Bill 27 - Attorney General Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2) 2022, was introduced in the legislative assembly on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022.

If passed by the legislature, the amendments will affect the following provincial statutes:

Election Act

The changes to the Election Act are housekeeping in nature.

Lobbyists Transparency Act

Amendments will reinstate the registrar’s authority to remove a return (or a filing) from the lobbyists registry when it is found to be non-compliant. This corrects an inadvertent change made in 2018.

Power of Attorney Act and Representation Agreement Act

Powers of attorney and representation agreements enable an adult to appoint another person to make decisions for them should they become incapable of doing so on their own. The amendments will add authority to enable remote (electronic) witnessing of enduring powers of attorney and representation agreements. These amendments will allow the temporary measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic to be made permanent by regulation.

Queen’s Counsel Act

Proposed amendments include adding provisions to revoke a Queen’s Counsel appointment in cases where an appointee has been disbarred or suspended by the Law Society of BC. Amendments also include updating references to "Queen" and "Her Majesty" to "King" and "His Majesty." This includes the name of the act, which will be changed to the King’s Counsel Act.

Wills, Estates and Succession Act

Amendments will enable the government to nominate a person to administer an estate in some cases where a person has died with no close relatives and no valid will.