the statutory right of way despite any prohibition against, or restriction on transfer under, the terms of the statutory right of way.

(2) A statutory right of way referred to in subsection (1) continues as a statutory right of way under section 218 of the Land Title Act despite any subsequent disposition or transmission of the transferred interest to the successors or assigns of the authority.

Declassification of highways

44 (1) If the Lieutenant Governor in Council revokes an order, made under the Highway Act, by which a highway that is located in the transportation service region was classified as an arterial or secondary highway, neither the municipality in which the highway is located nor the authority is responsible for payment of any debt obligations that were incurred by the government, before the classification was revoked, for capital costs in respect of that highway.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) relieves a municipality from any debt obligations, or parts of debt obligations, for which it was liable before the classification was revoked.

(3) If a highway that is located in the transportation service region and that is declassified as referred to in subsection (1) is designated as part of the major road network,

(a) a Provincial highways maintenance contract that applies, on the date that this section comes into force, to the whole or any part of that highway, remains in force, and will be administered by the government, until the earlier of March 14, 2001 and the termination of that contract,

(b) the authority must, until the earlier of March 14, 2001 and the termination of the contract, pay the cost of maintenance services performed under that contract as it applies to the highway

(i) to, or to the order of, the government, and

(ii) in a manner that satisfies, or allows the government to satisfy, the payment terms set out in that contract,

(c) the standards set out in the contract are deemed, until the earlier of March 14, 2001 and the termination of that contract, to be the standards set by the authority for maintenance of the highway under section 19, and

(d) a municipality is deemed to have discharged any obligation to maintain the highway for so long as that highway is being maintained under the contract.

(4) By December 31, 1999, the authority must pay to the government the lesser of

(a) $3.5 million, and

(b) the net savings calculated in accordance with subsection (5).

(5) In subsection (4) (b), "net savings" means any positive amount calculated in accordance with the following formula:

Net Savings = TC - TPC

  where  
  TC = means the total cost of maintenance services that the government has incurred between May 15, 1998 and the date this section comes into force on all highways that are described in subsection (3);
  TPC = means the total cost of all penalties that the government would have incurred under Provincial highway maintenance contracts servicing all highways that are described in subsection (3) if the government had terminated the work and payment under those contracts on May 15, 1998.

Part 5 -- General

Offence Act

45 Section 5 of the Offence Act does not apply to this Act.

Power to make regulations

46 (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

(a) specifying any provision of the Company Act that does not apply to a subsidiary incorporated under, or otherwise subject to, the Company Act,

(b) considered necessary or advisable to more efficiently bring this Act into operation and to facilitate the transition from the operation of the Acts repealed or amended by this Act, and

(c) considered necessary or advisable for any registrations required under the Land Title Act in relation to transfers of assets or liabilities under section 38 or 40 of this Act.

(3) If the Lieutenant Governor in Council makes a regulation under subsection (2) (a) of this section, the specified provision of the Company Act does not apply to the subsidiary.

(4) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make the following regulations on the recommendation of the authority:

(a) for the safety, good order and convenience of the public in the operation, use and control by the authority of any services, property and facilities in the regional transportation system, other than in the major road network;

(b) limiting and prohibiting access by any person or class of persons to

(i) property occupied by the authority or its subsidiaries or contractors,

(ii) any part of the regional transportation system, other than the major road network, or

(iii) any bus transportation services, rail transportation services or ferry services in any other region or location where the service is being operated by the authority or by its subsidiaries or contractors;

(c) limiting and prohibiting the carriage of goods or animals on

(i) any part of the regional transportation system, other than the major road network, or

(ii) any bus transportation services, rail transportation services or ferry services in any other region or location where the service is being operated by the authority or by its subsidiaries or contractors;

(d) respecting the use of ferries, ferry landings and ferry approaches, and the carriage of passengers and property on ferries under the jurisdiction of the authority;

(e) requiring the payment of project toll charges, user fees and motor vehicle charges and respecting their collection and enforcement;

(f) respecting the procedures to be used to resolve disputes arising under this Act between the authority and the municipalities, including, without limitation,

(i) specifying the disputes to which the procedures apply, and

(ii) requiring arbitration under the Commercial Arbitration Act.

Part 6 -- Transitional Provisions -- British Columbia
Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority

Transfer of financing authority assets and liabilities

47 (1) On the date that this section comes into force, all assets and liabilities of the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority become the assets and liabilities of the government.

(2) On the date that this section comes into force, a reference to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority in any commercial paper, contract, lease, licence, permit or other instrument or document evidencing any assets and liabilities transferred to the government under subsection (1) is deemed to be a reference to the government.

(3) The Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations may make payments out of the consolidated revenue fund, without an appropriation other than this subsection, for the payment of liabilities transferred to the government under this section.

Restructuring of non-GVRHD debt

48 (1) In this section and in section 50:

"government's percentage" means, in respect of any debt obligation of a regional hospital district in relation to which the regional hospital district was required to make interest, sinking fund or principal payments, that percentage of those payments for which the regional hospital district was, before the coming into force of this section, receiving funding from the government by way of capital grants;

"regional hospital district" has the same meaning as in the Hospital District Act, and includes the Health Facilities Association of British Columbia, but does not include the Greater Vancouver Regional Hospital District;

"regional hospital district's percentage" means, in respect of any debt obligation of a regional hospital district in relation to which the regional hospital district was required to make interest, sinking fund or principal payments, that percentage of those payments for which funding was, before the coming into force of this section, obtained from sources other than government capital grants.

(2) If, before the coming into force of this section, a regional hospital district owed a debt obligation to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority, on the date that this section comes into force,

(a) the regional hospital district is released from that part of the debt obligation that corresponds to the government's percentage of that debt obligation, and

(b) the principal amount of any security evidencing that debt obligation is reduced to the regional hospital district's percentage of that debt obligation.

(3) If a sinking fund has been established for the repayment of a regional hospital district's debt obligation referred to in subsection (2), the percentage of that sinking fund that corresponds to the government's percentage of the debt obligation is, on the date that this section comes into force, deemed to be held for the benefit of the government.

(4) If an enactment, bylaw or other instrument imposes an obligation on a regional hospital district to make payments into a sinking fund established for the repayment of any of the regional hospital district's debt obligations referred to in subsection (2), that enactment, bylaw or other instrument is deemed to be amended on the date that this section comes into force so that the regional hospital district is obliged to pay only a percentage, being the regional hospital district's percentage of the debt obligation, of each of those payments.

(5) If, before the coming into force of this section, a regional hospital district owed a debt obligation to the government under the certificate of approval program, on the date that this section comes into force,

(a) the regional hospital district is released from that part of the debt obligation that corresponds to the government's percentage of that debt obligation, and

(b) the principal amount of any security evidencing that debt obligation is reduced to the regional hospital district's percentage of that debt obligation.

Restructuring of GVRHD debt

49 On the date that this section comes into force,

(a) the debt obligations owed by the Greater Vancouver Regional Hospital District to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority are released and any securities evidencing those debt obligations are cancelled,

(b) the sinking funds established for repayment of the debt obligations referred to in paragraph (a) are deemed to be held for the benefit of the government,

(c) the obligations of the Greater Vancouver Regional Hospital District, including those that arise under an enactment, bylaw or other instrument, to make payments into sinking funds established for the repayment of the debt obligations owed to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority are released, and

(d) the Greater Vancouver Regional Hospital District's debt obligations to the government under the certificate of approval program are released.

Trusts

50 (1) There may be established one or more trusts, to be administered by the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations or by another person designated by that minister for the purpose of repayment of the government's debt obligations

(a) that relate to the regional hospital district's percentages of each of the debt obligations owed by the regional hospital district to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority, and

(b) that

(i) are transferred to the government from the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority under section 47, or

(ii) were incurred by the government in order to lend money to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority before the repeal of the Hospital District Finance Act.

(2) A regional hospital district must, if directed to do so by the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations, deposit assets into a trust or trusts established under subsection (1), which assets must

(a) have a value and be of a type or class of assets acceptable to the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations, and

(b) be capable of generating cash flows sufficient to discharge fully the principal and interest payments of that regional hospital district's percentage of each of the debt obligations that was, before being transferred to the government under section 47, owed by that regional hospital district to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority.

(3) When a regional hospital district deposits the required assets under subsection (2),

(a) the amount of the regional hospital district's percentage of those debt obligations that were owed to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority by that regional hospital district before those obligations were transferred to the government under section 47 is released,

(b) the securities evidencing those debt obligations are cancelled, and

(c) there is transferred to that regional hospital district, or to another person designated by that regional hospital district, in respect of each sinking fund that had been established for the repayment of any of those debt obligations, a percentage, being the regional hospital district's percentage of the related debt obligation, of that sinking fund.

(4) Subsection (3) does not apply if and to the extent that the assets deposited under subsection (2) are securities issued by the regional hospital district.

 
Consequential Amendments

British Columbia Transit Act

51 Section 1 (1) of the British Columbia Transit Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 38, is amended

(a) in the definition of "municipality" by striking out "and the City of Vancouver",

(b) in the definition of "rail transit system" by striking out everything after "goods by railway", and

(c) in the definition of "transit service agreement" by adding ", or between the authority and a regional district," after "municipality".

52 Section 3 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) (a) by adding "that support regional growth strategies, official community plans and the economic development of the transit service areas" after "transit systems",

(b) in subsection (2) (d) by striking out "and the budgets for each local and regional transit commission;" and substituting "after consultation with the local and regional transit commissions, municipalities and regional districts affected by the public passenger transportation system or rail transit system;",

(c) in subsection (2) (g) by striking out ", 15 (2) (b), 17 and 21." and substituting "and 15 (2) (b) or (c).", and

(d) by repealing subsections (3) and (4).

53 Section 4 is amended

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

(1) The board of directors consists of directors appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council to hold office during pleasure, and the Lieutenant Governor in Council must appoint, as directors,

(a) 2 individuals who are members of the regional transit commission for the greater Victoria metropolitan area established under section 25,

(b) 2 individuals each of whom is

(i) a mayor of a municipality that has a transit service agreement, or

(ii) a chair of a regional district that has a transit service agreement, and

(c) 3 other individuals.

(1.1) No act or proceeding of the directors is invalid merely because of there being in office less than the number of directors required by this section. ,

(b) in subsection (2) by adding at the end "and must fix the salary to be paid to the chair" , and

(c) by repealing subsection (3) and substituting the following:

(3) The directors must appoint a chief executive officer of the authority and must establish the terms and conditions of his or her employment.

54 Section 6 is repealed and the following substituted:

Management

6 (1) Every collective agreement between the authority and a trade union is deemed to provide that it is the function of the authority, subject to the provisions of the collective agreement, to manage the authority's affairs.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), "manage the authority's affairs" includes, without limitation, the right to determine

(a) the employment, complement and organization of employees necessary to carry on the business and operations of the authority, and

(b) the work methods and procedures applicable in the provision of transit services.

55 Section 8 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) (g) by adding at the end ", after consultation with the local and regional transit commissions, municipalities and regional districts affected by the public passenger transportation system.",

(b) in subsection (2) by striking out "or the Vancouver Charter" and "by bylaw,",

(c) in subsection (7) by striking out "and section 541 of the Vancouver Charter", and

(d) by adding the following subsection:

(9) Despite any provision of this Act or any other enactment, the authority may own, acquire and dispose of property that is located in, or is being employed in, the transportation service region as defined in the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act.

56 Section 14 (1) (b) is repealed and the following substituted:

(b) if the government has, on the recommendation of the municipality or otherwise, amended the Motor Fuel Tax Act to provide a tax under that Act for the raising of revenue for municipal purposes under this Act, with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council,

(i) impose the tax under paragraph (a) of this subsection, or

(ii) dispense with the tax under paragraph (a), or impose a lesser tax than that required under paragraph (a), and apply to the Lieutenant Governor in Council to raise the balance of the prescribed portion in accordance with the tax available under the Motor Fuel Tax Act.

57 Section 15 is amended

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

"commission contribution amount" means, in respect of a regional transit commission that is required under section 12 or 13 to contribute a portion of the annual cost of a public passenger transportation system, the portion to be contributed by the commission based on the estimated annual cost less the estimated annual revenue accruing to the commission from the public passenger transportation system; ,

(b) by repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:

(2) If a regional transit commission is required under section 12 or 13 to contribute a portion of the annual cost of a public passenger transportation system, the commission must do one of the following:

(a) prescribe, by regulation, a tax on the net taxable value of land and improvements in the regional transit service area, other than land and improvements that are taxable for school purposes only by special Act, which tax is sufficient to generate the commission contribution amount;

(b) prescribe, by regulation, a lesser tax than that required under paragraph (a) of this subsection and raise the balance of the commission contribution amount in accordance with section 12.1 of the Motor Fuel Tax Act;

(c) dispense with the tax under paragraph (a) of this subsection and raise the commission contribution amount in accordance with section 12.1 of the Motor Fuel Tax Act.

(2.1) Despite subsection (2), a regional transit commission may, under that subsection, raise more or less than the commission contribution amount in a fiscal year if

(a) any amount raised in that fiscal year that is in excess of the commission contribution amount is deposited in the fund created under subsection (2.2), or

(b) any shortfall that results from raising less than the commission contribution amount in that fiscal year is, subject to subsection (2.3), covered from that fund.

(2.2) A regional transit commission may establish and retain a fund for the purposes of this section.

(2.3) A regional transit commission must ensure that any fund created by it under subsection (2.2) does not have a negative balance at the end of any fiscal year. , and

(c) by adding the following subsection:

(6) The assessment commissioner must, at the direction of the regional transit commission, certify and forward to the regional transit commission and the authority the current year net taxable values of all land and improvements in respect of which a tax may be prescribed under subsection (2) for any municipality or rural area in the regional transit service area.

58 Section 16 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "or 17 (15)",

(b) in subsection (1) by striking out "under either of those sections." and substituting "under that section.",

(c) in subsection (2) by striking out "or 17 (15)" in both places, and

(d) by adding the following subsection:

(3) In addition to any money payable to the authority under subsection (2), if in any year (the "grant year") a grant in place of taxes for land and improvements in a municipality or rural area in the regional transit service area is received by the collector of the municipality or by the Surveyor of Taxes from

(a) the government of Canada under the Municipal Grants Act (Canada),

(b) a corporation included in Schedule III or IV of the Municipal Grants Act (Canada), or

(c) a public body as defined in the Auditor General Act,

the municipality or the Surveyor of Taxes, as the case may be, must pay to the authority, on or before February 1 in the following year, the amount determined by the following formula:

required payment = amount of grant X [commission's taxes/local taxes]

where

  amount of grant means the full amount of the grant provided in the grant year to the municipality or the Surveyor of Taxes, as the case may be, for the land and improvements;
  commission's taxes means the taxes prescribed by the regional transit commission for the grant year under section 15 on land and improvements in the municipality or rural area, as the case may be;
  local taxes means,
    (a) in the case of a grant provided to the collector of a municipality, the taxes levied by the municipality for the grant year on land and improvements in the regional transit service area that are located in that municipality, or
    (b) in the case of a grant provided to the Surveyor of Taxes, the taxes levied by the Surveyor of Taxes for the grant year on land and improvements in that part of the regional transit service area that consists of rural area.

59 Section 17 is repealed.

60 Section 18 (2) is repealed and the following substituted:

(2) If the council of a municipality imposes a tax under section 14 or if a regional transit commission prescribes a tax under section 15 (2), the council or regional transit commission must adopt a variable tax rate system.

61 Section 19 is amended

(a) in subsections (1) and (5) by striking out ", the Vancouver Charter", and

(b) in subsections (1) (a) and (2) by striking out "any of sections 14, 15 and 17 (15)" and substituting "either of sections 14 and 15".

62 Section 20 is repealed.

63 Section 21 is repealed.

64 Section 22 is amended by striking out "or Vancouver Charter, as the case may be".

65 Section 25 is amended

(a) by adding the following subsections:

(1.1) The authority may enter into transit service agreements with municipalities or regional districts for the establishment of public passenger transportation systems within a transit service area.

(1.2) If the authority has not established a transit commission under subsection (2) for a particular transit service area, a municipality or regional district, as the case may be, in that transit service area must review and make recommendations to the authority respecting the annual operating and capital budgets for each public passenger transportation system in that transit service area. ,

(b) in subsection (4) by striking out "or Vancouver Charter",

(c) by repealing subsection (6),

(d) by repealing subsection (7) (f) and (g) and substituting the following:

(f) one of the following:

(i) the Mayor of Sidney;

(ii) the Mayor of North Saanich;

(iii) the Mayor of Central Saanich;

(g) one of the following:

(i) the Mayor of Colwood;

(ii) the Mayor of Metchosin;

(iii) the Mayor of View Royal;

(iv) the Mayor of Langford;

(v) the Mayor of the Highlands;

(vi) the electoral area director of the Sooke electoral area;

(vii) the electoral area director of the Langford electoral area. ,

(e) in subsection (8) by striking out "for a period of 2 years",

(f) in subsection (9) by striking out "or Vancouver Charter",

(g) in subsection (12) (a) by striking out ", other than a commuter rail service," and ", operators of public passenger transportation systems", and

(h) in subsection (12) (c) by striking out "sections 15, 17 and 21." and substituting "section 15."

66 Section 26 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) (a) by striking out "or Vancouver Charter",

(b) in subsection (2) by striking out ", the Vancouver Charter", and

(c) in subsection (2) by striking out "the Advanced Light Rapid Transit system." and substituting "a rail transit system."

67 Section 31 is amended by striking out "$2.5 billion" and substituting "$0.5 billion".

68 Section 2 of the Supplement to the British Columbia Transit Act is repealed and the following substituted:

2 Section 14 (1) (b) is repealed and the following substituted:

(b) with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, dispense with the tax under paragraph (a) of this subsection or impose a lesser tax than that required under paragraph (a), and apply to the Lieutenant Governor in Council to raise the balance of the prescribed portion in accordance with one or both of

(i) section 16.1, and

(ii) if the government has, on the recommendation of the municipality or otherwise, amended the Motor Fuel Tax Act to provide a tax under that Act for the raising of revenue for municipal purposes under this Act, the tax available under the Motor Fuel Tax Act.

69 Section 3 of the Supplement to the British Columbia Transit Act is repealed and the following substituted:

3 Section 15 (2) (b) and (c) is amended by adding "or section 16.1 of this Act" after "section 12.1 of the Motor Fuel Tax Act".

70 Section 4 of the Supplement to the British Columbia Transit Act is repealed and the following substituted:

4 Section 16 is amended

(a) by striking out "15" wherever it appears and substituting "15 or 16.1", and

(b) in subsection (1) by striking out "under that section" and substituting "under either of those sections".

71 Section 16.1 (1) as enacted by section 5 of the Supplement to the British Columbia Transit Act is amended

(a) by adding the following definition:

"residential dwelling unit" means a detached house, cottage or other single family dwelling, a duplex, an apartment building, a strata lot, a townhouse, a rowhouse, a rest home, a nursing home, and includes that part of a multi-use building that is used for the purpose of single family dwellings, but does not include

(a) a hotel,

(b) a motel,

(c) a lodge,

(d) a resort,

(e) a hospital,

(f) any other institutional building, bunk house or camp building used on commercial or construction projects, or

(g) those parts of any building that are used for any purpose other than residential; , and

(b) in the definition of "residential parking" by striking out ", as defined in section 17 (1),".

72 Section 6 of the Supplement to the British Columbia Transit Act is repealed.

73 Sections 7 and 8 of the Supplement to the British Columbia Transit Act are repealed and the following substituted:

7 Section 19 (1) (a) and (2) is amended by striking out "either of sections 14 and 15" and substituting "any of sections 14, 15 and 16.1".

74 Section 9 of the Supplement to the British Columbia Transit Act is repealed and the following substituted:

9 Section 25 (12) (c) is amended by striking out "15" and substituting "15 or 16.1".

 
Commercial Transport Act

75 Section 11 (3) of the Commercial Transport Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 58, is amended by adding the following paragraph:

(d) in a regulation made under subsection (2) (a) or (m), reflect, in relation to any part of the major road network, as that term is defined in the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act, a recommendation made by the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority under section 24 (2) (e) of that Act.

 
Emergency Program Act

76 Section 1 (1) of the Emergency Program Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 111, is amended in the definition of "government corporation" by adding at the end ", and includes the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority established under the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act and any of its subsidiaries".

 
Expropriation Act

77 Section 1 of the Expropriation Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 125, is amended in the definition of "approving authority" by striking out "or" at the end of paragraph (d), by adding ", or" at the end of paragraph (e) and by adding the following paragraph:

(f) for an expropriation by the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority under the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, unless the Lieutenant Governor in Council designates the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations as the approving authority for the purpose of

(i) expropriations under that Act, or

(ii) any particular expropriation under that Act; .

 
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

78 Schedule 2 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 165, is amended

(a) by adding the following:

  Public Body:     Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority
  Head: Chair ,

(b) by striking out the following:

  Public Body:  Vancouver Regional Transit Commission
  Head: Chair , and

(c) by striking out the following:

  Public Body:    British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority
  Head: Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations .

 
Highway Act

79 Section 13 (2) of the Highway Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 188, is amended by striking out ", or direct the issue of a lease to that authority," and substituting "or to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, or direct the issue of a lease to one of those authorities,".

80 Section 29 (3) is amended by adding at the end "or may reimburse the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority for any costs incurred by the authority".

 
Hospital District Act

81 Section 4 (2) of the Hospital District Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 202, is repealed and the following substituted:

(2) Except as varied under subsection (1), this Act, other than this Part, applies to a municipal regional district declared under section 2 (1) (b) to be a regional hospital district and to the municipal regional board, for their respective functions as the regional hospital district and the regional hospital district board as it applies to a regional hospital district incorporated under this Act and to its board.

82 Section 22 is repealed and the following substituted:

Accounting requirements

22 The board must follow accounting policies established by the minister.

83 Section 23 (1) is amended by adding the following paragraph:

(a.1) a list of all capital expenditures with a description of each project for the following year; .

84 Section 23 (3), (4) and (9) is repealed and the following substituted:

(3) The minister must review each provisional budget received under subsection (2) and may make revisions the minister considers necessary.

(4) The minister must

(a) designate in writing those items in each budget that are eligible for a prepaid capital advance of at least 60% of the approved costs of that item under section 56.1 of the Financial Administration Act, and

(b) on or before March 15 in each year, send to the board a copy of the budget as reviewed, together with

(i) any revisions made under subsection (3) of this section, and

(ii) a copy of items designated under paragraph (a) of this subsection.

85 Section 32 is amended

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

(1) A board that proposes to borrow or spend money to meet capital expenditures must prepare, in consultation with the minister, and enact, a capital bylaw permitting the borrowing or spending of that money. ,

(b) by repealing subsection (2) (c) and substituting the following:

(c) may, subject to paragraphs (a) and (b), provide for the issue of securities to raise the net sums required, after payment of the expenses of the issue and sale of the securities, to pay the capital costs of projects approved under this Act if those costs are not to be paid by a prepaid capital advance under section 56.1 of the Financial Administration Act or from any other source, and , and

(c) by adding the following subsection:

(4) For the purposes of subsection (2) (d), the minister may approve all or any part of a capital bylaw.

86 Section 35 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out everything after "sinking fund plan",

(b) by repealing subsection (2) (a) and substituting the following:

(a) the board must set aside in each year during the term of the securities a sum that, together with interest compounded annually on it, at a rate of yearly interest determined by the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations or by any other person designated by that minister, would be sufficient to provide a sinking fund for

(i) the repayment in full of the securities at maturity, or

(ii) with the approval of the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations or of any other person designated by that minister, the partial repayment of the securities at maturity, and , and

(c) by repealing subsection (4) and substituting the following:

(4) The amount to be set aside in each year for the sinking fund must be paid on or before the date specified in the bylaw to the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations, or to any other person designated by that minister, who must

(a) act as trustee for the board,

(b) establish appropriate sinking fund trustee accounts, and

(c) invest the amount and interest earnings on that amount in investments permitted for a trust fund under section 40 (4) of the Financial Administration Act or as otherwise permitted by law.

87 Section 36 is amended by striking out "the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority or".

88 Section 48 (2) is amended by striking out ", or to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority on behalf of the board,".

89 Section 51 is amended by repealing subsection (2) (l).

 
Hospital District Finance Act

90 The Hospital District Finance Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 203, is repealed.

 
Hydro and Power Authority Act

91 Section 32 (7) of the Hydro and Power Authority Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 212, is amended

(a) by repealing paragraph (a), and

(b) by adding the following paragraph:

(m.1) the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act; .

 
Indian Self Government Enabling Act

92 Section 1 of the Indian Self Government Enabling Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 219, is amended in the definition of "Provincial taxing authority" by striking out "and" at the end of paragraph (g) and by adding the following paragraph:

(g.1) the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority under the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act, and".

 
Land Act

93 Section 51 (1) of the Land Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 245, is amended by adding at the end "or to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority established under the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act or any of its subsidiaries".

 
Land Title Act

94 Section 218 (1) (b) of the Land Title Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 250, is amended by adding "the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority," after "a regional district,".

95 Section 219 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by adding ", the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority," after "a regional district", and

(b) in subsection (3) by striking out "regional district or local" and substituting "a regional district, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority or a local".

 
Ministry of Transportation and Highways Act

96 Section 6 (e) of the Ministry of Transportation and Highways Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 311, is repealed and the following substituted:

(e) make grants

(i) to a corporation defined in the Company Act, to a municipality or to a regional district that is authorized to carry on a business, enterprise or activity, or to provide a service, relating to transport, or

(ii) to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority under the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act.

97 Section 11 (d) is repealed and the following substituted:

(d) ferries and ferry landings that are part of the highway system, except those that are

(i) part of British Columbia Ferry Corporation,

(ii) coastal ferries other than those coastal ferries designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and

(iii) part of the regional transportation system as defined in the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act.

 
Motor Fuel Tax Act

98 Section 1 of the Motor Fuel Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 317, is amended by adding the following definitions:

"Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority" means the authority established under the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act;

"Greater Vancouver transportation service region" has the same meaning "transportation service region" has in the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act.

99 Section 2 (2) is amended by striking out "section 4." and substituting "section 4 (1) (a)."

100 Section 4 (1) is repealed and the following substituted:

(1) A purchaser of gasoline within an area

(a) outside the Greater Vancouver transportation service region must pay to the government, at the time of purchase, tax on the gasoline at the rate of 9¢ per litre,

(b) inside the Greater Vancouver transportation service region must pay to the government, at the time of purchase, tax on the gasoline at the rate of 13¢ per litre less the applicable rate of tax payable at the time of purchase under paragraph (c), and

(c) inside the Greater Vancouver transportation service region must pay to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, at the time of purchase, tax on the gasoline at the following rates:

(i) effective April 1, 1999, 8¢ per litre;

(ii) effective April 1, 2001, 9¢ per litre;

(iii) effective April 1, 2003, 9.5¢ per litre;

(iv) effective April 1, 2005, 10¢ per litre.

(1.1) If a purchaser takes delivery of gasoline within an area

(a) outside the Greater Vancouver transportation service region, that purchaser is deemed to be a purchaser liable to pay tax under subsection (1) (a), and

(b) inside the Greater Vancouver transportation service region, that purchaser is deemed to be a purchaser liable to pay tax under subsection (1) (b) and (c).

101 Section 4 is amended

(a) in subsection (2) by striking out "rate established under subsection (1)." and substituting "rate established under subsection (1) (a).", and

(b) in subsection (3) by striking out "subsection (1)." and substituting "subsection (1) (a)."

102 Section 10 is amended

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

(1) A purchaser of motive fuel within an area

(a) outside the Greater Vancouver transportation service region must pay to the government, at the time of purchase, tax on the fuel at the rate of 9.5¢ per litre,

(b) inside the Greater Vancouver transportation service region must pay to the government, at the time of purchase, tax on the fuel at the rate of 13.5¢ per litre less the applicable rate of tax payable at the time of purchase under paragraph (c), and

(c) inside the Greater Vancouver transportation service region must pay to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, at the time of purchase, tax on the fuel at the following rates:

(i) effective April 1, 1999, 8¢ per litre;

(ii) effective April 1, 2001, 9¢ per litre;

(iii) effective April 1, 2003, 9.5¢ per litre;

(iv) effective April 1, 2005, 10¢ per litre.

(1.1) If a purchaser takes delivery of motive fuel within an area

(a) outside the Greater Vancouver transportation service region, that purchaser is deemed to be a purchaser liable to pay tax under subsection (1) (a), and

(b) inside the Greater Vancouver transportation service region, that purchaser is deemed to be a purchaser liable to pay tax under subsection (1) (b) and (c). ,

(b) in subsection (2) by striking out "rate established under subsection (1)." and substituting "rate established under subsection (1) (a).", and

(c) in subsection (3) by striking out "subsection (1)." and substituting "subsection (1) (a)."

103 Section 12 is repealed and the following substituted:

Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority tax arrangements

12 (1) The taxes imposed under sections 4 (1) (c) and 10 (1) (c) that are remitted to the minister as required under this Act

(a) are received by the minister as agent of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, and

(b) subject to subsections (2) (b) and (3) of this section, must be remitted by the minister to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority.

(2) The director may

(a) charge the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority a fee to recover the additional costs to the government of collecting and remitting the tax imposed under sections 4 (1) (c) and 10 (1) (c), and

(b) deduct the fee referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection from the amount of tax received on behalf of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority.

(3) The director may deduct from the amount of tax received by the minister on behalf of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority any amounts that the director or minister is required, under this Act or any other enactment or as a result of a judgment of a court, to refund to collectors, wholesale dealers, retail dealers or purchasers.

(4) Despite the Financial Administration Act, any taxes received by the minister under subsection (1) of this section must be paid into the consolidated revenue fund.

(5) Without an appropriation other than this subsection, the amount that the minister must remit to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority under subsection (1) (b) must be paid out of the consolidated revenue fund.

(6) Section 27 (1) (a) of the Financial Administration Act does not apply to the appropriation under subsection (5) of this section.

(7) The minister on behalf of the government may enter into a tax collection agreement with the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority with respect to the tax described in subsection (1) and the fee described in subsection (2).

Victoria regional transit service area tax arrangements

12.1 (1) In this section, "Victoria regional transit service area" means the area established as the Victoria regional transit service area under section 25 of the British Columbia Transit Act.

(2) Subject to a regulation made under subsection (3) of this section, in addition to the tax payable under sections 4 and 10, a purchaser of gasoline or motive fuel from a retail dealer delivering either of those fuels to that purchaser within the Victoria regional transit service area must pay to the government, at the time of purchase, for the raising of revenue for the purposes of the British Columbia Transit Act, a tax at the rate of 2.5¢ per litre on each litre of gasoline or motive fuel purchased by the purchaser.

(3) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by regulation,

(a) specify that the tax under subsection (2) does not apply to gasoline, or to motive fuel, in which event, the tax must not be collected on that fuel,

(b) suspend the operation of subsection (2) insofar as it relates to any part of the Victoria regional transit service area, in which event, while that suspension is in force, no tax is payable under subsection (2) by a purchaser of gasoline or motive fuel from a retail dealer delivering either of those fuels to that purchaser within that part of the Victoria regional transit service area, and

(c) if a suspension has been prescribed under paragraph (b) of this subsection, prescribe that the suspension be terminated and that all or part of subsection (2) again comes into force in that part of the Victoria regional transit service area as of a prescribed date.

(4) The minister must pay out of the consolidated revenue fund, without an appropriation other than this subsection, to the regional transit commission for the Victoria regional transit service area amounts equivalent to the net revenue collected under subsection (2).

104 Section 13 (1) and (2) is amended by striking out "and 12," and substituting ", 12 and 12.1,".

105 Section 22 (2) is amended by adding "or 12.1" after "12" in both places.

106 Section 64 (1) is amended by striking out "12," and substituting "12.1 (2),".

107 Section 71 (2) is amended by adding the following paragraph:

(x) respecting any matter or thing that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary for or in relation to the payment to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority or to the regional transit commission for the Victoria regional transit service area of the tax imposed under sections 4 (1) (c) and 10 (1) (c) or section 12.1 (2) respectively.

 
Motor Vehicle Act

108 Section 50 of the Motor Vehicle Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 318, is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by adding ", except in those areas where it is the responsibility of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority under subsection (1.2) to do so," after "may",

(b) by adding the following subsections:

(1.1) In this section:

"Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority" means the authority established under the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act;

"transportation service region" has the same meaning as in the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act.

(1.2) The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority is to establish, administer and operate, or cause to be operated, in the transportation service region a program for the certification of motor vehicle compliance with the levels established under subsection (2) (c) and may enter into and perform an agreement with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia under which the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority may do one or more of establish, administer and operate, or cause to be operated, a program under this subsection in any other area of British Columbia specified by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

(6) The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority may assess and collect fees that are no greater than those fees that that authority estimates are necessary to generate an annual revenue that is sufficient to satisfy the full annual costs of the programs described in subsection (1.2). ,

(c) in subsections (2) (d) and (5) by adding "or the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority" after "the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia", and

(d) by repealing subsections (3) and (4) and substituting the following:

(3) The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia or the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority may, in respect of a motor vehicle that fails the prescribed test for motor vehicle compliance, certify the vehicle.

(4) The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia may issue a licence for a term of 3 months to a motor vehicle certified under subsection (3), but a licence may be issued under this subsection only once in the 12 month period following the certification of that motor vehicle.

109 The following section is added:

Yielding to bus

169.1 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the driver of a vehicle on a highway, on overtaking a bus that is stopped, standing or parked, must yield the right of way to the bus if

(a) the bus displays a sign or other signal device requiring the driver of the vehicle to yield to the bus, and

(b) the bus driver has signalled an intention to move into the travelled portion of the highway.

(2) Subsection (1) applies if, at the point on the highway where the driver overtakes the bus, the applicable speed limit is not more than 60 km/h.

(3) Despite subsection (1), a bus driver must not move a bus into the travelled portion of the highway unless it is safe to do so.

(4) A sign or signal device referred to in subsection (1) (a) must not be displayed on any vehicle other than a bus that is

(a) operated by or on behalf of

(i) British Columbia Transit under the British Columbia Transit Act, or

(ii) the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority under the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act, or

(b) operated by or on behalf of a person or municipality as part of an independent transit service approved by the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority under section 5 of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act.

 
Municipal Act

110 Section 336 (6) (a) (v) of the Municipal Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 323, is amended by striking out "sections 14 and 17" and substituting "section 14".

111 Section 595 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) Despite subsection (1) (a) of this section, independent transit services, as that term is defined in the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act, that have been approved under section 5 of that Act

(a) may be established and operated without the necessity of a bylaw being adopted with the assent of the electors as contemplated under subsection (1) of this section, and

(b) are deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to have been approved in accordance with this section.

112 Section 601 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) A reference in subsection (1) to transportation facilities includes a reference to any facilities related to independent transit services, as that term is defined in the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act, that have been approved for that municipality under section 5 of that Act and, for that purpose, any rates or terms that may be approved under subsection (1) of this section in relation to such transportation facilities must accord with any terms and conditions imposed on the municipality under section 5 of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act.

113 Section 652 is amended in the definition of "business" by striking out "its agencies or corporations owned by the Provincial government;" and substituting "by corporations owned by the Provincial government, by agencies of the Provincial government or by the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority or any of its subsidiaries;".

114 Section 848 is amended in the definition of "affected local government" by adding", and includes the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority established under the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act," after "section 857".

115 Section 857 (3) is amended by adding the following paragraph:

(a.1) the board of directors of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority if the regional growth strategy is for the Greater Vancouver Regional District, .

116 Section 867 (3) is amended by adding the following paragraph:

(a.1) for the purposes of an intergovernmental advisory committee established in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the planning director of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority or another official appointed by the board of directors of that authority; .

117 Section 868 (3) is amended by adding "the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority," after "greater boards,".

 
Municipal Finance Authority Act

118 Section 1 of the Municipal Finance Authority Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 325, is amended in paragraph (b) of the definition of "regional district" by adding ", a regional hospital district under the Hospital District Act, other than the Greater Vancouver Regional Hospital District" after "Greater Vancouver Water District".

119 Section 25 is amended by striking out "or" at the end of paragraph (c), by adding ", or" at the end of paragraph (d) and by adding the following paragraph:

(e) a regional hospital district under the Hospital District Act, other than the Greater Vancouver Regional Hospital District.

 
Ombudsman Act

120 The Schedule to the Ombudsman Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 340, is amended by adding the following:

30. The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority established under the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act.

 
Social Service Tax Act

121 Section 1 of the Social Service Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 431, is amended by adding the following definitions:

"Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority" means the authority established under the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act;

"Greater Vancouver transportation service region" has the same meaning as "transportation service region" has in the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act.

122 Section 61 (1) is repealed and the following substituted:

(1) A purchaser of a parking right must pay a tax at the rate of 7% of the purchase price of the parking right, unless subsection (2) applies.

(1.1) If a parking right is purchased

(a) within an area outside the Greater Vancouver transportation service region, the tax under subsection (1) must be paid to the government, and

(b) within an area inside the Greater Vancouver transportation service region, the tax under subsection (1) must be paid to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority.

123 Section 62 is amended by striking out "section 61" and substituting "section 61 (1)".

124 The following section is added:

Tax collection

65.1 (1) The taxes payable to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority under section 61 (1.1) (b) that are remitted to the commissioner as required under this Act

(a) are received by the commissioner as agent of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, and

(b) subject to subsections (2) (b) and (3), must be remitted by the commissioner to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority.

(2) The commissioner may

(a) charge the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority a fee to recover the additional costs to the government of collecting and remitting the tax payable to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority under section 61 (1.1) (b), and

(b) deduct the fee referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection from the amount of tax received on behalf of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority.

(3) The commissioner may deduct from the amount of tax collected on behalf of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority any amounts that the commissioner or minister is required, under this Act or any other enactment or as a result of a judgment of a court, to refund to purchasers, vendors or lessors.

(4) Despite the Financial Administration Act, any taxes received by the commissioner under subsection (1) of this section must be paid into the consolidated revenue fund.

(5) Without an appropriation other than this subsection, the amount that the commissioner must remit to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority under subsection (1) (b) must be paid out of the consolidated revenue fund.

(6) Section 27 (1) (a) of the Financial Administration Act does not apply to the appropriation under subsection (5) of this section.

(7) The amounts payable by the commissioner to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority under this section may be based on the commissioner's estimates of the amounts referred to in subsections (1) to (3).

(8) The minister, on behalf of the government, may enter into a tax collection agreement with the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority with respect to the tax described in subsection (1) and the fee described in subsection (2).

125 Section 134 is amended by adding the following paragraph:

(d) respecting any matter or thing that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary for the collection and remittance of the tax payable to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority under section 61 (1.1) (b).

 
Special Appropriations Act

126 Section 6 of the Special Appropriations Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 437, is amended

(a) in subsection (1) (a) by adding "and the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act" after "the British Columbia Transit Act",

(b) in subsection (1) (b) by adding "or by the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority established under the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act" after "the British Columbia Transit Act", and

(c) in subsection (2) by striking out "The amount paid out" and substituting "The amount paid out to British Columbia Transit".

 
Vancouver Charter

127 Section 374.4 (5) (a) (v) of the Vancouver Charter, S.B.C. 1953, c. 55, is amended by striking out "sections 14 and 17" and substituting "section 14".

Commencement

128 (1) This Act, except sections 29 (3), 38, 43, 47 to 50, 90, 118 and 119, comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

(2) Section 29 (3) comes into force on October 1, 2001.

(3) Sections 38, 43, 47 to 50, 90, 118 and 119 come into force on March 31, 1999 or on an earlier date set by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

 
Explanatory Note

This Bill establishes the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority which is responsible for the planning, funding, management and operation of an integrated regional transportation system for the Greater Vancouver Regional District. The 15 directors of the authority will be appointed by the Greater Vancouver Regional District and the government and are required to consult with stakeholders before exercising many of the authority's responsibilities and powers. The authority will have the capacity to assess property taxes, project toll charges, user fees, motor vehicle charges and parking taxes to generate the revenues required for the regional transportation system. The regional operations of BC Transit and the operations of BC Transit's subsidiaries, West Coast Express Ltd. and BC Rapid Transit Company Ltd., will be transferred to the authority.


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