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 Public Service Labour Relations Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 388, is amended

(a) in subsection (1) in the definition of "employee" by repealing paragraphs (b) and (u) and substituting the following:

(b) a practising lawyer or articled student as defined in section 1 (1) of the Legal Profession Act, who is engaged in the practice of law and who is

(i) employed in the Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of Attorney General,

(ii) employed in the Office of Legislative Counsel, or

(iii) employed as a member of the staff of a court in British Columbia;

(u) a person employed in the Legal Services Branch of the Ministry of Attorney General, other than a person who is a practising lawyer or articled student as defined in section 1 (1) of the Legal Profession Act and who is engaged in the practice of law; , and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(3) For the purposes of this Act, the Office of Legislative Counsel is not considered to be in the Legal Services Branch of the Ministry of Attorney General.

Commencement

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

Explanatory Note

CLAUSE 1: [Public Service Labour Relations Act, section 1] provides for the inclusion of practising lawyers and articled students within the meaning of "employee", except practising lawyers and articled students employed in the Criminal Justice Branch or the Office of Legislative Counsel or employed as a member of the staff of a court.