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

1 Section 19 of the Ombudsperson Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 340, is amended

(a) in subsection (2) by striking out "Subject to section 18 and to subsection (4)," and substituting "Subject to section 18 and to subsections (4) and (5),", and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(5) If the Ombudsperson is investigating a matter referred to the Ombudsperson under section 10 (3),

(a) subsection (2) of this section does not apply, and

(b) despite any other enactment the Ombudsperson may exercise any power under section 15 in order to investigate and report on the matter referred to the Ombudsperson under section 10 (3).

Commencement

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

 
Explanatory Note

SECTION 1: [Ombudsperson Act, section 19] provides that, if the Ombudsperson investigates a matter as a result of a referral from the Legislative Assembly or one of its committees, a person may not refuse to disclose information to the Ombudsperson on the ground that an enactment requires the person to keep the informationconfidential.