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

1 Section 1 of the Judicial Review Procedure Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 241, is amended

(a) by adding the following definition:

"Indigenous governing body" has the same meaning as in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act; , and

(b) in the definition of "record of the proceeding" by adding the following paragraph:

(g) in relation to a decision whether to give consent referred to in section 22 (2),

(i) a document or other evidence before the Indigenous governing body, subject to any limitation expressly imposed by any other enactment on the extent to which or the purpose for which a document or other evidence may be used in a proceeding, and

(ii) the decision of the Indigenous governing body and any reasons given by it; .

2 The following section is added:

Application of Act in relation to consent of Indigenous governing body

22 (1) If under an enactment the consent of an Indigenous governing body is required to be sought or obtained in accordance with an agreement entered into under section 6 or 7 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act before the exercise of a statutory power,

(a) subject to subsection (2), this Act applies in relation to the decision whether to give consent as if that decision were a statutory power,

(b) the Indigenous governing body is deemed for the purposes of section 15 (1) of this Act to be one person,

(c) section 15 (2) of this Act does not apply in relation to the decision whether to give consent, and

(d) service, if required to be made on the Indigenous governing body, is effectively made by a person if made in accordance with the agreement relating to the consent of the Indigenous governing body before the exercise of the statutory power, as if the person were a party to the agreement.

(2) If under an enactment the consent of an Indigenous governing body is required to be sought or obtained in accordance with an agreement entered into under section 7 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act before the exercise of a statutory power of decision, this Act applies in relation to the decision whether to give consent as if that decision were a statutory power of decision.

Commencement

3 This Act comes into force on the date of Royal Assent.

Explanatory Notes

CLAUSE 1: [Judicial Review Procedure Act, section 1] adds a definition and amends a definition further to the addition by this Bill of section 22 to the Act.

CLAUSE 2: [Judicial Review Procedure Act, section 22] applies the Act in relation to a decision by an Indigenous governing body whether to give consent when consent is required to be sought or obtained in accordance with a referenced agreement.