New regulations address Societies Act and student-society fees
December 22, 2016
BY Kevin Zakreski
The BC government has announced the adoption of two new regulations, designed to address the impact of the Societies Act on fees collected from members of a student society.
The announcement describes the purpose of the new regulations as follows:
New regulations ensure that student society fees can continue to be collected from all students at public post-secondary institutions, including those who resign their membership in a student society.
The regulations are in response to the explicit authority to resign membership in a society under the new Societies Act.
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Examples of fees defined under the regulations include: extended health and dental plans, transit programs, support services in addition to capital and operating expenditures of a student society.
Section 69 (1) (c) of the Societies Act provides that a “member’s membership in a society terminates when the member resigns.” The concern was that, upon resignation from a student society, a student would no longer be liable to pay fees, which could undermine the programs that those fees support.
The two regulations were made by OIC 2016/961 and OIC 2016/962.
OIC 2016/961 orders that (a) sections 1, 3 to 5, and 10 of the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No 3), 2015, SBC 2015, c 42, are brought into force, and (b) the College and Institute Student Society Fees Regulation is made (under the College and Institute Act); OIC 2016/962 orders that (a) sections 6 to 9 and 11 to 13 of the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No 3), 2015, SBC 2015, c 42, are brought into force, and (b) the University Student Society Fees Regulation is made (under the University Act).
