Advancing Social Justice: Recent Legislative Acts Passed in B.C.
June 20, 2024
BY Maria Michouris
The B.C. Legislative Assembly recently passed 27 bills, including 17 amendments to existing acts and 10 new acts. Highlighted in this post are acts that address social justice issues with the goal of improving life for B.C. residents.
Tackling inflating housing costs
What: Bill 15, informally known as the “Home Flipping Act,” creates a 20% tax rate on residential properties if they are sold within one year of purchase. Over time the tax rate will decline and will eventually hit 0 after two years have passed.
Goal: According to the government, the goal of this bill is to make housing more accessible by tackling inflating housing costs.
Improving access to cultural education
What: Bill 20, the First Nations Mandated Post-Secondary Institutes Act creates a framework for funding first nations institutes that provide post-secondary education.
Goal: This bill will provide $6.45 million in annual funding to indigenous post-secondary institutes to improve “access to a safe and culturally relevant education[.]”
Making legal services more accessible
What: Bill 21, the Legal Professions Act, creates a new single regulator for legal professions (lawyers, paralegals, and notaries). The Act further expands the working scope of notaries and some paralegals.
Goal: The government says the aim of the bill is to make legal services more affordable.
Reaction: The Law Society of British Columbia has announced plans to challenge the Act, arguing that the Bill is not constitutional because it compromises the independence of legal professions.
Improving school safety
What: Bill 22, the Safe Access to Schools Act, creates access zones where protests and other conduct that disrupts access to school, education, extracurricular school activities, or “causes concern for a person’s physical or mental safety” are prohibited.
Goal: This bill comes as a response to a string of anti-SOGI protests at B.C. schools, and aims to protect students and staff from protesters.
Addressing systemic racism within the B.C. government
What: Bill 23, the Anti-racism Act, launches a provincial anti-racism action plan and creates a provincial committee on anti-racism.
Goal: The goal of the act is to identify and eliminate systemic racism from provincial institutions.
