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

Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act

1 Section 25 (3) (b) of the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, S.B.C. 2004, c. 2, is amended by adding "or nurse practitioner," after "medical practitioner".

Correction Act

2 Section 9 (1) of the Correction Act, S.B.C. 2004, c. 46, is amended by adding "or nurse practitioner" after "medical practitioner".

Crime Victim Assistance Act

3 Section 3 (1) (c) (ii) (A) of the Crime Victim Assistance Act, S.B.C. 2001, c. 38, is amended by striking out "or a medical practitioner" and substituting ", a medical practitioner or a nurse practitioner".

Employment Standards Act

4 Section 50 of the Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 113, is amended

(a) in subsection (4) (c) by adding "or nurse practitioner's" after "medical practitioner's", and

(b) in subsection (5) (b) by adding "or nurse practitioner's" after "medical practitioner's".

5 Section 51 (3) (c) is amended by adding "or nurse practitioner's" after "medical practitioner's".

6 Section 52.1 (2) is amended by adding "or nurse practitioner" after "medical practitioner".

Insurance (Vehicle) Act

7 Section 28 of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 231, is amended

(a) by adding the following paragraph:

(a.1) a nurse practitioner; , and

(b) in paragraph (d) by striking out "physiotherapy" and substituting "physical therapy".

Interpretation Act

8 Section 29 of the Interpretation Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 238, is amended by adding the following definition:

"nurse practitioner" means a person who is authorized under the bylaws of the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia to practise nursing as a nurse practitioner and to use the title "nurse practitioner"; .

Mental Health Act

9 Section 16 of the Mental Health Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 288, is amended

(a) in paragraph (b.1) by adding "or nurse practitioner's" after "physician's",

(b) by repealing paragraph (b.2) and substituting the following:

(b.2) if the person is the director, admitting a patient to the designated facility and detaining the patient on the authority of

(i) a medical certificate completed under section 22 by a physician or a nurse practitioner,

(ii) a report made under section 24,

(iii) a determination made under section 25, or

(iv) a warrant; , and

(c) in paragraph (c) by adding "or nurse practitioner" after "physician".

10 Section 20 (1) (b) is amended by adding "or nurse practitioner" after "physician".

11 Section 22 is amended

(a) in subsections (1) and (3) by adding "or nurse practitioner" after "a physician",

(b) in subsection (2) by striking out "another physician" and substituting "a physician",

(c) by adding the following subsection:

(2.1) If the medical certificate received under subsection (1) was completed by a physician, the medical certificate referred to in subsection (2) must be completed by a physician other than the physician who completed the first certificate. , and

(d) in subsection (3) (a) and (c) by striking out "that the physician" and substituting "or nurse practitioner that he or she".

12 Section 28 is amended

(a) in subsections (1) and (2) by adding "or nurse practitioner" after "physician", and

(b) in subsection (6) by striking out "as described in section 22 (3)." and substituting ", as described in section 22 (3), each completed by a physician."

Motor Fuel Tax Act

13 Section 1 of the Motor Fuel Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 317, is amended in the definition of "person with disabilities" by adding "or nurse practitioner" after "medical practitioner" wherever it appears.

Motor Vehicle Act

14 Section 220 (5) and (7) of the Motor Vehicle Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 318, is amended by adding "or nurse practitioner" after "medical practitioner" wherever it appears.

15 Section 227 (3) is amended by adding "or nurse practitioner" after "medical practitioner".

16 Section 229 is amended by adding "or nurse practitioner" after "medical practitioner".

17 Section 230 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "and medical practitioner" and substituting ", medical practitioner and nurse practitioner" and by striking out "or medical practitioner" in both places and substituting ", medical practitioner or nurse practitioner",

(b) in subsection (2) by striking out "and medical practitioner" and substituting ", medical practitioner and nurse practitioner", and

(c) in subsection (3) by striking out "or a medical practitioner" and substituting ", a medical practitioner or a nurse practitioner" and by striking out "or medical practitioner" and substituting ", medical practitioner or nurse practitioner".

Offence Act

18 Section 70 of the Offence Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 338, is amended by adding "or nurse practitioner" after "medical practitioner".

School Act

19 Section 91 (5) (b) of the School Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 412, is amended by striking out "or a private medical practitioner" and substituting ", a private medical practitioner or a private nurse practitioner".

Vital Statistics Act

20 Section 2 (1) and (2) of the Vital Statistics Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 479, is amended by adding ", nurse practitioner" after "medical practitioner".

21 Section 8 (2) is amended by

(a) repealing paragraph (b) and substituting the following:

(b) cause the child to be examined by one of the following, with a view to determining as nearly as possible the date of the birth of the child:

(i) the local medical health officer,

(ii) another medical practitioner, or

(iii) a nurse practitioner; , and

(b) by adding the following paragraph:

(d) require the examiner to make an affidavit setting out the facts as determined by the examination conducted under paragraph (b).

Commencement

22  This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

 
Explanatory Notes

SECTION 1: [Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, section 25] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals qualified to substantiate, for the purposes of cancelling a continuing services contract, that a consumer has experienced a substantial change in circumstances arising from a physical, medical or mental disability.

SECTION 2: [Correction Act, section 9] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals qualified to certify, among other things, the state of health of a person to be committed to a correctional facility.

SECTION 3: [Crime Victim Assistance Act, section 3] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals qualified to diagnose, for the purposes of the person receiving benefits under the Act, a person who has a close personal relationship to a victim of crime as suffering psychological harm.

SECTION 4: [Employment Standards Act, section 50] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals qualified to substantiate, in respect of pregnancy leave, the expected or actual date of birth or to certify that an employee is able to resume work.

SECTION 5: [Employment Standards Act, section 51] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals qualified to provide evidence of an employee's entitlement to parental leave.

SECTION 6: [Employment Standards Act, section 52.1] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals qualified to certify that an employee's family member has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks.

SECTION 7: [Insurance (Vehicle) Act, section 28]

• adds nurse practitioners as health professionals required, when requested by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, to provide reports respecting individuals injured in motor vehicle accidents who have been treated by those health professionals;
• substitutes the term "physical therapy" for "physiotherapy", for consistency with the term used under the Health Professions Act.

SECTION 8: [Interpretation Act, section 29] adds a definition to the Interpretation Act for the term "nurse practitioner", consequential to other amendments proposed by this Bill.

SECTION 9: [Mental Health Act, section 16]

• adds, to the protection from liability already provided to the director, immunity in respect of admitting a person to a mental health facility in good faith based on a nurse practitioner's opinion that the person suffers from a mental disorder;
• provides protection from liability to nurse practitioners who sign certificates or reports related to the admission of persons to mental health facilities.

SECTION 10: [Mental Health Act, section 20] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals on whose examination and opinion a director may admit a person to a mental health facility as a voluntary admission.

SECTION 11: [Mental Health Act, section 22] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals on whose examination and opinion a director may admit a person to a mental health facility as an involuntary admission.

SECTION 12: [Mental Health Act, section 28] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals to whom a police officer or constable may take for examination a person who apparently suffers from a mental disorder and is behaving in a dangerous manner.

SECTION 13: [Motor Fuel Tax Act, section 1] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals who may certify persons as suffering from disabilities listed in the definition of "person with disabilities" in the Motor Fuel Tax Act.

SECTION 14: [Motor Vehicle Act, section 220] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals who may certify that a person is unable for medical reasons to wear a seatbelt.

SECTION 15: [Motor Vehicle Act, section 227] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals whose certificates respecting the ability of a person to comprehend the nature of a demand to give a blood sample will be accepted as evidence in an impaired driving proceeding.

SECTION 16: [Motor Vehicle Act, section 229] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals on whose opinion a person authorized to take a blood sample under section 225 (3) of the Motor Vehicle Act may decline to take a blood sample from another person suspected of impaired driving.

SECTION 17: [Motor Vehicle Act, section 230] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals who have an obligation to report to the superintendent a person who, in the health professional's opinion, has a medical condition that makes it dangerous to drive and who continues to drive after being warned of that danger by the health professional.

SECTION 18: [Offence Act, section 70] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals on whose opinion respecting a defendant's mental illness a judge may rely in ordering the defendant remanded to custody for observation.

SECTION 19: [School Act, section 91] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals who may certify that a student is able to return to school following a communicable disease or another physical, mental or emotional condition.

SECTION 20: [Vital Statistics Act, section 2] imposes on a nurse practitioner who attends a birth the obligation to give notice of the birth to the chief executive officer of vital statistics.

SECTION 21: [Vital Statistics Act, section 8] adds nurse practitioners as health professionals who may examine a foundling child on the request of the chief executive officer of vital statistics in order to determine the date of the child's birth.