The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
Certified correct as passed Third Reading on the 14th day of April, 2015
Craig James, Clerk of the House
HONOURABLE TODD STONE
MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:
1 In this Act:
"asset" includes a right and property;
"BC Transit" means British Columbia Transit continued under section 2 (1) of the British Columbia Transit Act;
"liability" includes an obligation;
"record" includes an authorization or other instrument issued by a regulatory body;
"regional transportation system" has the same meaning as in the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act;
"RTP" means Rapid Transit Project 2000 Ltd., a company under the Business Corporations Act;
"TFA" means the BC Transportation Financing Authority continued under section 25 (1) of the Transportation Act;
"transportation service region" has the same meaning as in the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act.
2 All the assets and liabilities of RTP are transferred to the TFA.
3 (1) The following assets and liabilities of BC Transit are transferred to the TFA:
(a) assets that are located in the transportation service region;
(b) assets that form part of or are held for the purposes of the regional transportation system;
(c) assets that are used by the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority or its subsidiaries as defined in the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act;
(d) liabilities that are related to the assets that are transferred under this subsection to the TFA.
(2) The assets and liabilities transferred under subsection (1) do not include any asset or liability excluded
(a) by an order made under subsection (4) of this section, or
(b) by a regulation made under section 10 (4).
(3) The assets and liabilities transferred under subsection (1) include any asset or liability included by a regulation made under section 10 (4).
(4) The minister may, by order made after this Act receives Royal Assent and before this Act comes into force, exclude from the transfer under subsection (1) any asset or liability of BC Transit.
4 (1) An asset that is transferred under this Act to the TFA is also vested in the TFA, and a liability that is transferred under this Act to the TFA is also assumed by the TFA.
(2) Any reference in this Act or the regulations to a transfer of an asset is also a reference to the vesting of the asset, and any reference in this Act or the regulations to a transfer of a liability is also a reference to the assumption of the liability.
5 The lease granted under Order in Council 399/99, as amended by Orders in Council 1358/99 and 107/2003, to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, now known as the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority,
(a) is continued, despite the repeal of section 38 (8) of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act, as a lease between the TFA and the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority, and
(b) may be amended, renewed or terminated without the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
6 (1) Despite any other enactment, the transfer under this Act of assets and liabilities takes effect
(a) without the execution or issue of any record,
(b) without any registration or filing of this Act or any other record in or with any registry, office or court,
(c) despite any prohibition on all or any part of the transfer,
(d) whether or not a duplicate certificate of indefeasible title has been issued by the registrar under the Land Title Act, and
(e) despite any condition, including the absence of any consent or approval, that is or may be required for all or any part of the transfer.
(2) Despite any provision to the contrary in a record, the transfer under this Act to the TFA of an asset or liability does not constitute a breach or contravention of, or an event of default under, the record and, without limiting this, does not entitle any person who has an interest in the asset or liability to claim any damages, compensation, penalty, indemnity or other remedy.
7 (1) A reference to RTP in any record that creates, evidences or otherwise relates to an asset or liability that is transferred under this Act to the TFA is deemed to be a reference to the TFA.
(2) A reference to BC Transit in any record that creates, evidences or otherwise relates to an asset or liability that is transferred under this Act to the TFA is,
(a) if the whole of the asset or liability is transferred, deemed to be a reference to the TFA, and
(b) if part of the asset or liability is transferred, deemed to be a reference to the TFA in respect of the part transferred.
8 (1) In any record that deals with an asset or liability transferred under this Act, it is sufficient for all purposes to cite this Act as having effected the transfer to the TFA.
(2) If an asset or liability transferred under this Act to the TFA is registered or recorded in the name of RTP or BC Transit, the TFA may, in its own name,
(a) effect a transfer, charge, encumbrance or dealing with the asset or liability, and
(b) execute any record required to give effect to the transfer, charge, encumbrance or dealing.
(3) An official
(a) who has authority over a registry or other office, including, without limitation, the personal property registry and a land title office, in which title to or an interest in an asset or liability is registered or recorded, and
(b) who receives a record, referred to in subsection (2), executed by the TFA
must give the record the same effect as if it had been executed by RTP or BC Transit, as the case may be.
9 (1) This section applies to records in the custody or under the control of BC Transit that relate to
(a) the assets and liabilities transferred under this Act to the TFA, or
(b) the operation and maintenance of a rail transportation system, as defined in the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act, in the transportation service region.
(2) BC Transit must deliver its records or a copy of them to the TFA in accordance with the terms established by the TFA.
10 (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 as follows:
(a) remedying any difficulty encountered in the transfer under this Act of assets or liabilities;
(b) respecting any other matter or thing that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary or advisable to carry out the intent of this Act.
(3) For 3 years after the date this Act comes into force, a regulation made under subsection (2) may be made retroactive to a date not earlier than the date this Act comes into force and, if made retroactive, is deemed to have come into force on the date specified in the regulation.
(4) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, for 3 years after the date this Act comes into force, make regulations excluding from or including in the transfer under section 3 (1) any asset or liability of BC Transit.
(5) A regulation made under subsection (4) is retroactive to and is deemed to have come into force on the date this Act comes into force.
(6) Despite the retroactive effect referred to in subsection (5), an asset or liability that is excluded or included by a regulation made under subsection (4) is subject to any rights acquired by a person after the date this Act comes into force.
(7) In making a regulation under this section, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make different regulations for different assets and liabilities or for different classes of assets and liabilities.
11 (1) After the date this Act comes into force, if the minister considers it necessary or advisable for transportation purposes, the minister may, by order, transfer, with or without conditions,
(a) from the TFA to BC Transit any asset or liability that was transferred under this Act from BC Transit to the TFA, or
(b) from BC Transit to the TFA any asset or liability.
(2) The provisions of this Act that apply to an asset or liability that is transferred under section 3 apply, with the necessary modifications, to a transfer under subsection (1) of this section.
(3) The authority to make an order under subsection (1) ends 3 years after the date this Act comes into force.
British Columbia Transit Act
12 Section 1 (1) of the British Columbia Transit Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 38, is amended by repealing the definitions of "ancillary Rapid Transit Project works" and "Rapid Transit Project".
13 Section 8 (9) is repealed and the following substituted:
(9) Despite any provision of this Act or any other enactment, the authority may own, acquire and dispose of property that is located in, or is being employed in, the transportation service region as defined in the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act.
14 Sections 8.1 and 9 are repealed and the following substituted:
9 Subject to the Expropriation Act, the authority may expropriate any land that the authority considers necessary for its purposes.
Financial Information Act
15 Schedule 2 of the Financial Information Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 140, is amended by striking out "Rapid Transit Project 2000 Ltd."
South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act
16 Section 38 of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act, S.B.C. 1998, c. 30, is amended
(a) by repealing subsection (8), and
(b) in subsection (10) by adding "and" at the end of paragraph (b) and by repealing paragraphs (c) and (d).
Transportation Act
17 Section 1 of the Transportation Act, S.B.C. 2004, c. 44, is amended
(a) in the definition of "provincial public undertaking" by adding the following paragraph:
(a.2) transit systems, , and
(b) by adding the following definition:
"transit system" means a system for the transportation of passengers and goods and any works or undertakings ancillary to the system, including, without limiting the ancillary works or undertakings,
(a) links to private or public transportation services, including stops, stands, lanes, loops and parking for buses and taxis,
(b) parking facilities,
(c) areas in stations for the provision of services and amenities to passengers,
(d) employee facilities,
(e) walkways, overpasses and other means of ingress to and egress from stations and vehicles,
(f) undertakings for the relocation, enhancement and upgrading of utility services and related poles, wires, pipes and apparatus,
(g) adjacent roadway enhancements,
(h) power distribution systems, and
(i) operating facilities and facilities for storage, maintenance and repair of vehicles, parts, signage and related items; .
18 Section 27 is amended
(a) in subsection (3) by adding the following paragraph:
(g.1) exercise within a municipality in or through which a transit system is acquired, constructed, held, improved or operated, or caused to be constructed, improved or operated, all the powers that a municipality authorized to lay out, construct and maintain highways may exercise in carrying out that authorization; , and
(b) by adding the following subsections:
(3.1) The authority has, for the purposes of acquiring, constructing, holding, improving or operating a transit system on a highway in a municipality, or causing the transit system to be constructed, improved or operated,
(a) all the rights, powers and advantages conferred by any enactment on the municipality with respect to the highway, and
(b) the right to enjoy and exercise any right of way, easement or licence owned, enjoyed or exercised by the municipality in connection with or for the purposes of its operation of the highway,
and the authority may exercise those rights, powers and advantages and enjoy and exercise that right of way, easement or licence in the same manner and to the same extent as the municipality might have done if the highway had not become part of a transit system.
(3.2) If a municipality or proposed operator fails or refuses to enter into an agreement that the authority considers necessary for the purposes of a transit system, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the authority, establish the contents of the agreement and order that the agreement be binding on the parties named in it.
(3.3) Despite any other Act, on the making of an order under subsection (3.2), the persons named in the agreement as parties are bound by that agreement.
19 The following section is added:
39.1 (1) For the purpose of the construction, acquisition or operation of a transit system, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by order, establish tax exemptions under any or all of the Acts referred to in subsection (5) in respect of land or improvements, or both, or a portion of land or improvements, or both.
(2) A tax exemption under subsection (1) may be made with respect to land or improvements, or both, or a portion of land or improvements, or both, that is
(a) described in the order, or
(b) within a category described in the order.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), a tax exemption under subsection (1) applies to the extent, for the period and subject to the terms and conditions specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
(4) A tax exemption under subsection (1) applies only to the extent that the land or improvements, or both, or the portion of land or improvements, or both, is held, used or occupied for the purpose set out in that subsection.
(5) A tax exemption under subsection (1) may be provided under any or all of the following Acts:
(a) the Assessment Authority Act;
(b) the Community Charter;
(c) the Hospital District Act;
(d) the Local Government Act;
(e) the Municipal Finance Authority Act;
(f) the Police Act;
(g) the School Act;
(h) the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act;
(i) the Vancouver Charter.
20 This Act comes into force on the date that is 7 days after the date of Royal Assent.