Definitions

1   In this Act:

"council" means the Justice and Public Safety Council established under section 2;

"justice and public safety sector" means the justice system, including, without limitation, programs or services, funded in whole or in part by public money, that contribute to the administration of justice or public safety in British Columbia;

"Justice Summit" means a meeting convened by the minister under section 9;

"qualified candidate" means an individual who is in a senior leadership role in the government and who has responsibility for matters relating to the administration of justice in British Columbia or matters relating to public safety, and includes any other individual the minister considers to be qualified to assist in improving the performance of the justice and public safety sector.

Justice and Public Safety Council

2   The Justice and Public Safety Council is established consisting of

(a) a qualified candidate appointed by the minister as chair, and

(b) other qualified candidates appointed by the minister as members.

Objects of council

3   The objects of the council are the following:

(a) to develop, in accordance with section 5, a strategic vision for the justice and public safety sector;

(b) to establish a strategic plan in accordance with section 6;

(c) [Not in force.]

(d) to collect information on the justice and public safety sector and use that information to assist the council in performing its functions under this section;

(e) to facilitate the collection and sharing by participants in the justice and public safety sector of information needed to enhance the ability of the participants to

(i) ensure careful management and prudent expenditure of public resources,

(ii) engage in evidence-based decision making,

(iii) make informed evaluations of their performance, and

(iv) design strategies to improve that performance;

(f) to promote collaboration and cooperation among participants in the justice and public safety sector;

(g) to provide advice and recommendations to the minister and to perform any other functions respecting the justice and public safety sector that the minister requires.

Advisory boards

4   (1) The minister may, at any time and from time to time, establish one or more advisory boards to

(a) advise the minister on matters related to the administration of justice or public safety in British Columbia,

(b) make recommendations to the minister as required to improve the performance of the justice and public safety sector, and

(c) perform any other duties the minister may direct.

(2) The council may make recommendations to the minister respecting the composition of an advisory board and, after considering any recommendations made under this subsection, the minister may

(a) appoint members of the advisory board, and

(b) designate one member as chair and another member as vice-chair.

Justice and public safety strategic vision

5   The council must, after such consultation as the council considers appropriate with its advisory boards, if any, and participants in the justice and public safety sector, including, without limitation, participants in a Justice Summit, develop a strategic vision reflecting desired outcomes for the justice and public safety sector.

Strategic plans

6   (1) The council must, in each fiscal year, prepare a strategic plan in relation to the applicable period referred to in subsection (2) (a) and must, in each strategic plan, do the following for each fiscal year that falls within the period to which the strategic plan relates:

(a) propose goals that advance the strategic vision referred to in section 5;

(b) identify impediments to the achievement of the proposed goals;

(c) propose strategies to achieve the proposed goals and to reduce or eliminate the identified impediments;

(d) establish performance measures by which to assess

(i) the progress being made towards the proposed goals, and

(ii) the effectiveness of the strategies developed to achieve those goals.

(2) The council must ensure that a strategic plan under this section is

(a) prepared in relation to the 3 fiscal years following the fiscal year in which the strategic plan is required to be prepared, and

(b) published

(i) before the first day of the first fiscal year in relation to which the plan is prepared, and

(ii) in a manner that can reasonably be expected to bring the strategic plan to the attention of the public.

Not in force

7-8   [Not in force.]

Justice Summit

9   (1) The minister must, at least annually, convene a Justice Summit to facilitate innovation in, and collaboration across, the justice and public safety sector.

(2) The minister may invite to a Justice Summit

(a) the Chief Justice of British Columbia, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court and, through them, any other members or officers of their courts that they consider appropriate,

(b) members of the council, and

(c) any other individuals, including, without limitation, other participants in the justice and public safety sector, the minister considers to be qualified to assist in improving the performance of the justice and public safety sector.

(3) A Justice Summit may

(a) review and consider initiatives and procedures undertaken in other jurisdictions in relation to the justice system in those jurisdictions,

(b) provide input to the council to assist the council in creating the strategic vision referred to in section 5,

(c) make recommendations relating to priorities, strategies, performance measures, procedures and new initiatives related to the justice and public safety sector,

(d) assess the progress being made in justice reform in British Columbia, and

(e) engage in any other deliberations that the Justice Summit considers appropriate.

(4) After the conclusion of its deliberations, a Justice Summit must report to the minister on the outcome of those deliberations.

Memoranda of understanding

10   (1) The Attorney General and the Chief Justice of British Columbia may enter into a memorandum of understanding governing any matter relating to the administration of the Court of Appeal.

(2) The Attorney General and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court may enter into a memorandum of understanding governing any matter relating to the administration of that court.

(3) The Attorney General and the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court may enter into a memorandum of understanding governing any matter relating to the administration of that court.

(4) Without limiting subsections (1) to (3), a memorandum under this section may

(a) address the respective roles and responsibilities of the parties to the memorandum in the administration of the court, and

(b) specify how those parties are to share information, promote and measure effective court administration and report to the public.

(5) The Attorney General may publish, in a manner that can reasonably be expected to bring to the attention of the public, all or part of a memorandum entered into under this section, except to the extent the memorandum otherwise provides.

Independence not restricted

11   Nothing in this Act restricts the independence that a participant in the justice and public safety sector has at law, including, without limitation, judicial independence.

Section 5 of the Offence Act does not apply

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

Commencement

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