New Queen’s Bench Notice Family Division

May Administrative Lists, Triage/Prerequisites, Child Protection Intake and Newly Scheduled Motions and Case Conferences (April 28, 2020)

“The purpose and intent of this Notice is to provide important information to litigants and counsel in respect of the previously-announced second limitation of Court services covering the period from April 18 to May 22, 2020.”

This notice assigns matters which were cancelled from April 20 to May 22, 2020, and provides dates for Triage/Prerequisites, Child Protection Intake, and Motions and Case Conferences.

Click here to see the notice.

Blog Round up

A bi-monthly round-up of blog posts from the Manitoba legal community for the months of March and April 2020

Clarke Immigration Law

Robson Crim Legal Blog

Matthew Gould Blog (Criminal Law)

Pitblado Law Blog

Taylor McCaffrey

TDS law

MLT Aikins

Michael Dyck Criminal Law Blog

Tom Rees Legal News

Consolidated legal updates from the Canadian Bar Association

The CBA has compiled a list of court notices and practice directions related to measures taken by courts across Canada for the COVID-19 situation.

Check their website here to stay up to date on all federal and provincial court notices.

Be sure to check out the other resources in their COVID-19 Resource Hub for more resources on mental health, professional development and advocacy.

Legislative Update

Second Session, Forty-Second Legislature

Passed

Government Bills

First Reading and Passed

  • Bill 54: The Emergency Measures Amendment Act  ( amendment(s) adopted at Committee Stage) – Currently, only the minister or a local authority may make emergency orders to prevent or limit loss of life and damage to property and the environment. This Bill gives the Lieutenant Governor in Council the power to make three types of orders when a state of emergency is declared.
  • Bill 55: The Employment Standards Code Amendment Act – This Bill amends The Employment Standards Code to add a temporary job-protected leave for employees who are unable to work due to circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The requirement for an employee to provide a certificate from a health professional in respect of a leave provided for in the Code is also temporarily suspended.
  • Bill 56: The Family Maintenance Amendment Act – amends The Family Maintenance Act. It enables maintenance enforcement officials to make more frequent inquiries to determine if a maintenance obligation for an adult child remains eligible for enforcement. In addition, when a request is made for an administrative suspension of a maintenance order, each party is entitled to a copy of material submitted by the other party, with any sensitive information deleted.
  • Bill 57: The Regulated Health Professions Amendment Act – amends The Regulated Health Professions Act to allow a regulated health profession college to re-register former members, without complying with the usual registration requirements, if the minister notifies the college that a threat to public health exists and their assistance is required.
  • Bill 58: The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act – amends The Residential Tenancies Act.
    • Rent is frozen at the amount payable immediately before April 1, 2020.
    • Evictions are limited to specific circumstances that infringe, interfere with or adversely affect the security, safety, health or well-being of other tenants, such as engaging in unlawful activity. This amendment is effective as of March 24, 2020.
    • Late fees for failure to pay rent are prohibited.
  • Bill 59: The Public Health Amendment Act – amends The Public Health Act. New prohibitions or requirements can be made in a public health emergency order to prevent the spread of a communicable disease. Measures to assist in the enforcement of public health emergency orders are added. The fines for failing to comply with public health emergency orders are increased. Additional persons may be authorized by regulation to enforce the Act and orders made under it. Orders made under the Act are not subject to The Statutes and Regulations Act. Orders directed to the public at large may be published on a government website.
  • Bill 60: The Appropriation Act, 2020 (COVID-19 Response)
  • Bill 61: The Loan Act, 2020
  • Bill 62: The Fuel Tax Amendment and Retail Sales Tax Amendment Act – amends The Fuel Tax Act to suspend, for the duration of the 2020 public health emergency, the requirements that a carrier who is not licenced under the International Fuel Tax Agreement pay a tax and obtain a single-trip permit upon entering Manitoba.

Private Bills

Passed

Check here for the current status of bills.

As part of its effort to provide accurate information about COVID-19, the Winnipeg Free Press has released a free article detailing these emergency bills. See here for more details.

Legislative Update – New Proclamation

The Government has issued the following Proclamation:

The Business Registration, Supervision and Ownership Transparency Act (Various Acts Amended) (S.M. 2019, c. 25)

  • sections 1, 2 and 9 and Parts 2 and 3 come into force on April 9, 2020
  • sections 3 to 8 and Part 4 to come into force on June 27, 2020

This act deals with Extra-Provincial Registrations, Supervision of Cooperatives, and Ownership Transparency. It makes amendments to The Business Names Registration Act, The Cooperatives Act, The Corporations Act and The Partnership Act.