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Contents
Section | ||
Payment and discharge of government liabilities assumed by the corporation | ||
1 In this Act:
"board" means the board of directors of the corporation;
"corporation" means the British Columbia Systems Corporation continued under this Act;
"data processing services" includes all activities, procedures and methods relating to or facilitating the development, implementation and operation of both manual and machine assisted information systems;
"government entities" includes
(a) ministries of the government and their departments, branches, divisions and sections, and
(b) boards, commissions, associations, colleges, hospitals and boards of school trustees, established under an Act, as designated by the board.
2 (1) The corporation, known as the British Columbia Systems Corporation, is continued consisting of
(a) the minister, and
(b) not less than 2 or more than 7 other persons appointed during pleasure by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
(2) The minister and the persons appointed under subsection (1) constitute the board.
(3) The Lieutenant Governor in Council must designate the chair of the board.
(4) The board may
(a) determine its own procedure,
(b) provide for the regulation and conduct of its meetings, and
(c) elect an acting chair in the absence of the chair.
(5) A member of the board is entitled to be reimbursed for reasonable travelling and out of pocket expenses necessarily incurred by the member in discharging duties under this Act.
(6) A member of the board other than a member of the Legislative Assembly or a public officer is entitled to be paid by the corporation remuneration for services as a member of the board as the Lieutenant Governor in Council determines.
(7) Unless the Lieutenant Governor in Council otherwise orders, a member of the board who is a member of the Legislative Assembly or a public officer ceases to be a member of the board when the member ceases to be a member of the Legislative Assembly or a public officer.
(8) A vacancy in the membership of the board does not impair the power of the remaining members to act.
(9) The board must manage, or supervise the management of, the affairs of the corporation and may, subject to the directions of the Treasury Board,
(a) exercise and carry out the powers and duties conferred or imposed on it by and under this Act, and
(b) exercise the powers of the corporation on behalf of the corporation.
(10) The board may pass resolutions it considers necessary or advisable for the management and conduct of the affairs of the corporation and the exercise of the powers and duties of the corporation.
(11) A resolution in writing, signed by all members of the board, is as valid as if it had been passed at a properly called and constituted meeting of the board.
3 (1) The purpose of the corporation is to establish and implement policies it considers appropriate for the consolidation and rationalization of data processing services provided to government entities.
(2) In carrying out its purpose it is the duty of the corporation and it has power and capacity to do all of the following:
(a) to ensure that government entities achieve economies by the use of data processing services and procurement services as are available through, or offered, provided or recommended by, the corporation and that are appropriate for the needs of the government entities;
(b) to establish policies to facilitate the provision of data processing services by the corporation on an economic and effective basis;
(c) to establish policies relating to, and to adjudicate and resolve priorities for the use of, data processing services of the corporation;
(d) to establish policies for the development by the corporation and government entities of systems and procedures
(i) to safeguard the confidentiality of, security of and proprietary interest in information processed by the corporation, and
(ii) to prevent misuse of personal information;
(e) to initiate studies or research projects respecting matters within its jurisdiction, and to require government entities to consult with each other and with the corporation on actions that might be taken to
(i) establish priorities for,
(ii) avoid duplication of, and
(iii) provide coordination of the provision of data processing services;
(f) subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, to set the fees, rates or charges and prescribe the form and terms of the agreements with respect to the use of data processing services provided by the corporation with the objective of recovering from users of the services all related costs, including the costs referred to in subsection (5);
(g) subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, to borrow money the corporation considers necessary or advisable within the borrowing limitation set out in section 9 (6) and to give security for that purpose;
(h) to make agreements with Canada or the government of a province or a department, board, commission or agent of Canada or the government of a province to provide data processing services to them;
(i) to make agreements with a person, organization or institution in or out of British Columbia providing the same, similar or complementary data processing services;
(j) to make agreements with government corporations, universities, municipalities or regional districts respecting the provision of data processing services to them and the development of policies respecting data processing services under this Act.
(3) Without limiting subsections (1) and (2), the corporation may, in accordance with the general policies established under subsection (2), do one or more of the following:
(a) provide data processing services to government entities by lease, contract or any other arrangement and, subject to subsections (2) and (6), provide data processing services to other persons, governments, organizations or institutions authorized by the board;
(b) recommend and implement data processing standards, practices, controls and technical guidelines to facilitate a progressive improvement of information systems throughout government entities;
(c) establish procedures
(i) to safeguard the confidentiality of, security of and proprietary interest in information processed by the corporation, and
(ii) to prevent misuse of personal information;
(d) as directed by the board, acquire property for its operations and dispose of it when no longer necessary for its purposes;
(e) do things not inconsistent with this Act it considers necessary or advisable for carrying out its duties and exercising its powers.
(4) If the corporation makes an agreement under subsection (2) (h), (i) or (j), all the powers and duties of the corporation in respect of a government entity under this Act may be exercised in respect of the other party to the agreement to the extent provided in the agreement as if it were a government entity.
(5) The corporation, in setting the fees, rates or charges under subsection (2) (f), must give consideration to the cost of operating and maintaining data processing services and the properties and assets of the corporation, to the amounts required to meet depreciation, to amortization of start up and organizational costs and interest charges and to incidental revenues.
(6) The corporation must not offer or agree to provide data processing services to the industrial or commercial component of the private sector unless, in the opinion of the board, an emergency exists.
4 (1) The board of directors may, by resolution, delegate their powers or the powers of the corporation under section 3 (2) (g) to any director or officer of the corporation.
(2) A resolution approving a borrowing that is approved by the required number of directors by telex, telegraph, 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.
(3) The bonds, debentures and other securities must bear the seal of the corporation and, together with any coupons attached, must bear the signatures in writing, as defined in the Interpretation Act, of
(a) the chair and another director or officer, or
(b) other directors or officers as the corporation may determine.
5 (1) The head office of the corporation must be in the Capital Regional District.
(2) The corporation may establish and maintain offices at other places in British Columbia it considers necessary or advisable.
6 The corporation is an agent of the government.
7 (1) The board must establish a committee to be known as the "User Review Committee" representing the corporation and present and prospective users of the services of the corporation and consisting of persons nominated by such government entities as are designated by the board to make the nominations.
(2) The members of the committee serve at the pleasure of the board.
(3) The User Review Committee must act as an advisory committee to the corporation and must provide advice and assistance as follows:
(a) in monitoring and reviewing the performance of the corporation in delivering data processing services to its users;
(b) in anticipating and defining data processing requirements of users of the data processing services of the corporation;
(c) in resolving conflicting demands for the use of the data processing services of the corporation;
(d) in developing short term and long term plans for the operations of the corporation to serve the needs of the users.
(4) The User Review Committee must elect its own chair and may determine its own procedures for the conduct of its meetings.
8 (1) Despite section 3 (1) of the Company Act, sections 21 (1), 32, 33, 125, 144 to 148 and 152 of that Act apply to the corporation.
(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may declare that one or more additional provisions of the Company Act apply to the corporation.
9 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by order, authorize the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations to advance money to the corporation from the consolidated revenue fund for the corporation’s temporary or long term purposes on terms and conditions the Lieutenant Governor in Council orders.
(2) Money received by the corporation must be immediately deposited with the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations to be placed to the credit of a special account in the name of the corporation, and the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations may pay out for the purposes of the corporation or advance to the corporation all or any part of the money in the special account.
(3) Money placed to the credit of the special account referred to in subsection (2) may be invested in investments permitted for a trust fund under section 36 (2) of the Financial Administration Act and must be credited with earnings from the investments in a manner directed by the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations.
(4) Despite this section, if the Lieutenant Governor in Council so directs, the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations must transfer out of the special account into the general consolidated revenue fund as much of the money standing to the credit of the corporation as the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers to be in excess of the amount required for the purposes of the corporation, and money paid must be applied toward the discharge of obligations of the corporation to the government, or may be applied as any other government revenues.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may each fiscal year, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations, direct the transfer to the government of all or part of
(a) the net income of the corporation for that fiscal year, and
(b) amounts representing net income of the corporation for previous years that was not transferred to the government under paragraph (a).
(6) The aggregate amount that may be advanced to, or borrowed by, the corporation under section 3 or this section must not exceed $65 million, and in computing that aggregate amount the following must be excluded:
(a) liabilities of the government assumed under section 12;
(b) amounts borrowed by the corporation for the purpose of
(i) repayment of advances by the government or repayment of securities of the corporation purchased by the government,
(ii) payment, refunding, exchange or renewal of all or part of a loan, or security issued, by the corporation, or
(iii) repayment of all or part of outstanding temporary loans of the corporation;
(c) the amount of aggregate net rentals payable by the corporation under a lease of personal property for a term longer than one year, including renewals or extensions, whether or not the lease provides an option to purchase the property that is the subject of the lease.
10 (1) The corporation must establish and maintain an accounting system satisfactory to the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations, and must, whenever required by that minister, render detailed accounts of its revenues and expenditures for such period as he or she may designate.
(2) All books or records of account and other financial records must at all times be open for inspection by the minister or other person he or she designates.
(3) The Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations may direct the Comptroller General to examine and report to him or her on any or all of the financial and accounting operations of the corporation.
(4) The corporation must annually submit to the minister capital and operating budgets for the next following fiscal year of the corporation, in a form and containing information the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations directs, for the approval of the minister and the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations.
(5) The corporation must as soon as possible, but within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year, submit an annual report to the minister in a form he or she requires, and the minister must lay the report before the Legislative Assembly within 15 days after its receipt or, if the Legislature is not then sitting, within 15 days after the commencement of the next sitting.
(6) The annual report referred to in subsection (5) must include all of the following:
(a) a summary of the operations of the corporation for the preceding fiscal year;
(b) a financial statement of the corporation showing its assets and liabilities at the end of the preceding fiscal year and the results of its operations for that year prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
(c) the annual report of the auditor of the corporation;
(d) other information in respect of the financial affairs of the corporation as the minister or the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations requires.
(7) The fiscal year end of the corporation is March 31.
(8) The Financial Information Act applies to the corporation.
(9) The Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations is the fiscal agent of the corporation.
11 (1) A person appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council must
(a) audit the accounts and financial transactions of the corporation, and
(b) examine and report to the minister on the annual financial statements of the corporation.
(2) The cost of the audit must be paid by the corporation.
12 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may order that all or part of the interest of the government in any properties or assets that, in the opinion of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, are necessary for, or incidental to, the provision of data processing services by the corporation be transferred or assigned to and vested in the corporation at values determined by the Lieutenant Governor in Council and may order that the corporation assume the liabilities and commitments relating to those properties and assets.
(2) An order under subsection (1) is effective to vest property or an asset in the corporation despite a lack of compliance with a provision in an agreement or instrument requiring consent, leave or approval to or in respect of a transfer or assignment of the property or asset, and the lack of compliance does not constitute a breach or default of the agreement or instrument.
13 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by order, authorize the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations to apply sums, on terms and conditions, as the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers advisable, to enable the corporation to pay and discharge liabilities of the government assumed by the corporation during the fiscal period ending March 31, 1978 by reason of
(a) accrued benefits of public service officers and employees appointed to or employed by the corporation, or
(b) the corporation assuming from the government uneconomic long term commitments relating to data processing equipment.
(2) The money required for the purposes of subsection (1) may be paid out of the consolidated revenue fund without an appropriation other than this section.
14 (1) The board must
(a) appoint a general manager of the corporation to hold office during the pleasure of the board, and
(b) set the general manager’s remuneration.
(2) The board must define the duties of the general manager, who must
(a) function as the chief executive officer of the corporation, and
(b) report to the chair of the board.
(3) The board or, if authorized by it, the general manager, or a person the general manager designates, may appoint or employ officers and other employees as the board considers necessary to carry on the business and operations of the corporation and may
(a) define their duties,
(b) determine their remuneration, and
(c) provide a system of organization to carry out the purposes of the corporation.
15 (1) The Public Service Act and the Public Service Labour Relations Act do not apply to the manager, officers and employees of the corporation.
(2) If immediately before appointment or employment under section 14 (3) an officer or employee had been confirmed in his or her employment under the Public Service Act, he or she must not suffer a reduction in salary by reason only of his or her appointment or employment under section 14 (3) and any monetary benefits that he or she would have enjoyed as a public service officer or employee continue to apply to him or her, subject to
(a) the terms of employment determined by the corporation, and
(b) the provisions of a collective agreement in force between the corporation and a bargaining agent for that officer or employee, in so far as it applies.
(3) An officer or employee referred to in subsection (2) is entitled to participate in the medical plan and to maintain group insurance coverage by an insurance contract under the Public Service Benefit Plan Act.
(4) An officer or employee referred to in subsection (2) who is appointed to or employed by the corporation retains his or her length of service seniority acquired in the public service for determining his or her length of service seniority in the corporation.
(5) The corporation may require a bond under the Bonding Act from those of its officers and employees as it designates.
16 (1) If immediately before appointment or employment by the corporation an officer or employee was a public service employee, that person may, at any time within 12 months after appointment, elect to be reinstated as a public service employee under the Public Service Act.
(2) An election under subsection (1) must be in writing and filed with the corporation and the Public Service Employee Relations Commission.
(3) On receipt of an election filed under subsection (2), the corporation and the Public Service Employee Relations Commission must endeavour to arrange an orderly transfer of the officer or employee from the corporation to the public service at a comparable classification and salary and with the same benefits as if he or she had continued as a public service employee, and on the effective date of the transfer the officer or employee is for all purposes deemed to be a public service employee under the Public Service Act.
(4) For the purpose of this section and despite the Public Service Act, an officer or employee of the corporation referred to in subsection (1) retains his or her service seniority in the public service for the period during which retransfer to the public service is permitted under this section.
(5) If no arrangement is made under subsection (3) within 6 months after the date of receipt of the election, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, despite the Public Service Act, make such special provisions as the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary or advisable in respect of the employment, salary and benefits of that person under the Public Service Act.
17 (1) The corporation may establish or provide for a superannuation or pension plan for the benefit of its officers and employees and may require contributions to the plan from officers and employees of the corporation.
(2) The corporation may continue or amend any superannuation or pension plan that may be in existence or integrate a former plan with a plan established under this section.
(3) The corporation may meet or remove any difficulty arising out of the concurrent administration of a plan established under this section and a previous plan.
(4) Until the corporation establishes or provides for superannuation or pension plans under subsection (1), the following provisions apply:
(a) the Pension (Public Service) Act applies to the corporation and its officers and employees;
(b) the corporation and its officers and employees are deemed to be an employer and its employees within the meaning of that Act;
(c) the corporation must make the deductions from the salaries of the officers and employees as required under that Act and pay the money to the commissioner under that Act;
(d) the corporation must, in addition, pay to the commissioner the employer’s contributions in amounts equivalent to the amounts required under that Act;
(e) an officer or employee referred to in section 15 (2) is entitled
(i) to superannuation or pension plan benefits equivalent to those to which he or she would have been entitled in the public service, and
(ii) to full credit in respect of his or her contributions and the contributions of the government on his or her behalf during his or her period in the public service.
(5) A pension plan or superannuation plan for the benefit of the officers or employees of the corporation must not be the subject of a collective agreement between the corporation and a trade union representing all or any of the officers or employees of the corporation.
18 (1) If a person employed in the public service is appointed or employed as an employee of the corporation, the corporation is, in respect of that employee, bound by every collective agreement in force between the government and a trade union acting on behalf of that employee as if the corporation were a party to the collective agreement, and, if
(a) a provision of the collective agreement is not applicable or is ineffective for any reason, and
(b) the corporation and the trade union representing the employee, after negotiation, cannot agree on an amended provision,
either party may apply to the Labour Relations Board and, in addition to the powers of the Labour Relations Board set out in this Act and under section 35 of the Labour Relations Code, the Labour Relations Board, with due consideration for the nature of the essential services rendered by the corporation to the government, may determine a method by which a provision may be made applicable and effective and may order the collective agreement to be amended accordingly.
(2) A question or difference between the corporation and an employee or a trade union representing employees
(a) respecting the interpretation or application of this section,
(b) respecting the interpretation or application of a provision of a collective agreement in force between the government and a trade union referred to in subsection (1), or
(c) arising by reason of subsection (1)
may be referred by the parties or any of them to the Labour Relations Board in accordance with the procedure set out in the Labour Relations Code and the regulations under that Code, and the Labour Relations Board may decide the question or difference
(d) in any of the ways, and
(e) by applying any of the remedies
available in respect of the settlement of a question or difference under the Labour Relations Code and that Code applies for the purpose.
(3) If there is a conflict between this Act and the Labour Relations Code, this Act applies.
19 (1) The Public Service Benefit Plan Act applies to the officers and employees of the corporation.
(2) Despite subsection (1) or section 15 (3), the corporation and an officer or employee or trade union representing officers or employees of the corporation may agree in writing to exclude subsection (1) with respect to that officer or employee or the officers or employees represented by that trade union.
20 (1) Every officer, employee and agent of the corporation must keep secret and in strict confidence all information coming to his or her knowledge during the course of or by reason of his or her employment by the corporation except in so far as he or she may be authorized by the board to disclose it.
(2) The contravention of subsection (1) by an officer or employee of the corporation constitutes just and reasonable cause for dismissal.
(3) An officer or employee who contravenes subsection (1) is liable to compensate a person or the government for loss or damage suffered by that person or by the government, as the case may be, by reason of the contravention.
(4) Despite anything contained in any other Act, an action under subsection (3) must be heard and determined by the Supreme Court.
(5) A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable to a fine of not more than $5 000.
(6) The disclosure of information in the possession of a government entity by an employee of the government entity to the corporation or its employees for the purpose of, or related to, the provision of data processing services to the government entity
(a) does not constitute a contravention of a prohibition or restriction against disclosure, communication or publication of information contained in another enactment, other than the Statistics Act, applying to the government entity, and
(b) does not constitute a violation by the officer or employee of his or her oath of secrecy in respect of the information disclosed to the corporation for the purposes of this Act.
21 (1) The government may, on terms the Lieutenant Governor in Council approves, guarantee
(a) the payment of principal and interest, and
(b) the performance of any obligation for the payment of money of the securities issued by the corporation.
(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may authorize
(a) the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations, or
(b) an officer of the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations
to sign the guarantee on behalf of the government, and the signature of that person on the guarantee is conclusive proof that this section has been complied with.
(3) The guarantee, in a form and manner the Lieutenant Governor in Council approves, may be endorsed on the securities issued by the corporation, and the signature of the person authorized to sign the guarantee may be reproduced by engraving, lithographing, printing or other means.
(4) The reproduced signature of a person referred to in subsection (3) is for all purposes deemed to be the signature of that person and is binding on the government even if
(a) the person whose signature is reproduced did not hold office at the date of the securities or at the date of their delivery, or
(b) the person who holds that office at the date the signature is affixed is not the person who holds that office at the date of the securities or at the date of their delivery.
(5) Money required to be paid by the government in respect of a guarantee given under this section may be paid out of the consolidated revenue fund without an appropriation other than this Act.
22 (1) The government may, on terms approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, guarantee payments of the corporation under a lease made by or to the corporation.
(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may authorize
(a) the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations, or
(b) an officer of the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations,
to sign the guarantee on behalf of the government, and the signature of that person on the guarantee is conclusive proof that this section has been complied with.
(3) Money required to be paid by the government in respect of a guarantee given under this section may be paid out of the consolidated revenue fund without an appropriation other than this Act.
23 The corporation, as agent of the government, is not liable to taxation, except in so far as the government is liable.
24 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations referred to in section 41 of the Interpretation Act.