Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and
House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:
Short title
1. This
Act may be cited as the Public Bodies Reporting
Act.
Definitions
2. In
this Act
(a) "compensation"
means any consideration or remuneration, regardless of its nature or form,
including base salary, retainers, benefits, bonuses, allowances, travelling and
living expenses, honorariums and severance paid, payable or provided, directly
or indirectly, to or for the benefit of a person who performs duties and
functions that entitle the person to be paid;
(b) "directive"
means a directive issued under the authority of section 5;
(c) "employee" includes a person
retained under a contract to perform services for the public body;
(d) "minister"
means the minister appointed under the Executive
Council Act to administer this Act;
(e) "organizational structure" means a reporting
structure in a public body, the employees in that reporting structure and the
duties assigned to those employees;
(f) "personal information" means
personal information as defined in the Access
to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015; and
(g) "public
body" includes
(i) a corporation, the ownership of which or a
majority of the shares of which is vested in the Crown and its subsidiaries,
(ii) a corporation, board, commission or other body
(A) the majority of the members of which, or a
majority of the members of the board of directors of which, are appointed by an
Act, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council or a minister, or
(B) established by or continued under an Act of
the Province
but does not include a court established
under an Act of the province.
Act prevails
3. In the event of a
conflict between a provision of this Act or the regulations and a provision of
any other Act or regulations, other than the Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act, 2015 and the Personal
Health Information Act, this Act and the regulations prevail, unless
otherwise stated in this Act.
Crown bound
4. This Act binds the Crown.
Ministerial directives
5. (1) The
minister may issue a directive to a public body requiring the public body to do
one or more of the following:
(a) provide
information and documents to the minister regarding
(i) employment and related agreements between the public body and one or
more of its employees,
(ii) compensation
policies, plans, guidelines, programs and reports relating to the public body,
(iii) the current and projected organizational
structure and human resource requirements of the public body,
(iv) the current and projected retirement
eligibility of employees, and
(v) any other information and documents the
minister determines necessary for the purpose of this Act and the regulations;
(b) conduct an analysis of the information and
documents provided under paragraph (a) and any related information and
documents; or
(c) submit reports to the minister regarding
compliance with this Act and the regulations.
(2) A
public body shall comply with a directive in the form, manner and time period
set out in the directive.
Prohibitions
6. A person or public body shall not take any
action to evade the requirements set out in this Act or the regulations.
Audit
7. (1) The minister may audit
or appoint an auditor to audit the records of the public body to determine whether the public body is complying
with this Act and the regulations.
(2) A
public body shall
(a) co-operate
with the minister or auditor; and
(b) disclose
to the minister or auditor information and documents, including personal
information, required for the purpose of determining whether the public body is
complying with this Act and the regulations.
(3) The auditor shall submit the results of the audit
to the minister within the time period specified by the minister.
Confidentiality
and disclosure
8. (1) Where a public
body provides or is provided information or documents under this Act, the person
in receipt of the information and documents shall maintain confidentiality respecting
the information and documents.
(2) Notwithstanding
subsection (1) or any other Act or regulations, including section 5.4 of the Energy Corporation Act, the minister,
the Lieutenant-Governor in Council or the public body may use and disclose
information and documents for the purposes of this Act, including personal
information provided under this Act, in accordance with the Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Act, 2015.
(3) Notwithstanding the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
2015 or any other Act or regulations, including section 5.4 of the Energy Corporation Act, where the
minister requests information and documents from a public body the information
and documents shall be provided to the
minister.
Public notice
9. The
minister may make public the failure of a public body to comply with this Act or
the regulations.
No cause of action
10. (1) An action or proceeding, either in law or
in equity, does not lie or shall not be commenced against the Crown or any of
its ministers, agents, appointees or employees or against a public body or any
of its directors, board members, officers or employees
(a) as
a direct or indirect result of the enactment, amendment or repeal of any
provision of this Act or the regulations; or
(b) as
a direct or indirect result of anything done or omitted to be done in good
faith to comply with this Act and the regulations.
(2)
Subsection (1) applies to an action or proceeding in contract, restitution,
tort, trust, fiduciary obligation or otherwise claiming any remedy or relief,
including
(a) specific
performance, injunction or declaratory relief; and
(b) any
form of damages or a claim to be compensated for any direct or indirect losses,
including loss of earnings, loss of revenue or loss of profit.
No deemed employment relationship or agency
11. Nothing in this Act makes
(a) a public body a Crown agent where it is not
otherwise a Crown agent; or
(b) an
employee an employee of the Crown who is not otherwise an employee of the Crown.
Regulations
12. The Lieutenant-Governor
in Council may make regulations
(a) respecting
the collection and use of information and documents, including personal
information;
(b) defining a word or phrase used but not
defined in this Act; and
(c)
generally, to give effect to this Act.
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