3rd Session, 43rd Legislature

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Bill 5

THE ACCESSIBILITY FOR MANITOBANS AMENDMENT ACT AND THE COMMEMORATION OF DAYS, WEEKS AND MONTHS AMENDMENT ACT (ACCESS AWARENESS WEEK)

(Assented to                                  )

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

Accessibility for Manitobans Amendment Act

1   The Accessibility for Manitobans Amendment Act set out in Schedule A is hereby enacted.

Commemoration of Days, Weeks and Months Amendment Act (Access Awareness Week)

2   The Commemoration of Days, Weeks and Months Amendment Act (Access Awareness Week) set out in Schedule B is hereby enacted.

Coming into force

3(1)   Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.

Coming into force of Schedules

3(2)   The Schedules to this Act come into force as provided in the coming into force section at the end of each Schedule.

SCHEDULE A

THE ACCESSIBILITY FOR MANITOBANS AMENDMENT ACT

C.C.S.M. c. A1.7 amended

1   The Accessibility for Manitobans Act is amended by this Act.

2(1)   Subsection 11(1) is amended

(a) by replacing the section heading with "Initial review of accessibility standard"; and

(b) in the part before clause (a), by striking out "and within each subsequent five-year period,".

2(2)   The following is added after subsection 11(1):

Subsequent reviews

11(1.1)   The council must review an accessibility standard in accordance with clauses (1)(a) and (b) within five years after completing the first review of the standard and after that at least once every 10 years.

3   Subsection 15(2) is replaced with the following:

Composition of council

15(2)   When appointing members to the council, the Lieutenant Governor in Council must ensure, as much as possible, that

(a) the majority of the members are persons disabled by barriers;

(b) the members include

(i) representatives from organizations of persons disabled by barriers, and

(ii) representatives of those engaged in activities or undertakings, or representatives of the sectors or the persons or organizations, that may be made subject to accessibility standards; and

(c) the members are representative of the diversity of Manitoba, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

4   Subsection 31(1) is amended by adding "The government must use the amounts paid for the purpose of educating the public or promoting awareness about accessibility." at the end.

5   The centred heading before section 33 is amended by striking out "REPORTS" and substituting "PLANS".

6(1)   Subsection 33(2) is amended

(a) by striking out "annual" in the section heading;

(b) by striking out "For" and substituting "Subject to subsections (2.1) to (2.3), for"; and

(c) by adding "or update" after "prepare".

6(2)   The following is added after subsection 33(2):

Transitional — government, cities, health authorities, educational institutions

33(2.1)   The government and each public sector body listed under clause 1(a) of the Designated Public Sector Bodies Regulation, Manitoba Regulation 122/2015, must prepare or update an accessibility plan for each of the following periods:

(a) 2025 and 2026;

(b) 2027 and 2028;

(c) 2029 to 2031.

Transitional — small municipalities

33(2.2)   A public sector body listed under clause 1(b) of the Designated Public Sector Bodies Regulation must prepare or update an accessibility plan for each of the following periods:

(a) 2026 and 2027;

(b) either of the following:

(i) 2028 and 2029, and 2030 and 2031,

(ii) 2028 to 2031.

Public sector body to prepare accessibility plan — 2032 and subsequent years

33(2.3)   On or before January 1, 2032, and on or before January 1 of every fourth year after that, a public sector body must prepare or update an accessibility plan that addresses the identification, prevention and removal of barriers that disable people in the policies, programs, practices and services of the public sector body.

6(3)   Subsection 33(3) is amended by striking out "and" at the end of subclause (c)(ii) and adding the following after clause (c):

(c.1) a description of the consultation undertaken by the public sector body with persons disabled by barriers or representatives from organizations of persons disabled by barriers under subsection (4); and

6(4)   The following is added after subsection 33(5):

Plan must be provided to director

33(5.1)   A public sector body must provide its accessibility plan to the director within 30 days after it prepares or updates the plan.

7   Subsection 39(6) is replaced with the following:

Subsequent reviews

39(6)   The minister must appoint a person to undertake a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of this Act

(a) before the end of 2028; and

(b) before the end of every subsequent 10-year period.

Transitional — members of the council

8   On the day that subsection 15(2) of The Accessibility for Manitobans Act, as enacted by section 3 of this Act, comes into force, a person who was a member of the Accessibility Advisory Council immediately before that day continues as a member of the council until the person is replaced or otherwise ceases to be a member of the council.

Coming into force

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

SCHEDULE B

THE COMMEMORATION OF DAYS, WEEKS AND MONTHS AMENDMENT ACT (ACCESS AWARENESS WEEK)

C.C.S.M. c. C150.5 amended

1   The Commemoration of Days, Weeks and Months Act is amended by this Act.

2   The following is added as a Schedule:

SCHEDULE
ACCESS AWARENESS WEEK

WHEREAS most Manitobans will confront barriers to accessibility at some point in their lives;

AND WHEREAS persons disabled by barriers face a wide range of obstacles that prevent them from achieving equal opportunities, independence and full economic and social integration;

AND WHEREAS the equality rights of all Manitobans, including persons disabled by barriers, are enshrined in The Human Rights Code and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;

AND WHEREAS in 2010, Canada ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

AND WHEREAS in 2013, the Legislative Assembly enacted The Accessibility for Manitobans Act to prevent and remove barriers;

AND WHEREAS the valuable social and economic contributions of persons disabled by barriers should be acknowledged;

AND WHEREAS the achievements made by and for persons disabled by barriers in the areas of accessible employment, customer service, communication, transportation and the built environment should be celebrated;

THEREFORE the following is proclaimed throughout Manitoba:

Access Awareness Week

1   In each year, the week beginning on the last Sunday in May is to be known as Access Awareness Week.

Coming into force

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