[Link to Table of Legislative Changes which shows
currency of each section of the Act.]

GREATER VANCOUVER TRANSPORTATION
AUTHORITY ACT

[SBC 1998] CHAPTER 30

Definitions and interpretation

1 (1) In this Act:

"authority" means the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority established under section 2;

"BC Transit" means British Columbia Transit continued under the British Columbia Transit Act;

"board" means the authority's board of directors appointed under section 8;

"custom transit services" means transportation services provided in the transportation service region for persons with special needs;

"designated employees" means

(a) all employees of BC Transit whose work responsibilities relate primarily to BC Transit's activities in the transportation service region,

(b) all employees of the government whose work responsibilities relate to the operation of the Albion ferries, and

(c) all employees of the government, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia or the Greater Vancouver Regional District who have been identified by name, classification or other description in an order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council made on the recommendation of the authority;

"employee" includes officer;

"highway" has the same meaning as in the Transportation Act;

"independent transit services" means bus transportation services or rail transportation services that are provided in the transportation service region by a person or municipality other than the authority or its subsidiaries or contractors;

"major development proposal" means a proposal for a development project that satisfies the criteria established under section 4 (3);

"major road" means a highway in the transportation service region, other than a highway that is part of the provincial highway system, that falls within the guidelines established for a major road under section 17;

"major road network" means those major roads and parts of major roads, and those private roads and parts of private roads, that are designated under section 18 (2) (a) and (5) as being part of the major road network;

"motor vehicle" means a vehicle propelled other than by muscular power, but does not include

(a) airplanes,

(b) the cars of electric and steam railways, or

(c) other vehicles running only on rails or tracks;

"municipality" means the corporation into which the residents of an area in the transportation service region have been incorporated as a municipality under any Act, and includes the City of Vancouver;

"official community plan" has the same meaning as in section 848 of the Local Government Act;

"project toll charge" means a toll charge assessed under section 29 (1);

"provincial highway system" means all highways

(a) that are located in the transportation service region but outside the municipalities, or

(b) that are arterial highways within the meaning of the Transportation Act;

"regional growth strategy" means the regional growth strategy of the Greater Vancouver Regional District;

"residential dwelling unit" means a detached house, cottage or other single family dwelling, a duplex, an apartment building, a strata lot, a townhouse, a rowhouse, a rest home or a nursing home, and includes that part of a multi-use building that is used for the purpose of single family dwellings, but does not include

(a) a hotel,

(b) a motel,

(c) a lodge,

(d) a resort,

(e) a hospital,

(f) any other institutional building, bunk house or camp building used on commercial or construction projects, or

(g) those parts of any building that are used for any purpose other than residential;

"Richmond-Airport-Vancouver rapid transit project" and "RAV" mean a rail transportation system connecting

(a) a location in the general vicinity of the intersection of No. 3 Road and Park Road in the City of Richmond,

(b) a location in the general vicinity of the Domestic Air Terminal at the Vancouver International Airport, and

(c) a location in the general vicinity of the intersection of Cordova and Granville Streets in the City of Vancouver;

"securities" includes notes, bonds, debentures and other evidences of indebtedness;

"strategic transportation plan" means a strategic transportation plan prepared and ratified in accordance with section 14;

"subsidiary" means a subsidiary established or acquired by the board under section 9 (3) (g) to carry out a purpose or responsibility, or to exercise a power, of the authority, and includes British Columbia Rapid Transit Company Ltd. and West Coast Express Ltd.;

"transportation demand management" means strategies and programs that are designed to influence the demand for and choice of transportation services by the public;

"transportation service region" means all municipalities and rural areas located in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, and includes any area added to the region under subsection (2);

"transportation services" includes the services and facilities necessary for the establishment, maintenance and operation of a transportation system.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the authority may enter into an agreement with a municipality, regional district or other entity that has jurisdiction over an area, to add that area to the transportation service region.

(3) An agreement under subsection (2) does not come into effect until the agreement is ratified by a resolution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors and approved by an order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Part 1 — Structure, Power and Responsibilities of Authority

Authority established

2 (1) The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority is established as a corporation, consisting of the directors appointed under section 8.

(2) The Business Corporations Act does not apply to the authority, but, on request of the authority, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may order that one or more provisions of that Act apply to the authority.

(3) The authority is not an agent of the government.

(4) The authority may carry on business, and, without limiting this, may enter into contracts or other arrangements, adopt bylaws, pass resolutions, issue or execute any other record or sue or be sued under a name prescribed by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and any contract, bylaw, resolution or other arrangement or record entered into, adopted, passed, issued or executed, as the case may be, and any suit brought, by the authority under the prescribed name is as valid and binding as it would be were it entered into, adopted, passed, issued, executed or brought by the authority under its own name.

Purpose of the authority

3 The purpose of the authority is to provide a regional transportation system that

(a) moves people and goods, and

(b) supports

(i) the regional growth strategy, and

(ii) the air quality objectives and economic development of the transportation service region.

Responsibilities of authority

4 (1) Subject to this Act, the authority must do the following to carry out its purpose:

(a) manage and operate the regional transportation system;

(b) develop and implement transportation demand management strategies and programs;

(c) develop and administer programs for certifying motor vehicle compliance with regulations, made under section 50 of the Motor Vehicle Act, that do one or both of the following:

(i) establish exhaust emission standards;

(ii) specify the maximum levels of air contaminants that motor vehicles may emit into the outside atmosphere;

(d) generate and manage funds necessary for its purpose;

(e) acquire, construct and maintain any assets, facilities and other real or personal property required for the regional transportation system;

(f) review, and advise the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the municipalities and the government regarding the implications to the regional transportation system of,

(i) the regional growth strategy and any amendments to it,

(ii) official community plans applicable to any part of the transportation service region and any amendments to those plans, and

(iii) major development proposals and provincial highway infrastructure plans in the transportation service region;

(g) prepare and implement strategic, service, capital and operational plans for the regional transportation system, including a strategic transportation plan;

(h) from time to time, negotiate agreements with the government for contribution by the government to the funding of the capital costs of maintaining, improving or expanding the regional transportation system;

(i) establish criteria by which a person's eligibility for custom transit services may be determined;

(j) make copies of its bylaws available to the public at its offices for a reasonable fee it determines.

(2) Despite subsection (1), the authority is not responsible for

(a) construction, maintenance or regulation of any part of the provincial highway system or of any highway that is neither a major road nor part of a designated project,

(b) the management, operation, construction or maintenance of the major road network, except

(i) as specified in Part 2, or

(ii) to the extent that the authority has responsibility under the strategic transportation plan for the planning of the major road network, or

(c) the planning, acquisition or construction of the Rapid Transit Project except as contemplated in section 33.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) (f), the authority must, with each municipality, establish the criteria that will be used in that municipality to determine whether a development proposal in that municipality is a major development proposal.

Approval of independent transit services

5 (1) Despite any other enactment, but subject to subsection (1.1), no person or municipality may establish or operate or approve the establishment or operation of independent transit services in the transportation service region unless it does so

(a) with the approval of the authority, and

(b) under any terms and conditions the authority requires.

(1.1) Subsection (1) does not apply to the government or to a person that is a government corporation as defined in the Financial Administration Act and is designated by the minister for the purpose of this subsection.

(2) The authority may give an approval under subsection (1) if the independent transit services will not reduce the effectiveness or financial viability of the regional transportation system.

(3) The authority must not provide financial support for any independent transit services approved under subsection (1).

(4) After consultation with a person or municipality that has been given approval under subsection (1), the authority may withdraw its approval.

Powers of the authority

6 (1) The authority has the capacity, rights, powers and privileges of an individual of full capacity.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1) and in order to carry out its purpose, the authority

(a) subject to the Expropriation Act, may expropriate land within the meaning of that Act from a person or municipality,

(b) as permitted in this Act, may raise revenues by means of

(i) taxes,

(ii) levies,

(iii) project toll charges,

(iv) user fees,

(v) motor vehicle charges, and

(c) may make bylaws, and may recommend regulations, permitted under this Act and required for the regional transportation system,

(d) by agreement, may provide transportation services, and any other services it offers, to areas outside the transportation service region,

(e) may appoint advisory committees to provide the authority with advice respecting its transportation services, and may reimburse the members of those committees for any reasonable travel and incidental expenses necessarily incurred by those members in the discharge of their duties,

(f) may enter into an agreement with the government for the collection of taxes imposed under sections 4 (1) (c) and 10 (1) (c) of the Motor Fuel Tax Act and under section 61 (1) and (2) of the Social Service Tax Act,

(g) may exercise within a municipality in or through which a rail transportation system is planned, acquired, constructed, maintained or operated, all the powers in relation to that rail transportation system that a municipality authorized to lay out, construct and maintain highways may exercise in carrying out that authorization,

(h) has, for the purposes of planning, acquiring, constructing, maintaining and operating a rail transportation system on a highway in a municipality,

(i) all the rights, powers and advantages conferred by any enactment on that municipality with respect to that highway, and

(ii) the right to enjoy and exercise any right of way, easement or licence owned, enjoyed or exercised by that municipality in connection with or for the purposes of the municipality's operation of that highway, and

(i) may exercise the rights, powers and advantages, and may enjoy and exercise the rights of way, easements or licences, referred to in paragraph (h) in the same manner and to the same extent as the municipality referred to in that paragraph might have done if the highway had not become part of a rail transportation system.

Financial administration

7 (1) The authority must establish and maintain an accounting system in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

(2) All records of account and other financial records respecting funds that the government has provided to the authority or to its subsidiaries must be open at all times for inspection by the Auditor General and the Comptroller General.

(3) As soon as possible, but within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year of the authority, the authority must prepare

(a) an annual report of the operations of the authority and its subsidiaries for the preceding fiscal year, and

(b) audited financial statements of the authority and its subsidiaries for the preceding fiscal year.

(4) The fiscal year end of the authority is December 31.

(5) The Financial Information Act applies to the authority as if it were a corporation within the meaning of that Act.

(6) The authority must adopt an annual budget on or before March 31 of the fiscal year to which the budget applies.

(7) Each annual budget adopted under subsection (6) must

(a) set out all of the revenues that the authority anticipates it will receive in the fiscal year and all accumulated surpluses from previous fiscal years,

(b) set out all of the operating expenditures that the authority anticipates it will incur in the fiscal year, the total amount of which must not be greater than the total amount of the revenues and accumulated surpluses referred to in paragraph (a), and

(c) include, as one of the operating expenditures set out under paragraph (b), any deficit that was incurred in the previous fiscal year.

Board of directors

8 (1) Subject to any regulations made under subsection (8), the board of directors of the authority consists of 15 members appointed in accordance with this section.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Greater Vancouver Regional District must appoint 12 of the members of the board and each of the directors appointed by the Greater Vancouver Regional District must be

(a) a mayor of a municipality, or

(b) a member of the Greater Vancouver Regional District's board of directors.

(3) Subject to any regulations made under subsection (8), of the directors appointed under subsection (2),

(a) 3 must be elected officials in the City of Vancouver or in Electoral Area A of the Greater Vancouver Regional District,

(b) 3 must be elected officials in the City of Burnaby, the Corporation of the City of New Westminster, the City of Coquitlam, the Corporation of the City of Port Coquitlam, the City of Port Moody, the Corporation of the District of Pitt Meadows, the Corporation of the District of Maple Ridge, the Village of Anmore or the Village of Belcarra,

(c) one must be an elected official in the Corporation of the City of North Vancouver, the Corporation of the District of North Vancouver, the Corporation of the District of West Vancouver or the Village of Lions Bay or in Electoral Area C of the Greater Vancouver Regional District,

(d) 4 must be elected officials in the City of Richmond, the Corporation of the City of Surrey, the City of Langley, the Corporation of the City of White Rock, the Corporation of the Township of Langley or the Corporation of Delta, and

(e) one must be an elected official in a municipality or in an electoral area of the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

(4) The Lieutenant Governor in Council must appoint 3 of the members of the board, and each of the directors appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council must be

(a) a member of the Legislative Assembly who represents a constituency that is located, in whole or in part, in the transportation service region, or

(b) a minister with responsibility for municipal affairs or transportation or any other matter directly related to the purpose of the authority.

(5) A director appointed

(a) under subsection (2) holds office,

(i) in the case of the first directors appointed by the Greater Vancouver Regional District under subsection (2), until December 31, 1999, and

(ii) in any other case, for one year,

(b) under subsection (4) holds office at the pleasure of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and

(c) under subsection (2) or (4) may be reappointed for further terms.

(6) If an individual ceases to satisfy the requirements of subsection (2), (3) or (4), as the case may be, that individual continues as a director until the earlier of

(a) the appointment of another director in his or her place, and

(b) the expiration of 90 days after that individual ceases to satisfy the requirements.

(7) If, for any reason, a director ceases to be a member of the board, no act or proceeding of the directors occurring within 90 days after the date on which that director ceases to be a member of the board is invalid merely because of there being in office less than the number of directors required by this section.

(8) Without limiting section 46, on the recommendation of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by regulation, amend one or more of subsections (1) to (4) of this section as follows:

(a) by changing the representation of directors required by subsection (3) of this section to reflect changes in the distribution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District's population;

(b) by changing the number of directors required by one or more of subsections (1), (2) and (4) and the representation of directors required by subsection (3) to accommodate changes in the boundaries of the transportation service region, including determining in which paragraph of subsection (3) a new area of the transportation service region is to be included.

Responsibilities of the board

9 (1) The board must appoint, from among its directors, a chair of the board for a one year term, and the chair may be reappointed for further terms.

(2) The board must appoint a chief executive officer of the authority and, subject to section 11, must establish his or her terms and conditions of employment.

(3) The board must supervise the management of the affairs of the authority and may, unless otherwise provided in this Act, by resolution,

(a) exercise the powers and duties of the authority and the powers and duties conferred on the board under this Act,

(b) establish a plan of organization to carry out the powers and duties of the authority,

(c) delegate, to a person employed by the authority or to a subsidiary, the exercise of a power of the authority, other than a power described in section 5, 6 (2) (a), (b) and (c) (3), (4) and (5), 17, 18, 19, 22, 24, 25, 28, 29, 29.1, 30 or 46 (4),

(d) delegate a duty of the authority to a person employed by the authority, to a subsidiary or to a contractor of the authority,

(e) establish committees of directors and delegate to those committees the powers and duties of the board, except the power to appoint a chair, to appoint a chief executive officer or to delegate a power of the board,

(f) subject to subsection (4), establish rules of procedure for the conduct of meetings of, and rules of conduct for

(i) the board,

(ii) the authority,

(iii) any committee of directors established by the board, and

(iv) any advisory committee appointed under section 6 (2) (e),

(g) subject to section 15 (7) of this Act, establish subsidiaries under the Business Corporations Act, or acquire subsidiaries, to carry out the authority's purpose and responsibilities, and

(i) appoint the boards and chairs of those subsidiaries,

(ii) establish rules of conduct for the boards of those subsidiaries, and

(iii) review and approve the annual operating budgets of those subsidiaries, and

(h) establish guidelines for the payment by the authority of

(i) reimbursement to its directors for expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties, and

(ii) fees to its directors and to the chair of the board for performing their respective duties.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), each meeting of the board must be open to the public.

(5) The board may, when it is appropriate to do so, exclude persons other than directors from all or part of a meeting.

Employees

10 The chief executive officer must, as agent for the authority,

(a) employ or retain persons necessary for the business and operations of the authority and for the functioning of the board,

(b) define the duties of those persons, and

(c) in accordance with any guidelines established by the board, determine the compensation of those persons.

Pensions

11 (1) Subject to the exclusions in subsection (2) of this section, the Public Service Pension Plan, continued under the Public Sector Pension Plans Act, applies to

(a) designated employees who are transferred by an order made under section 37 of this Act, and

(b) all other employees of the authority and its subsidiaries.

(2) The Public Service Pension Plan does not apply to employees who are members of or will be entitled to become members of a pension plan registered under the Income Tax Act (Canada) other than that provided under the Public Service Pension Plan.

(3) The Public Service Pension Plan applies to those designated employees who immediately before their transfer were contributors under the Municipal Pension Plan continued under the Public Sector Pension Plans Act.

(4) and (5) [Repealed 1999-44-57.]

(6) The amounts payable as the employer's contribution under the Public Service Pension Plan must be reduced by the amount determined by the trustee of the pension fund under that plan to have been paid by the authority or the subsidiary, as the case may be, to the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority Plan

(a) under the agreement entered into under section 7 (3) of the Metro Transit Operating Company Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 257, and

(b) as reimbursement for the cost of increases in the pension benefits received under that Plan.

(7) The authority or subsidiary, as the case may be, may continue its participation in a pension plan other than the Public Service Pension Plan in respect of those employees or future employees referred to in subsection (2) of this section.

Health and benefit trust

12 (1) In this section, "trust" means the BC Transit Employees' Health and Benefit Trust and includes any successor trust created for the benefit of members of groups of employees who were, before the creation of the successor trust, beneficiaries of the BC Transit Employees' Health and Benefit Trust.

(2) If the authority or any of its subsidiaries is a successor employer to BC Transit within the meaning of the Labour Relations Code, that successor employer must

(a) deduct from the compensation of employees who are beneficiaries of the trust any amounts that are set, by the trustees of the trust, in accordance with the agreement and declaration of trust that established the trust, and

(b) remit those amounts to the trust.

Labour relations matters

13 (1) For the purposes of section 38 of the Labour Relations Code,

(a) the authority must not be treated as one employer with any person, including a subsidiary, and

(b) a subsidiary must not be treated as one employer with any person, including another subsidiary.

(2) Every collective agreement between the authority and a trade union or between a subsidiary and a trade union is deemed to provide that it is the function of the employer, subject to the provisions of the collective agreement, to manage the employer's affairs.

(3) For the purpose of subsection (2), "manage the employer's affairs" includes, without limitation, the right to determine

(a) the employment, complement and organization of employees necessary to carry on the business and operations of the authority or the subsidiary, as the case may be, and

(b) the work methods and procedures applicable to the provision of transportation services.

Strategic transportation plan

14 (1) To guide the authority in carrying out its responsibilities, the authority must, within 2 years after it is established, prepare and adopt a strategic transportation plan respecting

(a) the provision of the regional transportation system, and

(b) transportation demand management.

(2) The strategic transportation plan must

(a) identify the major actions that the authority plans to undertake during the period to which the plan applies,

(b) set out the relationship between the major actions planned by the authority and

(i) the regional growth strategy, and

(ii) the air quality objectives for, and the economic development of, the transportation service region, and

(c) include a long range capital and financial plan.

(3) The authority must prepare all its capital and service plans and policies and carry out all its activities and services in a manner that is consistent with its strategic transportation plan.

(4) The authority must submit its strategic transportation plan, and any amendments to it, for ratification by a resolution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors.

(5) Every time the regional growth strategy is reviewed under section 869 of the Local Government Act, the authority must review its strategic transportation plan, make any appropriate revisions to it and resubmit it under subsection (4) of this section.

Required consultation

15 (1) When the authority is required under this section to consult before taking any proposed action, the authority must

(a) adopt a consultation plan that the authority considers will provide opportunities for

(i) consultation, in the manner required in this section, with the public, municipalities, organizations, the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the government and trade unions, and

(ii) consultation with any other persons or organizations that the authority considers will be affected by the proposed action or consultation plan, and

(b) consider any comments provided during the consultation process before taking the action.

(2) A failure to comply with a consultation plan under subsection (1) does not invalidate the action taken as long as the authority has made a reasonable attempt to consult in accordance with subsection (1).

(3) Subject to subsection (4) and section 35, the authority must consult with the public, all the municipalities and any other organizations that the authority considers will be affected before

(a) assessing any taxes under section 25 (2),

(b) assessing any project toll charges, user fees or motor vehicle charges under section 29,

(c) assessing any parking taxes under section 30 (2), or

(d) finalizing the preparation of the strategic transportation plan and any amendments to the plan.

(5) The authority must consult with the government, all the municipalities and the Greater Vancouver Regional District before

(a) establishing any standards under section 19, or

(b) entering into an agreement under section 1 (2) to add an area to the transportation service region.

(6) The authority must consult with all the municipalities before taking any action under sections 18 (2) (b) and 22 (3).

(7) If the establishment or acquisition of a subsidiary by the authority will alter a bargaining unit, the authority must, before establishing or acquiring that subsidiary, consult with any trade unions representing employees who may be affected by the establishment or acquisition of the subsidiary.

GVRD approval or ratification

16 (1) If the authority requires the approval or ratification of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors before taking any action under this Act, the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors must, on request of the authority for approval or ratification, respond to that request by a resolution made

(a) within 120 days after receipt of the request, or

(b) within any longer period agreed by the board of the authority and the board of directors of the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

(2) If the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors fails to respond to the request referred to in subsection (1) within the required period of time, that board of directors is deemed to have approved or ratified the action.

(3) A bylaw assessing a tax, a project toll charge, a motor vehicle charge, a designated toll or a parking tax does not require ratification by the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors before coming into force if

(a) the board of the authority, after full examination of the capital and operating expenditures of the authority and its subsidiaries, determines that assessing the proposed taxes or charges is necessary and unavoidable in order to meet the debt obligations properly incurred by the authority under section 31, and

(b) the board of the authority has passed a resolution by a vote of at least 2/3 of its members present at the meeting

(i) confirming that the circumstances in paragraph (a) exist, and

(ii) declaring that, despite section 25 (3), 29 (5), 29.1 (5) or 30 (5), as the case may be, ratification of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors is not required.

Richmond-Airport-Vancouver rapid transit project

16.1 (1) Without limiting section 14, the authority may, by resolution of the board, amend the strategic transportation plan to incorporate the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver rapid transit project.

(2) Except to the extent provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, sections 14, 15 and 16 do not apply to an amendment of the strategic transportation plan under subsection (1) of this section.

(3) If the authority amends the strategic transportation plan in accordance with subsection (1),

(a) the authority is deemed to have complied with sections 14 and 15 in relation to that portion of the strategic transportation plan that results from the amendment,

(b) the authority must submit the amendment for ratification by a resolution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors,

(c) the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors must, on the request of the authority for ratification of that amendment, respond to that request by a resolution made on or before May 30, 2003, and

(d) the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors is deemed to have ratified the amendment if that board of directors

(i) receives the amendment on or before May 27, 2003, and

(ii) fails to respond to the request referred to in paragraph (c) of this subsection on or before May 30, 2003.

(4) An amendment to the strategic transportation plan under subsection (1) of this section takes effect after all of the following have occurred:

(a) the amendment is ratified by the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors under subsection (3) (c) or (d);

(b) the government provides notice to the authority that the government has received a commitment from the government of Canada to provide funding for the construction of the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver rapid transit project in an amount and on terms that are satisfactory to the government;

(c) the authority enters into an agreement with the government and the Vancouver International Airport Authority under which the parties to the agreement agree on the terms in accordance with which the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver rapid transit project is to be constructed.

Part 2 — Major Road Network

Identifying major roads

17 The authority must establish guidelines, consistent with the authority's purpose, for identifying highways in the transportation service region as major roads.

Major road network

18 (1) The authority must, by bylaw made on or before December 31, 1998, establish the major road network comprising an integrated system of highways throughout the transportation service region.

(2) The authority may, by bylaw,

(a) designate the whole or any specified part of one or more major roads as forming part of the major road network, and

(b) remove all or any of those designations.

(3) A designation under subsection (2) (a) may be removed in respect of the whole or any part of a designated highway that no longer falls within the guidelines, established under section 17, for identifying major roads.

(4) The authority must have the consent of each of the municipalities within which a major road is located before designating that major road as being part of the major road network under subsection (2) (a), but the consent of those municipalities is not required to remove the designation under subsection (2) (b).

(5) With the agreement of the owner of a private road and with the consent of each municipality in which that private road is located, the authority may, by bylaw, designate the whole or any specified part of that road as forming part of the major road network, but the agreement of the owner and the consent of those municipalities is not required to remove the designation.

Standards for major road network

19 Subject to this Part, the authority may, by bylaw, establish standards for the management, operation, construction and maintenance of all or any part of the major road network.

Funding for major road network

20 Within the limits of its powers under this Act, the authority must, in accordance with an agreement with a municipality under paragraph (c), contribute funds to the municipality for the purpose of maintaining or constructing any part of the major road network that is located in that municipality if

(a) the municipality is complying, to the satisfaction of the authority, with all of the management, operation, construction and maintenance standards established by the authority under section 19,

(b) in the case of construction, the construction project in respect of which funds are to be contributed is included in the capital plans approved by the authority and the authority's contribution to the cost of the construction of that project is included in the capital budget approved by the authority,

(c) the authority and the municipality enter into an agreement in respect of the maintenance or construction, as the case may be, and

(d) the municipality complies with the terms and conditions of the agreement referred to in paragraph (c).

Limits on municipal authority

21 (1) Despite the Community Charter, the Vancouver Charter or any other enactment, a municipality must not, without the approval of the authority, take, authorize or permit any action that would reduce the capacity of all or any part of the major road network to move people.

(1.1) For the purpose of subsection (1), an action would reduce the capacity of all or any part of the major road network to move people if the action would result in the alteration of a roadway, as that term is defined in section 119 of the Motor Vehicle Act, of a major road, or of the traffic control conditions on a major road, in such a way that fewer persons would be able to travel on the major road network in a given time period than were able to travel on the major road network in a comparable time period before the taking of the action.

(2) Despite the Community Charter, the Vancouver Charter or any other enactment but subject to subsection (3) of this section, a municipality must not, without the approval of the authority, take, authorize or permit any action that would prohibit the movement of trucks on all or any part of a highway in the transportation service region.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to a highway in the provincial highway system.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), a bylaw that prohibits the movement of trucks on a highway in the transportation service region is deemed to have been approved by the authority under subsection (2)

(a) if the bylaw was adopted by the Council of the City of Vancouver before the coming into force of this section, or

(b) in the case of a bylaw adopted by the council of any other municipality, if the bylaw was adopted

(i) with the approval of the Minister of Transportation and Highways under section 531 of the Local Government Act as that section read immediately before its repeal by the Community Charter Transitional Provisions, Consequential Amendments and Other Amendments Act, 2003, and

(ii) before the coming into force of this section.

(5) Any amendment or replacement of a bylaw referred to in subsection (4) requires the approval of the authority under subsection (2) of this section.

(6) The approval of the minister responsible for the Highways Act is not required under section 36 (2) (c) [regulation of extraordinary traffic on arterial highways] of the Community Charter for a bylaw, described in subsection (4) of this section, passed after this section comes into force.

Movement of dangerous goods

22 (1) In this section, "dangerous goods" has the same meaning as in the Transport of Dangerous Goods Act.

(2) Despite any other enactment, a municipality must not make a bylaw described in section 23 of the Transport of Dangerous Goods Act in respect of a highway that is part of the major road network.

(3) The authority, by bylaw,

(a) must designate routes and times of travel on the major road network for motor vehicles transporting dangerous goods, and

(b) may prohibit the transportation of dangerous goods in motor vehicles

(i) on designated routes in the major road network, or

(ii) at certain times of travel.

(4) A designation may not be made under subsection (3) (a) without the consent of each municipality in which a part of the designated route is located.

(5) A municipal bylaw described in section 23 of the Transport of Dangerous Goods Act in respect of any part of the major road network ceases to have effect when, under subsection (3) of this section, the authority adopts a bylaw in respect of that part of the major road network.

Authority's highways

23 (1) If the authority has purchased or taken land for a highway and has had title to the highway registered in the name of the authority, the following do not apply to the highway:

(a) section 35 (1) [ownership and possession of highways] of the Community Charter;

(b) section 289 of the Vancouver Charter.

(2) The authority has the right of possession of any highway referred to in subsection (1) of this section.

(3) Despite section 2 of the Transportation Act, the authority is responsible for and has control of the construction and maintenance of, any highway referred to in subsection (1) of this section.

(4) In relation to all or any part of a highway referred to in subsection (1) located within a municipality, the authority has powers equivalent to those of the municipality in respect of the layout, design, construction and maintenance of highways.

Weight and dimension requirements

24 (1) Despite any standards set by the authority under section 19 respecting weight and dimensions for motor vehicles on the major road network, the requirements prescribed for motor vehicles in a regulation made under section 11 (2) (a) or (m) of the Commercial Transport Act apply to the major road network subject to any specific limitations set by the authority under subsection (2) (d) of this section.

(2) Despite

(a) requirements prescribed for motor vehicles under section 11 (2) (a) or (m) of the Commercial Transport Act,

(b) a bylaw of a municipality respecting weight and dimensions for motor vehicles travelling on any part of the major road network, and

(c) any standards set by the authority under section 19 of this Act,

the authority may, if the authority considers that a part of the major road network does not have the capacity to accommodate those requirements, do one or both of the following:

(d) by bylaw, further limit the requirements described in paragraphs (a) to (c) of this subsection on any specified part of the major road network;

(e) recommend to the Lieutenant Governor in Council that the requirements prescribed for motor vehicles under section 11 (2) (a) or (m) of the Commercial Transport Act be further limited to specified requirements on any specified part of the major road network.

(3) Without limiting the Commercial Transport Act or section 46 of this Act, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, after receiving a recommendation from the authority under subsection (2) (e) of this section, amend any regulation made under section 11 (2) (a) or (m) of the Commercial Transport Act to prescribe the specified requirements in relation to the specified part of the major road network.

(4) Without limiting any other offences or liability that might arise in relation to weight or dimension requirements referred to in subsection (2) (a) to (c), a person commits an offence if the person operates, on a part of the major road network, a motor vehicle the weight or dimensions of which exceed the requirements, as limited by a bylaw made by the authority under subsection (2) (d), that are applicable to that part of the major road network.

(5) A person referred to in subsection (4) commits an offence whether or not the motor vehicle referred to in that subsection complies with the requirements referred to in subsection (2) (a) to (c).

(6) The authority may, in the place of the minister under section 8 of the Commercial Transport Act, issue permits under that section with respect to motor vehicles if and to the extent that the permits relate to highways in the major road network, and any prescribed fees payable under that section in relation to those permits are payable to the authority.

Part 3 — Funding

Property tax assessed by the authority

25 (1) In this section and in section 26:

"assessment commissioner" means the assessment commissioner appointed under the Assessment Authority Act;

"improvements" has the same meaning as in the Assessment Act;

"land" has the same meaning as in the Assessment Act.

(2) The authority

(a) may, by bylaw, assess a tax on the net taxable value of land and improvements in the transportation service region, other than land and improvements that are taxable for school purposes only by special Act, and

(b) must, in assessing that tax, adopt a variable tax rate system in which individual tax rates are determined and imposed for each property class.

(3) Subject to subsection (4) of this section and section 16 (3), a bylaw made under subsection (2) does not come into force until the bylaw is ratified by a resolution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors.

(4) A bylaw made under subsection (2) does not require ratification by the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors under subsection (3) before coming into force if

(a) the bylaw is the first bylaw made by the authority under subsection (2), or

(b) the bylaw results in a decrease in the tax assessed under subsection (2).

(5) On or before May 1 in each year, the authority must send to the collector in each municipality and to the Surveyor of Taxes a notice setting out the tax rates that are applicable to the taxes assessed by the authority under subsection (2).

(6) If, after the authority has made its first bylaw under subsection (2), the authority increases the tax assessed under this section, the authority must adopt a variable tax rate system that

(a) is applicable only to that increase, and

(b) uses the same relationships between tax rates, and the same formulas for calculating those relationships, as does the variable tax rate system prescribed for regional hospital districts under section 27 of the Hospital District Act.

(7) In a bylaw under subsection (2), the authority may

(a) establish zones in the transportation service region, and

(b) adopt different tax rates for land and improvements in different zones based on the benefit that the authority considers accrues to the land and improvements in a zone as a result of proximity to a transportation station, or to another major transportation facility, that has been constructed or funded by the authority.

(8) [Repealed 2003-3-12.]

(9) If required by the authority, the assessment commissioner must certify and forward to the authority the current year net taxable values of all land and improvements in respect of which tax may be assessed under this section for any municipality or any rural area in the transportation service region.

Collection of taxes

26 (1) If taxes are assessed under section 25, a municipality must collect those of the taxes that are assessed on the net taxable value of land and improvements in the municipality and the Surveyor of Taxes must collect those of the taxes that are assessed on the net taxable value of land and improvements in any rural area in the transportation service region.

(2) In each year in which the authority assesses taxes under section 25, the municipality or the Surveyor of Taxes, as the case may be, must pay to the authority

(a) by August 1 of the year for which the taxes are assessed, all of the assessed taxes that had been collected by July 15 of that year, and

(b) by December 31 of the year for which the taxes are assessed, the balance of the assessed taxes, whether or not all of the assessed taxes have been collected.

(3) [Repealed 2003-3-12.]

(4) In addition to any money payable under subsection (2), if, in any year (the "grant year") a grant in place of taxes for land and improvements in a municipality or rural area in the transportation service region is received by the collector of the municipality or by the Surveyor of Taxes from

(a) the government of Canada under the Municipal Grants Act (Canada),

(b) a corporation included in Schedule III or IV of the Municipal Grants Act (Canada), or

(c) a public body as defined in section 1 of the Financial Administration Act,

the municipality or the Surveyor of Taxes, as the case may be, must pay to the authority, on or before February 1 in the following year, the amount determined by the following formula:

required payment = amount of grant X [authority's taxes/local taxes]

where

amount of grant	means the full amount of the grant provided in the grant year to the municipality or the Surveyor of Taxes, as the case may be, for the land and improvements;
authority's taxes	means the taxes assessed by the authority for the grant year under section 25 on land and improvements in the municipality or rural area, as the case may be;
local taxes	means,
	(a)	in the case of a grant provided to the collector of a municipality, the taxes levied by the municipality for the grant year on land and improvements in the transportation service region that are located in that municipality, or
	(b)	in the case of a grant provided to the Surveyor of Taxes, the taxes levied by the Surveyor of Taxes for the grant year on land and improvements in that part of the transportation service region that consists of rural area.

(5) Without an appropriation other than this subsection, the amounts that the Surveyor of Taxes must pay to the authority under subsections (2) and (4) must be paid out of the consolidated revenue fund.

(6) Section 27 (1) (a) of the Financial Administration Act does not apply to the appropriation under subsection (5) of this section.

(7) If a municipality fails to pay the authority the amount it is required to pay the authority under this section, the authority may do one or more of the following:

(a) cease providing any of the funding it is obliged to, or has agreed to, provide under this Act;

(b) set off the amounts due against any of the funding it is obliged to, or has agreed to, provide under this Act;

(c) bring an action to recover the amount as a debt due and owing;

(d) on summary application to the Supreme Court, request the appointment of a receiver of any taxes, fees or other revenues of the municipality for the purposes of enforcing payment of the amounts payable under this section.

Levy and collection of property taxes

27 (1) Subject to this Act and the Assessment Act, all of the provisions of the Community Charter, the Local Government Act, the Vancouver Charter and the Taxation (Rural Area) Act apply to the following in the same manner as they would apply to property taxes imposed under those Acts:

(a) the assessment, levy, collection and recovery of taxes assessed under section 25 of this Act in a municipality or rural area, as the case may be;

(b) the addition of penalties and interest on the taxes that are in arrears or are delinquent.

(2) The collector of each municipality or the Surveyor of Taxes, as the case may be, must prepare and mail to each person named on the property tax roll who is liable for taxes under section 25 as the assessed owner in the municipality or rural area, a notice setting out the tax payable.

(3) A notice under subsection (2) must

(a) form part of the taxation notice for raising money for other purposes, and

(b) set out the total amount of taxes assessed under section 25 in respect of each property on which they have been assessed.

(4) Each taxation notice under subsection (2) must conform with any applicable specifications prescribed under the Community Charter, the Local Government Act, the Vancouver Charter or the Taxation (Rural Area) Act and must also provide the details and particulars of the taxes required under those Acts.

(5) Sections 130 to 132 of the School Act apply in respect of assessment and taxation under section 25 of this Act.

Power levies assessed by the authority

28 (1) In this section:

"account" means an electric service account rendered to a person liable for payment for the supply of electricity supplied by or through a collector;

"collector" means the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, the Corporation of the City of New Westminster or a public utility as defined in the Utilities Commission Act;

"power levy" means the amount established under subsection (2);

"supply" has the same meaning as in the Hydro and Power Authority Act.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (5), the authority may, by bylaw, establish a power levy and require a collector to add the power levy to every residential dwelling unit account in the transportation service region.

(3) The power levy must be the same for every account and must not exceed $1.90 per month for each account.

(4) A power levy added to an account of a person under this section is deemed to be a debt owed to the collector by the person liable for payment as part of the rates payable by that person for electricity.

(5) If a person is liable for more than one account for the supply of electricity on the same parcel of land, the authority

(a) may, on application by that person, pass a resolution exempting the person from payment of the power levies added to the second and any additional accounts, and

(b) must, promptly after passing a resolution under paragraph (a), give notice of that resolution to the collector.

(6) After the collector has been notified of a resolution passed under subsection (5), the collector is not required to collect the power levies referred to in that resolution and they are not part of the rates payable for electricity by the person in respect of whom the resolution was passed.

(7) Subject to subsection (8), the collector must pay to the authority an amount equivalent to the total power levies added to and included in accounts under this section, which payments must be made monthly, in the manner required by the authority.

(8) If a collector has added a power levy to an account and that account is written off by the collector as a bad debt, the collector may deduct the amount of the power levy that was added to that account from amounts that are payable under subsection (7).

(9) Despite any other enactment, money collected by a collector on an account is deemed to be paid firstly on account of the power levy added under this section.

(10) The collector must, on request by the authority, provide all records and information required by the authority respecting matters related to the collection of the power levy under this section.

Charges and fees

29 (1) The authority may, to recover all or any part of the costs associated with improvements to a part of the major road network, assess, by bylaw, toll charges on persons using that part of the major road network.

(2) The authority may, by bylaw, assess user fees on persons using custom transit services or services of a ferry, bus transportation system or rail transportation system in the transportation service region.

(3) The authority may, by bylaw, assess motor vehicle charges on any owner or operator of a motor vehicle that is principally used in the transportation service region or that uses all or any designated part of the regional transportation system.

(4) The authority may, in a bylaw made under subsection (1), (2) or (3),

(a) establish different classes of users, operators, owners, motor vehicles, designated parts of the regional transportation system or of the major road network or designated areas in the transportation service region,

(b) establish different or variable project toll charges, motor vehicle charges or user fees in respect of any of the classes, parts or areas described in paragraph (a) or any combination of those classes, parts or areas,

(c) establish stations for the collection of charges and fees under this section, and

(d) exempt any class of users, operators, owners or motor vehicles from the project toll charges, motor vehicle charges or user fees.

(5) Subject to subsection (6) and section 16 (3), a bylaw made under subsection (1) or (3) of this section does not come into force until the bylaw is ratified by a resolution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors.

(6) A bylaw made under subsection (1) or (3) does not require ratification by the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors under subsection (5) before coming into force if the bylaw results in a decrease in the project toll charge or motor vehicle charge, as the case may be, assessed under this section.

Parking tax

30 (1) In this section:

"improvements" has the same meaning as in the Assessment Act;

"land" has the same meaning as in the Assessment Act;

"motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in the Motor Vehicle Act;

"parking site" means, in respect of land located in the areas of the transportation service region to which the parking tax under this section applies, the part of the land and any improvements on the land that is used, available or designed for the parking of motor vehicles and for any purpose that is in any way related or ancillary to that parking, whether or not there is a fee for that parking and whether or not the parking is available to the general public, and includes, without limitation, any part of the land and the improvements on the land

(a) that provides access to the space used, available or designed for parking, including, without limitation, ramps, driveways, turning areas and places on which motor vehicles may be driven,

(b) that separates or marks parking spaces, lanes for driving and other spaces, whether by way of painted markings or by curbs, walls, columns, pillars or other objects,

(c) on which is constructed a booth or other improvement for the use or occupancy of one or more parking attendants, and

(d) on which is erected anything in any way related or ancillary to parking, including, without limitation, lighting for the parking site and machines or devices used, available or designed for one or more of the collection of parking fees, the provision of parking tickets and the insertion of parking cards;

"parking space" means

(a) the part of a parking site that is marked out, by painted lines or otherwise, as being intended or available for the parking of a single motor vehicle, or

(b) for an unmarked parking site, a part of it that is established under a bylaw to be a parking space;

"taxable parking area" means the area, calculated in the manner set out in the bylaw made under subsection (2), of that part of a parking site that is not residential parking;

"taxable parking space" means a parking space that is not residential parking;

"unmarked parking site" means a parking site or a part of a parking site that does not contain parking spaces marked as set out in paragraph (a) of the definition of "parking space".

(2) Subject to exemptions by or under subsection (4.1), the authority may, by bylaw, assess a parking tax on one or both of

(a) the taxable parking area of parking sites located in the transportation service region, and

(b) the taxable parking spaces of parking sites located in the transportation service region.

(3) The tax referred to in subsection (2) must be set at a flat rate per square metre of taxable parking area or per taxable parking space, as the case may be.

(4) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), the authority may

(a) determine the areas of the transportation service region to which the parking tax applies, and

(b) establish the rate for the tax or establish different rates of tax for different areas of the transportation service region.

(5) Subject to subsection (6) of this section and section 16 (3), a bylaw made under subsection (2) of this section does not come into force until the bylaw is ratified by a resolution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors.

(6) A bylaw made under subsection (2) does not require ratification by the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors under subsection (5) before coming into force if the bylaw results in a decrease in the parking tax assessed under subsection (2).

(7) Without limiting section 46, on the recommendation of the authority, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations under this section respecting the following:

(a) the preparation of a parking site roll;

(b) the provision of notices to owners of parking sites included in the parking site roll;

(c) revisions to the parking site roll;

(d) appeals of or related to the parking site roll.

Tax on parking rights

30.1 (1) In addition to the authority’s rights under section 30, the authority may, by bylaw,

(a) set, as the rate of tax payable under section 61 (1) of the Social Service Tax Act, a rate of tax that does not exceed 21% of the purchase price of the parking right in respect of which the tax is paid, and

(b) set, as the date on which the tax rate is to take effect, a date that is

(i) at least 2 months after the date on which the bylaw is passed, and

(ii) the first day of a calendar month.

(2) If the authority passes a bylaw referred to in subsection (1), the authority must deliver a copy of that bylaw to the commissioner under the Social Service Tax Act no later than the business day following the day on which the bylaw is passed.

Borrowing by authority

31 (1) The outstanding debt obligations of the authority arising from borrowings, calculated in accordance with a regulation made under section 46 (1), must not be greater than $1 billion 50 million or any increased amount proposed by a resolution of the board and ratified by a resolution of the Greater Vancouver Regional District board of directors.

(2) The Municipal Finance Authority of British Columbia may provide financing for and on behalf of the authority for borrowing authorized under this Act.

(3) For the purposes of financing under subsection (2) of this section, the Municipal Finance Authority Act, except section 24 of that Act, applies to the authority as if it were a regional district, except that a loan authorization bylaw or security issuing bylaw of the authority is not required for the borrowing.

(4) Without limiting section 6, but subject to subsection (1) of this section, the authority may, to carry out its purpose,

(a) borrow sums of money the authority considers necessary, and

(b) on its own, through any fiscal agent it appoints or otherwise, issue securities bearing interest at rates, if any, and payable as to principal and interest in currencies, at places, at times and in a manner the authority determines.

(5) A recital or a declaration in a resolution of the board authorizing the issue of securities, to the effect that the issue of the securities authorized under this section is being made for the purpose of the authority and that the amount is necessary to realize the net sum required for that purpose, is conclusive evidence of the fact.

(6) The board may, by resolution,

(a) delegate any of the powers of the authority under this section to any director, committee of directors or officer of the authority or to any person named in a resolution of the board, and

(b) establish requirements for all matters in any way related to the issue, execution and delivery, repayment, refunding, repurchase or redemption of securities of the authority.

(7) The securities of the authority may be made redeemable in advance of maturity at the times and at the prices the authority determines when the securities are issued.

(8) Without limiting section 6, the authority, on terms it considers necessary or advisable, may do any of the following:

(a) issue or otherwise dispose of the securities of the authority, either at par value or at less or more than par value;

(b) charge, pledge, hypothecate, deposit or otherwise deal with the securities of the authority as collateral security;

(c) provide for the creation, management and application of sinking funds, including the setting of terms and conditions that will apply to those sinking funds, with respect to securities issued by the authority;

(d) enter into any of the following agreements for the purpose of reducing risks or maximizing benefits in relation to the borrowing or investment of money:

(i) currency exchange agreements;

(ii) spot and future currency agreements;

(iii) interest rate exchange agreements;

(iv) future interest rate agreements.

(9) The securities of the authority

(a) must be in the form determined by the board, and

(b) may be held by a depository agency in a book-based system for the central handling of securities that provides for the transfer of the securities by bookkeeping entry without physical delivery of the securities.

Funding major projects

32 (1) In this section, "major project" means a project that is proposed by the authority and that both the government and the authority expect

(a) will significantly improve the regional transportation system or will have a significant impact on the authority's ability to maintain the regional transportation system, and

(b) will provide economic benefit to the transportation service region.

(2) The government must enter into negotiations with the authority respecting the government's contribution to the capital costs of a major project.

Rapid Transit Project

33 (1) The government may plan, acquire and construct the Rapid Transit Project.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the government must contribute funding for 60% of the capital costs of the Rapid Transit Project and the authority must contribute funding for 40% of the capital costs of the project if

(a) the government plans the acquisition and construction of the project, and

(b) the authority and the government agree on the design, scope and cost of the project.

(3) If the government contributes the funding required under subsection (2), the government must have and must retain, at least until the government's debt obligations associated with financing the government's share of the capital costs have been discharged, a 60% interest in the assets of the Rapid Transit Project.

(4) At the time or times agreed on by the authority and the government, all or any part of the Rapid Transit Project becomes part of the regional transportation system.

Power to exempt

34 (1) Subject to subsection (2), on the recommendation of the authority, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by order, exempt from taxation and payment of fees under, and from licensing requirements under, the Community Charter, the Local Government Act, the Vancouver Charter or the Passenger Transportation Act

(a) the authority or any of its subsidiaries or contractors in relation to the construction, acquisition or operation by any of them of the regional transportation system, and

(b) a municipality in relation to its construction, acquisition or operation of independent transit services approved under section 5 (1).

(2) An exemption may not be given under subsection (1) in respect of the taxation of real property.

(3) Despite subsections (1) and (2), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by order, exempt a person the Lieutenant Governor in Council specifies from liability for taxation under the Assessment Authority Act, the School Act, the Hospital District Act, the Municipal Finance Authority Act, the Community Charter, the Local Government Act, the Vancouver Charter and this Act, in respect of any land and improvements, within the meaning that applies to those terms under the Act in respect of which the exemption is given, that the Lieutenant Governor in Council designates in the order as owned or used by that person for the purpose of the construction, acquisition or operation of

(4) and (5) [Repealed 1998-30-34 (5).]

Part 4 — Transition

Exemptions from consultation requirements

35 The authority need not consult under section 15 (3) in relation to the following:

(a) the first bylaw made under section 25 (2);

(b) the first bylaw made under section 29 (2).

Interim funding

36 By December 31, 1999, the authority must pay to the government any amount, to a maximum of $2.5 million, advanced by the government before the coming into force of this section to fund the activities required to prepare for the implementation of this Act.

Transferred employees

37 (1) In this Act, "transferred employee" means a designated employee who is transferred by an order made under subsection (2).

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, for the purpose of effecting a transfer of a designated employee under this section, make an order

(a) naming the authority or any of its subsidiaries to be the employer to whom the designated employee is transferred, and

(b) setting transfer dates.

(3) An order under subsection (2) in relation to designated employees referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition of "designated employees" in section 1 may only be made on the recommendation of the authority.

(4) An order under subsection (2) may transfer individual designated employees or one or more classes of designated employees.

(5) On the transfer date set by an order under subsection (2), a designated employee who is identified in the order or who is a member of a class of designated employees identified in the order

(a) ceases to be an employee of an employer described in the definition of "designated employees", and

(b) becomes an employee of whichever of the following is named in the order as the employer:

(i) the authority;

(ii) a subsidiary.

(6) Nothing in this section affects the rights any transferred employee has under a collective agreement with respect to a transfer.

(7) A transferred employee must not suffer a reduction in seniority, salary or superannuation, pension plan or other benefits merely because his or her employment has been transferred under this section.

(8) A question or difference between an employer to whom a designated employee is transferred under this section and

(a) a transferred employee who is a member of a unit of employees for which a trade union has been certified under the Labour Relations Code, or

(b) a trade union representing transferred employees,

respecting the application of the Labour Relations Code or the interpretation or application of this section, may be referred to the Labour Relations Board in accordance with the procedure set out in the Labour Relations Code and its regulations.

(9) The Labour Relations Board may, in respect of a question or difference referred to in subsection (8) of this section, decide the question or difference in any of the ways, and by applying any of the remedies, available under the Labour Relations Code.

Transfer of assets and liabilities

38 (1) For greater certainty but without limiting any other provision of this Act, in this section and in sections 39, 40 and 42:

"asset" includes rights and property;

"liability" includes obligations.

(2) Subject to any orders made under subsection (10) (a), on the date that this subsection comes into force,

(a) all assets and liabilities of BC Transit that are located in the transportation service region or are associated with the provision of transportation services in that region, become the assets and liabilities of the authority, and

(b) BC Transit is released from those liabilities.

(3) On the date that this subsection comes into force, all assets and liabilities of the government that are

(a) located in the transportation service region or associated with the provision of transportation services in that region, and

(b) specified in an order made under subsection (10) (b)

become the assets and liabilities of the authority, and the government is released from those liabilities.

(4) For the purposes of this section, assets that become assets of the authority under subsections (2) and (3) include records and parts of records, and without limiting this, and despite the Document Disposal Act,

(a) subject to subsection (5) of this section and to any orders made under subsection (10) (a), all of the records and parts of records of BC Transit that are located in the transportation service region or are associated with the provision of transportation services in that region are transferred to and become the records of the authority on the date that subsection (2) comes into force,

(b) all of the records and parts of records specified in an order made under subsection (10) (b) are transferred to and become the records of the authority on the date that subsection (3) comes into force, and

(c) none of the transferred records are subject to the Document Disposal Act.

(5) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (4) (a), in the event of a dispute between BC Transit and the authority as to whether any record or part of a record becomes an asset of the authority under subsections (2) and (4) (a), the minister or a person authorized by the minister may decide.

(6) On the date that this subsection comes into force, all of the shares of British Columbia Rapid Transit Company Ltd. and West Coast Express Ltd. that are held by the government are transferred to and vest in the authority.

(7) On the date that this subsection comes into force, the regional transit fund balance held by BC Transit on behalf of the Vancouver Regional Transit Commission becomes the asset of the authority.

(8) Subject to any orders made under subsection (10) (d), on the date that this subsection comes into force, the authority is granted a lease, for a nominal rental, to use, operate and generate revenues from the assets of BC Transit that are specified in an order made under subsection (10) (c).

(9) The sinking funds established for repayment of any of those debt obligations of BC Transit that are transferred under subsection (2) of this section or under section 40 are deemed, on the date of that transfer, to be held for the benefit of the authority, BC Transit and the government respectively in the proportions respectively identified in an order made under subsection (10) (e) of this section.

(10) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make orders

(a) excluding from subsection (2) any assets or liabilities or proportions or parts of assets or liabilities of BC Transit,

(b) specifying any assets or liabilities or proportions or parts of assets or liabilities of the government for the purposes of subsection (3),

(c) specifying any assets of BC Transit for the purposes of subsection (8),

(d) respecting the terms and conditions of a lease under subsection (8), including specifying different terms and conditions for different assets referred to in that subsection, and

(e) respecting the proportions to be applied under subsection (9).

(11) An order made under subsection (10) may identify assets and liabilities by name, class or description.

(12) Subject to subsection (13) and to an order made under subsection (10), on the date that an asset or liability becomes an asset or liability of the authority, a reference to the government or BC Transit in any commercial paper, contract, lease, licence, permit or other instrument or document that is evidence of that asset or liability is deemed to be a reference to the authority.

(13) If, under this section, a proportion or part of an asset or liability is transferred to the authority, any commercial paper, contract, lease, licence, permit or other instrument or document that is evidence of that asset or liability is, on the date of that transfer, deemed to be amended to reflect the interests of the authority and others in that asset or liability as a result of the operation of this section.

(14) Despite the Social Service Tax Act and the Land Title Act, the authority is, in respect of any transfer of assets under this section and in respect of any registration of any interest in land transferred under this section,

(a) exempt from taxes imposed by the Social Service Tax Act, and

(b) exempt from the requirement to pay fees under section 386 of the Land Title Act.

Trusts

39 (1) There may be established one or more trusts, to be administered by the Minister of Finance or by another person designated by that minister,

(a) for the purpose of repayment of those debt obligations that are

(i) transferred to the authority under section 38 (2), and

(ii) owed to a person other than the government,

(b) for the purpose of making payments under the capital leases that are transferred to the authority under section 38 (2),

(c) for the purpose of repayment of that part of the government's debt obligations that was incurred by the government to make loans to BC Transit if and to the extent that the liabilities under those loans are transferred under section 38 (2) to the authority, or

(d) for any other purpose designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council that relates to the payment of government guarantees of liabilities transferred under section 38 (2).

(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make orders respecting the time or times within which and the conditions under which the authority must deposit assets into a trust established under subsection (1) of this section and may identify assets by name, class or description.

(3) The authority must deposit assets into each trust established under subsection (1) at the time or times set out in, and in accordance with, any orders made under subsection (2), which assets must

(a) have a value, and be of a type or class of assets, acceptable to the Minister of Finance, and

(b) be capable of generating cash flows sufficient to discharge fully the payment or repayment for which the trust is established under subsection (1).

(4) When the authority deposits the required assets under subsection (3), the proportions of the sinking funds that, under section 38 (9), are deemed to be held for the benefit of the authority are transferred to the authority or, if another person has been designated by the authority, to the designated person.

(5) When the authority deposits the required assets under subsection (3) for the purpose described in subsection (1) (c), the part of the loan liabilities of BC Transit that

(a) was owed by BC Transit to the government, and

(b) is transferred to the authority under section 38 (2),

is released.

(6) Subsections (4) and (5) do not apply if and to the extent that the assets deposited under subsection (3) are securities issued by the authority.

Transfer to government

40 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make orders specifying liabilities or proportions or parts of liabilities of BC Transit that are to become the liabilities of the government under this section.

(2) On the date that this subsection comes into force,

(a) the liabilities or proportions or parts of liabilities referred to in an order made under subsection (1) become the liabilities of the government, and

(b) BC Transit is released from those liabilities to the extent that those liabilities have become liabilities of the government under this subsection.

(3) If a sinking fund has been established for the repayment of any of the liabilities referred to in subsection (2), the proportion of that sinking fund that corresponds to the proportion of that liability that becomes a liability of the government under subsection (2) is, on the date that subsection (2) comes into force, deemed to be held for the benefit of the government.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), on the date that a liability becomes a liability of the government under subsection (2), a reference to BC Transit in any commercial paper, contract, lease, licence, permit or other instrument or document that is evidence of that liability is deemed to be a reference to the government.

(5) If, under this section, a proportion or part of a liability is transferred to the government, any commercial paper, contract, lease, licence, permit or other instrument or document that is evidence of that liability is, on the date of that transfer, deemed to be amended to reflect the interests of the government and others in that liability as a result of the operation of this section.

(6) The Minister of Finance may make payments out of the consolidated revenue fund, without an appropriation other than this subsection, for the payment of liabilities transferred to the government under this section.

Government guarantees

41 Nothing in sections 38 and 40 qualifies or releases any guarantee given by the government for

(a) securities issued by BC Transit, or

(b) leases to which BC Transit is a party.

Transfer not a default

42 None of the following constitute a breach or contravention of or a default under any instrument that evidences an asset or liability:

(a) a transfer of that asset or liability under section 38 or 40;

(b) the release of a person from that liability under section 38 or 40;

(c) an amendment to the instrument effected under section 38 (12) or (13) or 40 (4) or (5).

Statutory rights of way

43 (1) Without limiting section 38, a transfer to the authority, under that section, of an interest of BC Transit or the government in a statutory right of way under section 218 of the Land Title Act is effective to vest in the authority the transferred interest in the statutory right of way despite any prohibition against, or restriction on transfer under, the terms of the statutory right of way.

(2) A statutory right of way referred to in subsection (1) continues as a statutory right of way under section 218 of the Land Title Act despite any subsequent disposition or transmission of the transferred interest to the successors or assigns of the authority.

Declassification of highways

44 (1) If the Lieutenant Governor in Council revokes an order, made under the Transportation Act, by which a highway that is located in the transportation service region was classified as an arterial or secondary highway, neither the municipality in which the highway is located nor the authority is responsible for payment of any debt obligations that were incurred by the government, before the classification was revoked, for capital costs in respect of that highway.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) relieves a municipality from any debt obligations, or parts of debt obligations, for which it was liable before the classification was revoked.

(3) If a highway that is located in the transportation service region and that is declassified as referred to in subsection (1) is designated as part of the major road network,

(a) a Provincial highways maintenance contract that applies, on the date that this section comes into force, to the whole or any part of that highway, remains in force, and will be administered by the government, until the earlier of March 14, 2001 and the termination of that contract,

(b) the authority must, until the earlier of March 14, 2001 and the termination of the contract, pay the cost of maintenance services performed under that contract as it applies to the highway

(i) to, or to the order of, the government, and

(ii) in a manner that satisfies, or allows the government to satisfy, the payment terms set out in that contract,

(c) the standards set out in the contract are deemed, until the earlier of March 14, 2001 and the termination of that contract, to be the standards set by the authority for maintenance of the highway under section 19, and

(d) a municipality is deemed to have discharged any obligation to maintain the highway for so long as that highway is being maintained under the contract.

(4) By December 31, 1999, the authority must pay to the government the lesser of

(a) $3.5 million, and

(b) the net savings calculated in accordance with subsection (5).

(5) In subsection (4) (b), "net savings" means any positive amount calculated in accordance with the following formula:

Net Savings = TC – TPC

where

Part 5 — General

Offence Act

45 Section 5 of the Offence Act does not apply to this Act.

Power to make regulations

46 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations referred to in section 41 of the Interpretation Act.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) specifying any provision of the Business Corporations Act that does not apply to a subsidiary incorporated under, or otherwise subject to, the Business Corporations Act,

(b) considered necessary or advisable to more efficiently bring this Act into operation and to facilitate the transition from the operation of the Acts repealed or amended by this Act, and

(c) considered necessary or advisable for any registrations required under the Land Title Act in relation to transfers of assets or liabilities under section 38 or 40 of this Act.

(3) If the Lieutenant Governor in Council makes a regulation under subsection (2) (a) of this section, the specified provision of the Business Corporations Act does not apply to the subsidiary.

(4) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make the following regulations on the recommendation of the authority:

(a) for the safety, good order and convenience of the public in the operation, use and control by the authority of any services, property and facilities in the regional transportation system, other than in the major road network;

(b) limiting and prohibiting access by any person or class of persons to

(i) property occupied by the authority or its subsidiaries or contractors,

(ii) any part of the regional transportation system, other than the major road network, or

(iii) any bus transportation services, rail transportation services or ferry services in any other region or location where the service is being operated by the authority or by its subsidiaries or contractors;

(c) limiting and prohibiting the carriage of goods or animals on

(i) any part of the regional transportation system, other than the major road network, or

(ii) any bus transportation services, rail transportation services or ferry services in any other region or location where the service is being operated by the authority or by its subsidiaries or contractors;

(d) respecting the use of ferries, ferry landings and ferry approaches, and the carriage of passengers and property on ferries under the jurisdiction of the authority;

(e) requiring the payment of project toll charges, designated tolls, user fees and motor vehicle charges and respecting their collection and enforcement;

(f) respecting the procedures to be used to resolve disputes arising under this Act between the authority and the municipalities, including, without limitation,

(i) specifying the disputes to which the procedures apply, and

(ii) requiring arbitration under the Commercial Arbitration Act.

Part 6 — Transitional Provisions — British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority

Transfer of financing authority assets and liabilities

47 (1) On the date that this section comes into force, all assets and liabilities of the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority become the assets and liabilities of the government.

(2) On the date that this section comes into force, a reference to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority in any commercial paper, contract, lease, licence, permit or other instrument or document evidencing any assets and liabilities transferred to the government under subsection (1) is deemed to be a reference to the government.

(3) The Minister of Finance may make payments out of the consolidated revenue fund, without an appropriation other than this subsection, for the payment of liabilities transferred to the government under this section.

Restructuring of non-GVRHD debt

48 (1) In this section and in section 50:

"government's percentage" means, in respect of any debt obligation of a regional hospital district in relation to which the regional hospital district was required to make interest, sinking fund or principal payments, that percentage of those payments for which the regional hospital district was, before the coming into force of this section, receiving funding from the government by way of capital grants;

"regional hospital district" has the same meaning as in the Hospital District Act, and includes the Health Facilities Association of British Columbia, but does not include the Greater Vancouver Regional Hospital District;

"regional hospital district's percentage" means, in respect of any debt obligation of a regional hospital district in relation to which the regional hospital district was required to make interest, sinking fund or principal payments, that percentage of those payments for which funding was, before the coming into force of this section, obtained from sources other than government capital grants.

(2) If, before the coming into force of this section, a regional hospital district owed a debt obligation to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority, on the date that this section comes into force,

(a) the regional hospital district is released from that part of the debt obligation that corresponds to the government's percentage of that debt obligation, and

(b) the principal amount of any security evidencing that debt obligation is reduced to the regional hospital district's percentage of that debt obligation.

(3) If a sinking fund has been established for the repayment of a regional hospital district's debt obligation referred to in subsection (2), the percentage of that sinking fund that corresponds to the government's percentage of the debt obligation is, on the date that this section comes into force, deemed to be held for the benefit of the government.

(4) If an enactment, bylaw or other instrument imposes an obligation on a regional hospital district to make payments into a sinking fund established for the repayment of any of the regional hospital district's debt obligations referred to in subsection (2), that enactment, bylaw or other instrument is deemed to be amended on the date that this section comes into force so that the regional hospital district is obliged to pay only a percentage, being the regional hospital district's percentage of the debt obligation, of each of those payments.

(5) If, before the coming into force of this section, a regional hospital district owed a debt obligation to the government under the certificate of approval program, on the date that this section comes into force,

(a) the regional hospital district is released from that part of the debt obligation that corresponds to the government's percentage of that debt obligation, and

(b) the principal amount of any security evidencing that debt obligation is reduced to the regional hospital district's percentage of that debt obligation.

Restructuring of GVRHD debt

49 On the date that this section comes into force,

(a) the debt obligations owed by the Greater Vancouver Regional Hospital District to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority are released and any securities evidencing those debt obligations are cancelled,

(b) the sinking funds established for repayment of the debt obligations referred to in paragraph (a) are deemed to be held for the benefit of the government,

(c) the obligations of the Greater Vancouver Regional Hospital District, including those that arise under an enactment, bylaw or other instrument, to make payments into sinking funds established for the repayment of the debt obligations owed to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority are released, and

(d) the Greater Vancouver Regional Hospital District's debt obligations to the government under the certificate of approval program are released.

Trusts

50 (1) There may be established one or more trusts, to be administered by the Minister of Finance or by another person designated by that minister for the purpose of repayment of the government's debt obligations

(a) that relate to the regional hospital district's percentages of each of the debt obligations owed by the regional hospital district to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority, and

(b) that

(i) are transferred to the government from the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority under section 47, or

(ii) were incurred by the government in order to lend money to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority before the repeal of the Hospital District Finance Act.

(2) A regional hospital district must, if directed to do so by the Minister of Finance, deposit assets into a trust or trusts established under subsection (1), which assets must

(a) have a value and be of a type or class of assets acceptable to the Minister of Finance, and

(b) be capable of generating cash flows sufficient to discharge fully the principal and interest payments of that regional hospital district's percentage of each of the debt obligations that was, before being transferred to the government under section 47, owed by that regional hospital district to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority.

(3) When a regional hospital district deposits the required assets under subsection (2),

(a) the amount of the regional hospital district's percentage of those debt obligations that were owed to the British Columbia Regional Hospital Districts Financing Authority by that regional hospital district before those obligations were transferred to the government under section 47 is released,

(b) the securities evidencing those debt obligations are cancelled, and

(c) there is transferred to that regional hospital district, or to another person designated by that regional hospital district, in respect of each sinking fund that had been established for the repayment of any of those debt obligations, a percentage, being the regional hospital district's percentage of the related debt obligation, of that sinking fund.

(4) Subsection (3) does not apply if and to the extent that the assets deposited under subsection (2) are securities issued by the regional hospital district.

Consequential Amendments

[Note: See Table of Legislative Changes for the status of these provisions.]

Commencement

130 (1) This Act, except sections 29 (3), 38, 43, 47 to 50, 92, 120 and 121, comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

(2) Section 29 (3) comes into force on October 1, 2001.

(3) Sections 38, 43, 47 to 50, 92, 120 and 121 come into force on March 31, 1999 or on an earlier date set by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Copyright (c) 2004: Queen’s Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada