New regulations address Societies Act and student-society fees
December 22, 2016
BY pods_ato_3
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).
