British Columbia Bill 5 (Government) — 1st Parliament, 42nd Session — Previous Version 1

1-42 Gov Bill 5-1

British Columbia — Bills

1st Session, 42nd Parliament (2020–2021)

FIRST READING

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

HONOURABLE MIKE FARNWORTH

MINISTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY

AND SOLICITOR GENERAL

BILL 5 – 2021

INSURANCE CORPORATION AMENDMENT ACT, 2021

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

SECTION 1: [Insurance Corporation Act,

section 41] is consequential to the addition by this Bill of

Part 4 to the Act.

Section 41 of the Insurance Corporation Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 228, is repealed.

SECTION 2: [Insurance Corporation Act, Parts 3 and 4]

provides for the appointment of a fairness officer and sets out the fairness officer's

powers and duties in relation to fairness complaints;

sets out regulation-making powers.

2 The following Parts are added:

Part 3 – Fairness Officer

Definitions

In this Part:

"complainant" means a person who makes a fairness complaint under this Part;

"corporation process" means a step, or a series of steps, taken by the corporation to carry out a function

or capacity, or to exercise a power, described in

section 7 (b), (c), (d), (

g) or (h);

"fairness complaint" means a complaint under this Part by a complainant to the fairness officer in respect

of the fairness of a corporation process;

"fairness officer" means the fairness officer appointed under

section 55;

"personal information" has the same meaning as in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act .

Appointment of fairness officer and staff

(1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint a fairness officer.

(2) The fairness officer is to be appointed for a term of 3 years and may be reappointed

for additional 3-year terms.

(3) Subject to subsection (2), the board may, subject to the approval of the minister,

(4) The fairness officer may retain staff necessary to assist the fairness officer

in the carrying out of the fairness officer's powers and duties.

(5) All necessary expenses required for the fairness officer and the fairness officer's

staff must be paid by the corporation in accordance with a budgeting process prescribed

by regulation.

Powers and duties of fairness officer

(1) The fairness officer, on a fairness complaint or on the fairness officer's own

initiative, may investigate

(

a) a decision or recommendation made,

(

b) an act done or omitted, or

(

c) a procedure used

by the corporation during or with respect to a corporation process that aggrieves

or may aggrieve a person.

(2) In addition to carrying out the power described in subsection (1), the fairness

officer

(

a) may make recommendations to the corporation to resolve fairness complaints;

(

b) may make recommendations about systemic problems with the fairness of corporation

processes;

(

c) may provide advice and assistance to members of the public with respect to corporation

processes;

(

d) has other powers or duties as may be prescribed.

Restrictions on jurisdiction

(1) The fairness officer may not comment on or make recommendations respecting

(

a) an amount payable by the corporation, or

(

b) the extent, as determined by the corporation, that a person is responsible for

an accident.

(2) Section 56 does not authorize the fairness officer to investigate a fairness

complaint in respect of any of the following:

(

a) a matter that is the subject of a proceeding or a decision of a court or tribunal,

as defined in

section 1 of the Judicial Review and Procedure Act ;

(

b) a matter that is or was the subject of arbitration or an arbitral award;

(

c) a prescribed matter.

Rules respecting practices and procedures

The fairness officer may make rules respecting the practices and procedures to be

followed

(

a) by the complainant in the filing or withdrawing of a fairness complaint, or

(

b) by the complainant, the fairness officer and the corporation in the conduct of

an investigation under

section 56 (1).

Report to corporation

The fairness officer must submit, on a prescribed basis, a report to the corporation

that includes the following information:

(

a) the number of fairness complaints received;

(

b) the number of fairness complaints heard by the fairness officer;

(

c) any other prescribed information.

Publication of information

The fairness officer must publish, on a publicly accessible website maintained by

or on behalf of the fairness officer,

(

a) the rules made under

section 58, and

(

b) the report submitted to the corporation under

section 59.

Corporation report

(1) The corporation must, no later than August 31 in each year, submit to the minister

an annual report.

(2) An annual report submitted under subsection (1) must include

(

a) a

summary of the corporation's responses in the previous fiscal year to the fairness

officer's recommendations, if any, and

(

b) any other prescribed matter.

(3) The corporation must publish the annual report, as soon as practicable after

submitting the report to the minister, on a publicly accessible website maintained

by or on behalf of the corporation.

Personal information

(1) For the purpose of carrying out a power or duty under this Part, the fairness

officer may collect personal information from the corporation and a complainant, including

personal information about an individual other than the complainant.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), the corporation may disclose personal information

to the fairness officer.

(3) Nothing in this

section is intended to limit the authority of the fairness officer

to collect, use or disclose personal information under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act .

Compulsion protection

The fairness officer, or a person acting on behalf of or under the direction of the

fairness officer, must not be required to testify or produce evidence, in any proceeding,

about any of the following in relation to a fairness complaint:

(

a) a decision or recommendation made;

(

b) an act done or omitted;

(

c) a procedure undertaken.

Part 4 – Power to Make Regulations

Power to make regulations

(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) respecting any matter for which regulations are contemplated by this Act,

(

b) respecting the manner in which records or their contents may be kept by the corporation,

and

(

c) prescribing classes of fairness complaints, or circumstances in relation to fairness

complaints, in respect of which the fairness officer has discretion to determine whether

or not to conduct an investigation.

Commencement

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

Explanatory Notes