Legislative Update

by John Bryans | Mar 28, 2022 | Legislation, New Bills, Proclamations

News

The Province has announced that the 2022 provincial budget will be delivered on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. The budget will focus on strengthening healthcare, cost of living, community investment, and the environment. Over 51 000 Manitobans were surveyed as part of the Government’s budget consultation process. Read more here.

Introduced

Government Bills

Bill 29 The Mennonite College Federation Amendment Act – This Bill amends The Mennonite College Federation Act to reflect the evolution of the Mennonite College Federation into the Canadian Mennonite University.

Bill 30 The Police Services Amendment and Law Enforcement Review Amendment Act – The Law Enforcement Review Act is amended by this Bill to extend the time for filing complaints under that Act from 30 days to 180 days. The Bill also establishes The Manitoba Criminal Intelligence Centre (“MCIC”). The Director of Policing may establish standards respecting police service operations, facilities and equipment.

Bill 31 The Minor Amendments and Corrections Act, 2022 – This Bill corrects typographical, numbering and other drafting errors and makes minor amendments to various Acts.

Bill 32 The Victims’ Bill of Rights Amendment Act – This Bill amends The Victims’ Bill of Rights to enable the director to pay compensation to the family members of a victim despite the victim’s conviction for certain offences. Currently, family members are ineligible if the victim’s criminal record includes a conviction for any of those offences.

An amendment is also made to allow a victim in a sexual assault case to receive, at no cost, independent legal representation if the victim’s personal information is sought to be used as evidence by the accused.

Bill 33 The Municipal Assessment Amendment and Municipal Board Amendment Act – The Municipal Assessment Act is amended to enable a municipality to post assessment information determined by the assessor online; and permit notices and other documents to be sent electronically and to determine when such notices and documents are considered to be received.

The Municipal Board Act is amended to enable the Municipal Board to assist parties in resolving matters without a hearing. Statutory time limits for the board to hear and determine a matter may be extended for up to 60 days to give the board time to provide this assistance.
The board is given the power to dismiss a matter without a hearing in certain circumstances and administrative amendments are made concerning filing notices of appeal with the board.

Bill 34 The City of Winnipeg Charter Amendment and Planning Amendment Act–

The key changes to The City of Winnipeg Charter are as follows.

• Individuals who are not employees of the city may be appointed to act as inspectors and issue orders to remedy contraventions.
• The city may serve certain compliance orders and demolition orders by substitutional service, as directed by the district registrar for the Winnipeg Land Titles Office, if it is not reasonably possible to serve the order personally.
• The city may now require secondary plans to be prepared and submitted by a property owner before certain applications made by the owner for adoption, or amendment to, a zoning by-law or approval of a plan of subdivision are considered.
• Timelines for planning appeals are clarified and may be extended with the agreement of the applicant.
• The manner for giving notice of public hearings concerning development applications is updated.

The key changes to The Planning Act are as follows.

• Timelines for application processing and planning appeals are clarified and may be extended with the agreement of the applicant.
• The deadline for appeal to The Municipal Board is changed from 30 days to 14 days for appeals concerning subdivisions, aggregate quarries and large-scale livestock operations.
• The expiry date of an approved variance may be extended for up to three years.

Bill 36 The Manitoba Hydro Amendment and Public Utilities Board Amendment Act – This Bill amends The Manitoba Hydro Act and The Public Utilities Board Act and makes related amendments to The Crown Corporations Governance and Accountability Act. Amendments to The Manitoba Hydro Act include changes to electricity rates and gas rates, the development of an Integrated Resource Plan, and approval of major new facilities and contracts.
Amendments to The Public Utilities Board Amendment Act include changes to board structure, the funding model, the requirement of a business plan from the PUB, and changes to the hiring of staff and consultants.

Private Bills

Bill 219 The Employment Standards Code Amendment Act (Leave for Miscarriage or Stillbirth) – This Bill amends The Employment Standards Code. An employee may take up to three days’ paid leave if their pregnancy or the pregnancy of their spouse or common-law partner ends in miscarriage or stillbirth.

For the status of all current bills click here.

Legislative Update

by John Bryans | Mar 18, 2022 | Legislation, New Bills, Proclamations

Introduced

Government Bills

Bill 21 The Highway Traffic Amendment and Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act – The Highway Traffic Act amendments allows municipalities to designate a “shared street” and establishes guidelines for traffic-related pilot projects. The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act extends personal injury protection plans to operators of vehicles that are part of a pilot project.

Bill 22 The Environment Amendment Act (Pesticide Restrictions) – The prohibition on the application of certain pesticides to lawns is removed and the sale of those pesticides is no longer subject to provincial regulations. The list of premises where the use of those pesticides is prohibited is expanded.

Bill 23 The Reducing Red Tape and Improving Services Act – This Bill amends several Acts to reduce or eliminate regulatory requirements or prohibitions, to improve services and to streamline government operations.

Bill 24 The Real Property Valuation Board and Related Amendments Act – This Bill establishes the Real Property Valuation Board (the “Board”) to take over the roles of other boards and commissions in relation to certain matters. Related amendments are made to The Expropriation Act, The Land Acquisition Act, The Municipal Assessment Act and The Surface Rights Act to effect the transfer of responsibilities to the new Board.

Bill 25 The Interim Appropriation Act, 2022 – Guidelines for for the 2022-2023 fiscal year for government reporting entities as defined in The Financial Administration Act.

Bill 26 The Officers of the Assembly Act (Various Acts Amended) – This Bill amends various Acts with respect to the appointment of certain officers of the Assembly.

Bill 27 The Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Alternative Measures for Driving Offences) – This Bill amends The Highway Traffic Act with respect to alternative measures under the Criminal Code. The Criminal Code allows for charges to be diverted out of the criminal justice system by allowing an accused to agree to alternative measures to avoid a possible conviction. If a person alleged to have committed an impaired driving offence is dealt with by alternative measures, the Attorney General must provide written notice to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles. The registrar must issue a restricted licence to the person that only permits the person to drive a vehicle equipped with an ignition-interlock device for a specific period of time.
Currently, the registrar must suspend the driver’s licence of a person who fails to complete alternative measures for sexual procurement offences. The requirement is repealed since the failure to complete alternative measures results in a renewal of the criminal prosecution and a post-conviction suspension.

Bill 28 The Prompt Payment for Construction Act – This Bill establishes periodic payment obligations to contractors and subcontractors in the construction industry. Payments must be made at specified times based on the progress of the work or the achievement of specific milestones. A final payment must be made shortly after work is completed.

Private Bills

Bill 218 The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act – This Bill prevents landlords from applying for a larger rent increase unless the landlord has incurred eligible capital expenditures or there has been an extraordinary increase in taxes, utilities or security service costs. Larger rent increases cannot be charged until an order has been made that authorizes the increased rent. Landlords are prevented from removing or reducing rent discounts for one year after an application for a larger rent increase is made and from applying for a larger rent increase within one year after removing or reducing a rent discount.

Bill 219 The Pay Transparency Act – This Bill establishes The Pay Transparency Act to

• prevent employers from seeking pay history about employees;
• require employers to include pay information in publicly advertised job postings; and
• require private sector employers with more than 100 employees to file a pay audit report with the Pay Equity Commissioner, including information on gender, diversity and pay of employees.

All bids for public tenders must demonstrate that the bidder pays women, gender-diverse individuals and men equally.

For the status of all current bills click here.