Royal Assent: Nov. 14, 2011
- Clarifies the minister’s discretion to include private land in a woodlot licence area (s. 3)—commencement by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Provides the minister with the discretion to add (with the consent of the owner/lessee) or remove private lands from a woodlot licence area (s. 4)—commencement by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Provides authority to designate private land as a controlled recreation area if the timber on the private land is reserved to the government (s. 34)—commencement upon Royal Assent.
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Royal Assent: Nov. 14, 2011
- Adds to the Assessment Act definitions of “agricultural land reserve” and “spouse” (s. 1)—commencement by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Amends s. 23 of the Assessment Act to require the assessor, on application by an owner for a taxation year, to classify land as a farm if specific conditions are met (s. 2)—commencement by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Amends s. 220 of the Community Charter to increase the limit on the assessed value of farm improvements that is exempt from taxation under the Act (s. 3)—commencement by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Adds a transitional provision to the Community Charter applicable to real property, in a newly incorporated municipality or in an area newly included in a municipality that was, immediately before the incorporation or inclusion, exempt from taxation because of s. 15(1)(f.1) of the Taxation (Rural Area) Act, added by this bill (s. 4)—commencement by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Amends the Vancouver Charter, providing a limited tax exemption under s. 373 for specified types of farm improvements and a tax exemption under s. 373 for specified types of things located on farm land (s. 13)—commencement upon Royal Assent.
- Provides that an owner’s dwelling that is exempt from taxation under the Taxation (Rural Area) Act, is subject to taxation under the School Act, and increases the limit on the assessed value of farm improvements that is exempt from taxation under the School Act (s. 14)—commencement upon Royal Assent.
- Amends s. 15 of the Taxation (Rural Area) Act to exempt from taxation under the Act an owner’s dwelling on land that is classified as a farm under the amendments made by this bill to the Assessment Act (s. 15)—commencement upon Royal Assent.
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Royal Assent: Nov. 14, 2011
- Enables an increase to the Motor Fuel Tax, commonly understood to pave the way for funding of the Evergreen Line.
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Royal Assent: Mar. 29, 2012
- Amends s. 1 of the Fraudulent Conveyance Act to reflect a decision of the BC Court of Appeal (strikes out “by collusion, guile, malice or fraud”) (s. 5)—commencement upon Royal Assent.
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Royal Assent: Nov. 24, 2011
- Amends the Agricultural Land Commission Act to strengthen the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) by giving it a greater ability to focus on preserving farmland, while expanding enforcement. Other changes will help evolve the ALC into a sustainable organization through additional funding and provisions for increased revenue generation by the ALC. Specifically:
- repeals s.12(2)(a) of the Act, which is the requirement for the ALC to submit a service plan to the Ministry of Agriculture (s.4)
- amends s. 22(2) of the Act to give the ALC the responsibility to approve covenants that restrict or prohibit the use of agricultural land for farm purposes (s.5)
- adds new sections giving the CEO authority to reject applications that meet certain criteria (one of which is that “within 5 years immediately preceding the application, a previous application was refused permission by the commission”) and providing for the executive committee to reconsider a decision made by a panel (s.7)
- amends s.58 of the Act to provide authority to make regulations respecting fees and information that must be submitted to the commission (s.10)
- Amends the Protected Areas of British Columbia Act to increase the size of Stawamus Chief Park (s.15)
- Amends s. 5(2)(b) of the Special Accounts Appropriation and Control Act, expanding the scope of the Environmental Remediation Sub-account to allow funding of environmental remediation of Crown land damaged by an activity that violates a statute under the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations’ mandate. The cost of performing a complex investigation as a result of such a violation could also be offset by funds in the sub-account (s.23)
- All of the above amendments come into force upon Royal Assent.
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Third reading: Apr. 17, 2012
- Home Owner Grant Act (s. 20-35)
- Proposes amendments to enact the Low-Income Veteran’s Supplement, as announced in the 2012-2013 Budget (and originally announced on Nov. 10, 2011), effective for the 2012 and future tax years. This supplement is for qualifying low-income veterans under the age of 65 who have served in the Canadian Forces as officers or non-commissioned members (or low-income veterans’ spouses and relatives). Tax Information Sheet: www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/documents_library/brochures/Info_Sheet_2012-01.pdf.
- Proposes amendments to extend the Home Owner Grant for individuals moving into a residential facility. Effective for the 2012 and future tax years, allow qualifying homeowners who have moved into a residential facility to apply for the Home Owner Grant for one additional year. The grant can only be claimed on the home that they continue to own and that qualified in the previous year. Tax Bulletin (see p. 7): www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/documents_library/bulletins/hog_001.pdf.
- These changes will be enacted by regulation, which may be made retroactive to a date on or after January 1, 2012 and, if made retroactive, will be deemed to have come into force on the date specified in the regulation.
- Land Tax Deferment Act
- Proposes that a deferral agreement must not be made if the total of specified amounts is more than a prescribed percentage of the deferrable value (s.59). Comes into force upon Royal Assent.
- Proposes restricting the Minister of Finance from entering into an agreement to defer taxes with a person who holds or occupies Crown or municipal land in the manner referred to in s. 228 or 229 of the Community Charter (s.58). Comes into force upon Royal Assent or May 1, 2012, whichever is earlier.
- Property Transfer Tax Act (s. 81-82)
- Proposes amending the Act to provide an exemption for the re-registration of a life estate following the registration of a mortgage. The exemption only applies if the re-registration of the life estate involves the same owner, the same life estate holder, the same property and the same terms as the initial life estate.
- Proposes amending the Act to provide the administrator with authority to refund an amount paid under the Act in circumstances where there was no legal obligation for the tax to be paid.
- These changes come into force upon Royal Assent.
- Taxation (Rural Area) Act (s.86-89)
- Proposes a clarification that the tax exemption notice in s.15(1)(h) of the Act is limited to land and improvements vested in or held by Her Majesty in trust for an Indian band (to be effective for the 2012 tax year).
- Proposes authorizing regulations providing for partial tax exemptions for property owned in part by the Crown or a Crown agent and in part by other parties (to be effective for the 2011 and 2012 tax years, provided the regulation is made on or before October 31, 2012).
- These changes come into force upon Royal Assent.
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Third reading: Apr. 25, 2012
- Cooperative Association Act (s. 39-55)
- Proposes amendments designed to strengthen the procedural safeguards that protect co-op members on termination. Housing cooperatives will benefit from new, streamlined procedures for terminating membership if the member fails to pay rent or other occupancy charges.
- Comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
- Financial Institutions Act (s. 75-78) and Pensions Benefits Standards Act (s. 108)
- Proposes amendments to these Acts to streamline the processes through which the responsibilities of the public servant who runs the Financial Institutions are assigned. Proposed amendments would also enhance accountability and ensure consistency with other commissions.
- Provides that the Lieutenant Governor appoints the Superintendent of Financial Institutions after consultation with the chair of the Financial Institutions Commission.
- Comes into force upon Royal Assent.
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Third reading: Apr. 19, 2012
- Assessment Act (s. 7)
- Regarding valuation for purposes of assessment, proposes amending s. 19 of the Act to allow an owner of a strata lot or a leasehold accommodation property to supply prescribed information in the form of an average number for all of the strata lots in the strata plan or all of the accommodation units in the leasehold accommodation property.
- Comes into force upon Royal Assent.
- Park Act
- Proposes amending s. 20 of the Act to eliminate the requirement for advertising an intention to issue a park use permit or resource use permit and obtaining the approval of a committee before issuing a permit; also proposes authorizing the minister to require public consultation in respect of the issuance of a permit (s. 16).
- Comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
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Second reading: Apr. 24, 2012
- Proposes the following amendments to the Strata Property Act:
- Clarifies that the first depreciation reports must be submitted by December 14, 2013 for strata corporations that existed on December 14, 2011; all others must be submitted on the "prescribed date" (s. 16, amending s. 94(2)(a)).
- Requires strata corporations to distribute audited financial statements within four months of the end of the fiscal year, unless they’ve opted out or belong to a prescribed class (previously, the audited financial statements were to be distributed with the proposed budget) (s. 16, amending s. 103(5), which is enacted by s. 16(b) of the Strata Property Amendment Act, 2009).
- Authorizes the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make different regulations for different classes of lots or strata corporations (s.18, amending s. 292).
- Comes into force upon Royal Assent.
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Third reading: Apr. 26, 2012
- If passed, will replace the existing Limitation Act with the intention of streamlining and harmonizing it with similar legislation in other provinces.
- Proposes a basic limitation period of two years from the date of discovery of the claim (s. 6), and an ultimate limitation period of 15 years after the even giving rise to the claim.
- In force upon regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
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Second reading: May 7, 2012
- Proposes additions to the Land Title Act to ensure that party wall agreements would transfer with the sale of the property. This seems to facilitate fee simple townhomes, though some already exist in BC (s. 69).
- In force upon Royal Assent.
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Second reading: May 8, 2012
- Proposes the creation of a Civil Resolution Tribunal, as an alternative to court proceedings for resolving disputes. Fulfills the government’s promise of an alternative dispute resolution mechanism for strata issues.
- More information is available online: www.ag.gov.bc.ca/legislation/civil-resolution-tribunal-act/index.htm.
- In force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
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First reading: May 7, 2012
- Proposes adding more than 550,000 hectares to the province’s parks and protected areas system.
- Specific sections come into force either upon Royal Assent or by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
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