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4th Session, 40th Legislature

This HTML version is provided for ease of use and is based on the bilingual version that was distributed in the Legislature after First Reading.

Bill 34

THE SAFER ROADS ACT (DRIVERS AND VEHICLES ACT AND HIGHWAY TRAFFIC ACT AMENDED)


  Bilingual version (PDF) Explanatory Note

(Assented to                                         )

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

PART 1

THE DRIVERS AND VEHICLES ACT

C.C.S.M. c. D104 amended

1

The Drivers and Vehicles Act is amended by this Part.

2

The following is added after subsection 3(2):

Registrar may delegate

3(3)

The registrar may authorize an officer or employee of the administrator or an employee of the minister's department to perform any of the registrar's duties or exercise any of the registrar's powers under this Act or the regulations or under any other Act or a regulation under any other Act.

3

The part of subsection 90(1) before clause (a) is amended by striking out "a provision of this Act or the regulations" and substituting "this Act, The Highway Traffic Act or a regulation made under either of them".

4(1)

The following is added after clause 125(2)(a):

(a.1) about whom the registrar receives a report under subsection (5);

4(2)

The following is added after subsection 125(4):

Peace officer to report certain offences

125(5)

As soon as practicable after charging a driver with having committed an offence mentioned in subsection (6), the peace officer who lays the charge must ensure that a report is given to the registrar

(a) describing the circumstances on which the charge is based and stating the offence with which the driver has been charged; and

(b) containing any additional information about the alleged offence and the driver that the registrar requires.

Offences that are to be reported

125(6)

The following offences are subject to the reporting requirements of subsection (5):

(a) the offences listed below under the Criminal Code (Canada):

(i) the offence under section 219 of criminal negligence in the operation of a vehicle,

(ii) the offence under section 220 of criminal negligence in the operation of a vehicle causing death,

(iii) the offence under section 221 of criminal negligence in the operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm,

(iv) the offence under section 236 of manslaughter committed by means of a vehicle,

(v) a contravention of paragraph 249(1)(a) (dangerous operation of a vehicle), whether the driver is charged with an indictable offence or an offence punishable on summary conviction,

(vi) the offence under subsection 249(3) of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm,

(vii) the offence under subsection 249(4) of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death,

(viii) a contravention of subsection 249.1(1) (flight from a peace officer), whether the driver is charged with an indictable offence or an offence punishable on summary conviction,

(ix) a contravention of subsection 249.1(3) (flight from a peace officer causing bodily harm or death),

(x) a contravention of section 249.2 (criminal negligence causing death while street racing),

(xi) a contravention of section 249.3 (criminal negligence causing bodily harm while street racing),

(xii) a contravention of subsection 249.4(1) (dangerous operation of a vehicle while street racing), whether the driver is charged with an indictable offence or an offence punishable on summary conviction,

(xiii) a contravention of subsection 249.4(3) (dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm while street racing),

(xiv) a contravention of subsection 249.4(4) (dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death while street racing),

(xv) a contravention of paragraph 253(1)(a) (impaired operation of a vehicle) if the driver is not served a suspension and disqualification order under section 263.1 of The Highway Traffic Act;

(b) the offences listed below under The Highway Traffic Act:

(i) a contravention of subsection 76.1(1) (disobeying peace officer's requirement to stop vehicle),

(ii) a contravention of subsection 95(1) (speeding) when the offence occurs outside a designated construction zone and the vehicle's speed is 50 km/h or more over the maximum permitted speed,

(iii) a contravention of clause 95(1)(b.1) (speeding in a designated construction zone) when the vehicle's speed is 50 km/h or more over the maximum permitted speed,

(iv) a contravention of subsection 189(1) (racing);

(c) any additional offences of comparable severity that are prescribed in the regulations.

Meaning of "charge"

125(7)

For the purpose of this section, a driver is charged with an offence when

(a) in the case of an offence under the Criminal Code (Canada), a peace officer, in accordance with the Code's requirements, lays an information before a justice alleging that the driver has committed the offence and the justice receives it; or

(b) in the case of an offence under an enactment of Manitoba,

(i) a peace officer, in accordance with the requirements of subsections 13(1) and (2) of The Summary Convictions Act, completes and delivers an offence notice to the driver alleging that the driver has committed the offence, or

(ii) a peace officer, in accordance with the requirements of The Summary Convictions Act for commencing a prosecution other than by offence notice, lays an information before a justice alleging that the driver has committed the offence and the justice receives it.

Regulations

125(8)

The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing offences for the purpose of clause (6)(c).

Conditional amendment

5

On the later of the coming into force of this Act or The Provincial Offences Act, S.M. 2013, c. 47, clause 125(7)(b), as enacted by subsection 4(2) of this Act, is replaced with the following:

(b) in the case of an offence under an enactment of Manitoba,

(i) a peace officer, in accordance with the requirements of sections 7 and 8 of The Provincial Offences Act, completes and serves a ticket to the driver alleging that the driver has committed the offence, or

(ii) a peace officer, in accordance with the requirements of The Provincial Offences Act, lays an information before a justice alleging that the driver has committed the offence and, after reviewing the information, the justice considers that there is evidence of each element of the alleged offence and that the driver should be required to answer to the charge.

PART 2

THE HIGHWAY TRAFFIC ACT

C.C.S.M. c. H60 amended

6

The Highway Traffic Act is amended by this Part.

7(1)

Subsection 263.1(7) is amended

(a) in clause (a) of rule 2,

(i) by striking out "24 hours" and substituting "72 hours", and

(ii) by adding ", unless rule 3 applies" at the end; and

(b) by adding the following after rule 2:

3.  If a person under the age of 16 years is a passenger in or on the motor vehicle, a vessel, an aircraft or railway equipment operated by, or in the care and control of, the person named in the suspension and disqualification order, the suspension and disqualification period set out in clause (a) of rule 2 is increased to seven days beginning on the day on which the order is served.

7(2)

Subclause 263.1(8)(b)(i) is replaced with the following:

(i) that the suspension period

(A) is not less than 72 hours beginning at the effective time set out in the order or, if rule 3 of subsection (7) applies, is not less than seven days beginning on the day that the order is served, and

(B) is 15, 30 or 60 days respectively beginning on the day that the order is served if it is the second order, third order, or fourth order or more served on the recipient in the previous 10 years, and

7(3)

Subclause 263.1(8)(b)(ii) of the English version is amended

(a) by striking out "practible" and substituting "practicable"; and

(b) by striking out "24 hours" and substituting "the applicable period referred to in paragraph (i)(A)".

8(1)

Subsection 263.2(7) is amended in the part before clause (a), by striking out "The issues" and substituting "Subject to subsection (7.1), the issues".

8(2)

The following is added after subsection 263.2(7):

Additional issue — age of passenger

263.2(7.1)

In a case in which the suspension and disqualification period was increased under rule 3 of subsection 263.1(7), the additional issue of whether a person under the age of 16 years was a passenger in or on the motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway equipment is before the registrar in a review under this section.

8(3)

The following is added after subsection 263.2(9.1):

When evidence does not support age of passenger

263.2(9.2)

When — on a review referred to in subsection (7.1) — the evidence before the registrar supports an affirmative determination on the issue referred to in clause (7)(d), (e) or (f) that is under review, but does not support the allegation that a person under the age of 16 years was a passenger, the registrar shall amend the order to provide for a suspension and disqualification of 72 hours.

9(1)

Subsection 279.1(1.2) is replaced with the following:

Restricted licence after conviction for designated offence

279.1(1.2)

After a licence suspension or driving disqualification relating to a person's conviction for a designated offence expires, the registrar may issue only a restricted licence to the person during the applicable period prescribed in the regulations.

9(2)

Clause 279.1(7)(b.1) is replaced with the following:

(b.1) for the purpose of subsection (1.2), prescribing periods during which the registrar may issue only a restricted licence to a person convicted of committing a designated offence, including any or all of the following:

(i) periods

(A) beginning when a person applies for a driver's licence after the expiration of a licence suspension or driving disqualification imposed for the conviction, regardless of how long after the expiration the application is made, and

(B) ending only once the person has held the restricted licence and participated in the ignition-interlock program for a specified amount of time,

(ii) different periods that apply in respect of convictions for different designated offences,

(iii) different periods that apply in respect of a person's first conviction, or a person's second or subsequent conviction, whether the convictions are for the same designated offence or include a combination of different designated offences;

PART 3

COMING INTO FORCE

Coming into force

10

This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by proclamation.

Explanatory Note

This Bill amends The Drivers and Vehicles Act as follows:

  • law enforcement officers are required to report to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles when a driver is charged with one of a list of serious driving offences;
  • the registrar's power to suspend a driver's licence is made explicitly applicable to contraventions of The Highway Traffic Act and regulations under that Act;
  • the registrar is authorized to delegate duties and powers to officials and employees of Manitoba Public Insurance and employees of the Department of Infrastructure and Transportation.

The Bill also amends The Highway Traffic Act by increasing from 24 hours to 72 hours the first-time administrative licence suspension for a person operating a motor vehicle, a vessel, an aircraft or railway equipment who is found to have a blood alcohol level between .05 and .08, or who is shown not to be able to safely operate it by the results of a physical coordination test or drug recognition evaluation. If the person is accompanied by a passenger younger than 16 years of age, the licence suspension is seven days.

The Highway Traffic Act is also amended so that an individual who is convicted of an impaired operation offence under the Criminal Code cannot avoid participating in the ignition-interlock program by merely waiting out the prescribed participation period.