June 20, 2003
Trustees, Superintendents and Secretary-Treasurers of BCSTA member
school boards; additional courtesy list.
(Superintendent: please distribute to trustees who are not on e-mail. Thank you.)
Judith Clark, BCSTA General Counsel
(4 pages)
LEGLISLATIVE WRAP UP
The School Act amendments and the Teaching Profession Act amendments are covered in the
From the Legislature reports of May 14 and May 30. This report covers other legislation since
spring break to adjournment of the Legislature on May 29. The legislative session is scheduled
to resume on October 6, 2003.
Child labour regulation needed?
Bill 37, the Skills Development and Labour Statutes Amendment Act, introduced on May 5,
included a controversial change to the Employment Standards Act that removed the
requirement that an employer of a child under age 15 obtain a permit from the Director of
Employment Standards. The bill only went to first reading but is expected to proceed in the fall
session of the Legislature.
This is the second attempt at this legislation. Last year’s Bill 48 (2002) also removed the
requirement for a permit to employ children under age 15, but required conditions set out in
regulations to be met. Last summer BCSTA argued to the Minister of Labour that regulations
should protect the educational interests of children as well as recognizing that health and safety
standards for adults may need modification to protect children in the workplace. However,
general regulations were never enacted and this section of Bill 48 was not brought into effect.
Bill 37 will repeal and replace this section of Bill 48. The new section has one statutory condition
for employment of children aged 12 to14: parental consent. Additional conditions may be added
by regulation.
It appears that the Labour Minister is presently of the view that no additional conditions should
be imposed on employers (other than film industry employers) and general regulations are not
needed. Only the film industry regulations are planned at this time.
Under the permit system, the film industry conditions included requirements that employers
provide tutoring services to child actors under some conditions. These are not included in the
present proposals for regulations relating to children working in the film industry.
1
School boards may lose the authority to appoint auditors
The new Auditor General Act (Bill 9) enacted in March governs the appointment of auditors for
all organizations that are part of the government reporting entity. This includes school boards.
The Auditor General is presently consulting on the plan for appointing auditors for these entities
for the next three years, and has written all school board chairs requesting input to the plan. The
plan will list government organizations and trust funds for which the auditor general proposes to
be appointed financial statement auditor, and list organizations for which he proposes another
auditor be appointed. The plan will also define the role of the Auditor General in administering
the auditor appointment process.
New legislation, new authority will govern trades training
Bill 34, the Industry Training Authority Act, was given Royal Assent on May 29 and will come
into force by regulation. The Industry Training and Apprenticeship Commission will be replaced
by the Industry Training Authority. Until an on-line registration system for secondary school
apprenticeships is made available, school districts can register students through the Industry
Training Centre that has been established as a transitional measure in Burnaby.
Superintendents lose right of access to young offender court records
Effective April 1, 2003, the Designation Order (Access to Young Offenders Records: Canada)
(see page D-23 of the Manual of School Law) made under the Young Offenders Act, is repealed
and replaced by a new order made under the new federal Youth Criminal Justice Act
(OIC#267). The Order allows certain persons to have access to youth court records if needed in
the course of their duties. The previous Order named superintendents of schools; the new one
does not.
This may have no practical consequences for schools. The Youth Criminal Justice Act allows a
youth worker to disclose to school board representatives information contained in youth court
records if the worker believes disclosure is necessary to ensure compliance with a court order,
or to ensure the safety of staff, students or others, or to facilitate rehabilitation. The repeal of the
superintendent’s right of access appears to be based on assumptions that the discretionary
disclosure provision is providing information where needed and that the previous right of access
was rarely used by BC school superintendents.
The Canadian School Boards Association lobbied vigorously (but unsuccessfully) for the Youth
Criminal Justice Act to require, rather than just permit, youth workers to share young offender
information with school officials for school safety purposes. Before OIC 267/03, BC was the only
province where school board officials had a right to obtain young offender records.
Privacy Legislation for the Private Sector
Bill 38, the Personal Information Protection Act is the government’s new legislation for privacy
protection in the private sector. It will govern the collection, use and disclosure of personal
information by entities (including unincorporated ones) not covered by the Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), such as School District Business
Corporations, school board foundations, businesses, trade unions and PACs. Unlike FIPPA, it
does not include access to information provisions (other than access to one’s own personal
2
information.) It is notably more relaxed about some aspects of the management of personal
information, e.g. it provides for implied consents to collection, use and disclosure.
Enforcement will be through the Commissioner of Information and Privacy. The bill received first
and second reading and is expected to proceed in the fall session and then come into effect on
January 1, 2004.
Farewell to the Human Rights Commission
On March 31, 2003 the Human Rights Commission ceased to exist, pursuant to the Human
Rights Code Amendment Act, 2002 (see From the Legislature September 2002.) Complaints
now go directly to the Human Rights Tribunal. The Attorney General has become responsible
for public educational programs and has contracted with the BC Human Rights Coalition and the
Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS), who jointly operate a clinic. The Coalition deals
with educational issues, including providing assistance with policy development to employers,
receives complaints and seeks to settle those with merit. If settlement is not possible, the
Coalition refers complainants to CLAS who provide legal representation before the Human
Rights Tribunal and sometimes through a judicial review process.
A school board seeking approval for an employment equity program (e.g. hiring a First Nations
person for a specific job dealing with First Nations students) now applies to the Tribunal. This
used to be done through the Human Rights Commission.
Review of Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act begun
The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act must be reviewed by the Legislature
every six years. On May 29 the members of the Legislative Select Standing Committee on
Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and Private Bills were appointed to
conduct a comprehensive review, to be completed within one year.
Stability for (some) government tribunal appointments
Bill 68, the Administrative Tribunals Appointment and Administration Act was given first reading
on May 28 and is expected to proceed at the fall sitting of the legislature. It flows from the
Attorney General’s Administrative Justice Review and requires a “merit based process” to
govern appointments by ministers or by Cabinet to designated tribunals, including the Human
Rights Tribunal, the Labour Relations Board, and the Industry Training Appeal Board. (The
Council of the College of Teachers is not included.) Appointments will be for initial terms of 2-4
years, or 3-5 years for the chair; renewal terms can be up to five years in duration. The chair
must be consulted on the appointments of the members. Appointments can be terminated for
cause or without notice on payment of up to 12 months compensation.
Category 6 for all?
Teachers may find it increasingly easy to access the Master’s degrees necessary for the top
pay category. Under amendments to the Colleges and Institutes Act that came into force May
16, 2003, public colleges will be able to offer applied bachelor degrees; university colleges and
institutes will be able to offer applied Masters degrees. There is as yet no definition of “applied”
degrees but some degrees designed for educators might well be included.
3
Established institutions may find it easier to gain approval for their new degree programs. Under
proposed amendments to the Degree Authorization Act contained in Bill 35, Advanced
Education Statutes Amendment Act, 2003, institutions with “proven track records and
appropriate governing mechanisms” will be considered “self-accrediting” and no longer have
their degree programs subjected to an administrative review, although new degrees will still
require ministerial approval. Bill 35 is expected to proceed in the fall session of the Legislature.
Appointments have been made to a new Degree Quality Assessment Board that will review
proposals from private or out-of-province institutions that wish to provide degree programs in
BC. (Please note: Despite the headline, a Masters degree must be acceptable to the Teacher
Qualification Service before it will count towards a Category 6 pay category.)
Labour Relations Code Review Committee Reports: Expedited Arbitration Process
Flawed
On May 1, the Labour Relations Code Review Committee reported on the 14 issues assigned to
it. One of the five Committee members is Eric Harris, a Vancouver lawyer familiar to many
school boards. The report analyzes and discusses the issues. Recommendations may be made
in a second phase of the review if requested by the Labour Minister.
One issue identified by the Committee as needing further attention is the expedited arbitration
process, which is described as inflexible, failing to provide quick, cost-effective dispute
resolution, and failing to provide a training ground for new, skilled arbitrators.
The complete report can be viewed from the link at http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/labr_pub.htm
The complete text of the provincial legislation referred to here can be viewed by following the
links from the Legislative Assembly home page at www.legis.gov.bc.ca.
4