The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
MS. CAROLE JAMES
This Bill creates the Representative for Seniors to improve systems of care and support for seniors and their families in British Columbia. The Representative for Seniors will monitor the performance of various programs and services for seniors to ensure services are integrated, coordinated, non-discriminatory and accountable. The Representative will work on behalf of seniors and their families by recommending policy reform for better services and programs for seniors, providing support to seniors and their families, and providing information to the public on seniors’ issues.
Contents
1 In this Act,
"designated services" means a service or program for seniors that is provided, authorized or funded by or on behalf of the government, including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) services or programs under the Community Care and Assisted Living Act;
(b) health care and Pharmacare services for seniors;
(c) housing services for seniors;
(d) transportation services for seniors;
(e) any additional designated services that arc prescribed under this Act or its regulations;
"health facility" means
(a) a hospital under the Hospitals Act,
(b) an assisted living residence or community care facility licensed under the Community Care and Assisted Living Act and its regulations;
(c) any institution or organization designated by regulation as a health facility;
"public body" has the same meaning as in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act;
"Pharmacare" means the provincial program that defrays, or makes reimbursement for, the cost of prescription drugs of eligible residents;
"representative" means the Representative for Seniors appointed under section 3 and, other than in sections 3 (1), (3) and (4), 9 (2) and (3) and 10, includes a person appointed under section 5 to act as the Representative for Seniors; and
"senior" means a resident of British Columbia who is 65 years or over.
2 The Representative for Seniors is established
(a) to ensure the rights and interests of seniors and their families, relating to designated services, are protected and that their views are heard and considered;
(b) to ensure that seniors have access to fair, responsive, and appropriate complaint and review processes at all stages in the provision of designated services;
(c) to provide information and advice to the government and communities about the availability, effectiveness, responsiveness, and relevance of designated services to seniors;
(d) to increase the accountability of ministries and other public bodies responsible for the provision of designated services;
(e) to promote and coordinate in communities the establishment of advocacy services for seniors and their famlies; and
(f) to perform any other functions assigned to the representative under this or any other enactment.
Part 2 — Representative for Seniors
3 (1) The Legislative Assembly, by resolution, may appoint as the Representative for Seniors a person who has been unanimously recommended for the appointment by a special committee.
(2) The representative is an officer of the Legislature.
(3) The representative must be appointed for a term of 5 years and may be reappointed under subsection (1) for a further 5 year term.
(4) A person must not be appointed undcr subsection (1) for a third or subsequent term.
4 (1) The representative may do any of the following in fulfilling the function of this office in accordance with this Act:
(a) support, assist, inform and advise seniors and their families respecting designated services, which activities include, without limitation,
(i) providing information and advice to seniors and their families about how to effectively access designated services,
(ii) advocating on behalf of a senior receiving or eligible to receive a designated service,
(iii) supporting, promoting in communities and commenting publicly on advocacy services for seniors and their families, including the right to obtain assistance from the representative, with respect to designated services;
(b) monitor, review, audit and conduct research on the provision of a designated service by a public body or health facility for the purpose of making recommendations to improve the effectiveness and responsiveness of that service, and comment publicly on any of these functions;
(c) review and investigate complaints under this Act;
(d) perform any other prescribed functions.
5 (1) The representative, in accordance with the Public Service Act, may appoint
(a) one or more deputy representatives in accordance with the regulations, and
(b) any other employees necessary to enable the representative to exercise the powers and perform the functions and duties of the office.
(2) Before appointing a deputy representative under subsection (1) (a), the representative must consider the skills, qualifications and experience of the person, including the person's understanding of the lives of seniors in British Columbia.
(3) For the purpose of the application of the Public Service Act to subsection (1) of this section, the representative is deemed to be a deputy minister.
(4) The representative may retain consultants, experts, specialists, or other persons that the representative considers necessary to enable or assist the representative to exercise the powers or perform the functions or duties under this Act.
(5) The representative may establish the remuneration and other terms and conditions of a person retained under subsection (4) and the Public Service Act does not apply in respect of that person.
6 (1) The representative may delegate, in writing, to a person or class of persons any power, function or duty of the representative under this Act, subject to terms and conditions the representative considers appropriate, except the power
(a) to delegate under this section, and
(b) to make a report under this Act.
(2) A delegation under this section is revocable at will and does not prevent the rcpresentative from exercising the delegated power at any time.
(3) If the representative who makes a delegation ceases to hold office, the delegation continues in effect so long as the delegate continues in office unless revoked by a succeeding representative.
(4) A person purporting to exercise a power or perform a function or duty of the representative through a delegation under this section must produce, on request, evidence of the person's authority to exercise the power or perform the function or duty.
7 The representative may not act as legal counsel in person or by agent.
8 (1) In this section, "officer of the Legislature" has the same meaning as in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, but does not include the representative.
(2) The representative has the right to any information that
(a) is in the custody or control of
(i) a public body other than an officer of the Legislature, or
(ii) a health facility, and
(b) is necessary to enable the representative to exercise his or her powers or perform his or her functions or duties under this Act.
(3) The public body or health facility must disclose to the representative the information to which the representative is entitled under subsection (2).
(4) This section applies despite
(a) a claim of confidentiality or privilege, other than a claim based on solicitor-client privilege, and
(b) any other enactment, other than a restriction in section 51 of the Evidence Act.
9 (1) The representative may resign at any time by giving written notice
(a) to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, or
(b) if the Speaker is absent from British Columbia or there is no Speaker, to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.
(2) By a resolution passed by 2/3 or more of the members present in the Legislative Assembly, the representative, for cause or incapacity, may be suspended from office, with or without salary, or removed from office.
(3) If the Legislative Assembly is not sitting and is not scheduled to sit within 5 days, the standing committee may suspend, by unanimous resolution, the representative for cause or incapacity, with or without salary, for a period that must be set by the standing committee to end not later than on the expiry of a further 20 sitting days of the Legislative Assembly.
10 (1) If the representative is suspended, the office is vacant or the representative is temporarily absent because of illness or another reason, the Legislative Assembly, on the recommendation of the standing committee, may appoint an acting representative to exercise the powers and perform the functions and duties of the representative until whichever of the following is the case and occurs first:
(a) the suspension ends;
(b) a person is appointed under section 3;
(c) the representative returns to office after the temporary absence.
(2) If the representatlve is suspended, the office is vacant or the representative is temporarily absent because of illness or another reason, and if the Legislative Assembly is not sitting and is not scheduled to sit within 5 days, the standing committee may appoint an acting representative to exercise the powers and perform the functions and duties of the representative until whichever of the following is the case and occurs first:
(a) the suspension ends;
(b) a person is appointed under section 3;
(c) the representative returns to office after the temporary absence.
11 The representative may enter into an agreement for the purpose of exercising the powers and performing the functions and duties under this Act.
Part 3 — Administrative and General Provisions
12 A person must not discharge, suspend, expel, intimidate, coerce, evict or impose a financial or other penalty on or otherwise discriminate against another person because the other person gives information to the representative or otherwise assists the representative in an investigation or other proceeding under this Act or any other enactment.
13 (1) For the 2008/2009 fiscal year of the government and for each subsequent fiscal year of the government, the representative must prepare a service plan that includes a statement of goals and identifies specific objectives and performance measures that will be required to exercise the powers and perform the functions and duties of the representative during that fiscal year.
(2) The representative must deliver a service plan described in subsection (1) to the Speaker, and the Speaker must lay the service plan before the Legislative Assembly and the standing committee as soon as possible.
14 (1) In this section and section 17, "standing committee" means the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services.
(2) For the 2008/2009 fiscal year of the government and for each subsequent fiscal year of the government, the representative must present to the standing committee an estimate of the resources, stated in a form suitable for inclusion in the main estimates, that will be required to exercise the powers and perform the functions and duties of the representative during that fiscal year.
(3) The standing committee must review and may adjust as it considers appropriate the estimate received under subsection (2) and must transmit the resulting estimate to the minister responsible for the Financial Administration Act.
(4) The estimate transmitted under subsection (3) is deemed to be recommended by the standing committee and must be included by the minister responsible for the Financial Administration Act as part of the main estimates for the fiscal year in respect of which the estimate was made and submitted to the Lieutenant Governor for recommendation to the Legislative Assembly.
(5) Notice of a meeting of the standing committee for the purposes of subsection (3) must be given to the representative and to the chair of the Treasury Board.
15 (1) Beginning in 2009, the representative must report annually, before September 30 of each year, to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on
(a) the representative's work with seniors and their families,
(b) the other work of the representative, and
(c) the attainment of the goals and the specific objectives and performance measures of the representative as set out in the service plan,
and this report must include financial statements for the representative prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
(2) In relation to subsection (1) (b), the report must compare actual results for the preceding fiscal year with the expected results identified in the service plan for the representative for that fiscal year.
(3) The Speaker must lay each annual report before the Legislative Assembly and the standing committee as soon as possible.
16 (1) The representative may make a special report to the Legislative Assembly if the representative considers it necessary to do so.
(2) A report made under subsection (1) may contain the following:
(a) recommendations for
(i) the public body or the health facility responsible for the provision of a designated service, or
(ii) any other public body or health facility the representative considers appropriate;
(b) a report on the level of compliance with previous recommendations made by the representative under this Act to
(i) the public body or the health facility responsible for the provision of a designated service, or
(ii) any other public body or health facility;
(c) a report on the provision of a designated service for seniors in different geographic, racial, cultural or religous communities of British Columbia;
(d) any other matter the representative considers necessary.
(3) The representative must deliver the special report to the Speaker, and the Speaker must lay the report before the Legislative Assembly and the standing committee as soon as possible.
17 (1) If required by the standing committee referred to in section 14 (1) or the minister responsible for the Financial Administration Act, the representative must submit financial reports and statements in the form, with the information and at the time the standing committee or the minister requests.
(2) The minister responsible for the Financial Administration Act may direct the Comptroller General to examine, and report to Treasury Board on, any or all of the financial and accounting operations of the representative.
(3) In accordance with the Auditor General Act, the Auditor General must audit the accounts of the representative at least once each year.
18 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no legal proceeding for damages lies or may be commenced or maintained against the representative or a person appointed, employed or retained under section 5.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person referred to in that subsection in relation to anything done or omitted by that person in bad faith.
(3) Subsection (1) does not absolve the government from vicarious liability arising out of anything done or omitted by a person referred to in that subsection for which the government would be vicariously liable if this section were not in force.
(4) The government must indemnify any person referred to in subsection (1) for any costs or expenses incurred by the person in any legal proceedings taken against the person for anything done or omitted in good faith as described in subsection (1).
19 (1) A person who contravenes section 12 commits an offence and is liable to a fine of up to $10 000 or to imprisonment for up to 6 months, or to both.
(2) Section 5 of the Offence Act does not apply to this Act.
20 (1) The Lietuenant Governor in Council may make regulations authorized by section 41 of the Interpretation Act.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:
(a) for the purposes of the definition of "designated services", prescribing an additional service or program that is
(i) provided, authorized or funded under an Act,
(ii) provided, authorized or funded by a ministry or agency of the government, or
(iii) provided in a facility or class of facilities licensed or regulated under an Act;
(c) prescribing other functions of the representative;
(d) respecting the qualifications of a deputy representative or the procedures for appointing a deputy representative;
(e) defining any word or expression used but not defined in this Act;
(f) respecting remuneration, expenses and benefits for the representative;
(g) respecting any other matter that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary or advisable to carry out for the purposes of this Act.
21 This Act comes into force on the date of Royal Assent.
This Bill creates the Representative for Seniors to improve systems of care and support for seniors and their families in British Columbia. The Representative for Seniors will monitor the performance of various programs and services for seniors to ensure services are integrated, coordinated, non-discriminatory and accountable. The Representative will work on behalf of seniors and their families by recommending policy reform for better services and programs for seniors, providing support to seniors and their families, and providing information to the public on seniors’ issues.