| Copyright (c) Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada | IMPORTANT INFORMATION |
Part 1 — Definitions and Application
1 In this Act:
"appropriation" means
(a) an appropriation in a Supply Act,
(b) a provision in this or another Act that expressly
(i) authorizes or directs payment from or out of the consolidated revenue fund,
(ii) authorizes payment from or out of a special fund, or
(iii) dispenses with the need for another appropriation, or
(c) an appropriation by special warrant under section 24;
"banking instrument" means a cheque, draft, telegraphic or electronic transfer or other similar instrument;
"consolidated revenue fund" means the consolidated revenue fund referred to in section 12;
"currency" means the currency of a country or any other unit of monetary value;
"designated institution" means an institution designated under section 79 (1) (d);
"estimates" means the estimates of revenue and expenditure for a fiscal year presented to the Legislative Assembly, being
(a) the main estimates presented annually, and
(b) any supplementary estimates for the fiscal year;
"expenditure" includes amounts appropriated for amortization, allowances for doubtful accounts or other non-cash expenses and, in relation to this, a reference to paying, spending or otherwise expending amounts includes the application of non-cash expenses to the purposes for which they are appropriated;
"fiscal year", when used to mean the fiscal year of the government, means the period from April 1 in one year to March 31 in the next year;
"general fund" means the general fund, referred to in section 12 (2), of the consolidated revenue fund;
"government" does not include government corporations;
"government body" means
(a) a government corporation,
(b) a hospital district board, a board of school trustees or a francophone education authority as defined in the School Act,
(c) a university or an institution as defined in the College and Institute Act,
(c.1) [Repealed 2004-33-15.]
(c.2) the agency as defined in the Open Learning Agency Act, and
(d) any other local or Provincial public authority designated by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council;
"government corporation" means a corporation
(a) that is, under an Act, an agent of the government,
(b) of which the government owns, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the issued voting shares, or
(c) that is controlled by the government, and for the purpose of this definition a corporation is controlled by the government when a majority of the members of the corporation or of its board of directors or board of management consists of either or both of the following:
(i) persons appointed as members by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, by a minister or by an Act;
(ii) public officers acting as public officers;
"investment management corporation" means the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation established under Part 3 of the Public Sector Pension Plans Act;
"minister" means a member of the Executive Council;
"Minister of Finance" means the minister who has administration of this Act;
"ministry" means
(a) a ministry of the executive government of British Columbia, or
(b) a branch of the executive government of British Columbia that is not part of a ministry but is designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council as a ministry for the purposes of this Act;
"money received for another person" means money that is paid to the government or a public officer under an agreement or undertaking, or by way of gift or bequest, and that is to be paid to another person specified in the agreement or undertaking or by the donor of the gift or bequest, but does not include money received as reimbursement for or as a contribution towards expenditures made by the government;
"pension fund" means
(a) a pension fund established under Part 2 or 3 of the Members’ Remuneration and Pensions Act or continued under the Public Sector Pension Plans Act,
(b) any pension fund held in trust by the government or a public officer, and
(c) any prescribed pension fund that has been established for the benefit of employees of a government body;
"pooled investment portfolio" means a portfolio of investments or loans, or both, established under section 43;
"property" does not include money or securities;
"public accounts" means the public accounts under section 9 of the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act;
"public body" means
(a) an agency of the government,
(b) a board, commission, council or other body of persons, whether or not incorporated, all the members or all the members of the board of management or board of directors of which are appointed by an Act, an order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council or a minister of the government,
(c) a corporation, more than 50% of the shares or ownership of which is, directly or indirectly, vested in the government, or
(d) a corporation, association, board, commission or society to which a grant or advance of public money is made, or the borrowings of which may be guaranteed by the government under the authority of any Act,
but does not include the B.C. Ferry Authority, established under the Coastal Ferry Act, or British Columbia Ferry Corporation;
"public debt" means direct debt obligations of the government;
"public money" means all money received, held or collected by, for or on behalf of the government and includes
(a) revenues of the government,
(b) special funds,
(c) money borrowed by the government or received through the issue and sale of securities, and
(d) trust funds,
but does not include money received, held or collected by a government corporation unless that money is payable to the government under an enactment;
"public officer" includes a minister and a person employed in the public service of British Columbia;
"public property" means all property belonging to the government, but does not include property belonging to a government corporation;
"securities" means bonds, debentures, deposit certificates, promissory notes, treasury bills or other evidences of indebtedness, shares and stock, and includes any documents commonly known as securities;
"special account" means an account in the general fund where the authorization to spend money from the account is located in an Act other than a Supply Act;
"special fund" means a fund designated as a special fund by the Lieutenant Governor in Council;
"Treasury Board" means the Treasury Board continued by this Act;
"trust funds" means
(a) money held in trust by the government or a public officer, and
(b) pension funds, sinking funds maintained by the government, money received for another person and money paid to the government as a deposit to ensure the doing of any act or thing;
"vote" means an appropriation under a Supply Act identified in the main or supplementary estimates as a vote.
2 If there is a conflict between this Act and any other Act enacted after this Act, this Act prevails unless the other Act contains an express provision that it, or a provision of it, applies despite the Financial Administration Act.
3 (1) The committee of the Executive Council called the Treasury Board is continued and consists of the Minister of Finance as chair, and other members of the Executive Council appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, one of whom must be designated in the appointment as vice chair.
(2) On the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint a senior public officer as secretary to the Treasury Board.
(3) Subject to this Act and the directions of the Executive Council, the Treasury Board may determine its rules and methods of procedure.
4 (1) The Treasury Board must act as a committee of the Executive Council in matters relating to the following:
(a) accounting policies and practices;
(b) government management practices and systems;
(c) government financial management and control, including expenditures and assets;
(d) evaluation of government programs as to economy, efficiency and effectiveness;
(e) government personnel management;
(f) other matters referred to it by the Executive Council.
(2) The Treasury Board may make regulations or issue directives respecting the matters set out in subsection (1) (a) to (e), other than those matters referred to in section 2 (a) to (i) of the Public Service Act, S.B.C. 1985, c. 15.
(3) A regulation or directive under subsection (2) respecting accounting policies and practices must be consistent with section 23.1 of the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act.
4.1 (1) Without limiting any relevant authority under another provision of this or any other Act, Treasury Board may make regulations or issue directives respecting the planning, management and reporting of capital expenditures by government and government bodies.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), Treasury Board may make regulations or issue directives respecting capital expenditures as follows:
(a) requiring government and government bodies to have approval of Treasury Board or its delegate before making commitments to capital expenditures;
(b) establishing conditions on approval required under paragraph (a);
(c) establishing requirements relating to capital management processes, including procurement, contract provisions, project management, financial controls and accounting practices;
(d) establishing requirements for capital plans, business cases, requests for approval, tendering and other procurement documents, progress reports, completion reports and post-expenditure evaluation reports, including establishing requirements respecting their form, content and frequency.
(3) Regulations and directives under this section may establish different requirements or conditions respecting
(a) different classes of capital expenditure as specified by regulation or directive, and
(b) different government bodies or classes of government body.
(4) In addition to any conditions established by regulation or directive, if approval is required under subsection (2) (a), approval in a specific case may be made on conditions Treasury Board or its delegate considers appropriate.
(5) Requirements under this section are additional to those established by any other enactment.
4.2 The Treasury Board may, by directive, authorize a minister responsible for a public-private partnership project to make a payment from the consolidated revenue fund for fees, commissions or expenses relating to the project.
5 (1) There is a ministry of the public service of British Columbia called the Ministry of Finance.
(2) The Minister of Finance presides over the Ministry of Finance and is responsible to the Lieutenant Governor in Council for its direction.
(3) [Repealed 2000-23-31.]
(4) A deputy minister of the Ministry of Finance may be appointed under the Public Service Act.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may authorize a seal for the ministry that is known as the Seal of the Ministry of Finance.
(6) The seal may be reproduced on securities issued by the government by engraving, lithographing, printing or any other method of reproduction and when reproduced on them has the same effect as the Great Seal.
6 (1) The Minister of Finance is responsible for
(a) the management and administration of the consolidated revenue fund,
(b) supervision of the revenues and expenditures of the government, and
(c) matters relating to the fiscal policy of the government.
(2) The Minister of Finance has, in addition to his or her responsibilities under subsection (1), the supervision, control and direction of all other matters relating to the financial affairs of the government that are not assigned by this or any other enactment to the Treasury Board or to any other person.
(3) Each minister is responsible for the administration of the financial affairs of his or her ministry, under the general direction of the Minister of Finance and the Treasury Board.
8 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council must appoint a person to be Comptroller General in the Ministry of Finance, and the Comptroller General is an employee under the Public Service Act.
(2) The Comptroller General
(a) has access at all times to all ministries and branches of the government and to their records,
(b) may require from any public officer information and explanations necessary for the performance of the Comptroller General's duties,
(c) may, on the direction of the Treasury Board,
(i) require from any officer or employee of a public body information and explanations necessary to enable the Comptroller General to determine whether public money disbursed or spent by the government has been or is being applied for the purpose for which it was appropriated, and
(ii) examine and report on any or all of the financial and accounting operations of a government corporation, and
(d) may examine any person with respect to any matter that, under any Act, the Comptroller General is required or authorized to check, examine or control.
8.1 (1) For the purposes of an examination under section 8 (2) (d), the Comptroller General may make an order requiring a person to do either or both of the following:
(a) attend, in person or by electronic means, before the Comptroller General to answer questions on oath or affirmation, or in any other manner;
(b) produce for the Comptroller General a record or thing in the person’s possession or control.
(2) The Comptroller General may apply to the Supreme Court for an order
(a) directing a person to comply with an order made under subsection (1), or
(b) directing any directors and officers of a person to cause the person to comply with an order made under subsection (1).
8.2 The failure or refusal of a person subject to an order under section 8.1 to do any of the following makes the person, on application to the Supreme Court by the Comptroller General, liable to be committed for contempt as if in breach of an order or judgment of the Supreme Court:
(a) attend before the Comptroller General;
(b) take an oath or make an affirmation;
(c) answer questions;
(d) produce records or things in the person’s possession or control.
9 The Comptroller General must, subject to any direction of the Treasury Board, do all of the following:
(a) develop and issue policies and guidelines and establish procedures for the financial management and recording of the revenues, expenditures, assets, liabilities and equity of the government;
(b) issue directives respecting the methods by which the accounts of the government are kept;
(c) administer and maintain the central accounts of the government;
(d) provide functional control over all financial transactions entered into the central accounting system;
(e) evaluate financial management throughout the government and recommend to the Treasury Board improvements considered necessary;
(f) prepare the public accounts and any other financial statements and reports required of the Comptroller General by the Minister of Finance or Treasury Board;
(g) perform other duties assigned to the Comptroller General by the Treasury Board or under this or any other Act.
12 (1) There is one consolidated revenue fund into which all public money other than trust funds must be paid.
(2) The consolidated revenue fund includes a general fund and any special funds.
(3) The Minister of Finance
(a) may, with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, transfer money that is in a special fund to the general fund on the condition that it be repaid to the special fund, and
(b) must, if money is transferred under paragraph (a), transfer from the general fund to the special fund amounts in place of interest determined in accordance with a formula prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
13 Trust funds must be paid into and maintained in accounts kept in the Ministry of Finance separately from the consolidated revenue fund.
14 (1) A person who is employed in the collection or management of public money or who is charged with receiving public money, and any other person who collects or receives public money, must, unless another Act has a different requirement, pay all public money coming into the person's hands to the credit of the Minister of Finance.
(2) The Treasury Board may, by regulation,
(a) authorize
(i) payment from the consolidated revenue fund of a fee or commission to, or
(ii) despite subsection (1), a fee or commission to be retained by
any person employed in collecting, managing or accounting for public money as remuneration for all services performed, and
(b) set the rates or levels of fees or commissions, and establish the methods by which fees or commissions may be paid.
15 (1) The Minister of Finance must establish accounts for the deposit of public money with savings institutions or other financial institutions he or she designates.
(2) A person must not open an account for the receipt and deposit of public money except as authorized by the Minister of Finance.
16 Money received by the government
(a) that is erroneously paid or collected, or
(b) for any purpose that is not fulfilled,
may, subject to directives of the Treasury Board, be refunded from the consolidated revenue fund or the appropriate trust fund in part or in full as circumstances require.
17 (1) The Treasury Board may
(a) authorize all or part of an asset, a debt or an obligation that it considers to be unrealizable or uncollectable to be written off, and
(b) authorize specified persons to write off all or part of a debt or obligation to the government that the authorized person considers to be uncollectable.
(2) The write off of all or part of a debt or obligation under this section does not extinguish the right of the government to collect the amount or liability written off.
(3) Without limiting section 4, the Treasury Board may make regulations and issue directives establishing policies and practices respecting the making of allowances for doubtful accounts.
18 (1) All or part of a debt or obligation to the government may be forgiven in accordance with the regulations made under subsection (2), and to the extent it is forgiven, the liability for it is extinguished.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by regulation,
(a) designate persons by whom a debt or obligation to the government may be forgiven,
(b) specify circumstances in which, before a debt or obligation is forgiven, approval must be obtained from the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the Treasury Board, a minister or another person,
(c) require that, in specified circumstances, the maximum amount of a debt or obligation that may be forgiven with the approval of the Treasury Board, minister or other person is limited to a prescribed amount, not to exceed $100 000, and
(d) place those constraints, conditions and limitations on the forgiving of debts or obligations, and on the exercise of the power of approval referred to in paragraph (b) or (c), that are considered desirable.
(3) A debt or obligation to the government may not be forgiven without the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council if the amount forgiven is $100 000 or more.
(4) This section does not apply to a forfeiture, fine, pecuniary penalty, tax, royalty, fee or other sum imposed or authorized to be imposed by an enactment.
19 (1) If the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers it in the public interest to do so in a case or class of cases where great public inconvenience, great injustice or great hardship to a person has occurred or is likely to occur, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by a regulation of general application or applicable to a class of persons or by order related to a specific case, authorize the remission of
(a) any tax, royalty, fee or other sum that is paid or payable to the government and that is imposed or authorized to be imposed by an enactment, or
(b) any forfeiture, fine or pecuniary penalty imposed or authorized to be imposed by an enactment, even though all or part of it is payable to another person.
(2) A remission authorized under subsection (1) may be total or partial, conditional or unconditional, and a remission of an item referred to in subsection (1) (a) may be granted before, during or after the course of any proceeding for the recovery of the money and either before or after any payment of it has been made or has been enforced by process or execution.
(3) If a condition of a remission authorized under subsection (1) is not performed, the authorization of the remission has no effect and all proceedings may be had or taken as if the remission had not been authorized.
(4) Money required to be paid by the government under this section may be paid out of the consolidated revenue fund.
19.1 (1) In this section:
"effective date" means the date on which the Nisga'a Final Agreement takes effect;
"former reserve lands" means lands that are
(a) described in paragraph 2 (b) of the Lands Chapter of the Nisga'a Final Agreement, and
(b) within Nisga'a Lands;
"Indian" has the same meaning as in section 2 (1) of the Indian Act (Canada);
"Nisga'a Final Agreement" has the same meaning as in the Nisga'a Final Agreement Act;
"Nisga'a Lands" has the same meaning as in the Nisga'a Final Agreement.
(2) Subject to subsection (5), remission is granted, for the applicable periods under subsection (3) or (4), on provincial tax imposed or levied in respect of
(a) the estate or interest of an Indian in former reserve lands,
(b) the personal property of an Indian situated on former reserve lands, and
(c) an Indian's ownership, occupation, possession or use of any property referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).
(3) Remission under subsection (2) is granted, for the period beginning on the effective date and ending immediately before the first day of the first month that starts after the 8th anniversary of the effective date, on any tax imposed or levied under any of the following:
(a) the Hotel Room Tax Act;
(b) section 4 of the Insurance Premium Tax Act;
(c) the Motor Fuel Tax Act;
(d) the Property Transfer Tax Act;
(e) the Social Service Tax Act;
(f) the Tobacco Tax Act.
(4) Remission under subsection (2) is granted, for the period beginning on the effective date and ending immediately before the first day of the first calendar year that starts on or after the 12th anniversary of the effective date, on any tax imposed or levied under an Act other than the enactments referred to in subsection (3) and the Carbon Tax Act.
(5) Remission under this section is granted only if the property referred to in subsection (2) (a) or (b), or the Indian in respect of the ownership, occupation, possession or use of the property referred to in subsection (2) (a) or (b), would, but for the Nisga'a Final Agreement, be exempt from taxation by reason of the applicability of section 87 of the Indian Act (Canada).
(6) Money required to be paid by the government under this section may be paid out of the consolidated revenue fund.
20 (1) The Treasury Board may make regulations requiring persons who owe or are liable to pay money to the government to pay interest on the money at a rate the Treasury Board prescribes.
(2) A rate prescribed under subsection (1) may be general or specific, and the interest is recoverable as a debt due to the government.
(3) Regulations made under this section do not apply to any case where another Act requires or authorizes the imposition of interest on money owed to the government.
21 (1) Money must not be paid out of the consolidated revenue fund without the authority of an appropriation.
(2) Money required to be spent, loaned, invested or dealt with under section 4.2, 14 (2), 16, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 27 (1) (c), (c.1) and (d), 36, 37, 40, 43 or 44, 56.1, 69 or 74 may be paid out of the consolidated revenue fund without any appropriation other than this subsection.
(3) If a Supply Act and another Act each contain an appropriation for the same purpose, money must not be paid out under the other Act unless the amount appropriated by the Supply Act has been exhausted.
(4) An authorization or direction under any Act to make a payment out of the consolidated revenue fund is deemed to include the authority to make an expenditure.
22 (1) Money must not be paid from trust funds except in accordance with an enactment or the trust, instrument or other authority by which the money is held as trust funds.
(2) Money received for another person may be paid out to that person subject to any applicable Act and to directives of the Treasury Board.
(3) Money received by the government as a deposit to ensure the doing of any act or thing must be held or disposed of in accordance with any directive of the Minister of Finance.
23 (1) [Repealed 2000-23-34.]
(2) A sum appropriated by a Supply Act must not be spent for any purpose other than those described in the estimates of revenue and expenditure, or in excess of the amounts contained in the estimates of revenue and expenditure.
(3) If a vote in the estimates of revenue and expenditure that is approved by the Legislature shows an item as a credit or a recovery, the vote is deemed to authorize expenditures equal to the aggregate of
(a) the amount appropriated,
(b) the estimated credits or recoveries set out in the details related to that appropriation, and
(c) unless otherwise directed by the Treasury Board, the amount by which the credits or recoveries actually payable to or received by the government exceed the estimated credits or recoveries set out in the details related to that appropriation.
(4) An amount allocated by an appropriation in a Supply Act may be spent for any activity or standard object of expenditure that is within the general purposes of the appropriation.
(5) The Treasury Board may, by directive, limit the circumstances in which or specify conditions under which subsection (4) applies.
(6) to (8) [Repealed 1997-4-4.]
(9) If a Supply Act appropriates an amount for recoverable disbursements required for a purpose referred to in the estimates of revenue and expenditure, the appropriation is deemed to authorize the expenditure equal to the aggregate of
(a) the amount appropriated, and
(b) unless otherwise directed by the Treasury Board, the amount by which the receipts actually payable to or received by the government exceed the estimated receipts set out in the details related to that appropriation.
24 (1) In this section:
"appropriate minister" means, in relation to
(a) an Act or a ministry, the minister charged with its administration,
(b) an appropriation, the minister who has charge of the appropriation, or
(c) any other matter,
(i) the minister in whose portfolio the matter falls in the usual course of government business, or
(ii) in any case where there is doubt, the minister specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council,
and "appropriate minister" includes a minister acting in the place of the appropriate minister, but does not include a deputy minister.
(2) If, while the Legislative Assembly is not in session,
(a) during a general election of the members of the Legislative Assembly, and for the ensuing period ending 90 days after the first post-election appointment of the Executive Council, a matter arises for which an expenditure is required, or
(b) a natural disaster occurs in relation to which an expenditure is required and the expenditure is not provided for or insufficiently provided for and is urgently and immediately required for the public good,
the Lieutenant Governor in Council,
(c) on the report of the appropriate minister that there is no appropriation for the expenditure or that the appropriation is exhausted or insufficient, and that the expenditure is urgently and immediately required for the public good, and
(d) on the recommendation of Treasury Board,
may order a special warrant to be prepared for the signature of the Lieutenant Governor authorizing the payment of an amount the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary out of the consolidated revenue fund.
(2.1) [Repealed 2001-29-31.]
(3) For the purpose of subsection (2), the Legislative Assembly is not in session if it is prorogued or dissolved, or is adjourned following a resolution to adjourn for an indefinite period or for a period that exceeds 7 days.
(4) If a special warrant is issued under this section in respect of an expenditure for which there is no appropriation, the special warrant is deemed to be an appropriation for the fiscal year in which the warrant is issued.
(5) If a special warrant is issued under this section in respect of an expenditure where an appropriation for that expenditure is exhausted or insufficient, the special warrant must be added to and is deemed to be part of the appropriation for the fiscal year in which the warrant is issued.
(6) The amount appropriated by a special warrant must be submitted to the Legislative Assembly as part of the next ensuing Supply Bill.
25 (1) If under an Act, agreement or undertaking
(a) money is payable to the government, or
(b) money has been received by the government
for the purpose of, or as a contribution towards, expenditures to be made by the government, a minister responsible for the Act, agreement or undertaking may, unless otherwise directed by the Treasury Board, authorize payment for those government expenditures out of the consolidated revenue fund of an amount equal to the amount payable to or received by the government.
(2) A statement for each fiscal year of authorizations under this section, in a form directed by the Treasury Board, must be included in the public accounts for that fiscal year.
26 (1) Money appropriated for a fiscal year must not be paid out after the end of the fiscal year except as permitted by subsection (2).
(2) After the end of a fiscal year a payment may be made from an appropriation to discharge a liability incurred before the end of the fiscal year if the liability is recorded by the Comptroller General in accordance with the government's accounting policies as established by the Treasury Board.
(3) If the liabilities recorded for an appropriation under subsection (2) exceed the unexpended balance of the appropriation at the end of the fiscal year, the excess
(a) may be charged against a suitable appropriation for the following fiscal year, and
(b) must be reported in the public accounts for the fiscal year in which the expenditure occurred.
27 (1) The Treasury Board may do one or more of the following:
(a) by directive, control or limit expenditure under any appropriation;
(b) by directive, subject to any limitations stated in the appropriation, set conditions for any kind of expenditure under an appropriation;
(c) make regulations to provide that interest at a rate prescribed in the regulations is payable under prescribed conditions on money owing by the government;
(c.1) make regulations establishing the terms and conditions for the provision by the government of vehicles for official or personal use by members of the Executive Council;
(d) make regulations establishing amounts or allowances, to be paid out of an appropriation, for the reasonable out-of-pocket, travelling and other expenses incurred by
(i) despite section 7 of the Members' Remuneration and Pensions Act, members of the Legislative Assembly
(A) acting as a member of a board, council, commission, body or other entity created or established by the Executive Council,
(B) attending or acting in an official capacity at a meeting, conference, task force, committee, visitation, function or work on any project if designated to do so by a minister on behalf of the Executive Council, or
(C) acting as members of the Executive Council or as parliamentary secretaries, and
(ii) other persons in relation to the discharge of official duties.
(1.1) A regulation under subsection (1) (d) may
(a) establish different amounts or allowances for different persons or circumstances, and
(b) establish amounts or allowances by reference to a directive of the Treasury Board.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) empowers the Treasury Board to
(a) change the terms or conditions of a security, or
(b) limit expenditure under an appropriation if the expenditure is required
(i) to honour an obligation of the government under a financial agreement described in Part 9, a commodity derivative as defined in Part 9.1, a security, a guarantee or an indemnity, or
(ii) to make a payment authorized under the Crown Proceeding Act.
28 (1) An agreement or undertaking of any kind providing for the payment of money by the government must not be entered into if it would result in an expenditure in the then current fiscal year in excess of an appropriation for that fiscal year.
(2) It is a term of every agreement providing for the payment of money by the government that payment of money that becomes due under the agreement is subject to an appropriation being available for that agreement in the fiscal year when the payment falls due.
(3) The Treasury Board may, by directive, set conditions to be observed before agreements or undertakings providing for the payment of money by the government are entered into.
29 If a payment under an agreement is withheld, the payment may, subject to this Act, be charged to the appropriation for that agreement, and credited to a special account in the consolidated revenue fund, to be dealt with in accordance with the enactment or agreement under which it is withheld and with directives of the Treasury Board, and money so credited must remain available for that purpose even though the fiscal year during which it was credited has ended.
30 (1) In this section:
"account" means the Insurance and Risk Management Account continued under subsection (2);
"participants" means
(a) government bodies,
(b) ministries, and
(c) persons or public authorities, or classes of persons or public authorities, designated by regulation;
"regulations" means regulations made under subsection (8).
(2) The Insurance and Risk Management Account is continued as a special account for the purpose of providing insurance or risk management services, or both, to participants or for the benefit of participants.
(3) The government may, subject to the regulations,
(a) enter into agreements or make arrangements with participants, and
(b) enter into agreements for the benefit of participants
respecting insurance and risk management services to be provided in relation to the account.
(4) The following must be paid into the account:
(a) earnings of the account;
(b) amounts paid by or in respect of participants under agreements or arrangements made under subsection (3);
(c) amounts required to be paid under the regulations;
(d) amounts appropriated for the account by a Supply Act.
(5) The following may be paid out of the consolidated revenue fund:
(a) amounts payable out of the account by the government in respect of an agreement or arrangement made under subsection (3);
(b) amounts required to be paid out of the account in accordance with the regulations.
(6) If an amount to be paid under subsection (5) is less than the balance in the account, it must be paid out of the account.
(7) If an amount to be paid under subsection (5) is greater than the balance in the account, the balance of the account must be paid out and the difference must be recorded as a deficit against the account.
(8) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:
(a) designating a person or public authority, or a class of persons or public authorities, as a participant;
(b) designating persons who may enter into agreements or make arrangements under subsection (3) on behalf of the government;
(c) respecting the terms and conditions under which an agreement or arrangement may be made under subsection (3);
(d) respecting amounts required to be paid into the account under subsection (4) or out of the account under subsection (5);
(e) respecting payments made under subsection (5) in the circumstances referred to in subsection (7).
(9) If a designation is made under subsection (8) (b), it may be a designation of a person by name or a designation of a title or office and, if a title or office is designated, the designation applies to every person holding or appointed to that title or office while that person holds that title or office.
31 Each minister must establish and maintain, as directed by the Treasury Board, records of commitments chargeable to each appropriation of which he or she has charge.
32 An expenditure from an appropriation
(a) must be a lawful charge against the appropriation,
(b) must not result in an expenditure in excess of the appropriation, and
(c) must not reduce the balance available in the appropriation so that it would be insufficient to meet the commitments that are chargeable against it.
32.1 (1) The following persons may authorize an expenditure from an appropriation:
(a) a minister or deputy minister;
(b) an officer of the Legislature within the meaning of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act;
(c) a person to whom this authority is delegated by a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) in accordance with directives of the Treasury Board, subject to any limits and conditions established by the delegation;
(d) a person given this authority by a directive of the Treasury Board, subject to any limits and conditions established by the directive.
(2) The authority of a person referred to in subsection (1) (a) or (b) extends only to expenditures from an appropriation for that part of the public service of which the person has charge.
(3) Before giving an expenditure authorization under subsection (1), the person must be satisfied that the expenditure will not contravene section 32.
(4) An expenditure authorization under subsection (1) may be given by written or electronic signature.
33 (1) In this section:
"deliverable" includes any thing, service, interest or benefit provided or to be provided;
"payment condition" means a condition that must be met before a payment is made, regardless of whether the condition is established by an agreement, an enactment or some other means.
(2) A payment must not be made out of an appropriation unless
(a) the expenditure to which the payment relates is authorized under section 32.1,
(b) the payment complies with any applicable Treasury Board directives,
(c) in the case of a payment for which there is a payment condition, the payment condition has been met, and
(d) in the case of a payment relating to the provision of a deliverable, the requirements of either subsection (3) or (4) are met.
(3) Under this subsection, the payment may be made if
(a) the deliverable has been provided, and
(b) the price charged or amount to be paid
(i) is in accordance with an agreement under which the deliverable was provided, or
(ii) if this is not specified by agreement, is reasonable.
(4) Under this subsection, the payment may be made if
(a) the deliverable has not yet been provided,
(b) the deliverable is to be provided under an agreement, and
(c) the payment is in accordance with the agreement.
(5) This section does not apply to the allocation of a non-cash expense.
33.1 (1) This section applies to expenditures and payments from trust funds to the extent that it is not in conflict with the trust, instrument or other authority by which the money is held as trust funds.
(2) The following persons may authorize an expenditure from a trust fund:
(a) the trustee;
(b) a person to whom this authority is delegated by the trustee, subject to any limits and conditions established by the delegation.
(3) Before giving an expenditure authorization under subsection (2), the person must be satisfied that the expenditure is in accordance with the trust.
(4) An expenditure authorization under subsection (2) may be given by written or electronic signature.
(5) Section 33 applies to a trust fund, subject to the following:
(a) the reference in section 33 (2) (a) to section 32.1 is to be read as a reference to this section;
(b) section 33 (2) (b) does not apply.
33.2 In addition to any other duty to report respecting such a matter, every person who is a member of the public service has an obligation to report to the Comptroller General if the person considers that
(a) an expenditure is or is about to be authorized in contravention of section 32.1 or 33.1, or
(b) a payment is or is about to be made in contravention of section 33 or 33.1.
34 (1) If, after receiving information under section 33.2 or otherwise, the Comptroller General considers that an expenditure or proposed expenditure does not comply with this or any other enactment, he or she may order
(a) that the expenditure is not authorized, and
(b) that payments relating to the expenditure may not be made after the date of the order.
(2) If, after receiving information under section 33.2 or otherwise, the Comptroller General considers that a proposed payment does not comply with this or any other enactment, he or she may order that the payment may not be made.
(3) At the request of a person referred to in section 32.1 (1) (a) or (b) or section 33.1 (2) (a), the Comptroller General must
(a) give written reasons for an order under subsection (1) or (2), and
(b) send a copy of the reasons to the Treasury Board.
(4) At the request of a person referred to in subsection (3), the Treasury Board may
(a) review an order of the Comptroller General under this section that relates to an expenditure for which the person is responsible, and
(b) either
(i) confirm the Comptroller General's order, or
(ii) on the certificate of the Attorney General that the expenditure or payment would not contravene any enactment, direct that the expenditure be authorized or the payment be made, subject to conditions the Treasury Board specifies.
(5) On receiving a request from the Comptroller General for direction respecting the authority for an expenditure or payment, the Treasury Board may order
(a) that the expenditure is authorized or that it is not authorized, or
(b) that the payment may be made, that the payment may be made subject to conditions specified by the Treasury Board or that the payment may not be made.
35 By August 31 in each year, the Comptroller General must deliver to the Treasury Board and to the Auditor General a summary statement respecting the previous fiscal year, indicating the circumstances in which
(a) he or she has been overruled by the Treasury Board under section 34 (4),
(b) more money has been spent than was appropriated,
(c) a payment has been made for a purpose not authorized by the appropriation, unless the payment was recovered before the end of the fiscal year,
(d) an expenditure or payment has been made without proper authorization under section 32.1, 33 or 33.1, or
(e) an expenditure or payment has been made that in his or her opinion is in any other way materially irregular or unlawful.
36 Subject to directives of the Treasury Board, an advance may be made out of the consolidated revenue fund to prepay expenses that will be charged against an appropriation, other than this section, in the current or a future fiscal year.
37 If a person has received public money to be applied to any purpose, and has not applied it to that purpose within the time or in the way required, the Minister of Finance may demand repayment, and the money may be recovered from the person as a debt due to the government, and an equal sum may in the meantime be applied to the purpose to which the money ought to have been applied.
38 The Treasury Board may, by directive, authorize the Comptroller General to retain money by way of set-off, out of any money due or payable to a person by the government or out of a trust fund, if
(a) that person owes money to the government,
(b) an overpayment has been made by the government to that person, or
(c) an advance made to that person under section 36 has not been repaid or accounted for.
39 Payments from the consolidated revenue fund and trust funds must be made in a form, authenticated in a way and issued from a place directed by the Minister of Finance, and may be made by
(a) cheque or other banking instrument, or
(b) another method approved by the Treasury Board.
40 (1) The Minister of Finance may invest money of the consolidated revenue fund not immediately required for payments.
(2) If an asset that is an investment, other than an investment authorized under subsection (1), is transferred to the general fund from the British Columbia Endowment Fund, the Minister of Finance may retain that investment in the general fund until it matures or is otherwise realized.
(3) If an investment described in subsection (2) carries with it investment rights or obligations of any kind, the Minister of Finance may
(a) exercise those rights or fulfill those obligations,
(b) retain investments in the general fund acquired through the exercise of those rights or the fulfillment of those obligations, and
(c) exercise any further rights or fulfill any further obligations, and retain any further investments in the general fund, that may be acquired or incurred under this subsection.
(4) Subject to any terms and conditions the Minister of Finance considers advisable and subject to the regulations of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, if money of a trust fund is not immediately required for payments, it may be invested by the person having authority to invest the money as permitted under the provisions of the Trustee Act respecting the investment of trust property by a trustee.
(5) Despite any other enactment, a person who has authority to invest money of a trust fund, special fund or other fund, other public money or money of a government body or designated institution may, with the agreement of the Minister of Finance, place the money with that minister, as agent of the person, for investment.
(6) When investing any money other than under subsection (4), the Minister of Finance must exercise the care, skill, diligence and judgment that a prudent investor would exercise in making investments.
(7) and (8) [Repealed 2002-33-6.]
(9) Subject to the regulations of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, if the Minister of Finance acquires securities through the exercise of an authority under this section or section 43 or 44 to invest the money of a trust fund, special fund or other fund, other public money or the money of a government body or designated institution, that minister may loan the securities if the loan is secured by collateral security satisfactory to that minister.
(10) For the purposes of this section and sections 43 and 44,
(a) if this section, section 43 or 44 or any other enactment gives the authority to make an investment,
(i) the authority is deemed to include the authority to make a loan if the loan is secured by anything in which the money could be invested under this section, and
(ii) provisions in this Act or any other enactment, as they apply to the investment, apply to a loan referred to in subparagraph (i),
(b) if this section, section 43 or 44 or any other enactment gives the authority to make an investment or loan,
(i) the authority is deemed to include the authority to acquire a right or interest in the investment or loan, and
(ii) provisions in this Act or any other enactment, as they apply to the investment or loan, apply to a right or interest referred to in subparagraph (i), and
(c) if this section, section 43 or 44 or any other enactment gives the authority to make an investment, the authority is deemed to include the power to invest in securities that are obligations of or guaranteed by the government.
(11) Nothing in this section requires the disposition of investments or loans that were lawfully made.
41 (1) The functions of the investment management corporation are to perform and exercise the following:
(a) investment powers, duties and functions of the Minister of Finance designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council in respect of trust funds, funds of government bodies and funds of designated institutions;
(b) powers, duties and functions of the Minister of Finance that are delegated by that minister in respect of funds other than those funds referred to in paragraph (a).
(2) If a power, duty or function is designated under subsection (1), the power, duty or function may no longer be exercised or performed by the Minister of Finance.
43 (1) Subject to the regulations, the Minister of Finance may establish and operate pooled investment portfolios in which the money from trust funds, special funds or other funds, other public money and the money of government bodies and designated institutions may be combined in common for the purpose of investment by means of investment units of participation in a pooled investment portfolio.
(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations respecting pooled investment portfolios, including regulations that
(a) empower the Minister of Finance to exercise, with respect to pooled investment portfolios, those powers that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary or advisable, including the power, subject to subsection (5), to require that money of a trust fund, special fund or other fund, other public money and money of a government body be placed with that minister for investment in one or more pooled investment portfolios, and
(b) establish systems or rules for regulating and determining what interest or share in a pooled investment portfolio is attributable to the general fund, to a trust fund, special fund or other fund, to other public money or to a government body or designated institution.
(3) Subject to subsections (5) and (6), if the Minister of Finance has the authority to invest money, that minister may invest the money in a pooled investment portfolio.
(4) The costs and expenses incurred by the Minister of Finance under section 44 (5) in operating or administering a pooled investment portfolio may be paid directly from the portfolio.
(5) The Minister of Finance must not invest or require the investment of the money of a government body in a pooled investment portfolio unless
(a) a power to invest money of the government body is conferred on that minister under another Act or another section of this Act,
(b) that minister is empowered to act as a trustee of or for a sinking fund in relation to the money, or
(c) the government body places the money with that minister with the request that it be invested in a pooled investment portfolio.
(6) If money to be invested in a pooled investment portfolio is subject to a restriction or condition on investments or loans, or both, that is established under an enactment, the money must only be invested in a pooled investment portfolio that is confined to the permitted investments or loans, or both.
(7) Subsections (1) to (6) apply despite any other enactment or any other section of this Act.
(8) Money in a pooled investment portfolio may be invested in another pooled investment portfolio if the other pooled investment portfolio is confined to permitted investments or loans, or both, for the money invested in the pooled investment portfolio making the investment in the other pooled investment portfolio.
(9) Despite any attribution rules established by regulation under subsection (2) (b), if money invested in a pooled investment portfolio is subject to a restriction, limit or condition on permitted investments or loans, or both, and that restriction, limit or condition requires calculation of the value of a specific class of investments or loans, or both, that amount in respect of the money invested in the pooled investment portfolio must be calculated as the product of
(a) the percentage of the total investment units of participation in the pooled investment portfolio at the time of the calculation that are units held by the source of the money subject to the restriction, limit or condition, and
(b) the book value of the assets of the pooled investment portfolio that are within the specific class of investments or loans, or both.
(10) If the money of a pooled investment portfolio is invested in another pooled investment portfolio, the product of
(a) the percentage of the total investment units of participation in the other pooled investment portfolio at the time of the calculation that are units held by the investing pooled investment portfolio, and
(b) the book value of the assets in the other pooled investment portfolio that are within the specific class of investments or loans, or both,
must be included, for the purposes of subsection (9) (b), in the book value of the assets of the investing pooled investment portfolio making the investment in the other pooled investment portfolio.
44 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations considered necessary or advisable to
(a) facilitate the investment and lending of money from, and the lending of securities of, trust funds, special funds or other funds, other public money and money of government bodies and designated institutions, and
(b) regulate the investing and lending of money and the lending of securities under sections 40 and 43 and this section.
(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, appoint a committee to advise that minister on policies respecting the exercise of the powers under sections 40 and 43 and this section and on other matters related to investments and loans.
(3) The Minister of Finance must prepare a report of the investment portfolio of the government, including loans made under sections 40 and 43 and this section, for each fiscal year to be laid before the Legislative Assembly at the same time as the public accounts.
(4) If the Minister of Finance holds an investment or loan under sections 40 or 43 or this section, that minister may
(a) dispose of the investment or loan, and
(b) exchange the investment or loan for another investment or loan permitted for the source of the money.
(5) If the Minister of Finance is authorized to make an investment or loan, or both, that minister may
(a) do all things necessary or advisable for the purpose of making, continuing, exchanging or disposing of the investment or loan, including buying and selling currency on a current or future delivery basis,
(b) authorize
(i) a person to exercise that minister's powers to make, continue, exchange or dispose of the investment or loan,
(ii) a person to administer the investment or loan, and
(iii) a person, or that person's nominee, to hold the investment or loan, in the case of money in a trust fund, in trust for that minister and the trustees and, in other cases, in trust for that minister,
subject to any restrictions, limits or conditions that that minister may impose, and
(c) enter into an agreement with a person under which the person provides one or more of the services referred to in paragraph (b).
(6) If money, other than money of a trust fund, is placed with the Minister of Finance under the authority of section 40 (5), the money does not, solely by reason of the placement, become money of a trust fund.
(7) If
(a) money from a trust fund, special fund or pooled investment portfolio is invested or loaned, and
(b) interest earnings or proceeds from an exchange or disposition in respect of the trust fund, special fund or pooled investment portfolio are paid into the general fund,
the interest earnings or proceeds may, subject to any other Act, be transferred to the appropriate trust fund, special fund or pooled investment portfolio.
(8) If an investment or loan is made in a pooled investment portfolio, subsection (7) must not be construed as attributing any specific share of interest earnings or proceeds from the investment or loan, as the case may be, to the general fund, to a government body or designated institution or to a specific trust fund, special fund or other fund.
(9) The Minister of Finance must not, under section 40 or 43 or this section,
(a) invest or loan money, loan securities or delegate that minister's authority respecting investments or loans contrary to
(i) any express requirement or restriction of a trust to which that money is subject, and
(ii) any requirement or restriction existing with respect to that money by reason of any provision of a bond or other security issued by the government, or by reason of any other term or condition of a loan to the government, and
(b) make a loan that is not a loan for the purpose of providing a financial benefit to the source of the money for the loan.
(10) A person who has the authority to invest or loan the money of a trust fund must invest or loan the money in the best interests of the trust fund.
(11) If an investment or loan is made by the Minister of Finance or by a person authorized under subsection (5) (b), the interest of that minister in the investment or loan, as the case may be,
(a) does not, of itself, invalidate any decision, order or other action of a public officer or other person acting on behalf of the government that relates directly or indirectly to the investment or loan, and
(b) must not be taken into consideration by a public officer or other person acting on behalf of the government except in relation to investments or loans made under the authority of section 40 or 43 or this section.
(12) Except with respect to powers, duties and functions designated under section 41 (1) (a), any delegation or direction issued by the Minister of Finance with respect to an investment or loan must be in writing and, in the case of a delegation or direction relating to an investment or loan of a trust fund, a copy of the delegation or direction must be provided to the trustees of that trust fund.
45 (1) A power under an enactment to make loans, advances or direct equity investments from the consolidated revenue fund, despite any other enactment, must not be exercised by the government except by order of or in accordance with directives of the Lieutenant Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the powers given by section 36, 40 or 54.
46 (1) A disposition or loan of public property must not be made to any person without authorization under this or another Act.
(2) The Treasury Board may issue directives authorizing and governing
(a) the acquisition of property by the government, and
(b) the disposition or loan of public property.
(3) A minister must maintain adequate records, in accordance with directives of the Treasury Board, in relation to public property for which his or her ministry is responsible and must comply with directives of the Treasury Board governing the custody and control of public property.
47 (1) If a service or the use of property is provided by the government to any person, the Minister of Finance may by directive set a fee or charge to be paid by the person to whom the service or the use of the property is provided.
(2) This section does not apply if another enactment provides for a fee or charge for the service or use of the property.
(3) Subsection (1) applies whether or not there is an obligation on the government to provide the service or use of the property.
(4) The Minister of Finance may deduct from
(a) the general fund,
(b) special funds,
(c) trust funds, and
(d) any other funds in respect of which management services are provided by the Ministry of Finance,
a management fee, as prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, based substantially on the reasonable costs of managing the funds.
(5) The Minister of Finance may deduct from
(a) trust funds, and
(b) any other funds, except the general fund or special funds, in respect of which financial services, other than management services, are provided by the Ministry of Finance,
a financial services fee, as prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, based substantially on the reasonable costs of providing the financial services.
(6) The Minister of Finance may deduct from
(a) the general fund, or
(b) special funds,
a financial services fee, as the Minister of Finance may approve, based substantially on the reasonable costs of providing the financial services.
50 Money must not be borrowed and a security must not be issued by the government without the authority of this or another Act.
51 (1) Subject to subsection (5), the government may borrow money in any currency for the benefit of the government, including, without limitation, for all of the following purposes:
(a) the efficient management of the consolidated revenue fund;
(b) the investment of money for the benefit of the government in investments authorized under section 40 (6);
(c) repaying any securities issued or assumed by the government that are maturing, have been called for redemption, or are otherwise repayable;
(d) making a disbursement lawfully authorized to be made from the consolidated revenue fund.
(2) Subject to subsection (5), the government may borrow money in any currency for the purpose of lending money to government bodies.
(3) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may authorize the Minister of Finance to borrow money on behalf of the government under this or any other Act.
(4) In an authorization under subsection (3), the Lieutenant Governor in Council
(a) must establish a maximum amount in accordance with section 53.1, and
(b) may establish other restrictions, limits or conditions on borrowing money under the authorization.
(5) The government may not borrow money under the authority of this or another Act
(a) without an authorization of the Lieutenant Governor in Council under subsection (3),
(b) in excess of the maximum amount established under subsection (4) (a), or
(c) contrary to any restrictions, limits or conditions established under subsection (4) (b).
(6) If this or another Act authorizes the government to borrow money, the Minister of Finance may on behalf of the government, and subject to subsection (5), borrow the money, determine the currency and other terms and conditions of the borrowing, effect the issue and sale of any securities and make other arrangements for the borrowing, including, without limitation,
(a) make arrangements for any listing of securities on a securities or other exchange,
(b) make arrangements with depositories, custodians, their agents or any other persons for the delivery and holding of securities,
(c) effect the issue of warrants, receipts, coupons, talons or other rights or instruments attached or relating to securities,
(d) enter into any of the following agreements or instruments:
(i) underwriting, agency, loan, credit or other similar agreements with investment dealers, financial institutions or other persons;
(ii) agreements appointing or setting the terms and conditions and remuneration of fiscal agents, registrars and transfer agents as described in section 66 (2) and (3);
(iii) agreements appointing and setting the terms and conditions and remuneration of paying agents, exchange rate agents, calculation agents or other agents;
(iv) trust deeds, deed polls or other similar instruments constituting or relating to securities;
(v) agreements or instruments appointing agents to accept legal process in foreign jurisdictions in relation to borrowings by the government in those jurisdictions;
(vi) any other agreements or instruments related to the borrowing or the issue of securities,
(e) prepare, update, file or deliver any registration statement, prospectus, information memorandum, offering circular or other document necessary or advisable with respect to the borrowing or the issue of securities,
(f) apply for exemptions from registration, requirements of securities or other exchanges or other requirements,
(g) make arrangements for securities to be issued in physical, book-based, electronic or any other form acceptable to the Minister of Finance, and
(h) make other arrangements specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
(7) The Minister of Finance may, for the benefit of the government or government bodies, make arrangements with financial institutions for overdrafts and, for the purpose of securing any overdrafts under such an arrangement, may issue securities to the savings institution in a form, in an amount and on terms and conditions that the minister considers appropriate.
(8) The Minister of Finance may, for the purpose of facilitating the borrowing of money by the government under this or another Act,
(a) make arrangements with financial institutions, investment dealers or other persons for the establishment and maintenance of borrowing programs and credit facilities, or
(b) make application to, and comply with the requirements of, the applicable regulatory authorities for registration of securities in jurisdictions where registration of issues of securities by the government is necessary or advisable.
53 (1) Subject to subsection (4), the government may lend money in any currency to government bodies.
(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may authorize the Minister of Finance to make loans on behalf of the government to government bodies under this or another Act.
(3) In an authorization under subsection (2), the Lieutenant Governor in Council
(a) must establish a maximum amount in accordance with section 53.1, and
(b) may establish other restrictions, limits or conditions on the lending of money under the authorization.
(4) The government may not lend money to government bodies under the authority of this or another Act
(a) without an authorization of the Lieutenant Governor in Council under subsection (2),
(b) contrary to any restrictions, limits or conditions on the borrowing authority of government bodies unless permitted by section 53 (5) or 54 (6),
(c) in excess of the maximum amount established under subsection (3) (a), or
(d) contrary to any restrictions, limits or conditions established under subsection (3) (b).
(5) If a loan to a government body is authorized under subsection (2), any approval or determination by the Lieutenant Governor in Council or the Minister of Finance that any other Act requires respecting borrowing by the government body is not required with respect to that loan.
53.1 In establishing a maximum amount under section 51 (4) (a) or 53 (3) (a), the Lieutenant Governor in Council must specify
(a) the currency of the maximum amount,
(b) a method of calculating the borrowings or loans to be applied for the purpose of comparison with the maximum amount, which method may be based on
(i) the proceeds borrowed or loaned after any specified deductions,
(ii) the aggregate principal amount of securities issued in respect of the borrowings or loans,
(iii) the amount of borrowings or loans outstanding,
(iv) any combination of methods described in subparagraphs (i) to (iii), or
(v) any other specified basis, and
(c) if borrowings or loans are authorized in currencies other than the currency in which the maximum amount has been specified, a method of calculating the equivalent in the currency in which the maximum amount has been specified of any borrowings or loans made in other currencies.
54 (1) In order to borrow money under this section, a government body must submit to the Minister of Finance a request to borrow that
(a) is in a form and contains information as required by the Minister of Finance,
(b) proposes the borrowing on terms that are within its authority to borrow and that are satisfactory to the Minister of Finance, and
(c) is made through a person who the Minister of Finance considers is authorized by the government body to make the request.
(2) If a government body submits a request in accordance with subsection (1), the Minister of Finance may, on behalf of the government, lend money to the government body substantially in accordance with the terms of the request.
(3) If this or another Act authorizes a loan by the government to a government body, the Minister of Finance may, on behalf of the government enter into agreements or make other arrangements for the loan including, without limitation,
(a) for the receipt and safekeeping of any securities issued by the government body, and
(b) as specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
(4) The Minister of Finance may pay out of the consolidated revenue fund amounts to be lent under subsection (2).
(5) If a government body makes a request under subsection (1) and then fails to borrow money substantially in accordance with the terms of the request, as determined by the Minister of Finance, the government body must reimburse the minister for any losses, as determined by the minister, suffered by the government as a result of that failure.
(6) Despite any other Act, if money is lent to a government body under subsection (2), the government body may issue a security to the government that provides for repayment, redemption, extension or exchange on demand or otherwise.
56 As soon as practicable after March 31 of each year, the Minister of Finance must lay before the Legislative Assembly a statement respecting the following:
(a) the amounts borrowed under section 51 (1) and (2) since March 31 of the previous year, together with the rate of interest or yield to the investor, and the term and currency, of each borrowing;
(b) the amounts lent to government bodies under section 54 (2) since March 31 of the previous year, together with the rate of interest or yield to the government, and the term and currency, of each loan.
56.1 (1) In this section:
"appropriate minister" means,
(a) in relation to an institution established under an Act, the minister charged with the administration of the Act, or
(b) in relation to any other institution, the minister specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council;
"institution" means
(a) a board or a francophone education authority as defined in the School Act,
(b) a university or an institution as defined in the College and Institute Act,
(c) [Repealed 2004-33-16.]
(d) the Knowledge Network Corporation continued under the Knowledge Network Corporation Act,
(e) a regional hospital district as defined in the Hospital District Act,
(f) British Columbia Transit,
(g) Rapid Transit Project 2000 Ltd., or
(h) any other organization designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
(2) The appropriate minister may make from the consolidated revenue fund a prepaid capital advance to an institution for its capital expenditures.
(3) The Minister of Finance must
(a) amortize a prepaid capital advance made under this section in accordance with accounting practices approved by the Treasury Board, and
(b) include in the estimates of revenue and expenditure for a fiscal year the estimated amount to be amortized under this section for that year.
56.2 (1) The Minister of Finance may make arrangements with financial institutions for the government to raise money, other than by borrowing, through the issue and sale of bankers' acceptances or other prescribed credit instruments.
(2) Any money raised or to be raised by the government under subsection (1) is deemed to be money borrowed or to be borrowed by the government for the purposes of section 51, 53.1 or 56.
56.3 (1) Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the government may assume debt obligations of a government body with the agreement of the government body.
(2) On the assumption by the government of debt obligations under subsection (1),
(a) the debt obligations become enforceable against the government,
(b) the government body is released from all liability for the debt obligations, and
(c) the assets of any sinking fund for the repayment of the debt obligations become the assets of the government.
(3) In this section, "debt obligations" includes parts of "debt obligations".
56.4 (1) The Minister of Finance may by directive set debt services fees to be paid by a government body relating to any of the following services provided by the government to the government body:
(a) the making or guaranteeing of loans to the government body and the management of those loans;
(b) the making and management of agreements under section 77 (1) (b);
(c) the making and management of commodity derivatives under section 79.3 (2);
(d) the management of sinking funds for repayment of loans to the government body;
(e) the provision of advice or assistance to the government body respecting the matters described in paragraphs (a) to (d) and other matters relating to the obtaining and management of credit or financing, or the acquisition or disposition of assets, by the government body;
(f) any other services provided by the Minister of Finance under Part 8, 9 or 9.1 for which no fee is payable under any other section of this Act or any other enactment.
(2) The Minister of Finance may set different debt services fees under subsection (1) for different government bodies based on their creditworthiness or other factors.
(3) If a debt services fee set under subsection (1) is for services in relation to a loan, agreement or other arrangement under which the government is to make payments to a government body, the Minister of Finance may deduct from those payments some or all of the fee then due.
56.5 (1) The Minister of Finance may do all things necessary or advisable to manage the borrowings of the government and the loans of the government made to government bodies, including, without limitation,
(a) purchase securities, in the open market or otherwise, issued by the government,
(b) retain, resell, lend or otherwise dispose or arrange for the cancellation of securities purchased under paragraph (a),
(c) acquire, in the open market or otherwise, securities issued by the government by exchanging them for securities of equivalent value or amount, as determined by the Minister of Finance, issued by the government for that purpose,
(d) issue securities on behalf of the government for the purpose of paragraph (c),
(e) if securities acquired by the government under paragraph (a) or (c) are cancelled and relate to money borrowed by the government that was loaned to government bodies, cancel or agree to amend any securities issued by government bodies and held by the government in relation to those loans,
(f) issue securities on behalf of the government to replace lost, stolen, destroyed, damaged, defaced or mutilated securities previously issued by the government, or
(g) any borrowing or loan management activities specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
(2) The Minister of Finance must arrange for cancellation of securities acquired under subsection (1) (c).
63 (1) The Minister of Finance may provide for the creation, management, application and dissolution of sinking funds, including the setting and changing of terms and conditions that will apply to those sinking funds, with respect to securities issued by the government.
(2) Where money has been or will be borrowed by a government body, the Minister of Finance may, with the prior approval of the government body, direct that
(a) a sinking fund be established for repayment of the borrowing on terms and conditions specified by the minister,
(b) no sinking fund be established for repayment of the borrowing, or
(c) if a sinking fund has already been established for repayment of the borrowing,
(i) the terms and conditions of the sinking fund be changed as specified by the minister, or
(ii) the sinking fund be dissolved and, unless this or another Act requires otherwise, the assets in the sinking fund be paid over to the government body in proportion to payments made into the fund by the government body.
(3) The Minister of Finance may certify that the assets of a sinking fund with respect to which the minister acts as trustee are sufficient to meet all payment obligations at maturity or on early redemption under the securities with respect to which the sinking fund was established.
(4) When the Minister of Finance makes a certification under subsection (3) in respect of a sinking fund
(a) all obligations to make further payments into the sinking fund are extinguished except the crediting of any earnings to the fund, and
(b) unless another Act requires otherwise, any surplus assets in the sinking fund as of the date of certification, as determined by the Minister of Finance, must be paid to the entity or entities that made the sinking fund payments in proportion to the respective amounts of their payments.
(5) When the Minister of Finance applies the assets of a sinking fund that has been certified under subsection (3) to the payments at maturity or on early redemption under the securities with respect to which the sinking fund was established,
(a) if the value of the assets in the sinking fund is greater than the amount of the payments to be made in respect of the securities, the government is entitled to the surplus, and
(b) if the value of the assets in the sinking fund is less than the amount of the payments to be made in respect of the securities, the government must pay out of the consolidated revenue fund the amount of the deficiency and apply it to making the payments required by the securities.
(6) Subsections (2) to (5) and (7) apply despite any other Act but are subject to the provisions of any securities requiring payments into a sinking fund.
(7) The assets in a sinking fund established under this or any other Act for repayment of a borrowing by a government body from the government are not subject to any process of garnishment, attachment, execution or seizure by a creditor of the government body.
65 (1) Subject to subsection (2), securities issued by the government must be signed by the Minister of Finance, the Deputy Minister of Finance or another person designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and the securities must be countersigned by
(a) an officer of the Ministry of Finance, or
(b) another person
designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
(2) The following rights or instruments issued by the government must be signed in accordance with subsection (1) but are not required to be countersigned:
(a) coupons, talons, receipts or warrants;
(b) any other rights or instruments attached or relating to securities that are designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council for the purposes of this section.
(3) If a designation is made under subsection (1), it may be a designation of a person by the person's name or it may be a designation of a title or office and, if a title or office is designated, the designation applies to every person holding or appointed to that title or office while the person holds that title or office, including in an acting capacity.
(4) The engraved, lithographed, printed or electronic signature of a person required to execute a security under this section is for all purposes the signature of that person and is binding on the government even though the person whose signature is reproduced may not have held office at the date of the securities or at the date of the delivery of them.
(5) Securities issued by the government are not required to bear the seal of the ministry described in section 5.
(6) For the purposes of this Part, the rights and instruments described in subsection (2) are deemed to be securities.
66 (1) The Minister of Finance is the fiscal agent of the government for the purpose of borrowing by the government under this or another Act and for the purpose of all other activities of the government described in this Part, and as fiscal agent that minister may arrange all details and do, transact and execute all deeds, matters and things necessary or advisable for the government to borrow or engage in those activities.
(2) The Minister of Finance may appoint additional persons to act as fiscal agents for the purposes referred to in subsection (1) and may enter into agreements setting their remuneration and containing the terms and conditions of their appointment.
(3) The Minister of Finance may appoint one or more registrars or transfer agents to perform services in respect of the registration or transfer of securities issued by the government and may enter into agreements setting their remuneration and containing the terms and conditions of their appointment.
67 A person employed in the inscription, registration, transfer, management or redemption of securities issued by the government, or in the payment of any dividend or interest on them, is not bound to see to the execution of a trust, express or implied, to which the securities are subject, and is not liable for anything done by the person in accordance with this Act or the regulations.
69 Money required for any of the following purposes must be paid out of the consolidated revenue fund unless the payment is made from a sinking fund or by other means of repayment:
(a) to pay interest on securities issued or assumed by the government;
(b) to provide and maintain a sinking fund or other means of ensuring the repayment of securities issued or assumed by the government;
(c) to redeem or repay the principal amount of securities issued or assumed by the government;
(d) to pay a premium in connection with the redemption or repayment of securities issued or assumed by the government;
(e) for the remuneration and compensation of fiscal agents, registrars, transfer agents and other agents whose services are engaged in connection with any matter related to securities issued or assumed by the government;
(f) for all costs, expenses and charges incurred in relation to borrowings by the government or in the issue, redemption, repurchase, servicing, payment and management of borrowings by the government and of securities issued in respect of those borrowings;
(g) to purchase securities of the government under section 56.5 (1) (a);
(h) to make payments required by arrangements made for overdrafts under section 51 (7) or bankers' acceptances and other prescribed credit instruments under section 56.2;
(i) to pay the fees and other charges relating to registration with the applicable regulatory authorities or listing of securities of the government on securities or other exchanges.
70 (1) The Minister of Finance must maintain a system of books and records for all of the following purposes:
(a) showing all money authorized by the Legislature to be borrowed by the government;
(b) containing a description and record of all money borrowed and all securities issued;
(c) showing all amounts paid in respect of