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R.S.M. 1987 Supp., c. 16
The Family Law Amendment Act
THE QUEEN'S BENCH ACT
Section 12 of the Queen's Bench Act, being chapter C280 of the Re-enacted Statutes of Manitoba, 1987, is amended by adding immediately after subsection (5) thereof, the following subsection:
No action shall lie or be instituted against an officer of the court for any act done by that officer in the execution of that officer's duties unless the act was done maliciously and without reasonable and probable cause.
THE CHILD CUSTODY ENFORCEMENT ACT
Subsec. 14(1) Child Custody Enforcement rep. &sub.
Subsection 14(1) of The Child Custody Enforcement Act, chapter C360 of the Re-enacted Statutes of Manitoba, 1987, is repealed and the following subsection is substituted therefor:
Every court may punish any contempt of or resistance to its process or orders in respect of custody or of access to a child by a fine of not more than $500. or imprisonment for not more than six months or both.
THE EQUALITY OF STATUS ACT
Secs. 3, 4 and 5 added to Equality of Status.
The Equality of Status Act, chapter E130 of the Re-enacted Statutes of Manitoba, 1987, is amended by adding immediately after section 2 the following sections:
Jactitation of marriage - abolished.
No action shall be brought for jactitation of marriage.
Breach of promise to marry * abolished.
Subject to subsection (2), no action shall be brought for a breach of a promise to marry or for any damages resulting therefrom or for breach of warranty of capacity to marry or for deceit based upon a fraudulent promise to marry.
An action for deceit may be brought where as a result of the deceit the plaintiff was lead to believe there was a valid marriage to the defendant but the marriage was bigamous or a sham.
Where one person makes a gift to another in contemplation of or conditional upon their marriage to each other and the marriage fails to take place or is abandoned, the question of whether the failure or abandonment was caused by or was the fault of the donor shall not be considered in determining the right of the donor to recover the gift.
THE MANITOBA EVIDENCE ACT
Sec. 23 Manitoba Evidence Act rep.
Section 23 of The Manitoba Evidence Act, chapter E150 of the Re-enacted Statutes of Manitoba, 1987, is repealed.
THE FAMILY MAINTENANCE ACT
Family Maintenance Act - Sec. 42.1 added.
The Family Maintenance Act, chapter F20 of the Re-enacted Statutes of Manitoba, 1987, is amended by adding immediately after section 42 the following section:
In all proceedings under this Act, affidavits, depositions or transcripts of evidence taken in any court may be received in evidence.
Subsection 50(1) of the Act is repealed and the following subsection is substituted therefor:
A person who fails to comply with a provision of this Act or with a provision of an order or interim order made under this Act is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $500. or to imprisonment for not more than six months or to both.
Definition "order" rep. & sub.
The definition "order" in section 52 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted therefor:
"order" means
(a) an order or interim order for payment of maintenance made under this Act, The Child and Family Services Act, The Child Welfare Act (now repealed) or The Wives' and Children's Maintenance Act (now repealed), or
(b) a maintenance order, provisional maintenance order or interim maintenance order made in a jurisdiction outside of Manitoba and registered or confirmed within Manitoba under The Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Act, or
(c) the maintenance provisions of a separation agreement duly filed under subsection 53(3.1).
Section 53 of the Act is amended by adding immediately after subsection (3) thereof the following subsections:
Subject to subsection (3.2), either party to a separation agreement may file the agreement with the designated officer where
(a) both parties to the agreement have consented to its filing in writing in a form satisfactory to the designated officer; or
(b) the agreement contains a provision permitting it to be filed.
The designated officer may refuse to file a separation agreement where the provisions respecting maintenance in the agreement are ambiguous or unsuitable for enforcement under this Part.
Upon the filing of an agreement under subsection (3.1) the designated officer shall forthwith register it in the court and thereupon the provisions of this Part apply to the agreement.
Upon the filing of an agreement under subsection (3.1), the designated officer shall forthwith notify the party to the agreement that did not file it, that the agreement has been filed and that the enforcement provisions of this Part apply to the agreement.
The person who is entitled to receive the payments under an agreement filed under subsection (3.1) may file with the designated officer a further statement indicating that this Part shall not apply to the agreement and the designated officer shall forthwith notify the other party to the agreement thereof.
After the filing of a statement under subsection (3.5), either party to the agreement may where either of the conditions specified under subsection (3.1) is met, file the agreement with the designated officer and subsections (3.4) and (3.5) apply to the filing under this subsection.
Section 55 of the Act is amended by adding immediately after subsection (2) thereof the following subsections:
Where the determination of the amount of maintenance payable under an order requires information relating to the financial means, or other circumstances, of either the payor or the recipient of payments under the order, or both, the payor and the recipient shall provide to the designated officer, in writing, all such information of which they have direct knowledge.
The designated officer may for the purpose of enforcing an order provide information obtained under subsection (2) to a person performing similar functions in another jurisdiction.
Subsection 57(7) of the Act is repealed and the following subsection is substituted therefor:
An order of a master under this section may, within 30 days after it is pronounced or within such further time as a judge may by order allow, be appealed to a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench and the appeal shall be by way of a new trial.