British Columbia.

• Author: Arril, Jennifer
• Position: Legislative Reports

Legislation

The Fall sitting of the Fourth Session of the 40th Parliament adjourned on November 17, 2015. Between October 28, 2015, the date of the previous report, and November 17, 2015, one government bill, the Electoral Districts Act, was introduced and received Royal Assent. The Electoral Districts Act (Bill 42) enacts the recommendations from the Electoral Boundaries Commission's report by creating two new electoral districts in Surrey and Richmond/New Westminster to reflect growing population in those areas. This statutory change will increase the number of electoral districts in the 2017 provincial general election to 87 from 85. The Act also changes the name of the Chilliwack-Hope riding to Chilliwack-Kent and reduces that district's size. Some other changes are made in regard to boundaries in the Chilliwack, Hope, and Fraser Canyon areas.

The Fourth Session prorogued at noon on February 9, 2016 and the Fifth Session of the 40th Parliament opened that afternoon with the presentation of the Speech from the Throne.

Parliamentary Committees

Several parliamentary committees, including the Legislative Assembly Management Committee, were active during the reporting period. On December 7, 2015, the Legislative Assembly Management Committee released its Accountability Report 2014-15: A Report to British Columbians. This annual operational report highlights departmental progress at the Assembly in priority areas such as modernizing governance, transparency initiatives, ensuring accessibility, and business continuity preparedness. The report includes the Assembly's independently audited financial statements. For the second year in a row, British Columbia's Office of the Auditor General provided an unqualified audit opinion that the statements were reliable and fair. The inclusion of key performance indicators and a Management Discussion and Analysis section were new additions to this year's report. This new section complements the financial statements by providing additional analysis on the financial results of the Legislative Assembly.

The Special Committee to Review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act public consultation process concluded on January 29, 2016. The Committee received over 200 submissions in response to its call for written submissions. Under provisions of the Act, a Special Committee is required to review the Act every six years. A report on the results of its review must be submitted to the Legislative...