BILL 14

An Act to Dissolve the Saint John Harbour Bridge Authority

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

Definition of “Authority”

1 In this Act, “Authority” means the Saint John Harbour Bridge Authority constituted as a body politic and corporate under An Act to Establish a Harbour Bridge Authority in The City of Saint John, chapter 150 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 1961-62.

Vesting of assets

2 On the dissolution of the Authority under section 10, all the powers, rights, privileges, claims, effects, interests, credits, causes of action and assets, including real property, personal property, intellectual property, securities, trusts, copyrights, trademarks and choses in action, belonging to or possessed by the Authority, or to which it may be or may become entitled, are transferred to and vested absolutely in Her Majesty in right of the Province without further act, conveyance or deed.

Assumption of liabilities

3(1) Subject to subsection (2), on the dissolution of the Authority under section 10, Her Majesty in right of the Province shall be liable for all claims, demands, rights, securities, causes of action, complaints, debts, obligations, works, contracts, agreements and duties for which the Authority was liable on or before the dissolution of the Authority.

3(2) Her Majesty in right of the Province shall be liable under subsection (1) for only those claims, demands, rights, securities, causes of action, complaints, debts, obligations, works, contracts, agreements and duties that were incurred or entered into by the Authority in good faith and in the normal and ordinary course of business.

3(3) Nothing in this section shall expose or cause Her Majesty in right of the Province to be exposed to or be liable for any greater liability, cost or expense than would have occurred had this section and sections 10 and 12 not come into force.

Assumption of contracts of employment

4(1) The dissolution of the Authority under section 10 does not terminate the employment of an employee of the Authority and, on dissolution, Her Majesty in right of the Province shall assume all valid and subsisting contracts of employment to which the Authority was a party at dissolution.

4(2) The Civil Service Act, the Public Service Labour Relations Act and the Public Service Superannuation Act do not apply to an employee or a contract of employment to which subsection (1) applies.

4(3) An employee of the Authority shall be deemed not to have been constructively dismissed by the dissolution of the Authority nor by the assumption of his or her contract of employment under this section.

4(4) Nothing in this Act prevents Her Majesty in right of the Province from

(a)  lawfully terminating a contract of employment that has been assumed under this section, or

(b)  changing a term or condition of a contract of employment that has been assumed under this section.

Rights regarding actions

5 On the dissolution of the Authority under section 10, Her Majesty in right of the Province may bring, maintain and exercise in her name any suit, action, appeal, application or other proceeding, or exercise any power, right or remedy, that the Authority was, could have been or could have become entitled to bring, maintain or exercise on or before the dissolution of the Authority.

Indemnification of members and employees

6(1) Subject to subsection (3), Her Majesty in right of the Province shall indemnify and save harmless a member of the Authority with respect to any claim, action or demand resulting from his or her appointment as a member if the member was acting in good faith and within the scope of the member’s appointment when the claim, action or demand arose.

6(2) Subject to subsection (3), Her Majesty in right of the Province shall indemnify and save harmless an employee of the Authority with respect to any claim, action or demand resulting from his or her employment with the Authority if the employee was acting in good faith and within the scope of his or her employment when the claim, action or demand arose.

6(3) Her Majesty in right of the Province shall not be liable to indemnify and save harmless any person for any greater amount than that person would have been liable for had this section and sections 3, 10 and 12 not come into force.

Registration of documents

7(1) Despite any other Act, in a document registered in a registry office under the Registry Act or a land titles office under the Land Titles Act, a statement that real property described in the document was transferred to Her Majesty in right of the Province by this Act, and any other statement in the document relating to the transfer, shall be deemed to be conclusive evidence of the facts stated in the document.

7(2) Despite any other Act, for the purpose of a document required to be registered under the Personal Property Security Act, it shall be sufficient in order to show the transmission of title in respect of any personal property or interest in personal property vested in or intended to be vested in Her Majesty in right of the Province under this Act if the instrument affecting the property or interest recites this Act.

Deemed trust

8(1) Until the dissolution of the Authority under section 10, all assets belonging to or possessed by the Authority on or after the date this Act received first reading in the Legislative Assembly shall be deemed to be held in trust for Her Majesty in right of the Province and shall be used only for the purposes of the business and administration of the Authority.

8(2) At all times when using an asset referred to in subsection (1), the Authority shall act in good faith and in the normal and ordinary course of business.

Termination of certain provisions of agreement

9 On the dissolution of the Authority under section 10, the following provisions of the memorandum of agreement made on July 7, 1966, between Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada, Her Majesty the Queen in right of the Province of New Brunswick, The City of Saint John and the Authority, known as the “Saint John Harbour Bridge Authority Agreement”, are void and of no force or effect:

(a)  article 3; and

(b)  that portion of article 25 which imposes an obligation on the Authority to obtain and maintain public liability insurance in an amount satisfactory to Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada.

Dissolution of Authority

10 At 7 p.m. on March 31, 2011, the Authority is dissolved.

No action lies

11 Except as provided in sections 3 and 6, no action, application or other proceeding lies or shall be instituted against Her Majesty in right of the Province as a result of the enactment of this Act.

Repeal

12(1) On the dissolution of the Authority under section 10, An Act to Establish a Harbour Bridge Authority in The City of Saint John, chapter 150 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 1961-62, is repealed.

12(2) On the dissolution of the Authority under section 10, An Act Respecting the Saint John Harbour Bridge Authority, chapter 39 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 2010, is repealed.

Commencement

13 This Act shall be deemed to have come into force on March 31, 2011.