2(1)The regions described and identified by regulation are established for the purposes of this Act.

2(2)A regulation under subsection (1), shall describe and identify each region by prescribing

2(3)Each region is comprised of the area inside the territorial limits of the local governments prescribed for that region and of the rural district prescribed for that region.

2(4)On the recommendation of the Minister, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, in accordance with the regulations, amend the description of a region.

3(1)A regional service commission described and identified in regulation is established for each region.

3(2)A regional service commission is a body corporate.

3.1(1)The mandate of a Commission is

3.1(2)In addition to the mandate in subsection (1), any Commission prescribed by regulation is mandated to develop a plan for integrating and coordinating services to address homelessness, poverty and mental health and may enter into agreements with the Crown in right of the Province for that purpose.

3.2(1)A Commission shall develop and implement a regional strategy in accordance with the regulations, which shall establish priority services and actions with respect to

3.2(2)The form and content of a regional strategy shall be established in accordance with the regulations and shall include any other information required by the Minister.

3.2(3)Each Commission shall prepare a first regional strategy by July 1, 2023.

3.2(4)Each Commission shall update its regional strategy in accordance with the schedule prescribed by regulation.

3.4(1)A Commission shall identify, in accordance with the regulations, the sport, recreational and cultural infrastructure in the region and the sport, recreational and cultural infrastructure that will be required in the region in the future.

3.4(2)The Commission shall conduct an assessment in accordance with the regulations to determine, by resolution, whether any or all of its members shall contribute to the costs attributable to any of the infrastructure that was identified in accordance with subsection (1).

3.4(3)When a decision under subsection (2) is made that any or all its members shall not contribute to the costs attributable to any of the infrastructure that was identified in accordance with subsection (1), a Commission shall prepare a report for the Local Governance Commission established under the Local Governance Commission Act, which shall include

3.4(5)Within 60 days of receiving the recommendations referred to in subsection 48(3) of the Local Governance Commission Act respecting a decision in an assessment conducted under subsection (1), the Minister shall

3.4(6)An order made by the Minister under paragraph (5)(b) is deemed to be a determination made by the Commission under subsection (2).

3.4(7)In no case shall the Minister make an order under paragraph (5)(b) unless the infrastructure has been excluded from the list referred to in paragraph (3)(b) by a determination made under subsection (2) in the year for which the report is made.

4(1)Unless otherwise provided in this Act, all common services shall only be provided to members of a Commission by or through that Commission.

4(2)In accordance with this Act and the regulations, a Commission shall provide or facilitate the provision of the following common services:

6(1)Subject to the provisions of this Act, a Commission may provide by agreement

6(2)A Commission may, with respect to a service,

6(3)An agreement between a Commission and a third party for the funding of a service shall include the following:

9(1)The business and affairs of each Commission shall be directed and controlled by a board of directors in accordance with this Act.

9(2)Subject to subsection (2.2), each Board shall consist of

9(2.1)If the operation of paragraphs (2)(a) and (b) results in a Board with fewer than six voting members, the council of each local government in the region shall designate one councillor to hold office as a member, and the rural district advisory committee shall designate another member of that committee to hold office as a member.

9(2.2)If subsection (2.1) applies, a Board shall consist of the members referred to in subsection (2) and the members designated under subsection (2.1).

9(2.3)Despite paragraph (2)(a) and subsection (2.1), when a supervisor has been appointed for a local government under the Local Governance Commission Act, the supervisor shall act as the member of the Board for that local government for the duration of the supervision and, if subsection (2.1) applies, the supervisor shall designate a person to hold office as a member.

9(4)If a member of the Board is absent or otherwise unable to act, an alternate member referred to in the regulations may act on behalf of that member of the Board.

9(5)Each Board shall elect a chair and vice-chair from among the members of the Board.

9(6)The vice-chair shall act when the chair is unable or unwilling to act for any reason.

9(7)Unless otherwise provided in this Act or the regulations, a quorum for the conduct of business is a majority of the members of the Board holding office.

9(8)A decision of the quorum shall be a decision of the Board.

9(9)A vacancy on a Board does not impair the capacity of the Board to act.

9.1(1)Each voting member of a Board is eligible to cast one vote on a motion dealing with any of the following matters: 

9.1(2)A motion referred to in paragraph (1)(a), (b) or (c) shall not pass unless 50% plus one vote of the votes cast by the members of the Board present are in favour.

9.1(3)A motion referred to in paragraph (1)(d) shall not pass unless two-thirds of the votes cast by the members of the Board present are in favour.

9.1(4)Subsection 27(2) applies to a motion referred to in paragraph (1)(e).

9.2(1)The eligibility of members of a Board to vote on a motion dealing with any of the following matters shall be determined in accordance with this section:

9.2(2)Each voting member of the Board is entitled to vote on a motion dealing with a matter under paragraph (1)(a) or (b).

9.2(3)In the case of a motion dealing with a matter under paragraph (1)(c), a voting member of the Board is entitled to vote only if the motion deals with the costs attributable to infrastructure that would require a contribution from the member that is a local government or a rural district, as the case may be, that the member of the Board represents.

9.2(4)In the case of a motion dealing with a matter under paragraph (1)(d), (e) or (f), a voting member of the Board is entitled to vote only if the motion deals with a service that is provided by or through the Commission to the member that is a local government or a rural district, as the case may be, that the member of the Board represents.

9.2(5)The method of calculating the number of weighted votes assigned to a voting member of the Board referred to in subsection (2), (3) or (4) shall be determined in accordance with the regulations.

9.2(6)As soon as possible after each general election held under the Municipal Elections Act, the Minister shall make the calculation referred to in subsection (5) and shall inform the Commission of the number of votes to be assigned to each voting member.

9.2(7)If a member of the Commission is represented by two members of the Board under subsection 9(2.1), the number of votes assigned to that member of the Commission in accordance with the regulations shall be divided equally between the members of the Board that represent the member of the Commission.

9.2(8)A motion dealing with a matter referred to in paragraph (1)(a), (b), (c) or (d) shall not pass unless 50% plus one vote of the votes cast by the voting members of the Board present are in favour.

9.2(9)A motion dealing with a matter referred to in paragraph (1)(e) or (f) shall not pass unless two-thirds of the votes cast by the voting members of the Board present are in favour.

12(1)A Board may make by-laws not inconsistent with this Act or the regulations

12(2)The Regulations Act does not apply to by-laws made under subsection (1).

13(1)A Board shall appoint a Chief Executive Officer of the Commission and establish the terms and conditions of the Chief Executive Officer’s appointment.

13(2)The Chief Executive Officer shall perform the duties and may exercise the powers conferred on the Chief Executive Officer by this Act and the regulations, or the Board.

14(1)The Chief Executive Officer may, on behalf of a Commission, employ the persons that the Chief Executive Officer considers necessary, including a planning director and a director of finance, to ensure the provision of services under this Act or otherwise fulfil the mandate of the Commission.

14(2)A director of finance is required to be a chartered professional accountant.

15(1)On the terms approved by the Board, the Chief Executive Officer may, on behalf of the Commission, contract with any person that the Chief Executive Officer considers necessary to ensure the provision of services under this Act or to otherwise fulfil the mandate of the Commission.

15(2)Any person contracted with under subsection (1) is not an employee of the Commission.

16(1)Subject to subsection (3), a Commission may in writing delegate its powers or duties under this Act or the regulations to the chair or another member of the Board, to the Chief Executive Officer, to the planning director, to a committee of the Commission or to any employee of the Commission.

16(2)In a written delegation under subsection (1), the Commission may

16(3)A Commission shall not delegate the power or duty

16(4)A delegate or subdelegate to whom this section applies shall comply with any terms and conditions imposed in the Commission’s written delegation.

16(5)A subdelegate to whom this section applies shall comply with any terms and conditions imposed on the subdelegate by the Chief Executive Officer.

16(6)A Commission may revoke, in whole or in part, a written delegation made under subsection (1).

16(7)If the Chief Executive Officer subdelegates a power or duty as authorized in a written delegation made under subsection (1), the Chief Executive Officer may revoke, in whole or in part, the subdelegation.

18(1)All costs incurred by a Commission in relation to a service provided by or through the Commission to a member or other person receiving the service, including the costs of administration attributable to the service, are part of the costs of that service.

18(2)A member or other person receiving a service provided by or through the Commission shall contribute to the cost of the service.

19(1)The costs attributable to each service, including a common service, provided by or through a Commission shall be apportioned among its members or other persons receiving the service in accordance with the regulations or, if no regulation has been made, by resolution of the Board.

19(2)If a Commission determines under subsection 3.4(2) that any or all of its members shall contribute to the costs attributable to any sport, recreational or cultural infrastructure, the costs related to that infrastructure shall be apportioned among any or all of the members by resolution of the Board or, if no resolution has been made, in accordance with the regulations.

19(3)Despite subsection (2), if the Minister orders the Commission under paragraph 3.4(5)(b) to require any or all of its members to contribute to the cost attributable to infrastructure among any or all of its members, those costs shall be apportioned in accordance with the regulations.

20(1)Subject to any agreement to that end, a member or other person receiving a service referred to in subsection 19(1) that is provided by or through a Commission shall make payment for the service to the Commission at the time and in the manner approved by the Commission.

20(2)Subject to any agreement to that end, a member who is charged with a portion of the cost of infrastructure referred to in subsection 19(2) shall make payment to the Commission at the time and in the manner approved by the Commission.

20(3)If a member that is a local government is in arrears for a period in excess of 90 days with respect to any payment due under subsection (1) or (2), the Commission may request that the Minister make the payment to the Commission and deduct that amount from any money owed by the Province to the local government.

21(1)With respect to the provision of a solid waste disposal service and, if applicable, a solid waste collection service, a Commission may

21(2)With respect to the provision of a solid waste disposal service and, if applicable, a solid waste collection service, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may exempt the Commission in whole or in part from the provisions of Part 3 of the Energy and Utilities Board Act.

22(1)With respect to the provision of a solid waste disposal service and, if applicable, a solid waste collection service, and subject to the regulations or to any other Act, a Commission may construct, own and operate a generation facility and may use the electricity for its own purposes or sell it to a distribution electric utility or another person, but shall not own or operate a distribution system.

22(2)Subject to the regulations, for the purposes of subsection (1), a Commission may enter into an agreement with respect to

22(3)A Commission that constructs, owns or operates a generation facility shall establish a generation facility fund.

22.1(1)With respect to the provision of a regional transportation service, a Commission may

22.1(2)For the purposes of providing a regional transportation service, and subject to the regulations, if any, the Motor Carrier Act does not apply to

25(1)Subject to this section, a Commission shall provide a land use planning service to its members that are local governments and that are not providing their own land use planning service.

25(2)A member that is a local government that is being provided a land use planning service by or through a Commission, may provide its own land use planning service if

25(3)A member that is a local government that is providing its own land use planning service may enter into an agreement with the Commission to provide to the Commission any portion of a land use planning service.

25(4)Subject to the regulations, a member that is a local government providing its own land use planning service may by agreement with the Commission request that the Commission provide the service on its behalf.

25(5)A Commission shall provide to the Minister, in the manner and form determined by the Minister, the names of its members or other persons for whom the Commission provides a land use planning service.

27(1)In accordance with the regulations, a Board shall prepare and adopt for each fiscal year

27(2)A motion made at a meeting of a Board to approve a budget referred to in subsection (1) shall not pass unless at least two-thirds of the voting members present, who represent at least 51% of the total population represented by all the voting members present, vote in favour.

27(3) In respect of the fiscal year for which it is prepared, a budget shall set out the estimated revenue and expenditures for each service provided by a Commission and for any other activity carried out by a Commission for the purpose of fulfilling its mandate, in the detail and in the form that the Minister requires.

27(4)A Commission shall make provision for revenues so as to produce an annually balanced budget with respect to each service provided and activity carried out by the Commission.

27(5)If the proceeds from the operation of generation facilities operated by a Commission are insufficient to produce a balanced budget as provided for under subsection (4), the Commission may make, by resolution of the Commission, a charge against the operating fund of the solid waste disposal service and, if applicable, a solid waste collection service provided by the Commission.

27(6)If a Commission operates a generation facility, the Commission may transfer some or all of any audited surplus of the generation facility fund to the operating fund of the solid waste disposal service and, if applicable, a solid waste collection service provided by the Commission, by resolution of the Commission, commencing with the second next ensuing year.

27(7)If a Commission has a deficit with respect to a service or activity at the end of its fiscal year, the Commission shall cause the deficit to be debited against the Commission’s budget with respect to that service or activity for the second next ensuing year.

27(8)If a Commission has a surplus with respect to a service or activity at the end of its fiscal year, the Commission shall cause the surplus to be credited to the Commission’s budget with respect to that service or activity for the second next ensuing year.

27(9)A Commission may establish and manage, in accordance with the regulations, reserve funds in relation to a service it provides or in relation to an activity it carries out.

28(1)A Board shall not vote on a budget for the Commission, borrow money or set fees for services unless the Commission has given written notice of the vote and a copy of the proposed budget, borrowing or fees to its members that are local governments and to the Minister at least 45 days before the vote.

28(2)If a motion under subsection (1) does not pass, the Commission shall provide to members that are local governments and to the Minister, in the time and manner prescribed by regulation,

34(1)The Minister may, by order, appoint a trustee to act in place of the voting members of a Board if, in the opinion of the Minister,

34(2)On the appointment of a trustee under subsection (1), the members of the Board cease to hold office and shall not perform any duties or exercise any powers assigned to them under this Act or the regulations.

34(3)A trustee appointed under this section

34(4)When a trustee is appointed, the former members on the Board shall immediately deliver to the trustee all funds and all books, records and documents respecting the management and activities of the Commission.

34(5)If, in the opinion of the Minister, a trustee is no longer required, the Minister may terminate the appointment of the trustee on the terms and conditions that the Minister considers advisable and reinstate the voting members of the Board.

36(1)A Commission shall make available to the public its annual report and regional strategy, any regional land use plan and the rural plan of its rural district member.

36(2)A member that is a local government shall make its municipal plan or rural plan available to the public.