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c) Queen's Printer,

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

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Disclaimer

1998 Legislative Session: 3rd Session, 36th Parliament

FOR REPORT

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

Certified correct as amended in Committee of the Whole on the 29th day of July, 1998

Ian D. Izard, Law Clerk

HONOURABLE JOY K. MacPHAIL

MINISTER OF FINANCE AND

CORPORATE RELATIONS

BILL 36 – 1998

GREATER VANCOUVER TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY ACT

Contents

Section

Definitions and

interpretation

Part 1 – Structure, Power and Responsibilities of Authority

Authority established

Purpose of the authority

Responsibilities of authority

Approval of independent transit services

Powers of the authority

Financial administration

Board of directors

Responsibilities of the board

Employees

Pensions

Health and benefit trust

Labour relations matters

Strategic transportation plan

Required consultation

GVRD approval or ratification

Part 2 – Major Road Network

Identifying major roads

Major road network

Standards for major road network

Funding for major road network

Limits on municipal authority

Movement of dangerous goods

Authority's highways

Weight and dimension requirements

Part 3 – Funding

Property tax assessed by the authority

Collection of taxes

Levy and collection of property taxes

Power levies assessed by the authority

Charges and fees

Parking tax

Borrowing by authority

Funding major projects

Rapid Transit Project

Power to exempt

Part 4 – Transition

Exemptions from consultation requirements

Interim funding

Transferred employees

Transfer of assets and liabilities

Trusts

Transfer to government

Government guarantees

Transfer not a default

Statutory rights of way

Declassification of highways

Part 5 – General

Offence Act

Power to make regulations

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

Transfer of financing authority assets and liabilities

Restructuring of non-GVRHD debt

Restructuring of GVRHD debt

Trusts

51-127

Consequential Amendments

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) 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,

(

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

(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

(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

(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

(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

(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

(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

(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

(

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

(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

(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

(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

(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

(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

(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

(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

(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

(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

referred to in paragraph (c).

Limits on municipal authority

(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

(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

(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

(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

(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

(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

(

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,

(

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

(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

(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

(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

(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,

(

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

(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,

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

(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

(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

(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

(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

(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.

(3.1) For the purposes of this section, assets that become assets of the authority under

subsections (2) and (3) include records and parts of records, and without limiting

this, and despite the Document Disposal Act,

(

a) subject to subsection (3.2) of this

section and to any orders made under

subsection (8) (a), all of the records and parts of records of BC Transit that

are located in the transportation service region or are associated with the

provision of transportation services in that region are transferred to and

become the records of the authority on the date that subsection (2) comes

into force,

(

b) all of the records and parts of records specified in an order made under

subsection (8) (

b) are transferred to and become the records of the authority

on the date that subsection (3) comes into force, and

(

c) none of the transferred records are subject to the Document Disposal Act .

(3.2) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3.1) (a), in the event of a dispute between

BC Transit and the authority as to whether any record or part of a record becomes

an asset of the authority under subsections (2) and (3.1) (a), the minister or a

person authorized by the minister may decide.

(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),

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

(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

(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

(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

(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

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

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

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) 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

(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

(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

(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

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" .

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).

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

Section 6 is repealed and the following substituted:

Management

(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.

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 .

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 .

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),

(

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.

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

(

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,

(

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.

Section 17 is repealed.

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.

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" .

Section 20 is repealed.

Section 21 is repealed.

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

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."

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."

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

Section 2 of the Supplement to the British Columbia Transit Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

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 .

Section 3 of the Supplement to the British Columbia Transit Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

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 " .

Section 4 of the Supplement to the British Columbia Transit Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

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" .

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)," .

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:

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" .

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

Section 25 (12) (

c) is amended by striking out "15" and substituting "15 or 16.1" .

Commercial Transport Act

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

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

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

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 .

Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.B.C. 1996,

c. 165, is amended in the definition of "local government body" by striking out "or" at

the end of paragraph (n), by adding ", or" at the end of paragraph (

o) and by adding the

following paragraph:

(

p) the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority; .

78.1

Schedule 2 is amended

(

a) by striking out the following:

Public Body:

Vancouver Regional Transit Commission

Head:

Chair , and

(

b) by striking out the following:

Public Body:

British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority

Head:

Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations .

Highway Act

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," .

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

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.

Section 2 of the Hospital District Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 202, is amended by adding the following subsections:

(3) Despite subsections (1) and (2) but without limiting

section 49 of the Greater

Vancouver Transportation Authority Act, the Lieutenant Governor in Council, by

order,

(

a) may dissolve the Greater Vancouver Regional Hospital District so that there

is no regional hospital district for that area, and

(

b) may provide for the transfer of the assets and liabilities of the Greater

Vancouver Regional Hospital District and, without limitation, may provide

that some or all of those assets and liabilities become the assets and

liabilities of the government.

(4) 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 subsection

(3) (b).

(5) If the Lieutenant Governor in Council makes an order under subsection

(3) dissolving the Greater Vancouver Regional Hospital District,

(

a) each of the directors of the district ceases to hold that office on the

dissolution of the district, and

(

b) the Lieutenant Governor in Council may order that any or all of the powers

and duties of the district become the powers and duties of the government.

(6) Despite subsection (5), none of the powers and duties of the Greater Vancouver

Regional Hospital District respecting taxation of real property under this Act may

become the powers and duties of the government under subsection (5) except

that, if the district is dissolved at a date other than the end of its fiscal year, the

Lieutenant Governor in Council may

(

a) order that, in relation to the taxes that the district might have been entitled

to requisition and collect for that fiscal year, the government may requisition,

collect and retain the proportion of those taxes that the number of

days in the fiscal year during which the district remained undissolved bears

to the total number of days in that fiscal year,

(

b) order that the government may exercise any and all such powers and duties

of the district as may be necessary to allow the government to requisition,

collect and retain those taxes, and, for that purpose, those powers and duties

are deemed to be exercisable in relation to that portion of the fiscal year, and

(

c) make any other orders that may be necessary to give effect to paragraphs (

a) and (b).

(7) Despite subsections (5) and (6), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by

order, delegate any or all of the powers and duties referred to in subsection (5) (

b) or (6) (

b) to any person or body.

81.1

Section 4 (2) 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.

Section 22 is repealed and the following substituted:

Accounting requirements

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

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; .

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.

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.

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.

Section 36 is amended by striking out "the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts

Financing Authority or" .

Section 48 (2) is amended by striking out ", or to the British Columbia Regional Hospital

Districts Financing Authority on behalf of the board," .

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

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

(

a) by repealing paragraph (b), and

(

b) by adding the following paragraph:

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

Indian Self Government Enabling Act

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

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

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," .

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

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 Greate