BILL 39 – 2003
TRANSMISSION CORPORATION ACT

Contents

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1 In this Act:

"authority" means the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority continued under the Hydro and Power Authority Act;

"commission" means the British Columbia Utilities Commission;

"designated agreement" means an agreement designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under section 3 (1);

"rate" has the same meaning as "rate" in the Utilities Commission Act;

"transferred employee" means an employee who is identified in an order made under section 7 (1);

"transmission corporation" means British Columbia Transmission Corporation, a company incorporated under the Company Act;

"transmission service" means service, within the meaning of the Utilities Commission Act, provided in relation to the transmission system;

"transmission system" means the transmission system of the authority as defined in the regulations.

 
Part 1 -- Operation of Transmission Corporation

Applicability of certain statutes and common law to transmission corporation

2 (1) Subject to subsection (2), sections 29 (3), 31 and 32 (1) to (5) and (7) of the Hydro and Power Authority Act apply to the transmission corporation and, for that purpose, a reference in those sections, as they apply for the purposes of this Act, to the authority is deemed to be a reference to the transmission corporation.

(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by regulation, make applicable to the transmission corporation any statutory provision.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1),

(a) section 32 (7) (c) of the Hydro and Power Authority Act, as it applies for the purposes of this Act, is deemed to read:

"(c) the Company Act;", and

(b) section 32 (7) (k) of the Hydro and Power Authority Act, as it applies for the purposes of this Act, is deemed to read:

"(k) the Financial Administration Act;".

Operating and management agreements

3 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council, by order, may designate any agreement entered into or to be entered into between the authority and the transmission corporation that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers relates to any or all of the following:

(a) any or all of operation, control, use, management and maintenance of any or all of the transmission system by the transmission corporation;

(b) a transfer to the transmission corporation of assets of the authority used in connection with, or rights of the authority applicable to, the operation or control of the transmission system;

(c) provision of services by the authority to the transmission corporation, or by the transmission corporation to the authority, in relation to any matter referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).

(2) Despite the common law and the provisions of this or any other enactment, if an agreement is designated under subsection (1),

(a) the authority is deemed to have, and to have always had, the power and capacity to enter into the agreement,

(b) the agreement, and all actions of the authority and the transmission corporation taken in accordance with the provisions of the agreement, are expressly authorized and valid,

(c) without limiting paragraph (b), if a provision of the agreement constitutes or effects a delegation of a power or duty of the authority, that delegation is expressly authorized and valid,

(d) the authority is deemed to have, and to have always had, the power and capacity to carry out all of the obligations imposed under, and to exercise all of the rights, powers and privileges granted by, the agreement according to its terms,

(e) the agreement is binding on and enforceable by the authority and the transmission corporation according to the agreement's terms, and

(f) the authority and the transmission corporation are deemed to have all approvals, authorizations, permits, certificates, exemptions or orders that, under the Utilities Commission Act, are or may be required

(i) to enter into the agreement, and

(ii) to operate, control, use, manage or maintain any or all of the transmission system in accordance with the agreement.

(3) The transmission corporation is deemed to have received a certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing operation of the transmission system in accordance with the designated agreements.

(4) Nothing in subsection (2) (b), (e) or (f) or (3) limits the jurisdiction of the commission under the Utilities Commission Act to

(a) set rates of the authority or the transmission corporation,

(b) regulate the authority or the transmission corporation to ensure transmission services are, in all respects, adequate, safe, efficient, just and reasonable, and

(c) regulate the manner in which the authority or transmission corporation performs any role or responsibility it is to assume under a designated agreement.

(5) Despite subsection (4) (c), the commission must not, directly or indirectly, prohibit the authority or the transmission corporation

(a) from entering into a designated agreement, or

(b) from performing any role or responsibility the authority or the transmission corporation, as the case may be, is to assume under a designated agreement.

Regulation

4 (1) The transmission corporation must, on or before December 31, 2004 or such other date as the Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe, seek an order from the commission approving the transmission corporation's first schedule of rates for transmission service to be provided by the transmission corporation.

(2) Before the commission issues an order referred to in subsection (1),

(a) the authority must continue to offer and provide transmission service at rates approved from time to time by the commission,

(b) the authority may, under one or more of the designated agreements, retain the transmission corporation to provide any or all of operation, control, use, management and maintenance of any or all of the transmission system on the authority's behalf, and

(c) despite the Utilities Commission Act, charges by the transmission corporation to the authority, or by the authority to the transmission corporation, under a designated agreement are lawful, collectible and enforceable charges and may be charged, collected and enforced.

Government may issue directives

5 (1) Without limiting section 35 of the Hydro and Power Authority Act, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may issue a directive directing the authority to pay to the government a specified amount of money, which money is to be applied to the purchase by the government of the shares of the transmission corporation.

(2) The government may, without an appropriation other than this section, apply the money it receives under subsection (1) to purchase the shares of the transmission corporation.

Government to control shares

6 The shares of the transmission corporation

(a) must be registered in the name of the Minister of Finance,

(b) must be held by that minister on behalf of the government, and

(c) must not be sold or otherwise disposed of.

 
Part 2 -- Employment

Division 1 -- Employees

Transfer of employees

7 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, for the purpose of effecting transfers referred to in subsection (2), make orders as follows:

(a) identifying by name, classification or other description, employees of the authority to be transferred employees;

(b) dispensing with or altering any notice requirements under applicable collective agreements and the Labour Relations Code respecting the notice of transfer;

(c) setting, in each order made under this subsection, a transfer date applicable to each transfer of one or more employees that is contemplated by that order.

(2) On a transfer date set in respect of employees by an order under subsection (1), the employees to which that transfer date applies cease to be employees of the authority and become employees of the transmission corporation.

(3) A question or difference between the transmission corporation and

(a) a transferred employee who is a member of a unit of employees for which a trade union has been certified under the Labour Relations Code, or

(b) a trade union representing transferred employees,

respecting the application of the Labour Relations Code, or the interpretation or application of this Division, may be referred to the Labour Relations Board in accordance with the procedure set out in the Labour Relations Code and its regulations.

(4) The Labour Relations Board may, in respect of a question or difference referred to in subsection (3) of this section, decide the question or difference in any of the ways, and by applying any of the remedies, available under the Labour Relations Code.

(5) On a transfer date set by order under subsection (1) in respect of employees who are members of units of employees for which a trade union has been certified under the Labour Relations Code, the transmission corporation is the successor employer of those employees for the purposes of section 35 of the Labour Relations Code, without prejudice to the transmission corporation's right to apply for consolidation or merger of the bargaining units.

(6) If the transmission corporation or any trade union representing transferred employees makes an application to the Labour Relations Board to consolidate or merge the bargaining units representing transferred employees into a single bargaining unit, the Labour Relations Board must consider that application having regard to the principles of business efficiency and without reference to the labour relations history at the authority or the transmission corporation relating to the presence of more than one bargaining unit.

(7) Despite subsection (4), following the transfer date set by order under subsection (1) in respect of employees,

(a) the authority and the transmission corporation must not be treated as constituting one employer of those transferred employees under section 38 of the Labour Relations Code, and

(b) the authority is not the employer of those transferred employees for the purposes of the Labour Relations Code or for any other purpose.

Continuous employment

8 (1) The transfer of a transferred employee does not constitute a termination of the transferred employee's employment for the purposes of

(a) the applicable collective agreement,

(b) any employment contract involving the transferred employee, and

(c) the Employment Standards Act.

(2) For the purposes of seniority, a transferred employee is deemed to have been employed by the transmission corporation without interruption in service.

(3) A transferred employee's service with the authority is deemed to be service with the transmission corporation for the purpose of determining probationary periods and benefits, and any other employment related entitlements, under

(a) the Employment Standards Act,

(b) any other enactment,

(c) any employment contract, and

(d) any collective agreement.

(4) A transferred employee is deemed not to have been constructively dismissed.

(5) After, or in anticipation of, a transfer of an employee under section 7, the authority may transfer to the transmission corporation any or all of the authority's records and information relating to the employee's employment with the authority.

(6) Nothing in this Act

(a) prevents the employment of a transferred employee from being lawfully terminated after the transfer, or

(b) prevents any term or condition of the employment of a transferred employee from being lawfully changed after the transfer.

Job vacancies with the authority

9 (1) A transferred employee may apply for job vacancies with the authority and, if hired by the authority within 12 months after the transfer date set in respect of that transferred employee by the applicable order under section 7 (1), his or her employment with the authority is deemed to have continued uninterrupted.

(2) If, within 12 months after the transfer date set in respect of that employee by the applicable order under section 7 (1), the transmission corporation lays off a transferred employee who is a member of a bargaining unit, that transferred employee is entitled to exercise bumping rights under the authority's collective agreement as if that transferred employee had not been transferred to the transmission corporation.

This Act prevails over collective agreements

10 A collective agreement that conflicts or is inconsistent with this Act is void to the extent of the conflict or inconsistency.

 
Division 2 -- Pension Rights

Pension rights

11 (1) On or before the first transfer date set by order under section 7 (1), the transmission corporation must establish a registered pension plan and a supplemental pension plan.

(2) Subject to this Division, the pension plans established under subsection (1) must, on the date that those plans are established, be substantially similar to the corresponding pension plans of the authority in relation to

(a) eligibility,

(b) membership,

(c) benefit terms, and

(d) method of funding.

(3) All transferred employees who, immediately before the transfer date applicable to them, were members of the authority's registered pension plan become members of the transmission corporation's registered pension plan effective on that transfer date.

(4) All transferred employees who, immediately before the transfer date applicable to them, were members of the authority's supplemental pension plan become members of the transmission corporation's supplemental pension plan effective on that transfer date.

Election of pension

12 (1) A transferred employee who, immediately before the transfer date applicable to that transferred employee, was a member of the authority's registered pension plan may, within 6 months after that transfer date, elect, in writing, to

(a) leave the transferred employee's pre-transfer date accrued pension entitlements under the authority's registered pension plan and supplemental pension plan in those plans,

(b) if the transferred employee has a vested entitlement to a pension from the authority's registered pension plan,

(i) transfer the transferred employee's pre-transfer date accrued pension entitlements under the authority's registered pension plan to a retirement savings vehicle meeting the conditions of the Pension Benefits Standards Act for transfers from a registered pension plan, and

(ii) transfer or otherwise dispose of the transferred employee's pre-transfer date accrued pension entitlements under the authority's supplemental pension plan in accordance with the terms of that plan, or

(c) transfer the transferred employee's pre-transfer date accrued pension entitlements under the authority's registered pension plan and supplemental pension plan to the corresponding plans of the transmission corporation.

(2) If a transferred employee referred to in subsection (1) fails to make an election in accordance with that subsection, the transferred employee is deemed to have elected under subsection (1) (a).

(3) Despite section 8 (3), if a transferred employee elects under subsection (1) (a) or (b) or is deemed to elect under subsection (1) (a), the transmission corporation's registered pension plan and supplemental pension plan must not recognize that transferred employee's pre-transfer date period of employment with the authority, except that the transferred employee's period of service, as that term is defined in the authority's registered pension plan, must

(a) be added to the transferred employee's period of service with the transmission corporation for the purposes of determining when vesting occurs, and

(b) be taken into account when calculating the transferred employee's period of service for the purpose of determining when the transferred employee is entitled to an unreduced pension.

(4) If a transferred employee elects under subsection (1) (a) or (b) or is deemed to elect under subsection (1) (a), the transferred employee's pre-transfer date accrued pension entitlements under the authority's registered pension plan are, for that purpose, to be calculated as if the transferred employee had terminated employment immediately before the transfer date.

(5) If a transferred employee elects under subsection (1) (c), the transmission corporation's registered pension plan and supplemental pension plan must treat any service and earnings accrued by the transferred employee on and after the transfer date as being continuous with the transferred employee's pre-transfer date service and earnings.

Authority's plan continues

13 The termination of membership of transferred employees in the authority's registered pension plan does not cause partial termination of that plan for the purposes of the Pension Benefits Standards Act.

Dealings with transmission corporation's plan

14 (1) Despite this or any other enactment, matters respecting the establishment, maintenance and amendment of the transmission corporation's registered pension plan must not be the subject of a collective agreement between the transmission corporation and its employees.

(2) Despite section 11 (2), the transmission corporation's registered pension plan may be established, implemented, amended and terminated without approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council or any regulation.

(3) Despite section 36 (1) of the Hydro and Power Authority Act, the authority does not require the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council in order to amend the authority's registered pension plan to implement the provisions of this Division.

Authority and transmission corporation may enter into agreement

15 The authority and the transmission corporation are authorized to enter into any agreement that may be required to give effect to the provisions of this Division, and, in particular, to

(a) transfer assets from the authority's registered pension plan to the transmission corporation's registered pension plan,

(b) transfer from the authority to the transmission corporation assets of an aggregate value equal to the liability of the authority under its supplemental pension plan to those transferred employees who make an election under section 12 (1) (c),

(c) determine the actuarial methods and assumptions to be used in calculating the amounts under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, and

(d) comply with the Pension Benefits Standards Act and the Income Tax Act (Canada) to the extent that that legislation applies to the transactions contemplated by this Division.

 
Part 3 -- General

Power to make regulations

16 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations referred to in section 41 of the Interpretation Act.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:

(a) defining the transmission system;

(b) respecting any matter relating to the pensions of transferred employees that is not dealt with in an agreement referred to in section 15;

(c) respecting any other matter necessary or advisable to carry out this Act.

 
Consequential Amendments

 
Financial Information Act

17 Schedule 1 of the Financial Information Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 140, is amended by adding the following:

Transmission Corporation Act .

 
Hydro and Power Authority Act

18 Section 32 of the Hydro and Power Authority Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 212, is amended by adding the following subsection:

(8) The Transmission Corporation Act applies to the authority in the manner and to the extent contemplated by that Act.

 
Utilities Commission Act

19 Section 3 (2) of the Utilities Commission Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 473, is repealed and the following substituted:

(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by regulation, issue a direction to the commission specifying the factors, criteria and guidelines that the commission must or must not use in regulating, and fixing rates for, the transmission corporation, as that term is defined in the Transmission Corporation Act, and the authority.

Commencement

20 This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.