Definitions

1  In this Act:

"corporation" means the British Columbia Trade Development Corporation continued under section 2;

"export enterprise" means a person who is or who the corporation considers will be involved in the export of British Columbia goods or services;

"officer" means the chair, the president or an officer appointed under section 5 (1).

 British Columbia Trade Development Corporation continued

2  (1)  The British Columbia Trade Development Corporation is continued as a corporation, consisting of not more than 3 directors appointed under this section.

(2)  The person who, on July 30, 1996, is the deputy minister is hereby appointed as a director of the corporation and continues as a director unless that appointment as director is rescinded by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

(3)  Subject to subsection (2), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint the directors of the corporation.

(4)  The corporation may use the names "British Columbia Trade Development Corporation" or "B.C. Trade".

(5)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint

(a) one of the directors as chair of the board of directors and may designate that person as chief executive officer of the corporation, and

(b) a person as president and may designate that person as chief operating officer of the corporation.

(6)  A member of the Executive Council or of the public service who is appointed as a director or officer of the corporation ceases to be a director or officer on ceasing to be a member of the Executive Council or of the public service.

(7)  The corporation may pay a director

(a) reasonable travelling and incidental expenses necessarily incurred in attending the meetings of the corporation, and

(b) if the director is not a member of the Legislative Assembly or a public servant, remuneration at rates set by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

(8)  The corporation is to have a corporate seal which may be engraved, lithographed, printed or otherwise mechanically reproduced.

 Powers and capacity

3  (1)  The corporation is an agent of the government.

(2)  The corporation has the power and capacity of a natural person of full capacity.

(3)  Without limiting subsection (2), the corporation, for the purposes of this Act, may do any of the following:

(a) make grants to an export enterprise to facilitate the export and sale of its goods or services;

(b) lend money to an export enterprise on terms and conditions as to repayment or otherwise that the corporation considers advisable;

(c) guarantee the payment of a loan or part of it, or all or part of the interest on it, or both, made by another lender to an export enterprise;

(d) act as a trustee for the government;

(e) do other things the Lieutenant Governor in Council may authorize.

(4)  The Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations is the fiscal agent of the corporation.

 Purpose of the corporation

4  (1)  The purpose of the corporation is to encourage and facilitate the export of British Columbia goods and services and to foster within British Columbia the expertise necessary to ensure a strong legacy of economic growth.

(2)  In addition to the general purpose of the corporation under subsection (1), it is also the purpose of the corporation to do the following:

(a) to promote the sale of British Columbia goods and services to markets outside British Columbia;

(b) to assist export enterprises by providing advice and assistance on terms and conditions that the corporation considers advisable;

(c) to provide financing by way of loans to or the purchase of shares of an export enterprise, on terms and conditions that the corporation considers advisable;

(d) to provide other financial and technical assistance to an export enterprise to assist the export enterprise in carrying out the objects of this Act;

(e) to act as agent for and provide assistance to the government in the administration or implementation of government programs relating to export enterprises;

(f) to do other things relating to export enterprises the Lieutenant Governor in Council may require.

 Officers and employees

5  (1)  The president, to the extent authorized by the directors, may

(a) appoint the other officers and employees considered necessary to carry on the business and operations of the corporation,

(b) define their duties, determine their remuneration, and

(c) provide a system of organization to establish responsibility and promote efficiency.

(2)  The Public Service Act and the Public Service Labour Relations Act do not apply to the corporation or to a director, officer or employee of the corporation.

 Management

6  (1)  The directors are to manage the affairs of the corporation or supervise the management of those affairs and may do the following:

(a) exercise the powers conferred on them under this Act;

(b) exercise the powers of the corporation on behalf of the corporation;

(c) delegate the exercise or performance of any power or duty conferred or imposed on them to a person appointed under this Act or to a person employed by the corporation.

(2)  The directors may pass the resolutions or bylaws they consider necessary or advisable for the management and conduct of the affairs of the corporation and for the exercise of their powers or performance of their duties including, without limiting those powers, resolutions or bylaws respecting the calling and holding of meetings of the directors and the procedure to be followed at the meetings.

(3)  A majority of the directors holding office constitutes a quorum at meetings of the directors.

(4)  The affirmative votes of the majority of the directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present are sufficient to pass a resolution or bylaw of the corporation.

(5)  A resolution under this section approved by the required number of directors by telex, telegraph, facsimile transmission, telephone or any other similar means of communication confirmed in writing or other graphic communication, is as valid as if it had been passed at a meeting of the directors properly called and constituted.

 Borrowing powers

7  Subject to the regulations, the corporation, for the purpose of carrying out any of the objects or powers referred to in this Act or for the exercise or performance of any power, right, function or duty conferred or imposed on it under this or any other Act, may

(a) borrow money from the government, and

(b) issue notes, bonds, debentures and other securities bearing interest at the rates prescribed and payable as to principal and interest in the currencies, at the places, at the times and in the manner approved by the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations.

 Investment

8  Money received by the corporation may be invested by the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations in investments permitted under section 40 (4) of the Financial Administration Act for money in a trust fund.

 Financial administration

9  (1)  The corporation must

(a) establish and maintain an accounting system satisfactory to the minister, and

(b) whenever required by the minister, render detailed accounts of its revenues and expenditures for the period or to the day the minister designates.

(2)  All books or records of account, documents and other financial records must at all times be open for inspection by the minister or a person the minister designates.

(3)  The Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations may direct the Comptroller General to examine and report to the Treasury Board on any or all of the financial and accounting operations of the corporation.

(4)  The accounts of the corporation must, at least once in every year, be audited and reported on by an auditor appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

(5)  The costs of an audit under subsection (4) must be paid by the corporation.

(6)  The corporation must prepare for the minister, after the end of the fiscal year of the corporation,

(a) a report of the corporation on its operations for the preceding fiscal year, and

(b) a financial statement showing the assets and liabilities of the corporation at the end of the preceding fiscal year and the operations of the corporation for that year in the form required by the minister.

(7)  The financial statement referred to in subsection (6) must be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

(8)  The Financial Information Act applies to the corporation.

(9)  The fiscal year of the corporation is a period of 12 months beginning on April 1 in each year and ending on March 31 in the next year.

(10)  The report and financial statement referred to in subsection (6) must be laid before the Legislative Assembly within 90 days next following the end of the fiscal year for which the report and statement are made if the Legislative Assembly is then sitting, otherwise within 15 days after the opening of the next following session.

 Pension

10  (1)  Despite any other provision of this Act, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may order that the Public Service Pension Plan, continued under the Public Sector Pension Plans Act, applies to the corporation and its employees.

(2)  When calculating the amount of a pension for the chair, each year of service as chair must be counted as 1 1/2 years of pensionable service.

(3)  [Repealed 2003-62-32.]

 Benefits

11  The Public Service Benefit Plan Act applies to the officers and employees of the corporation.

 Transfer of property

12  For the purposes of this Act, the minister may designate property of the government that is to be disposed of to the corporation.

 Application of other Acts

13  (1)  Subject to subsection (2), the Company Act and the Company Clauses Act do not apply to the corporation.

(2)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council may by order declare that certain provisions of the Company Act apply to the corporation.

 Confidentiality

14  A director, officer or employee of the corporation must not disclose information obtained under this Act except to the extent necessary for carrying out the corporation's purposes or as required by law.

 Power to make regulations

15  The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations referred to in section 41 of the Interpretation Act.