B.C.'s Ministry of Finance has introduced new legislation that it says will do a better job of protecting investors and aligning the province's financial services sector with regulations under the Trade, Investment, and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) between B.C. and Alberta.
TILMA came into effect last April.
The agreement is aimed at reducing and eliminating barriers to the movement of workers, goods, services and investments between the two provinces.
Finance Minster Colin Hansen introduced Bill 5 (the Finance Statutes Amendment Act) on Tuesday.
The new legislation proposes amending a number of laws in B.C.
Amendments to the Business Corporations Act, the Cooperative Association Act and the Partnership Act are designed to improve regulation-making powers for filing registry records. They will also enable one-stop filing for Alberta and B.C. enterprises doing business in both provinces.
Licensing requirements in the Financial Institutions Act are to be amended so that insurance companies located outside of B.C. will require a licence if they insure property or persons based in B.C., unless an exemption applies.
The B.C. registrar of mortgage brokers is to have new powers to protect consumers and take action against non-compliant mortgage brokers, including those from Alberta.
Amendments to the Securities Act will provide a legislative framework to govern the Canadian Public Accountability Board's (CPAB) supervision of auditors of public companies. The amendments will also permit the B.C. Securities Commission to oversee the CPAB.
Amendments to the Business Number Act are to enable the Office of the Comptroller General to use a single business number system to verify the identity of suppliers and the accuracy of their payment information.