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Fourth Session, Thirty-Eighth Legislature

This version is based on the printed bill that was distributed in the Legislature after First Reading.   It is not the official version.   If accuracy is critical, you can obtain a copy of the printed bill from Statutory Publications.

Bill 12

THE HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION AMENDMENT ACT


Explanatory Note

(Assented to                                         )

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:

C.C.S.M. c. H40 amended

1

The Highways and Transportation Act is amended by this Act.

2(1)

Subsection 8(3) is amended by replacing the part after clause (f) with "on a departmental road, except with the minister's permission or in accordance with this Act or the regulations.  The minister may impose on permission he or she gives any conditions that he or she considers appropriate."

2(2)

Subsections 8(5) and (6) are repealed.

2(3)

Subsection 8(7) is amended by striking out everything after "within a time specified in the order".

3

The following is added after section 8:

Meaning of "authorized employee"

8.1(1)

In this section, "authorized employee" means an officer or employee of the department who is authorized by the minister to exercise the powers given to authorized employees by this section.

Removing unauthorized things from departmental roads

8.1(2)

When a person takes an action in respect of a thing and the action contravenes clause 8(3)(a), (b), (c) or (d), an authorized employee may do any of the following to remove the thing:

(a) if an authorized employee identifies the person who owns or controls the thing,

(i) the employee may direct the person to remove it, immediately or before a specified date, and

(ii) if the person does not comply, the employee may have the thing removed;

(b) if an authorized employee, after making a reasonable effort, cannot identify who owns or controls the thing or can identify the person but cannot contact him or her, the employee may have the thing removed at any time without notice to any person.

Repairing, altering or removing authorized things

8.1(3)

When a person takes an action described in clause 8(3)(a), (b), (c) or (d) with the minister's permission or in accordance with this Act or the regulations, an authorized employee may take the following steps:

(a) an authorized employee may direct the person who owns or controls the thing the action concerns to repair it or deal with it as directed, before a specified date;

(b) if the person does not comply with the direction, an authorized employee may order him or her to remove the thing before a specified date, which must be at least 15 days after the order is sent;

(c) if the person does not comply with the order, an authorized employee may have the thing removed at any time without notice to any person.

How order is to be sent

8.1(4)

An order under clause (3)(b) must be sent to the owner or person in control at his or her last address known to the minister, using a mail or delivery service that provides an acknowledgment of receipt.

Removing safety hazards

8.1(5)

Despite subsections (2) and (3), an authorized employee may remove from a departmental road anything that he or she believes is a hazard to the safety of persons on the road, without notice to any person.

Recovering cost of removal

8.1(6)

The government may at any time recover from the owner the cost of removing a thing under subsection (2), (3) or (5) as a debt due to the Crown.

4

Subsection 11(2) is amended by striking out "not exceeding $50." and substituting "of not more than $2,000.".

5

Subsection 13(2) is amended by striking out "less than $5. and not more than $50." and substituting "more than $2,000.".

6(1)

Subsection 14(7) is repealed.

6(2)

Subsection 14(8) is amended by striking out everything after "he or she is convicted".

6(3)

Subsection 14(9) is amended by striking out "the government" and substituting "the Crown".

7

Subsections 30(1) and (2) are amended by striking out everything after "fine" and substituting "of not more than $2,000.".

8

Section 34 is replaced with the following:

Offence and penalty

34(1)

A person who contravenes a provision of this Act or the regulations, or an order under subsection 8(7) or 14(8), is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $2,000.

Continuing offence for contravening an order

34(2)

When a contravention of an order under subsection 8(7) or 14(8) continues for more than one day, the person is guilty of a separate offence for each day the contravention continues.

Coming into force

9

This Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.

Explanatory Note

The Highways and Transportation Act prohibits placing a sign, structure or other thing beside a highway except in accordance with the Act.  This Bill clarifies the authority of the Department of Transportation and Government Services to remove unauthorized things and to require authorized ones to be altered, or removed if they are not altered. It also allows the department to remove hazards from the highway, without notice to anyone.  If the department removes something, the government can recover the cost of doing so from the owner.

Maximum fines for various offences are increased and made consistent with fines under The Highway Traffic Act.