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S.M. 2017, c. 36

Bill 30, 2 nd Session, 41st Legislature

The Local Vehicles for Hire Act

Table of contents

Explanatory Note

This note is a reader's aid and is not part of the law.

This Act establishes The Local Vehicles for Hire Act.

By exercising the powers set out in the Act, a municipality may 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.

Winnipeg must make a by-law regulating the vehicle-for-hire industry in the city. On a transitional basis, certain licence holders under The Taxicab Act are deemed to be licence holders under Winnipeg's vehicle-for-hire by-law.

Inter-municipal trips are governed by the by-law of the municipality in which the passenger trip started unless the affected municipalities agree otherwise.

Information must be collected and shared between MPI, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles and municipalities with vehicle-for-hire by-laws.

The Taxicab Act is repealed and the Taxicab Board is dissolved. The licences issued under The Taxicab Act and inter-municipal livery operating certificates issued under Part VIII of The Highway Traffic Act are cancelled. No provincial liability is incurred as a result.

A by-law previously made by a municipality under The Highway Traffic Act is considered to be a by-law made under this Act.

Consequential amendments are made to The Drivers and Vehicles Act, The Highway Traffic Act, The Liquor and Gaming Control Act, The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act and The City of Winnipeg Charter.

(Assented to November 10, 2017)

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

Purpose

1

The purpose of this Act is to provide municipalities with specific powers to make by-laws regulating vehicles for hire, such as taxis, limousines and other vehicles, including those hired by way of an online application, a digital network or platform, a website or any other similar manner.

Definitions

2

The following definitions apply in this Act.

"licence" means a licence for a vehicle for hire or a vehicle-for-hire business. (« permis »)

"vehicle" means a motor vehicle as defined in The Highway Traffic Act. (« véhicule »)

"vehicle for hire" means a vehicle

(a) with a manufacturer's seating capacity originally designed for 10 or fewer occupants including the driver; and

(b) that is used to transport a passenger for compensation where

(i) the vehicle is hired for a single trip, and

(ii) the passenger controls the route travelled or the destination. (« véhicule avec chauffeur »)

"vehicle-for-hire by-law" means a by-law in respect of which a municipality has exercised the powers under section 3 and, as the case may be, The Municipal Act or The City of Winnipeg Charter. (« règlement sur les véhicules avec chauffeur »)

General by-law making authority for municipalities other than Winnipeg

3(1)

The council of a municipality may make by-laws under The Municipal Act for the purpose of regulating the vehicle-for-hire industry, including vehicles for hire and vehicle-for-hire businesses.

Extended by-law making authority

3(2)

In addition to the by-law powers set out in The Municipal Act, a by-law regulating the vehicle-for-hire industry may contain provisions

(a) determining the manner in which licences are to be allocated, including limiting the total number of licences, or the number of licences within a particular class, that are to be issued;

(b) prohibiting, controlling or limiting the transfer of licences;

(c) establishing requirements for persons who carry on or are engaged in the vehicle-for-hire business or any aspect of it, including the character and fitness of an applicant or licence holder;

(d) prohibiting anyone other than a particular class of licence holder from being hired to transport a passenger

(i) by hail, being a request made by a verbal action such as calling out, yelling or whistling, or a visible physical action such as the raising of a hand or arm, or

(ii) as a result of the passenger first attending a location where a vehicle for hire is standing or parked;

(e) regulating the location and use of ranks or stands for the purpose of hiring a vehicle for hire;

(f) authorizing conditions for obtaining, holding or renewing a licence to be imposed on a member of a class without imposing them on all members of the class;

(g) authorizing conditions to be imposed at any time during the term of a licence as a requirement for continuing to hold the licence;

(h) specifying standards and other requirements for the vehicle-for-hire industry or any aspect of it, which may include standards and requirements for vehicles used as vehicles for hire and equipment used in the vehicle-for-hire business;

(i) respecting fees, rates, fares, tolls, tariffs or other charges that passengers may be charged, including

(i) establishing and specifying those charges or the manner in which those charges are to be determined, including by zones, meters or any other method,

(ii) permitting different amounts to be charged outside a municipality,

(iii) providing for the collection of those charges, and

(iv) regulating the disclosure of those charges, including the form and manner in which those charges must be disclosed to passengers;

(j) respecting the type and amount of insurance that must be obtained and held by an applicant or licence holder;

(k) requiring records to be maintained by a licence holder and specifying their content and the length of time for which and the location at which those records must be retained;

(l) respecting information, including personal information as defined in The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, that must be collected and provided to the municipality by a licence holder, and specifying the form and manner in which the information is to be provided and the time for doing so;

(m) establishing a Vehicles for Hire Commission, including

(i) providing for the appointment of members of the commission and remuneration of those members who are not members of the council,

(ii) establishing rules governing the commission and its practices and procedures, and

(iii) assigning the commission the responsibilities set out in the by-law, such as administering the vehicle-for-hire by-law, hearing and deciding appeals concerning matters under the by-law, and making recommendations to the council about the matters relating to the vehicle-for-hire industry, including matters about public safety, service quality and consumer protection for passengers, and matters affecting those who work in the industry;

(n) respecting any transitional matters relating to the regulation of the vehicle-for-hire industry under vehicle-for-hire by-laws.

Winnipeg must make vehicle-for-hire by-law

3(3)

The council of The City of Winnipeg must make by-laws under The City of Winnipeg Charter for the purpose of regulating the vehicle-for-hire industry, including vehicles for hire and vehicle-for-hire businesses, and in doing so the City may also exercise the powers set out in subsection (2).

Considerations for municipality

4

In regulating the vehicle-for-hire industry, a municipality must have regard for the desire to create and maintain a sustainable industry that meets the needs of the travelling public within the municipality as well as those who work in the industry.

Inter-municipal trips — whose by-law applies

5

If a passenger trip in a vehicle for hire crosses one or more municipal boundaries, the applicable vehicle-for-hire by-law is the by-law of the municipality in which the trip originated and that by-law applies for the entire trip unless the relevant municipalities agree otherwise.

No jurisdiction for Motor Transport Board

6

Despite any other Act, The Motor Transport Board established under The Highway Traffic Act no longer has any jurisdiction over the vehicle-for-hire industry, including a vehicle for hire that crosses one or more municipal boundaries or any person carrying on a vehicle-for-hire business that operates in two or more municipalities.

Information for drivers and vehicles licensing purposes

7(1)

The registrar may request from a municipality that has made a vehicle-for-hire by-law any information that the registrar considers reasonably necessary for the purpose of administering and enforcing The Drivers and Vehicles Act.

MPI may require registrar to collect information

7(2)

The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation may request the registrar to collect from a municipality that has made a vehicle-for-hire by-law any information on its behalf that the corporation considers reasonably necessary for the purpose of administering and enforcing The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act. The registrar must comply with the corporation's request.

Duty to provide information

7(3)

A municipality that receives a request under this section must provide the information requested in the form and manner and within the time specified by the registrar.

Definitions

7(4)

The following definitions apply in this section.

"information" includes personal information as defined in The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. (« renseignements »)

"registrar" means the Registrar of Motor Vehicles appointed under The Drivers and Vehicles Act. (« registraire »)

Regulations

8

The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) exempting from the application of this Act persons, vehicles or businesses, or classes of them;

(b) imposing terms and conditions on exemptions under clause (a);

(c) requiring municipalities to limit or restrict the application of a vehicle-for-hire by-law to persons, vehicles or businesses or classes of them or to exempt persons, vehicles or businesses, or classes of them from its application;

(d) defining any word or expression used but not defined in this Act;

(e) respecting any other matter that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary or advisable to carry out the purpose of this Act.

TRANSITIONAL MATTERS

Dissolution of Taxicab Board

9

On the coming into force of this Act,

(a) the Taxicab Board continued under section 2 of The Taxicab Act as that Act read immediately before the coming into force of this Act is dissolved;

(b) the appointments of the members of the Taxicab Board are terminated, and all rights and obligations of the members in relation to or under those appointments are extinguished;

(c) the rights and property of the Taxicab Board are transferred to the government and all of its liabilities and obligations are assumed by the government; and

(d) subject to section 10, a legal proceeding or action commenced by or against the Taxicab Board may be continued by or against the government.

Licences and certificates cancelled

10(1)

On the day this Act comes into force,

(a) every taxicab business licence and every taxicab driver's licence issued by the Taxicab Board under The Taxicab Act is hereby cancelled; and

(b) every certificate authorizing the operation of an inter-municipal livery service issued under Part VIII of The Highway Traffic Act as it relates to a vehicle for hire is hereby cancelled.

Certain licence holders under Taxicab Act deemed to be licence holders under Winnipeg by-law

10(2)

On the day this Act comes into force,

(a) a person who held a valid licence issued by the Taxicab Board under The Taxicab Act on the day before this Act comes into force is deemed to hold a licence issued under the City of Winnipeg's vehicle-for-hire by-law; and

(b) the licence issued by the City continues in force until it is renewed, replaced or cancelled or its term expires as provided for in the by-law.

No cause of action, remedy or compensation

10(3)

No cause of action or remedy arises as a direct or indirect result of the cancellation of a licence or certificate under subsection (1), and no compensation or damages (including but not limited to any loss of goodwill or possible profits) are owing or payable to any person in connection with or as a result of such a cancellation.

Application — before or after coming into force

10(4)

Subsection (3) applies to any proceeding brought before or after the coming into force of this section.

No taking, expropriation or injurious affection

10(5)

For greater certainty, no taking, expropriation or injurious affection occurs as a result of the cancellation of a licence or certificate under subsection (1).

By-laws made by municipalities (other than Winnipeg) continued

11(1)

A by-law of a municipality that was authorized under section 23 of The Highway Traffic Act, as that section read immediately before the coming into force of this Act, is continued as a vehicle-for-hire by-law as if it were a by-law made under this Act until the by-law is amended or repealed.

Deemed licence holders

11(2)

On the day this Act comes into force, a person who held a valid licence issued under a by-law referred to in subsection (1) is deemed to hold a licence issued under the municipality's vehicle-for-hire by-law until the licence is cancelled or the term of the licence expires.

Exercising powers before Act comes into force

12

The by-law making powers referred to in section 3 are able to be exercised before this Act comes into force. But until this Act is in force, the exercise of these powers is effective only to the extent necessary to make the by-law effective when this Act comes into force.

Regulations — transitional matters

13           The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations to remedy any difficulty, inconsistency or impossibility resulting from the transition to this Act of matters relating to the vehicle-for-hire industry that were dealt with under The Taxicab Act or any other Act amended by this Act.

CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS

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

14(1)

The Drivers and Vehicles Act is amended by this section.

14(2)

Subsection 1(2) is amended by striking out ""taxicab"".

14(3)

Section 50 and the centred heading before it are repealed.

14(4)

Section 56 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) and in the part of subsection (2) before clause (a), by striking out "or taxicab";

(b) in subsection (3), by striking out ", or The Taxicab Board, on application by the registered owner of a taxicab"; and

(c) in subsection (4), by striking out "or The Taxicab Act".

14(5)

Section 133 is amended

(a) in subsection (2),

(i) in the section heading, by striking out "or Taxicab Board",

(ii) in the part before clause (a), by striking out ", or The Taxicab Board established under The Taxicab Act,", and

(iii) in clause (b), by striking out everything after "The Highway Traffic Act"; and

(b) in subsection (3),

(i) in the section heading, by striking out "and Taxicab Board", and

(ii) in the part before clause (a), "or The Taxicab Board".

C.C.S.M. c. H60 amended

15(1)

The Highway Traffic Act is amended by this section.

15(2)

Subsection 1(1) is amended

(a) in the definition "public service vehicle", by striking out everything after "compensation under" and substituting "a municipal by-law, including a vehicle-for-hire by-law as defined in The Local Vehicles for Hire Act;"; and

(b) by repealing the definition "taxicab".

15(3)

Section 23 is repealed.

15(4)

Clause 221(4)(b) is replaced with the following:

(b) a vehicle for hire, as defined in The Local Vehicles for Hire Act, that is responding to a street hail as authorized by a vehicle-for-hire by-law as defined in that Act;

C.C.S.M. c. L153 amended

16

Subsection 60(3) of The Liquor and Gaming Control Act is amended in the section heading by adding "and other vehicles for hire".

C.C.S.M. c. P215 amended

17(1)

The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act is amended by this section.

17(2)

Subsection 6(3) is amended by striking out ", The Highway Traffic Act or The Taxicab Act" and substituting "or The Highway Traffic Act".

17(3)

Subsection 27(1) is amended by striking out ", The Taxicab Board of Winnipeg".

17(4)

Subsection 36(7) is amended by striking out ", The Motor Transport Board and The Taxicab Board of Greater Winnipeg" and substituting "or The Motor Transport Board".

17(5)

Subsection 39(9) is amended

(a) by striking out "or The Taxicab Board of Winnipeg" wherever it occurs;

(b) by striking out "or The Taxicab Board of Greater Winnipeg"; and

(c) by striking out ", The Highway Traffic Act or The Taxicab Act" and substituting "or The Highway Traffic Act".

17(6)

Subsection 39(10) is amended by striking out "or The Taxicab Board of Winnipeg".

17(7)

Subsection 40(10) is amended by striking out "or The Taxicab Board of Winnipeg".

17(8)

Section 49 is amended by striking out "or The Taxicab Board of Greater Winnipeg, as the case may be,".

17(9)

Subsection 59(1) is amended by striking out ", The Highway Traffic Act or The Taxicab Act" and substituting "or The Highway Traffic Act".

S.M. 2002, c. 39 amended

18

Clause 163(1)(b) of The City of Winnipeg Charter is replaced with the following:

(b) school buses as defined in The Highway Traffic Act;

REPEAL, C.C.S.M. REFERENCE AND COMING INTO FORCE

Repeal

19

The Taxicab Act, R.S.M. 1987, c. T10, is repealed.

C.C.S.M. reference

20

This Act may be referred to as chapter L195 of the Continuing Consolidation of the Statutes of Manitoba.

Coming into force

21

This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by proclamation or on February 28, 2018, whichever occurs first.