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2005 Legislative Session: 6th Session, 37th Parliament

FIRST READING

The following electronic version is for informational

purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

MS. JENNY KWAN

BILL M 203 – 2005

THE GENUINE PROGRESS BOARD ACT, 2005

Preamble:

WHEREAS British Columbians are committed to building a sustainable future;

AND

WHEREAS sustainability requires the integration of environmental, social and economic considerations to ensure that the use and development of natural resources and the protection of the environment enables people to meet current needs, while ensuring that future generations can also meet their needs;

AND

WHEREAS the long-term health and well-being of people, their communities, their economies and the ecosystems that support them are fundamental to sustainability;

AND

WHEREAS it is a priority of government to be accountable for progress towards sustainability;

AND

WHEREAS progress towards sustainability, as herein defined, is considered genuine progress;

AND

WHEREAS sustainability indicators are not currently tracked by the government in any consistent or comprehensive way;

AND

WHEREAS the BC Progress Board is not an independent body accountable to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia;

THEREFORE HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows, the Genuine Progress Board Act 2005 .

Interpretation

1 In this Act:

"board" means the Genuine Progress Board;

"genuine progress" means improvement on indicators of sustainability;

"sustainability" means the integration of environmental, social and economic considerations to ensure that the use and development of natural resources and protection of the environment enables people to meet current needs, while ensuring that future generations can also meet their needs.

Board Reporting

(1) The Board will report to the Legislative Assembly through the House Finance Committee.

(2) The Board will report annually on each of the approved indicators. The first report will be submitted one year after the Legislature approves the Board's indicators.

(3) Board reports will be made public once they are submitted to the Legislature.

Purposes and Duties of Board

(1) The purpose of the Board is to establish genuine progress targets for sustainability, establish corresponding genuine progress indicators, measure progress on the indicators, provide strategic advice to government and report to the public annually on progress through the House Finance Committee.

(2) The Board's targets and indicators must consider the following:

(

a) the ecological conditions on which all life depends and the interdependence between people and ecological systems, in this generation and all future generations;

(

b) equality of access to services and equality of opportunity to lead a healthy, safe and meaningful life;

(

c) economic development (market and non-market) activities that contribute to community and regional well being, provincial prosperity and the well being of British Columbians.

(3) The Board may establish working groups related to its mandate.

Requirement for Public Consultation

(1) The Board, within six months of appointment, must hold public consultations in all of British Columbia's regions and submit proposed provincial genuine progress targets and indicators to the Legislature via the House Finance Committee for approval.

(2) The Board must hold consultations in British Columbia's regions every five years to seek further input on provincial genuine progress indicators and targets. The Board must make a

summary report available to the Legislature, and recommend any amendments to the Legislature via the House Finance Committee within six months of completion of consultations, for approval by the Legislature.

(3) The Board may consider submissions from the public, both during and between mandated public consultation sessions, on the following topics:

(

a) sustainability indicators;

(

b) measurement methods for sustainability indicators;

(

c) any other topic of relevance to the Board's mandate.

Board Composition and Terms

(1) The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, on the advice of the House Finance Committee, will appoint up to 20 and not less than 15 British Columbia's citizens to the Board. Board membership must achieve regional, gender and socio-economic balance.

(2) All Board appointments will be for a two-year term with option for renewal to a maximum of three terms or six years.

Review

6 The Genuine Progress Board Act will be reviewed by the House Finance Committee within five years of the Act coming into force and must report to the Legislative Assembly within one year after the start of the review.

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