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 29The 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 30The 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 32The 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 33The 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.
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 36The 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.
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 22The 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 23The 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 24The 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 25The Interim Appropriation Act, 2022 – Guidelines for for the 2022-2023 fiscal year for government reporting entities as defined in The Financial Administration Act.
Bill 27The 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 28The 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 218The 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.
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.
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 11The 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 12The 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.
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 217The 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.
Bill 4The Path to Reconciliation Amendment Act – amends The Path to Reconciliation Act to include references to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. In addition to the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the calls for justice of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls are to guide the Government of Manitoba’s commitment to reconciliation.
Bill 5The Coat of Arms, Emblems and the Manitoba Tartan Amendment Act – amends The Coat of Arms, Emblems and the Manitoba Tartan Act to add the polar bear as one of the designated mammal emblems of Manitoba. The plains bison was previously designated in 2014.
Bill 201The Regional Health Authorities Amendment Act – amends The Regional Health Authorities Act to require annual reports of health authorities to be tabled in the Assembly and referred to the Standing Committee on Social and Economic Development. The Standing Committee must consider each report within 120 days.
Bill 202The Louis Riel Act – This Bill bestows the honorary title of “First Premier of Manitoba” on Louis Riel. The Bill requires the Manitoba education curriculum to include the significant contributions of Louis Riel.
Bill 203The Abortion Protest Buffer Zone Act – Access zones are created for clinics and facilities that provide abortion services and for service providers. Certain activities are prohibited within these zones. Certain activities are prohibited on school sites and within 50 metres of school sites.
Bill 204The Protest Buffer Zone Act (COVID-19 Restrictions) – This Bill establishes The Protest Buffer Zone Act (COVID-19 Restrictions). Buffer zones are created with certain activities prohibited within these buffer zones.
Bill 207The Criminal Property Forfeiture Amendment Act – Enables the money in the criminal property forfeiture fund to instead go to non-profit community organizations for social programs, such as affordable housing and restorative justice.
Bill 6The Workers Compensation Amendment Act – The Workers Compensation Act lists specific illnesses and injuries presumed to be caused by firefighting, unless the contrary is proven. This Bill expands the list to include primary site thyroid, pancreatic, ovarian, cervical and penile cancers.
Government Concludes Fall Legislative Session, Focused on Protecting Manitobans, Advancing Manitoba (News Release) – “The fall sitting of the third session of the 42nd legislature has concluded, having completed the final stages of implementing Budget 2021 and passing important legislation to protect and improve the services Manitobans rely on, Premier and government house leader Kelvin Goertzen announced today.”
New Bills
Introduced
Bill 76 The Coat of Arms, Emblems and the Manitoba Tartan Amendment Act – amends The Coat of Arms, Emblems and the Manitoba Tartan Act to add the polar bear as one of the designated mammal emblems of Manitoba. The plains bison was previously designated in 2014.
Bill 241 The Consumer Protection Amendment and Farm Machinery and Equipment Amendment Act (Right to Repair — Vehicles and Other Equipment) – amends The Consumer Protection Act and The Farm Machinery and Equipment Act. A manufacturer must make the items necessary to maintain and repair its vehicle, farm equipment and machinery available to purchasers and repair businesses at a reasonable price. If a manufacturer does not make the necessary items available, the manufacturer must replace the vehicle, farm equipment or machinery at no charge or refund the purchase price.
Bill 234 The Consumer Protection Amendment Act (Right to Repair) – amends The Consumer Protection Act. A manufacturer must make the items necessary to maintain and repair its electronic products available to consumers and repair businesses at a reasonable price.
Bill 235 The Scrap Metal Recyclers Act – This Bill establishes The Scrap Metal Recyclers Act. A person must provide personal identification and the source of the scrap metal when they enter into a transaction with a scrap metal recycler. The recycler must keep the identifying information for five years and provide it to the police if required.
Bill 236 The Protecting Communications on Public Interest Matters Act (Court of Queen’s Bench Act and Defamation Act Amended) – amends The Court of Queen’s Bench Act. A defendant may file a motion to dismiss a court proceeding on the ground that the proceeding arose from a communication by the defendant on a matter of public interest. Unless ordered otherwise, the motion stays the court proceeding and any related administrative tribunal proceedings until the motion is decided. This Bill also amends The Defamation Act. A defendant may rely on the common law defence of qualified privilege even when a communication has been published by the media.
Bill 237 The Elections Amendment Act – amends The Elections Act to require the disclosure of personal financial information by the leader of a political party for a 20-year period.
The Manitoba Law Library would like to acknowledge with gratitude that we are situated on Treaty One Territory, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree and Dakota peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation.
Printing and Photocopying
If you need to use the library’s printing and photocopying services you will need to create an account. See us at the front desk for assistance.
Great LEXpectations RSS Feed