A message from Pat Bell
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A message from Pat Bell, MLA Prince George North
Hi all,
With the final week of the Legislative session under our belt I thought it would be worthwhile to go through some of the new legislation passed in the last session. Often times routine legislation doesn’t make it to the mainstream media but can still impact the lives of British Columbians in a significant way. Twenty-one Government Bills were passed in this last session covering off many different areas that you might be interested in.
This week I will be travelling to Kitimat and Terrace to try and help the communities through the challenges that were created when West Fraser announced their intention to close the Eurocan Mill. These are never easy but with a committed Employee Group, Council, Provincial Government and management team sometimes you can make things happen. We’ll do our best.
Have a great week!
Pat
1. Bill 9: Wood First Act - The purpose of this Act is to facilitate a culture of wood by requiring the use of wood as the primary building material in all new provincially funded buildings, in a manner consistent with the British Columbia Building Code.
2. Bill 15: Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2009 - Limits the use of cell phone by people driving vehicles.
3. Bill 19: Lobbyists Registration Amendment Act, 2009 - substitutes the definition of "in-house lobbyist" to include officers and directors of organizations and to include a time frame or other criteria set by regulation;
· expands the definition of "lobby";
· adds persons, sole proprietors and partners in a partnership to the definition of "organization"
4. Bill 20: Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), 2009 - SECTION 8: [Forest Act, section 8] changes the maximum time for the determination of allowable annual cut from 5 years to 10, and the ability to extend that time in the circumstances described in subsection (3.1) from 10 years to 15.
5. Bill 20: Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), 2009 - SECTION 9: [Forest Act, section 106] provides that stumpage amounts may be calculated, with the approval of the minister, or must be calculated, if required by the policies and procedures, based on a cruise of the affected timber rather than on the volume reported in a scale of the timber.
6. Bill 17: The Residents' Bill of Rights for Care Facilities - In British Columbia many adults receive care and live in a wide variety of residential care facilities, but not all of them know their rights or know where they can find a comprehensive list of their rights. These adults live in residential care facilities as their primary home. As there are many more types of residential care facilities than just long-term care for seniors, we have applied the bill of rights to all adults in residential care. This bill will further protect the rights of adults of all ages in care facilities. It will also strengthen our government's commitment to quality care. During this year's Speech from the Throne the government set out a clear commitment to care and to the rights of residents living in residential care facilities. Today, with the introduction of Bill 17, we are moving forward with our commitment. Our plan to legislate a residents' bill of rights for adults in residential care facilities builds on our commitment to care. This includes our government's care facility investment since 2001 along with our 5,000-bed commitment for seniors. Government created the residents' bill of rights to clarify the rights of adults when they move into residential care, as the facility becomes their home.
7. Bill 14: Amendments to the Employment and Assistance Act and the Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Act - regarding consequences for outstanding warrants. These amendments fulfill a commitment made in the Speech from the Throne. The amendments will ensure that adults do not receive assistance under these two acts until they resolve outstanding warrants for arrest. Warrants must be for indictable offences, which are the most serious of crimes, including murder, assault, breaking and entering, drug trafficking and causing bodily harm. Exemptions will be made for individuals who are highly vulnerable, such as those who are pregnant or in the final stages of life. If an adult has a family warrant, their family will remain eligible for assistance, but assistance will only be paid for their family members that do not have a warrant. Assistance will also be available to help those with transportation expenses if they choose to return to the jurisdiction that issued the warrant in order to resolve the warrant.
8. Bill 6: Insurance Amendment Act, 2009. - The amendments will protect consumers through the improved coverage, better access to documents and enhanced dispute resolution mechanisms. The amendments strengthen the language on fire coverage and will provide consumers with more consistency across insurers. At the same time, the amendments assist insurance providers by clarifying and standardizing requirements and increasing flexibility. These changes are a result of a comprehensive review that included submissions from industry, consumers, the public and the legal community. In reviewing and finalizing these amendments, we worked closely with Alberta to develop harmonized legislation. This standardized approach will allow the businesses to compete more efficiently in both jurisdictions and will ensure consistent consumer protection in both provinces.
9. Bill 10: Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act, 2009 - The Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act, 2009, contains amendments to the protected areas of British Columbia to continue our government's expansion of British Columbia's parks and protected area system. This bill carries forward the work that has gone into the balancing of environmental stewardship with economic development based on collaboration that has taken place between first nations, industry, conservation organizations, local governments and many other stakeholders. Nine conservancies on Haida Gwaii that were established by order-in-council in December 2008 are listed in this bill for addition to the act, to provide increased protection for the conservancies and to complete a commitment to the Council of the Haida Nation.
10. Bill 7: Police (Misconduct, Complaints, Investigations, Discipline and Proceedings) Amendment Act, 2009. - This bill aims to greatly enhance the role and powers of the Police Complaint Commissioner and make the police fully accountable to the public that they serve. In addition, since tabling of the legislation in the spring, some refinements have been made which will provide additional effectiveness and clarity in this bill. These refinements include facilitating and assisting the commissioner's ability to work with the RCMP by adding a provision authorizing the commissioner to consult with counterparts in the RCMP as well as other jurisdictions. The discretion of the commissioner has been increased to provide appropriate information to a third party whose complaint is replaced by a complaint made by the directly affected person.
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