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2002 Legislative Session: 3rd Session, 37th Parliament

FIRST READING

The following electronic version is for informational

purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

HONOURABLE GEOFF PLANT

ATTORNEY GENERAL AND MINISTER

RESPONSIBLE FOR TREATY NEGOTIATIONS

BILL 53 – 2002

HUMAN RIGHTS CODE AMENDMENT ACT, 2002

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

Section 1 of the Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C 1996, c. 210, is amended

(

a) by repealing the

definitions of "advisory council" ,

"chief commissioner" , "commission" , "commissioner of investigation and mediation" ,

"deputy chief commissioner" and "human rights officer" , and

(

b) in the definition of "party" by striking out "and includes the deputy chief commissioner, if that commissioner is added as a party under

section 21 (3) or 36 (1)" .

Section 3 is amended by repealing paragraphs (

f) and (g).

3 Sections 5 and 6 are repealed.

Part 2 is repealed.

Section 21 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) by striking out "the commissioner of investigation and mediation"

and substituting "the tribunal" and by striking out "that commissioner." and substituting "the tribunal." ,

(

b) by repealing subsections (2) and (3), and

(

c) in subsections (5) and (6) by striking out "The commissioner of investigation and mediation" and substituting

"A member or panel of the tribunal" and by striking out "that commissioner" and substituting

"that member or panel" .

Section 22 is amended

(

a) in subsections (1) and (2) by striking out "one year" and substituting

"6 months" , and

(

b) by repealing subsection (3) and substituting the following:

(3) A member or panel of the tribunal may accept a complaint filed after the expiration of the time limit referred to in subsection (1) or (2) if the member or panel determines that

(

a) it is in the public interest to accept the complaint, and

(

b) no substantial prejudice will result to any person because of the delay.

7 Sections 23 and 24 are repealed.

Section 25 is amended

(

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

(2) If a member or panel of the tribunal determines that another proceeding is capable of appropriately dealing with the substance of a complaint, the member or panel may defer further consideration of the complaint until the outcome of the other proceeding. , and

(

b) in subsection (3) by striking out "the commissioner of investigation and mediation" and substituting

"the member or panel" .

Section 26 is repealed.

Section 27 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1)

(

i) by striking out "The commissioner of investigation and mediation" and substituting

"A member or panel of the tribunal" ,

(ii) by striking out "that commissioner" and substituting

"that member or panel" ,

(iii) in paragraph (

a) by striking out "commissioner of investigation and mediation;" and substituting

"tribunal;" ,

(iv) by repealing paragraph (c),

(

v) by adding the following paragraph:

(f.1) a reasonable settlement offer has been made with respect to the complaint and not accepted by the complainant; , and

(vi) in paragraph (

g) by striking out "one year" and substituting

"6 months" ,

(

b) in subsections (2) and (3) by striking out "commissioner of investigation and mediation" and substituting

"member or panel" , and

(

c) in subsection (3)

(

i) by striking out "that commissioner" and substituting

"that member or panel" , and

(ii) by repealing paragraph (c).

11 Sections 28, 29 and 30 are repealed.

12 The following

section is added:

Review of dismissal

28.1

(1) Any party aggrieved by the dismissal of all or part of a complaint under

section 27 (1) may, within 30 days of being notified of the dismissal, apply to the chair of the tribunal for a review of that dismissal.

(2) The review is to be conducted by a member of the tribunal designated by the chair and is to be based only on the information that was before the tribunal under

section 27 (1).

(3) The dismissal of all or part of the complaint is final and no further proceedings may be taken under this Code, unless the member of the tribunal conducting the review makes a determination under subsection (4).

(4) If the member of the tribunal conducting the review determines that a complaint or part of a complaint should not have been dismissed under

section 27 (1), the member may refer the complaint or that part of the complaint to the chair of the tribunal.

Section 31 (1) is amended by striking out "full time members and not more than 6 part time" .

Section 34 (1) is amended by striking out "referred to the tribunal under

section 26 (1) (

c) or 28.1 (3) (a)" .

Section 35 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1.1) by adding the following paragraphs:

(

g) respecting mediation, including, without limitation, rules that would permit or require mediation of a complaint, whether the mediation is provided by a member of the tribunal or a person engaged or retained under

section 33 (2);

(

h) respecting the conduct of, and all procedures relating to, the mediation of a complaint. ,

(

b) by repealing subsections (1.4) and (5), and

(

c) in subsection (1.5) by striking out "under subsection (1.4) of this section" .

16 The following

section is added:

Enforcement of settlement agreements

35.1

(1) A settlement agreement may be enforced in the same manner as an order of the tribunal under this Code but only to the extent that the terms of the agreement are within the powers of the tribunal to make an order under this Code.

(2) The right to enforce a settlement agreement under subsection (1) cannot be waived.

(3) A provision of a settlement agreement that purports to waive the right to enforce the agreement under subsection (1) is void.

Section 36 is amended

(

a) by repealing subsection (1), and

(

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

(2) A member or panel may, at any time after the complaint is filed and on the terms specified by the member or panel, invite or allow any person or group of persons to intervene in the complaint, whether or not that person or group would be affected by an order made by the member or panel under

section

Section 37 is amended

(

a) in subsection (3) by striking out "the deputy chief commissioner or any other person" and substituting "the tribunal or any person" ,

(

b) by repealing subsection (4) and substituting the following:

(4) The member or panel may award costs

(

a) against a party to a complaint, and

(

b) without limiting paragraph (a), against a party who contravenes a rule under

section 35 (1.1) or an order under

section 35 (1.2). , and

(

c) in subsection (6) by repealing paragraph (c).

Section 39 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) by striking out "the order is made, or, subject to subsection (2), the deputy chief commissioner,"

and substituting "the order is made" , and

(

b) by repealing subsections (2) and (4).

20 The following

section is added to

Part 5:

Annual report

39.1

(1) As soon as practicable after the end of the fiscal year of the government, the tribunal must submit to the minister an annual report on the activities of the tribunal and the disposition of complaints under this Code during the preceding year.

(2) The annual report must include information concerning compliance with the regulations made under

section 49 (2) (b).

(3) The minister must promptly lay the report before the Legislative Assembly if it is in session or, if it is not in session when the report is submitted, within 15 days after the beginning of the next session.

Section 40 is amended

(

a) by repealing subsection (1),

(

b) in subsection (3) by striking out "Subsections (1) and (2) apply" and substituting

"Subsection (2) applies" , and

(

c) by repealing subsection (4) (

a) and substituting the following:

(

a) referred to a member or panel for a hearing under

section 34, .

Section 42 is amended

(

a) by repealing subsection (2), and

(

b) in subsection (3) by striking out "The chief commissioner or the deputy chief commissioner"

and substituting "The minister" .

Section 46 (1) to (3) is repealed.

Section 49 (2) is amended

(

a) in paragraph (

b) by repealing subparagraphs (

i) to (iv), and

(

b) by repealing paragraphs (

f) and (h).

Section 50 is repealed.

26 The Supplement to the Human Rights Code is repealed.

Transitional

27 Unless it has been dismissed or otherwise settled or withdrawn, a complaint that is filed with the commissioner of investigation and mediation under

section 21 of the Human Rights Code on or before the date on which

section 5 of this Act comes into force is deemed to be filed with the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal.

Consequential Amendment

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 by striking out the following:

Public Body:

British Columbia Human Rights Commission

Head:

Chief Commissioner .

Commencement

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

Explanatory Notes

SECTION 1: [Human Rights Code, amends

section 1] repeals and amends

definitions to

reflect the other changes made by this Bill.

SECTION 2: [Human Rights Code, repeals

section 3 (

f) and (g)] repeals 2 paragraphs

relating to functions carried out by the commission.

SECTION 3: [Human Rights Code, repeals sections 5 and 6] reflects the repeal of

Part 2 of

the Code.

SECTION 4: [Human Rights Code, repeals

Part 2] repeals the Part establishing the Human

Rights Commission and Advisory Council.

SECTION 5: [Human Rights Code, amends

section 21] removes all references to the

commission and the commissioner of investigation and mediation in the

provision regarding filing a complaint and replaces them with references to the

tribunal or a member or panel of the tribunal.

SECTION 6: [Human Rights Code, amends

section 22]

reduces the time limit for filing a complaint from one year to 6 months after the last alleged instance of the contravention;

allows the tribunal to extend the time limit in certain limited circumstances.

SECTION 7: [Human Rights Code, repeals sections 23 and 24] repeals the sections relating

to investigations by the commissioner.

SECTION 8: [Human Rights Code, amends

section 25] removes references to the commissioner

of investigation and mediation and replaces them with references to a

member or panel of the tribunal.

SECTION 9: [Human Rights Code, repeals

section 26] repeals the

section dealing with the

functions of the commission with respect to complaints.

SECTION 10: [Human Rights Code, amends

section 27]

removes references to the commissioner of investigation and mediation and replaces them with references to the tribunal or a member or panel of the tribunal;

makes other changes to ensure the tribunal has the powers needed to dismiss complaints.

SECTION 11: [Human Rights Code, repeals sections 28, 29 and 30] repeals provisions

dealing with commission powers.

SECTION 12: [Human Rights Code, enacts

section 28.1] gives the tribunal power to reconsider

a decision to dismiss all or part of a complaint and provides that the reconsidered

decision is final.

SECTION 13: [Human Rights Code, amends

section 31 (1)] removes the limit on the number

of part time members of the tribunal.

SECTION 14: [Human Rights Code, amends

section 34 (1)] removes the unnecessary

reference to complaints being referred to the tribunal.

SECTION 15: [Human Rights Code, amends

section 35]

adds the power to make rules respecting mediation;

repeals unnecessary subsections.

SECTION 16: [Human Rights Code, enacts

section 35.1] allows settlement agreements to be

enforced in the same manner as orders made by the tribunal.

SECTION 17: [Human Rights Code, amends

section 36]

repeals subsection (1), which provides for adding the deputy chief commissioner as a party to a hearing;

adds the power for a member or panel of the tribunal to invite a person or group of persons to intervene in a complaint.

SECTION 18: [Human Rights Code, amends

section 37]

replaces a reference to the deputy chief commissioner with a reference to the tribunal;

repeals and replaces subsection (4), which allows the tribunal to award costs against a party to the complaint.

SECTION 19: [Human Rights Code, amends

section 39]

in subsection (1), replaces a reference to the deputy chief commissioner with a reference to the tribunal;

repeals subsections (2) and (4), which deal with responsibilities of the deputy chief commissioner.

SECTION 20: [Human Rights Code, enacts

section 39.1] requires the tribunal to submit an

annual report.

SECTION 21: [Human Rights Code, amends

section 40]

repeals subsection (1), which deals with the disclosure obligations of members of the commission, a human rights officer or any person appointed to act in that capacity;

amends subsection (3) to correct the cross reference;

amends subsection (4) (

a) to remove a reference to the tribunal and replace it with a reference to a member or panel of the tribunal.

SECTION 22: [Human Rights Code, amends

section 42] gives responsibility for the

approval of special ameliorative programs to the minister.

SECTION 23: [Human Rights Code, repeals

section 46 (1) to (3)] removes references to

delegation powers of the commission.

SECTION 24: [Human Rights Code, amends

section 49 (2)] removes unnecessary references

to commission practices and procedures.

SECTION 25: [Human Rights Code, repeals

section 50] repeals a spent provision.

SECTION 26: [Human Rights Code, repeals the Supplement] repeals a not in force

amendment that is superseded by enactment of

section 28.1 in this Bill.

SECTION 27: [Transitional] provides for complaints filed with the commissioner of investigation

and mediation.

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

SECTION 28: [Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, amends

Schedule 2]

removes the commission and the Chief Commissioner from

Schedule 2 of the

Act.

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© 2002: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada