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.

Legislative Update

by John Bryans | Mar 9, 2022 | Legislation, New Bills, Proclamations

Introduced

Government Bills

Bill 10 An Act respecting amendments to the Health Services Insurance Act, the Pharmaceutical Act, and Various Corporate Statutes – Amendments to The Health Services Insurance Act and The Pharmaceutical Act would allow point-of-care COVID-19 testing to be done by pharmacists and enable other professions to do so if permitted under The Regulated Health Professions Act. Amendments to The Condominium Act, The Cooperatives Act, The Corporations Act and The Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act would enable co-operative, condominium and corporate directors, shareholders, members and unit owners to choose to hold virtual meetings.

Bill 11 The Elections Amendment Act – This Bill amends The Elections Act. Two significant changes are made to enable the use of new technologies, along with a number of other amendments:

• • The Bill permits the Chief Electoral Officer to authorize the use of vote counting machines to count the vote.
  • All advance votes, whether cast by residents of the electoral division or non-residents, will be counted on election night in the electoral division in which they were cast and reported back to the appropriate home electoral division using secure electronic technology.

Bill 12 The Peak of the Market Reorganization Act – Peak of the Market is a corporation incorporated under The Farm Products Marketing Act. This Bill continues it as Peak of the Market NFP Inc., a corporation without share capital under The Corporations Act. The regulations related to Peak of the Market are repealed.

Bill 13 The Social Services Appeal Board Amendment Act – This Bill amends The Social Services Appeal Board Act. The following changes are made to the procedures before the board.

• • An appeal may be heard by a single member of the board.
  • An appeal may be heard in writing or by telephone or other electronic means.
  • The board may dismiss an appeal in certain circumstances, including when the appeal is trivial, not made in good faith or is vexatious.
  • Certain procedural deadlines are extended.

Private Bills

Bill 217 The Fatality Inquiries Amendment Act (Overdose Death Reporting) – This Bill amends The Fatality Inquiries Act to require the chief medical examiner to post a report on a government website setting out the number of drug overdose deaths in Manitoba for each month. The report must also identify the type of drug that is suspected of causing or contributing to each reported death.

For the status of all current bills click here.

Proclamations

For all current proclamations click here.