Manitoba.

AuthorSignorelli, Andrea
PositionLegislative Reports

The Second Session of the 41st Legislature resumed on March 1, 2017. In addition to bills introduced in December 2016, the Government introduced several new bills addressing different issues including:

Bill 9--The Advocate for Children and Youth Act, which expands the mandate of the Children's Advocate of Manitoba for advocacy services, gives the Advocate a broad discretion to review and investigate a serious injury or death of a child, and expands public reporting;

Bill 21--The Fiscal Responsibility and Taxpayer Protection Act, which replaces the Balanced Budget Act, repealed last year. Among other measures, it sets the guidelines to withhold part of the salary of members of Cabinet if government incurs a deficit;

Bill 28--The Public Services Sustainability Act, establishes a four-year sustainability period during which the compensation for public sector employees, and the fee payments to physicians and other health professionals, may not be increased except by the percentages permitted by the Bill;

Bill 30--The Local Vehicles for Hire Act, giving municipalities the power to make by-laws regulating the vehicle-for-hire industry, including taxis, limousines, and vehicles hired through an online application, a digital network or platform or a website.

Bill 31--The Advanced Education Administration Amendment Act, which amends the restrictions on tuition increases and removes the restrictions on course-related fees. The bill also sets guidelines for provincial grants to universities.

The Legislative Security Act

On March 8, the Government introduced Bill 18 --The Legislative Security Act, to deal with security in the legislative precinct. The bill confirms that the Speaker of the Assembly is the individual with the ultimate responsibility for security for Legislative Assembly offices and areas. However, it also requires the Speaker and the Minister of Justice to enter into an arrangement respecting the provision of security in the legislative precinct. A director of legislative security must be selected and will be responsible for providing direction to legislative security officers who will provide security services in the legislative precinct.

The bill also authorizes security officers to screen people entering the Legislative Building together with the power to deny entry, seize weapons, and evict a person from the legislative precinct.

Standing Committees

Since our last submission, the Standing Committee on Legislative Affairs met in...

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