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

Part 1 – Agriculture Amendments

Agricultural Land Commission Act

1 Section 5 of the Agricultural Land Commission Act, S.B.C. 2002, c. 36, is amended by adding the following subsection:

(3.01) An appointment made under subsection (2) (b) or (3) may be for an initial term of 2 to 4 years.

2 Section 5.1 is amended by striking out "Sections 1 to 10" and substituting "Sections 1, 2, 3 (2), 4 to 10 and 26 (6)".

3 Section 58 (2) is amended

(a) by adding the following paragraph:

(a.1) specifying farm uses of agricultural land that may not be prohibited by a local government enactment or a first nation government law; , and

(b) by repealing paragraph (b) and substituting the following:

(b) prescribing permitted non-farm uses of agricultural land and specifying permitted non-farm uses that may or may not be prohibited by a local government enactment or a first nation government law;

(j.1) for the purposes of section 21 (1), prescribing permitted types of subdivision of agricultural land; .

Part 2 – Energy and Mines Amendment

Mines Act

4 Section 37 (3.1) and (3.2) of the Mines Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 293, is repealed and the following substituted:

(3.1) The time limit for laying an information to commence a prosecution for an offence under this Act is 3 years after the date on which the chief inspector learned of the facts on which the information is based.

(3.2) A certificate purporting to have been issued by the chief inspector certifying the date referred to in subsection (3.1) is proof of that date.

Part 3 – Finance Amendments

Gaming Control Act

5 Section 69 of the Gaming Control Act, S.B.C. 2002, c. 14, is amended

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

(1) For any of the reasons under section 68, the general manager may do any of the following:

(a) issue a warning to a registrant;

(b) cancel a registrant's registration;

(c) suspend a registrant's registration for a period of time;

(d) impose new conditions on a registrant's registration, either generally or for a period of time;

(e) vary existing conditions of a registrant's registration, either generally or for a period of time. , and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(3) In the case of a registrant that is a gaming services provider, conditions may be imposed or varied under subsection (1) (d) or (e) in relation to one or more premises at which the registrant carries on the business of providing gaming services and, without limiting this, the conditions imposed or varied may do any of the following:

(a) prohibit the registrant from selling lottery tickets at a premises and require the registrant to ensure that no lottery tickets are sold, by any person, at the premises;

(b) prohibit the registrant from providing one or more other gaming services at a premises and require the registrant to ensure that the prohibited gaming services are not provided, by any person, at the premises;

(c) require the registrant to post the conditions in public view at the premises to which the conditions relate.

6 Section 105 (10) is amended by striking out "conditions attached under section 56 (3)." and substituting "conditions attached under section 56 (3) or imposed or varied under section 69 (1) (d) or (e)."

Part 4 – Justice Amendments

Police Act

7 Section 1 of the Police Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 367, is amended by adding the following definitions:

"specialized service" means a policing and law enforcement service specified by regulation referred to in section 4.01 (1) (b) as a specialized service;

"specialized service agreement" means an agreement or arrangement referred to in section 4.02 (2);

"specialized service area" means the areas specified by regulation referred to in section 4.01 (1) (d) as the specialized service area within which a specialized service provider is to deliver specialized services;

"specialized service provider" means a government, government agent, municipality, entity or person specified by regulation referred to in section 4.01 (1) (a) as a specialized service provider;

"specialized support service" means a specialized service of the type referred to in section 4.02 (3) (a) (iii).

8 Section 4 is amended

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

(1) Despite section 3, on the recommendation of the minister, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations to enhance, provide or reorganize policing and law enforcement in any or all areas of British Columbia, including, without limitation, in any or all municipalities to which section 3 (2) applies. , and

(b) in subsection (2) by striking out "Costs incurred by the government under subsection (1) (a)" and substituting "Costs incurred by the government under subsection (1) of this section in respect of a municipality to which section 3 (2) applies".

9 The following sections are added:

Regulations respecting specialized policing
and law enforcement

4.01  (1) On the recommendation of the minister in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations under section 4 respecting specialized policing and law enforcement as follows:

(a) specifying any of the following as a specialized service provider:

(i) in the case of specialized services to be provided other than by the government of British Columbia, a government, government agent, municipality, entity or person referred to in section 4.02 (2) with which the minister has entered into or made a specialized service agreement;

(ii) the government of British Columbia;

(b) specifying, as specialized services, the policing and law enforcement services to be provided by the specialized service provider;

(c) specifying the body that is to deliver the specialized services on behalf of the specialized service provider, which body may include the following:

(i) a body referred to in section 4.02 (3) (b);

(ii) in the case of a specialized service provider that is the government of British Columbia, a ministry, branch or agency of the government of British Columbia, including the provincial police force;

(d) specifying, as the specialized service area, the municipalities, regional districts, electoral areas or other geographical areas within which the specialized services are to be delivered;

(e) respecting the criteria, rules, methods and formulas by which the specialized service provider is to determine the costs of providing the specialized services and is to allocate those costs among, as applicable,

(i) the municipalities referred to in section 4.02 (3) (d) (ii) (A), and

(ii) the government of British Columbia;

(f) providing for any other matter the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary.

(2) The minister may recommend that the Lieutenant Governor in Council make regulations referred to in subsection (1) if

(a) the minister considers that the regulations are necessary

(i) to address the frequency or complexity of criminal activities or investigations, or

(ii) to promote efficient or equitable delivery of policing and law enforcement services, and

(b) in the case of policing and law enforcement services to be provided other than by the government of British Columbia, the minister has entered into or made a specialized service agreement.

(3) If regulations made under subsection (1) specify a specialized service provider with which the minister has entered into or made a specialized service agreement, the director, no later than 10 days after the regulations are made, must make a copy of the specialized service agreement available to members of the public, by both of the following means:

(a) posting the specialized service agreement on a publicly accessible website maintained by or on behalf of the director;

(b) having the specialized service agreement available for public inspection in the office of the director during regular office hours.

(4) The authority to make regulations under this section does not limit section 4 or 74 (1).

Specialized service agreement

4.02  (1) In this section, "proposed service provider" means a government, government agent, municipality, entity or person referred to in subsection (2) with which the minister has entered into or made a specialized service agreement.

(2) The minister may enter into an agreement or make an arrangement respecting specialized policing and law enforcement with any of the following:

(a) the government of Canada, the government of a province or an agent of the government of Canada or a province;

(b) a municipality that has a municipal police department;

(c) the entity on behalf of which a designated policing unit or designated law enforcement unit is established;

(d) if services of the type referred to in subsection (3) (a) (iii) are to be provided,

(i) a government, government agent, municipality or entity referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this subsection, or

(ii) any other person that the minister considers appropriate to provide those services.

(3) A specialized service agreement must specify the following:

(a) the services to be provided by the proposed service provider, which services may include, without limitation, any of the following:

(i) criminal investigation services;

(ii) traffic enforcement services;

(iii) support services for policing and law enforcement, including

(A) police communication services, and

(B) forensic services;

(b) if applicable, the body that is to deliver the services on behalf of the proposed service provider, which body may include any of the following:

(i) if the proposed service provider is the government of Canada, a ministry, branch or agency of the government of Canada, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police;

(ii) if the proposed service provider is the government of a province, a ministry, branch or agency of the province, including a police service of that province;

(iii) if the proposed service provider is a municipality, the municipal police board or municipal police department of that municipality;

(iv) if the proposed service provider is an entity on behalf of which a designated policing unit or designated law enforcement unit is established, the designated policing unit or designated law enforcement unit;

(c) the municipalities, regional districts, electoral areas or other geographical areas within which the services are to be delivered;

(d) the criteria, rules, methods and formulas by which the proposed specialized service provider is to

(i) determine the costs of providing the services, and

(ii) allocate those costs among, as applicable,

(A) each municipality to which section 3 (2) applies, if the areas within which the services are to be delivered include one or more of those municipalities, and

(B) the government of British Columbia, if the areas within which the services are to be delivered include one or more areas to which section 3 (2) does not apply;

(e) the processes to be used to inform, and obtain input from, the community about the provision of the services.

(4) A specialized service agreement may also specify any of the following in relation to the services to be provided by the proposed service provider:

(a) the processes to be used to achieve coordination between the provision of the services and the provision of policing and law enforcement services otherwise provided by police forces in the area within which the services are to be delivered;

(b) the processes to be used to evaluate the provision of the services and the reports to be made respecting those evaluations;

(c) the qualifications of persons who are to deliver the services;

(d) the processes to be used to resolve disputes among any of the following, as applicable, including disputes respecting costs referred to in subsection (3) (d):

(i) the proposed service provider;

(ii) the body that is to deliver the services on behalf of the proposed service provider;

(iii) the municipalities that will be required under section 4.03 to use and pay for the services;

(iv) the government of British Columbia;

(e) any other matter the minister considers appropriate.

Duty of municipalities to use and pay for specialized services

4.03  (1) A municipality with a population of more than 5 000 persons that is within the specialized service area of a specialized service provider must do both of the following:

(a) use the specialized services provided by the specialized service provider;

(b) pay all costs that, in accordance with a regulation referred to in section 4.01 (1) (e), are allocated to the municipality by the specialized service provider.

(2) Costs payable under subsection (1) (b) must be paid to, and are a debt due to and recoverable by, the following:

(a) the specialized service provider, if the minister directs the municipality to pay the costs directly to the specialized service provider;

(b) in any other case, the government of British Columbia.

Records of specialized service provider

4.04  (1) If a specialized service provider is a public body under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,

(a) the records of the specialized service provider that relate to the provision of specialized services by the specialized service provider remain, for the purposes of that Act, in the custody and under the control of that specialized service provider, and

(b) despite that Act, a person does not have a right of access under that Act to the records as being records in the custody or under the control of any other public body.

(2) In the case of a specialized service provider that provides specialized support services, if the specialized service provider is a corporation or individual that is not a public body under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the records of the specialized service provider that relate to the provision of specialized support services are, for the purposes of that Act, deemed to be in the custody and under the control of the following:

(a) in the case of specialized support services provided in a municipality that is required under section 4.03 (1) to use and pay for the specialized support services, the municipality;

(b) in the case of specialized support services provided in areas other than municipalities referred to in paragraph (a), the Ministry of Justice.

Liability protection

4.05  (1) In this section, "protected person" means

(a) a specialized service provider that provides specialized support services,

(b) a current or former member of a specialized service provider described in paragraph (a), and

(c) a current or former director or employee of a specialized service provider described in paragraph (a).

(2) No action lies and no proceedings may be brought against a protected person, and a protected person is not liable for any loss or damages suffered by any person, in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by a protected person in relation to the provision of specialized support services by a protected person.

(3) As an exception, the immunity from legal action otherwise provided to a protected person by subsection (2) does not apply if the protected person has been guilty of malice or wilful misconduct in relation to the subject matter of the action.

10 Section 15 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) The duties of a municipality under subsection (1) of this section include the duty set out in section 4.03 to use and pay for specialized services provided by a specialized service provider.

11 Section 27 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(1.2) If a municipality is a specialized service provider, the reference in subsection (1) to "municipality" must be read as including areas within the specialized service area that are outside the municipality.

Validation and Confirmation Provision

Confirmation of correction to statute

12  Paragraph (a) of B.C. Reg. 107/2014 is validated and the correction made by it is confirmed and given continuing effect.

Part 5 – Natural Gas Development Amendments

Vancouver Island Natural Gas Pipeline Act

13 Section 5 of the Vancouver Island Natural Gas Pipeline Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 474, is repealed.

14 Section 7 (5) is repealed.

Commencement

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