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2011 Legislative Session: 3rd Session, 39th Parliament

FIRST READING

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

HONOURABLE PAT BELL

MINISTER OF JOBS, TOURISM AND INNOVATION

BILL 5 – 2011

NEW WEST PARTNERSHIP TRADE

AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT

Contents

Definition

Prohibition on private cause of action

Assigning responsibilities of government

Power to make regulations

5-9

Consequential and Related Amendments

Commencement

This Bill implements the New West Partnership Trade Agreement between British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

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

Definition

1 In this Act, "Agreement" means the New West Partnership Trade Agreement entered into by the governments of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan on April 30, 2010 and includes amendments to the Agreement.

Prohibition on private cause of action

(1) Subject to subsection (2), no legal proceeding lies or may be brought or continued against the government or another person to enforce or determine a right or obligation that is claimed or arises solely under the Agreement or the Agreement as interpreted by a joint decision issued under

Article 34 (4) of the Agreement.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a proceeding that is contemplated by

Part IV of the Agreement.

(3) No legal proceeding lies or may be brought or continued against the government for compensation, damages or any other remedy for anything arising as a consequence of a joint decision issued under

Article 34 (4) of the Agreement.

Assigning responsibilities of government

3 The Lieutenant Governor in Council by order may assign to the minister the responsibility of

(

a) carrying out on behalf of the government any of its powers or duties under the Agreement, or

(

b) exercising on behalf of the government any discretion it has under the Agreement.

Power to make regulations

(1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations for the purposes of implementing the Agreement or the amendments made by this Act to other Acts, including, without limiting this, to remedy any transitional difficulties encountered in implementing the Agreement or amendments made by this Act to other Acts.

(2) A regulation made under this

section may be made retroactive to a date not earlier than July 1, 2010, and if made retroactive

(

a) is deemed to come into force on the date specified in the regulation, and

(

b) is retroactive to the extent necessary to give it force and effect on the date specified in the regulation.

(3) This

section is repealed two years after it is brought into force and on its repeal any regulations made under it are also repealed.

Consequential and Related Amendments

College of Applied Biology Act

Section 37.1 of the College of Applied Biology Act, S.B.C. 2002, c. 68, is amended

(

a) by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:

(1) In this section:

"NWPTA" means the New West Partnership Trade Agreement entered into by the governments of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan on April 30, 2010 and includes amendments to the agreement;

"TILMA" means the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement entered into by the governments of British Columbia and Alberta on April 28, 2006 and includes amendments to the agreement. , and

(

b) in subsection (2) by adding " the NWPTA or " after " the council comply with ".

Commercial Arbitration Act

Section 2 (4) of the Commercial Arbitration Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 55, is repealed and the following substituted:

(4) This Act does not apply to the following:

(

a) the Agreement on Internal Trade entered into by the governments of Canada, the provinces, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, or to amendments to that agreement;

(

b) the New West Partnership Trade Agreement entered into by the governments of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan on April 30, 2010, or to amendments to that agreement, except as provided in

Article 31 of that agreement;

(

c) the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement entered into by the governments of British Columbia and Alberta on April 28, 2006, or to amendments to that agreement, except as provided in

Article 31 of that agreement.

Enforcement of Canadian Judgments and Decrees Act

Section 1 of the Enforcement of Canadian Judgments and Decrees Act, S.B.C. 2003, c. 29, is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) by repealing the

definitions of "Agreement" and "panel" and substituting the following:

"TILMA" means the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement entered into by the governments of British Columbia and Alberta on April 28, 2006 and includes amendments to the agreement;

"TILMA panel" means a panel convened under

Article 26 or 29 of the TILMA. ,

(

b) in subsection (1) by adding the following

definitions:

"AIT" means the Agreement on Internal Trade entered into by the governments of Canada, the provinces, Yukon and the Northwest Territories and includes amendments to the agreement;

"AIT award" means an order for tariff costs, or an order for monetary penalties, made by a presiding body;

"domestic trade agreement" means

(

a) the AIT,

(

b) the NWPTA, or

(

c) the TILMA;

"domestic trade agreement award" means

(

a) an AIT award,

(

b) a NWPTA award, or

(

c) a TILMA award;

"NWPTA" means the New West Partnership Trade Agreement entered into by the governments of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan on April 30, 2010 and includes amendments to the agreement;

"NWPTA award" means

(

a) a monetary award within the meaning of

Article 29 (7) of the NWPTA if no judicial review has been requested in relation to that award under

Article 31 (1) of the NWPTA within the 15 day period referred to in that Article,

(

b) a monetary award within the meaning of

Article 29 (7) of the NWPTA if

(

i) a judicial review has been requested in relation to that award under

Article 31 (1) of the NWPTA within the 15 day period referred to in that Article, and

(ii) the judicial review court determines that the award should neither be set aside nor remitted to a NWPTA panel, or

(

c) if a judicial review of a monetary award within the meaning of

Article 29 (7) of the NWPTA has been requested under

Article 31 (1) of the NWPTA and the judicial review court remits the award to a NWPTA panel, the monetary award as confirmed or amended by that NWPTA panel,

and includes an award of costs under

Article 32 (1) of the NWPTA;

"NWPTA panel" means a panel convened under

Article 26 or 29 of the NWPTA;

"presiding body" has the same meaning as Presiding Body in the AIT; ,

(

c) in subsection (1) in the definition of "Canadian judgment" by striking out " TILMA award, " and substituting " domestic trade agreement award, ",

(

d) in subsection (1) in the definition of "TILMA award" by striking out " Agreement " wherever it appears and substituting " TILMA " and by striking out " panel, " wherever it appears and substituting " TILMA panel, ",

(

e) in subsection (1) in the definition of "TILMA award" by adding " of the TILMA " after "

Article 31 (1) " wherever it appears, and

(

f) by repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:

(2) When used in relation to a domestic trade agreement award,

(

a) a reference in this Act to a judge, registrar, clerk or other proper officer of the court that made the judgment is deemed to be,

(

i) in the case of an AIT award, a reference to a member of the presiding body that made the AIT award,

(ii) in the case of a NWPTA award, a reference to a member of the NWPTA panel that made the NWPTA award, or

(iii) in the case of a TILMA award, a reference to a member of the TILMA panel that made the TILMA award,

(

b) a reference in this Act to the province or territory where the judgment was made is deemed to be a reference to British Columbia, and

(

c) a reference in sections 6 (1) and (3) (

a) and (

c) and 10 (

a) and (

b) to a proceeding is deemed to be a reference to the proceedings that led to the domestic trade agreement award.

Section 1.1 is amended by striking out " TILMA award " wherever it appears and substituting " domestic trade agreement award ".

Section 4 is repealed and the following substituted:

Effect of registration

4 Subject to sections 5 and 6, a registered Canadian judgment,

(

a) subject to paragraph (b), may be enforced in British Columbia as if it were an order or judgment of, and entered in, the Supreme Court, or

(

b) in the case of a registered Canadian judgment that is a domestic trade agreement award, may be enforced in British Columbia as if it were an order or judgment of, and entered in, the Supreme Court, but only if and to the extent that that enforcement or entry is not restricted by the applicable domestic trade agreement.

Commencement

10 The provisions of this Act referred to in column 1 of the following table come into force as set out in column 2 of the table:

Item

Column 1

Provisions of Act

Column 2

Commencement

Anything not elsewhere covered by this table

The date of Royal Assent

Sections 1 to 5

July 1, 2010

Sections 6 to 9

April 1, 2011

Explanatory Note

This Bill implements the New West Partnership Trade Agreement between British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

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c) Queen’s Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada