5th Session, 42nd Legislature

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Bill 8

THE OFF-ROAD TRAILS SAFETY AND MAINTENANCE ACT

(Assented to                                         )

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

INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS

Definitions

1(1)   The following definitions apply in this Act.

"minister" means the minister appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council to administer this Act. (« ministre »)

"off-road trail" means an off-road trail recognized for the use of off-road vehicles for recreational purposes. (« sentier pour véhicules à caractère non routier »)

"off-road trails fee" means the off-road trails fee imposed under section 2. (« droit d'accès aux sentiers »)

"permit" means a permit issued under section 3. (« permis »)

"regulation" means a regulation made under this Act. (« règlement »)

Definitions in Off-Road Vehicles Act apply

1(2)   Terms and expressions defined in The Off-Road Vehicles Act have the same meaning in this Act as they have in that Act unless they are otherwise defined in this Act.

FEES AND PERMITS

Imposition of off-road trails fee

2(1)   A person who applies to register an off-road vehicle under The Drivers and Vehicles Act must pay the off-road trails fee.

Amount of off-road trails fee

2(2)   The off-road trails fee is $25 unless another amount is prescribed by regulation.

Fee is non-refundable

2(3)   The off-road trails fee is non-refundable.

Manner and form of payment

2(4)   The off-road trails fee must be paid at the same time and in the same manner as the registration charge imposed for the off-road vehicle as specified in the regulations under The Highway Traffic Act.

Permits

3(1)   The minister may issue a permit that authorizes a person to operate a snowmobile on a provincial snowmobile trail designated under The Crown Lands Act.

Obtaining permit

3(2)   To obtain a permit, a person must

(a) apply in the form and manner, and provide the information, required by the minister; and

(b) pay the permit fee prescribed by regulation.

Third parties may issue permits

3(3)   The minister may authorize a government agency or a person not employed by the government to issue specified permits on behalf of the minister, subject to any terms and conditions as the minister considers appropriate.

Retention of permit fee

3(4)   The minister may fix the amount of the permit fee to be retained by an authorized agency or person for each permit issued by the agency or person.

Revenue from off-road trails and permit fees

4   The amount of an off-road trails fee or permit fee received and not otherwise retained is public money within the meaning of The Financial Administration Act, and must be deposited into the Consolidated Fund as directed by the Minister of Finance.

GRANTS AND REPORTING

Grants from Consolidated Fund

5(1)   The Minister of Finance, on the requisition of the minister, may make grants out of money appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes set out in subsection (2).

Purposes of grants

5(2)   The minister may requisition grants to be made to a person or organization

(a) to promote and educate the public about the safe and responsible use of off-road vehicles and off-road trails;

(b) to support

(i) the maintenance and enhancement of off-road trails,

(ii) the restoration of off-road trails that are unusable because of a naturally occurring event or the failure of an improvement that forms part of the trail,

(iii) the rehabilitation of land damaged by the use of off-road vehicles, or

(iv) the establishment of new off-road trails and improvements on off-road trails; and

(c) to enable the person or organization to carry out the activities set out in clauses (a) and (b).

Agreement required

5(3)   A grant recipient must enter into an agreement that sets out the recipient's reporting obligations and any other terms or conditions that the minister considers appropriate for the payment and administration of the grant.

Reporting on revenue and grants

6   The minister must include the following information in each annual report of the minister's department:

(a) in respect of off-road trails fees,

(i) the total off-road trails fees paid in the fiscal year, setting out the amount of fees paid in respect of snowmobiles and the amount paid in respect of other off-road vehicles,

(ii) the total grants made in the fiscal year in respect of revenue from off-road trails fees, setting out the amount granted to promote and support the use of snowmobiles and the amount granted in respect of other uses,

(iii) a report on grant recipients' use of the grants and what those recipients achieved as a result of the grants, and

(iv) the expenses incurred in the fiscal year in administering the off-road trails fee;

(b) in respect of permits,

(i) the revenue from permits, less any amounts retained under subsection 3(4), and

(ii) the total amount of the grants made to persons or organizations for the purposes set out in subsection 5(2) to promote and support the use of snowmobiles, excluding any grant amount reported under clause (a).

REGULATIONS

Regulations

7(1)   The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) prescribing the amount of the off-road trails fee;

(b) respecting permits, including

(i) the manner in which permits may be issued, including the submission of applications and the issuance of permits using the Internet,

(ii) the fees payable for permits and when fees are payable,

(iii) the terms and conditions of permits,

(iv) the suspension or cancellation of permits, and

(v) exemptions to allow operation of a snowmobile on a provincial snowmobile trail without a permit;

(c) recognizing a permit or other form of authorization issued by another jurisdiction in Canada as being equivalent to a permit issued under this Act;

(d) governing transitional matters for persons who hold a permit to operate a snowmobile on provincial snowmobile trails issued under another enactment;

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

(f) respecting any matter the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary or advisable to carry out the purposes of this Act.

Scope and application of regulations

7(2)   A regulation under this section

(a) may be general or particular in its application; and

(b) may establish classes of permits or persons and may apply differently to different classes.

CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS

C.C.S.M. c. C340 amended

8   Subclause 35.1(c)(ii) of The Crown Lands Act is replaced with the following:

(ii) requiring a permit issued or recognized under The Off-Road Trails Safety and Maintenance Act to operate a snowmobile on provincial snowmobile trails;

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

9   Subsection 72(2) of The Drivers and Vehicles Act is amended by striking out "and" at the end of clause (a) and adding the following after clause (a):

(a.1) the off-road trails fee imposed under The Off-Road Trails Safety and Maintenance Act; and

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

10   Subsection 6(1) of The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act is amended by adding the following after clause (c.1):

(c.2) to collect and remit off-road trails fees and permit fees imposed or provided for under The Off-Road Trails Safety and Maintenance Act, in accordance with that Act;

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

C.C.S.M. reference

11   This Act may be referred to as chapter O30.5 of the Continuing Consolidation of the Statutes of Manitoba.

Coming into force

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