B.C. Reg. 55/2026, deposited April 7, 2026, under the EMPLOYMENT AND ASSISTANCE ACT [section 35 (2)]. Order in Council 133/2026, approved and ordered April 7, 2026.

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Administrator, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, orders that, effective April 15, 2026, the Employment and Assistance Regulation, B.C. Reg. 263/2002, is amended as set out in the attached Schedule.

— S. MALCOLMSON, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction; R. PARMAR, Presiding Member of the Executive Council.

Schedule

1 Section 65 of the Employment and Assistance Regulation, B.C. Reg. 263/2002, is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by repealing the definition of "funeral costs" and substituting the following:

"funeral costs" means the costs, as set out in or determined in accordance with Schedule F, of the following items:

(a) services that are

(i) provided by a person who, under the Cremation, Interment and Funeral Services Act, is a licensed funeral provider or is exempt from being licensed to provide funeral services, and

(ii) listed in section 2 (1) of Schedule F, provided in the course of providing funeral services within the meaning of

(A) paragraphs (a) and (b) of the definition of "funeral services" in section 1 of the Cremation, Interment and Funeral Services Act, or

(B) paragraph (d) of that definition, to the extent that it relates to paragraph (a) or (b) of that definition;

(b) intraprovincial transportation costs;

(c) cremation or burial of a deceased person’s body or remains, including the cost of a casket or urn; , and

(b) by repealing subsection (3.1) (a) and (b) and substituting the following:

(a) in respect of a particular item or service that is a funeral cost,

(i) the cost for the item or service as set out in or determined in accordance with Schedule F, or

(ii) if subparagraph (i) does not apply, the cost that is, in the opinion of the minister, the lowest reasonable cost for that item or service, and .

2 The following section is added:

Transition – deaths before April 15, 2026

65.1 (1) Despite any amendment to section 65 made on or after April 15, 2026, a supplement payable under that section in relation to a person who died before that date is payable in accordance with that section as it read immediately before that date.

(2) This section is repealed on April 15, 2027.

3 Section 2 of Schedule F is amended

(a) by renumbering the section as section 2 (1),

(b) by repealing subsection (1) (h), and

(c) by adding the following subsection:

(2) The amount of a supplement paid under this section must not exceed $1 685.

4 Section 3 of Schedule F is repealed and the following substituted:

Rates for intraprovincial transportation

3 (1) A supplement payable in respect of intraprovincial transportation may include an amount for the following costs:

(a) for transportation over a distance greater than 32 kilometres, mileage that must not exceed the rate of $1.25/km;

(b) if a funeral provider must transport a deceased person’s body by ferry, the following necessary costs for the initial and return trips:

(i) reservation fees;

(ii) the fare for the vehicle and driver;

(iii) the fare for one additional passenger, if the passenger is needed to assist with the transportation of the deceased person’s body.

(2) For certainty, if subsection (1) (b) applies, mileage described in subsection (1) (a) must not be paid in relation to any distance travelled by ferry.

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