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S.M. 1986-87, c. 12
An Act to amend The Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Conflict of Interest Act and The Legislative Assembly Act
(Assented to September 10, 1986)
HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY AND EXECUTIVE COUNCIL CONFLICT OF INTEREST ACT
Section 8 of The Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Conflict of Interest Act, chapter L112 of the Continuing Consolidation of the Statutes of Manitoba, is amended by striking out the first 2 lines and substituting therefor the following:
"Where during the exercise of any official power, or the performance of any official duty or function, by a minister there arises".
Clause 12(g) of the Act is repealed and the following clause is substituted therefor:
(g) any estate or interest in land in the province
(i) to which the member or minister, or any dependant of the member or minister, is entitled in expectancy under any trust, or
(ii) over which the member or minister, or any dependant of the member or minister, has a general power of appointment as executor of a will, administrator of an estate, or trustee under a deed of trust;.
Clause 13(a) of the Act is repealed and the following clause is substituted therefor:
(a) to disclose any gift worth less than $250. unless the total value of all the gifts from the donor to the member or minister and the dependants of the member or minister during the previous year exceeded $250.; or.
The Act is further amended by adding immediately after section 14 the following section:
The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly may prepare and make available to members and ministers forms to assist them in complying with sections 11 and 12.
Subject to subsection (3), a member or minister may comply with sections 11 and 12 by completing and filing with the Clerk the forms referred to in subsection (1).
No member or minister is relieved from any disclosure requirement of section 11 or 12 by virtue of the inadequacy or unavailability of any form referred to in subsection (1).
Subsection 15(1) of the Act is amended by striking out the word "and" after clause (a) and substituting therefor the word "or".
Section 15 of the Act is further amended by adding immediately after subsection (3) the following subsection:
This section applies to statements filed in respect of the 32nd Legislature.
The Act is further amended by adding immediately after section 15 the following section:
Statements available to public.
The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly shall make every statement filed under section 11 in respect of the 1st Session of the 33rd Legislature, or any subsequent session, available for inspection by any person without charge during normal business hours.
Section 17 of the Act is repealed.
Sections 19 to 23 of the Act are repealed and the following sections are substituted therefor:
Application for authorization.
Any voter may, by filing an affidavit showing details of an alleged violation of this Act by a member or minister and by paying into court $300. as security for costs, apply ex parte to a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench for authorization to have a hearing before another judge of the court to determine whether the member or minister has violated this Act and upon hearing the application, the judge may grant the authorization or dismiss the application and order forfeiture of all or a part of the security.
Disposition after hearing on merits.
Where, after a hearing authorized under section 19, the judge determines that the member or minister has violated this Act, the judge shall, subject to section 21, impose one or more of the following penalties on the member or minister:
(a) In the case of a violation committed by a member, disqualification of the member from office.
(b) In the case of a violation committed by a member, suspension of the member for a period not exceeding 90 sitting days of the Legislative Assembly.
(c) A fine not exceeding $5,000.
(d) An order requiring the member or minister to make restitution to the Government of Manitoba or a Crown agency for any pecuniary gain which the member or minister has realized in any transaction to which the violation relates.
A member who is suspended under clause (1)(b) or subsection 22(1) is, for the duration of the suspension, prohibited from
(a) sitting in the Legislative Assembly; and
(b) participating as a member in any meeting of a committee of the Legislative Assembly, the Legislative Assembly Management Commission or any Crown agency on which the member serves.
Suspension served during sitting days.
A suspension imposed under clause (1)(b) shall be served entirely during sitting days of the Legislative Assembly, and any time remaining to be served at the end of a session shall be carried forward to the next session.
Unknowing or inadvertent breach.
Where, after a hearing authorized under section 19, the judge determines that the member or minister has violated this Act unknowingly or through inadvertence, the judge may make an order of restitution in accordance with clause 20(1)(d) but shall impose no other penalty against the member or minister.
A member who fails to file the statement required under subsection 11(1) within the time prescribed under subsection 11(2) is, subject to subsection (2), suspended for the duration of the session then in progress or, if no session is then in progress, for the duration of the next session.
A member who is suspended pursuant to subsection (1) may at any time file the statement required under subsection 11(1), and thereupon the suspension terminates.
Disqualification at end of session.
Where the session during which a member is suspended pursuant to subsection (1) ends and the member has not filed the required statement, the member is disqualified from office.
No court disposition required.
No court proceeding under section 19 or 20 is required before a member is suspended or disqualified from office under this section.
The Legislative Assembly possesses all the powers and jurisdiction necessary or expedient for investigating and determining a violation referred to in this section and for suspending or disqualifying a member under this section, and any decision by the assembly under this section is final and conclusive and is not subject to review or appeal in any court.
A member who is suspended pursuant to clause 20(1)(b) or subsection 22(1) is, in respect of the period covered by the suspension, not entitled to receive any indemnity, allowance or expense otherwise payable to the member under The Legislative Assembly Act, The Legislative Assembly Management Commission Act or under the terms of appointment to any Crown agency on which the member serves.
A member who appeals a disqualification from office imposed under clause 20(1)(a) or a suspension imposed under clause 20(1)(b) may apply to a judge of the Court of Appeal for a stay of the penalty pending the determination of the appeal, and the judge may order a stay on such terms and conditions as are just under the circumstances.
Where a member who appeals a disqualification from office imposed under clause 20(1)(a) or a suspension imposed under clause 20(1)(b) has lost any indemnity, allowance, expense or benefit as a result of the disqualification or suspension and a court which hears the appeal sets aside or reduces the penalty, the court may, as part of the judgment, order that the member be reimbursed in whole or in part for the indemnity, allowance or expense, or that the benefit be restored in whole or in part, and the member shall be reimbursed or the benefit restored accordingly.
Forthwith after the delivery of any court judgment
(a) determining whether or not a member or minister has violated this Act; or
(b) disposing of an application for a stay of a judgment referred to in clause (a) or an appeal from a judgment referred to in clause (a); the registrar of the court which delivers the judgment shall, in writing, certify to the Speaker of the Assembly the decision of the court, including any penalty imposed on the member or minister by the court.
Subject to section 10, no decision or transaction and no procedure undertaken by the Government of Manitoba or a Crown agency with respect to a decision or transaction is void or voidable by reason of a violation of this Act.
Section 24 of the Act is amended by striking out the first 2 lines and substituting therefor the following:
"An application to the Court of Queen's Bench for a determination that a member or minister has violated this Act may be brought notwithstanding that".
Subsection 26(1) of the Act is repealed and the following subsection is substituted therefor:
No application under section 19 shall be brought more than 6 years after the date of the alleged violation in respect of which the application is made.
Section 27 of the Act is amended by striking out the words "Proceedings to declare the seat of a member vacant, or for an order of restitution, in consequence of a violation of this Act" in the first 2 lines and substituting therefor the words "Proceedings alleging a violation of this Act or for an order of restitution under section 25".
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY ACT
Subsection 21(1) of The Legislative Assembly Act, chapter L110 of the Continuing Consolidation of the Statutes of Manitoba, is amended by adding immediately after the figure "13" in the 2nd line, the words "or becomes disqualified from office under The Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Conflict of Interest Act".
Section 48 of the Act is amended by adding immediately after the word "Act" in the first line, the words "or The Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Conflict of Interest Act".
The Act is further amended by adding immediately after section 49 the following section:
Rights under Conflict of Interest Act.
Nothing in sections 42 to 49
(a) shall be interpreted to abridge or deny any duty imposed, or any right, privilege or power granted, under The Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Conflict of Interest Act; or
(b) authorizes the Legislative Assembly to inquire into the conduct of any court proceeding under The Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Conflict of Interest Act or to punish any person for initiating or participating in any court proceeding under that Act.
Sub-cls. 60(4)(e)(iv) and (v) rep. and sub.
Sub-clauses 60(4)(e)(iv) and (v) of the Act are repealed and the following sub-clauses are substituted therefor:
(iv) where the member's seat is vacated under section 19.1 or 21, other than by reason of disqualification from office under The Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Conflict of Interest Act, on the day that the Speaker determines as the day on which the seat becomes vacant,
(v) where the member's election is declared void under The Controverted Elections Act, on the day the judgment that sets out the declaration is delivered, and
(vi) where the member is disqualified from office under The Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Conflict of Interest Act,
(A) if the disqualification results from a judgment of the Court of Queen's Bench, on the day the judgment is delivered,
(B) if the disqualification does not result from a court judgment, on the day prescribed by that Act for the disqualification to occur;.
The Act is further amended by adding immediately after section 69 the following section:
For purposes of determining whether a member is eligible for a pension, the period of any suspension served by the member under The Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Conflict of Interest Act shall not be included in the member's service but no suspension or disqualification from office of a member under that Act shall otherwise affect the member's eligibility for a pension.
This Act comes into force on the day it receives the royal assent.