Bill 36 - An Act to Amend the Ambulance Services Act

BILL 36

An Act to Amend the Ambulance Services Act

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:

1 Section 1 of the Ambulance Services Act, chapter A-7.3 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 1990, is amended by repealing the definition “district”.

2 Section 6 of the Act is repealed.

3 Section 7 of the Act is repealed.

4 Section 8 of the Act is repealed.

5 Section 9 of the Act is repealed.

6 Section 10 of the Act is repealed.

7 The Act is amended by adding after section 18 the following:

Approval of agreements by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council

18.1 The Minister shall not enter into an agreement with Ambulance New Brunswick Inc. unless the agreement is first approved by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, and Ambulance New Brunswick Inc. shall not enter into an agreement with any private operator with respect to the management and operation of ambulance services in the Province unless the agreement is first approved by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Section 1

The existing provision is as follows:

“district” means, subject to subsection 7(4), a health district designated and constituted under the Health Act;

Section 2

The existing provision is as follows:

6(1) In each district there shall be an Ambulance Services Co-Ordinating Committee.

6(2) Each regional health authority in the district may appoint not more than three persons to the Ambulance Services Co-Ordinating Committee.

6(3) The Minister may appoint up to three additional persons to any Ambulance Services Co-Ordinating Committee.

Section 3

The existing provision is as follows:

7(1) An Ambulance Services Co-Ordinating Committee shall prepare, in consultation with the Director, and shall submit to the Minister, an ambulance services plan for its district.

7(2) The plan shall be based on information and recommendations in relation to

(a) the requirements of the district for ambulance service,

(b) resources available in the district to meet those requirements,

(d) co-ordinating regional health authorities, and

(e) such other matters as the Ambulance Services Co-Ordinating Committee considers relevant,

and shall state how ambulance services are to be provided in the district.

7(3) If the Minister is satisfied that the plan, or the plan as modified by the Minister,

(a) is practicable, and

(b) will provide an appropriate level of ambulance service to the inhabitants of the district,

the Minister may approve the plan, or the modified version of it, as the plan for the district.

7(4) If it appears to the Minister that some part of a district would be more satisfactorily served as part of another district, the Minister may assign that part, for the purposes of this Act, to the other district.

Section 4

The existing provision is as follows:

8(1) The Minister may vary from time to time a plan that has been approved under section 7.

8(2) The Minister shall not vary a plan without first considering the recommendations of the Ambulance Services Co-Ordinating Committee for the district to which the plan relates.

8(3) An Ambulance Services Co-Ordinating Committee shall bring to the attention of the Minister any circumstances which, in its opinion, should lead to a variation in the plan.

8(4) An Ambulance Services Co-Ordinating Committee shall meet at least once each year.

Section 5

The existing provision is as follows:

9(1) When the Minister has approved a plan for a district, the Minister may enter an agreement with one or more regional health authorities in that district in relation to the provision of ambulance services in the district.

9(2) In an agreement under this section a regional health authority shall undertake to co-ordinate the delivery of ambulance services in its district, or in part of its district, in accordance with the plan.

9(3) In an agreement under this section the Minister may specify terms that are to be included in any agreement a regional health authority may enter into under subsection 10(1).

Section 6

The existing provision is as follows:

10(1) A regional health authority that has entered into an agreement with the Minister under section 9 may, in accordance with the plan, enter into an agreement with any person in relation to the provision of ambulance services.

10(2) An agreement under subsection (1) shall include any terms specified by the Minister under section 9, and the Minister may enforce those terms against any party to the agreement.

Section 7

New provision.