MR. ROB FLEMING

BILL M 207 — 2011

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS AND REPORTING ACT, 2011

Contents
1  Definitions
2  Purpose of board
3  Composition of board
4  Development of sustainable development indicators
5  Reporting on sustainable development indicators
6  Review of sustainable development indicators and targets
7  Power to make regulations
8  Commencement

Effective planning for sustainable development requires policy makers to measure and report on indicators of British Columbia's sustainability of economic, environmental and social progress. This Bill will build a more comprehensive picture of the well-being of British Columbia by creating the Sustainable Development Board with a mandate to establish genuine progress measurements for sustainability and report on those measurements annually to the Legislative Assembly. The Bill will provide for greater accountability on sustainable development by creating a board with diverse expertise on environmental, social and economic issues, incorporating a process of public consultation to build the indicators, and requiring the board to set targets respecting the indicators created through this consultative process.

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

Definitions

1  In this Act:

"board" means the Sustainable Development Board;

"Minister" means the member of the Executive Council charged by the Lieutenant Governor in Council with the administration of this Act or any part of this Act;

"sustainability" means the capacity of a thing, action, activity or process to be maintained indefinitely;

"sustainable development" means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs;

"sustainable development indicators" mean genuine economic, social and environmental indicators used to measure the well-being of people, communities, and ecosystems in British Columbia.

Purpose of board

2  (1) The Sustainable Development Board is created to

(a) establish sustainable development indicators to assess the overall well-being of British Columbia,

(b) set targets for sustainable development in British Columbia,

(c) promote sustainable development in British Columbia,

(d) provide advice and recommendations to government in accordance with this Act or its regulations,

(e) review existing or proposed policy, legislation, regulations or programs for consistency with sustainable development indicators, and reporting to the minister with recommendations for his or her consideration as requested, and

(f) report to the Legislative Assembly on British Columbia's genuine social, economic and environmental sustainability efforts and progress.

Composition of board

3  (1) The minister may appoint up to 15 and not less than 12 members to the board.

(2) The minister must appoint, as members,

(a) a balance of members with expertise in social, economic and environmental well-being or development,

(b) the Assistant Auditor General responsible for the sustainability and environment audit portfolio, as a non-voting member,

(c) no less than two members of the public.

(3) Except in the case of the Assistant Auditor General, a member of the board is appointed for a term of three years, and may be renewed for an additional term.

Development of sustainable development indicators

4  (1) The board must carry out a study to assist it to make recommendations respecting the definition, development, setting of targets, and periodic publication of sustainable development indicators for British Columbia.

(2) The board, within six months of appointment, must hold public consultations in each region of British Columbia to assist it respecting the definition, development, setting of targets, and periodic publication of sustainable development indicators.

(3) The board must seek information and advice from government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and industry representatives, both during and between mandated public consultation sessions, respecting the definition, development, setting of targets, and periodic publication of sustainable development indicators.

(4) The board may establish working groups related to its mandate.

(5) The board must make a summary report of its study containing its recommendations for adoption of sustainable development indicators available to the Legislature through the Public Accounts Committee within six months of completion of consultations, for approval by the Legislature.

(6) Upon adoption of the sustainable development indicators by the Legislative Assembly, the board must make its summary report available to the public.

Reporting on sustainable development indicators

5  (1) The board must prepare and submit to the Public Accounts Committee an annual report analyzing and evaluating the current well-being of the people, communities and ecosystems in British Columbia using the sustainable development indicators developed in accordance with section 4.

(2) The first report of the board must be submitted within one year of the first publication of the sustainable development indicators under section 4 (5).

(3) The board must report annually on all sustainable development indicators.

(4) The board must include targets for sustainable development in its initial annual report and report on the status of each target in each subsequent report.

(5) The board must make its reports public once they are submitted to the Legislative Assembly.

Review of sustainable development indicators and targets

6  (1) The board may review the sustainable development indicators at any time after the coming into force of this Act.

(2) The board must review the sustainable development indicators within three years after the coming into force of this Act, and at regular intervals of not more than five years after the initial review.

(3) The board must review the targets for sustainable development every five years.

Power to make regulations

7  (1) The Lieutenant 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) respecting the power of the board to create its own processes and procedures;

(b) respecting the review procedures for the sustainability development indicators and targets;

(d) designating legislation to be reviewed for consistency with the sustainable development indicators;

(e) defining any word or expression used but not defined in this Act;

(f) prescribing any matter or. thing that is required or authorized by this Act to be prescribed by regulation;

(g) respecting any matter necessary or advisable to carry out the purpose of this Act effectively.

Commencement

8  This Act comes into force on the date of Royal Assent.

 
Explanatory Note

Effective planning for sustainable development requires policy makers to measure and report on indicators of British Columbia's sustainability of economic, environmental and social progress. This Bill will build a more comprehensive picture of the well-being of British Columbia by creating the Sustainable Development Board with a mandate to establish genuine progress measurements for sustainability and report on those measurements annually to the Legislative Assembly. The Bill will provide for greater accountability on sustainable development by creating a board with diverse expertise on environmental, social and economic issues, incorporating a process of public consultation to build the indicators, and requiring the board to set targets respecting the indicators created through this consultative process.