First Session, Thirty-Seventh Legislature
This version is based on the printed bill that was distributed in the Legislature after First Reading.
It is not the official version. If accuracy is critical, you can obtain a copy of the printed bill from Statutory Publications.
Bill 16
THE CITY OF WINNIPEG AMENDMENT ACT (2)
| Explanatory Note |
(Assented to )
HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:
The City of Winnipeg Act is amended by this Act.
Section 437.1 is amended
(a) by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:
BUILDINGS OR LAND NOT CONFORMING WITH THE PUBLIC HEALTH ACT OR BY-LAW
Definitions
In sections 437.2 to 441.7,
"by-law" means a by-law passed under section 437.2; (« arrêté »)
"health officer" means a medical officer of health or deputy medical officer of health appointed under The Public Health Act; (« médecin hygiéniste »)
"order" means an order issued under section 438; (« ordre » )
"owner" has the same meaning as it has in section 470. (« propriétaire »)
(b) by renumbering subsection (2) as section 437.2.
Sections 438 to 441 are repealed and the following is substituted:
Order by Health Officer
Order to comply with Public Health Act or by-law
If a health officer is satisfied that a building or land does not conform to the requirements of The Public Health Act or a by-law, the officer may issue an order requiring, within a time period specified in the order,
(a) that the owner bring the building or land into conformity with the requirements of that Act or by-law to the satisfaction of the officer; and
(b) that, if the officer considers the land or building unfit for human habitation, it be vacated by any occupant and not occupied until the officer is satisfied that there is compliance with the Act or by-law.
Certain notice and service required if demolition possible
A building that is the subject of an order under section 438 shall not be demolished by the city unless the order
(a) includes notice that the health officer could authorize the city to demolish the building if the order is not complied with; and
(b) is served on the owner of the building personally or by such substitutional service as the Court of Queen's Bench may order on application by the city.
Service of orders not relating to demolition
An order, other than an order that is required to be served under section 439, must be served on the owner and, if the order requires an occupant to vacate, on the occupant. The order must be served
(a) personally; or
(b) if the person cannot be located for personal service after a reasonable effort has been made, by sending a copy of it to the person's address, as determined in a manner provided by by-law, by registered mail, fax, or any other type of mail or communication that provides confirmation of delivery.
An order sent in accordance with clause (1)(b) is deemed to have been properly served on the day it is confirmed to have been delivered.
Appeal
In this section, "committee" means a committee of council designated by council to hear appeals under this section.
An owner of a building or land may appeal a time period specified in an order issued under clause 438(a) in respect of the building or land by filing an appeal with the committee within 14 days after being served with the order.
Owner or occupant may appeal time for vacating
An owner or occupant of a building or land may appeal the time period that an order issued under clause 438(b) specifies for vacating the building or land by filing an appeal with the committee within time specified for compliance.
Order that is not appealed is final
An order that is not appealed under this section is final.
Stay of action by city to remove occupant or repair
No action may be taken by the city under section 441.2 or 441.3 until an appeal is decided.
The committee may confirm or vary the time period specified in the order. The committee's decision is final and no appeal may be taken in respect of it.
City May Carry Out Requirements of Order
Officer may authorize city to repair or demolish
If an owner does not comply with an order, a health officer may authorize the city to bring the building or land into conformity with the requirements of The Public Health Act or a by-law, which may include, subject to section 439 (requirements re demolition), proceeding with the demolition of a building.
The reasonable costs incurred by the city under subsection (1) and sections 439 and 440 are an amount owing to the city by the owner and may be added to, and collected in the same manner as, taxes on the land.
Removal of occupants from building or land
If an occupant does not comply with an order that requires a building or land to be vacated, a health officer may authorize the city to use reasonable force to remove the occupant from the building or land.
Placarding
Health officer may placard certain buildings or land
A health officer may at any time after making an order under clause 438(b) (building or land unfit for habitation) place placards on the building or land stating that
(a) it is unfit for human habitation; and
(b) occupancy of the building or land is forbidden until it conforms to the requirements of The Public Health Act or by-law.
Offences
Offence to deface or remove placard
A person who defaces or removes a placard placed on a building or land under section 441.4 is guilty of an offence and liable to a penalty under section 149.
Offence re allowing occupancy of building or land
The owner of a building or land who allows it to be occupied after the expiry of the time period specified in the order for vacating the building or land is guilty of an offence and liable to a penalty under section 149.
Filing Order in Land Titles Office
City may file orders against land at L.T.O.
The city may file a certified copy of an order in the Winnipeg Land Titles Office against the land that is the subject of the order.
The order must include
(a) a description of the land that is the subject of the order; and
(b) a statement that the land, or a building on the land, does not comply with The Public Health Act or a by-law.
District registrar to register order
The district registrar shall register the order against the title or abstract of title of the land described in the order.
Subsequent purchasers are deemed served
A person who acquires an interest in land on or after the date on which an order is registered under subsection (3) is deemed to have been personally served with the order on the date of registration.
City to discharge registration upon compliance
Where a health officer determines that an order registered under subsection (3) has been complied with, the city shall register a notice of discharge in the Winnipeg Land Titles Office in the form prescribed under The Real Property Act.
Conflict of Laws
This Act prevails over The Public Health Act
If a conflict exists between a provision of The Public Health Act and sections 438 to 441.6 of this Act, the provision of this Act prevails.
Subsection 467(1.2) is repealed and the following is substituted:
An order issued under a by-law must be served on the owner, the owner's agent or the occupier
(a) personally; or
(b) if the person cannot be located for personal service after a reasonable effort has been made, by sending a copy of it to the person's address, as determined in the manner provided by by-law, by registered mail, fax, or any other type of mail or communication that provides confirmation of delivery.
Subsection 477(1) is amended
(a) by repealing the section heading and substituting "By-law on unsafe buildings and properties";
(b) in the part before clause (a),
(i) by striking out "by-laws" and substituting "a by-law", and
(ii) by adding "or property" after "building";
(c) in clause (a), by striking out "it is" and substituting "in the case of a building, it is";
(d) by repealing the part after clause (b) and substituting the following:
the employee may issue an order requiring the owner to put the building or property in a safe condition to the satisfaction of the employee, and within a time period specified in the order.
Subsection 477(2) is repealed and the following is substituted:
Certain notice and service required if demolition possible
A building that is the subject of an order under subsection (1) shall not be demolished by the city unless the order
(a) includes notice that the building could be demolished if the order is not complied with; and
(b) is served on the owner of the building personally or by such substitutional service as the Court of Queen's Bench may order on application by the city.
Service of orders not relating to demolition
An order, other than an order that is required to be served under subsection (2), must be served on the owner and, if the order requires an occupant to vacate, the occupant,
(a) personally; or
(b) if the person cannot be located for personal service after a reasonable effort has been made, by sending a copy of it to the person's address, as determined in a manner provided by by-law, by registered mail, fax, or any other type of mail or communication that provides confirmation of delivery.
An order sent in accordance with clause (2.1)(b) is deemed to have been properly served on the day it is confirmed to have been delivered.
Subsection 477(3) is amended by striking out "a notice given" and substituting "an order issued".
Subsection 477(4) is repealed and the following is substituted:
Action when dangerous condition is an emergency
Despite subsections (1) to (2.1), if the designated employee considers that the dangerous condition of a building or property constitutes an emergency, the city may immediately take any action necessary to eliminate the emergency, which may include a remedy referred to in subsection (3) and the use of reasonable force to remove any occupant, without issuing or serving an order.
The reasonable costs incurred by the city under this section are an amount owing to the city by the owner of the building or property and may be added to, and collected in the same manner as, taxes on the land.
Clause 483(d) is repealed and the following is substituted:
(d) establishing a system to regulate the condition and maintenance of vacant dwellings or non-residential buildings, or classes of them, which may include provisions respecting
(i) the manner in which the dwellings or buildings must be secured by owners or, on default, may be secured by the city,
(ii) inspections by the city of the condition of the dwellings or buildings, including their interior condition, and
(iii) the length of time that dwellings or buildings may remain boarded up;
The following is added after section 483:
Where, in any proceeding relating to the enforcement of a by-law passed under clause 483(d), there is evidence that a building was boarded up on two separate dates, the onus is on the owner to prove that the building was not continuously boarded up between those dates.
Subsection 485(1) is amended by striking out "Subject to section 489, where" and substituting "Where".
Subsection 487(1) is amended by striking out "Subject to section 489, if" and substituting "If".
Subsection 488(1) is amended by striking out "Subject to section 489, where" and substituting "Where".
Subsection 489(1) is repealed.
Section 490 is repealed and the following is substituted:
Certain notice and service required if demolition possible
A building that is the subject of an order issued under section 484 shall not be demolished by the city unless the order
(a) includes notice that the building could be demolished if the order is not complied with; and
(b) is served on the owner of the building personally or by such substitutional service as the Court of Queen's Bench may order on application by the city.
Service of orders not relating to demolition
An order issued under section 484 or 485, other than an order that is required to be served under subsection (1), must be served on the owner and, if the order requires an occupant to vacate, on the occupant. The order must be served,
(a) personally; or
(b) if the person cannot be located for personal service after a reasonable effort has been made, by sending a copy of it to the person's address, as determined in the manner provided by by-law, by registered mail, fax, or any other type of mail or communication that provides confirmation of delivery.
) An order sent in accordance with clause (2)(b) is deemed to have been properly served on the day it is confirmed to have been delivered.
Subsection 494.2(7) is amended by striking out "personally on the person to whom it is directed; and subsection 490(3) (substitutional service) applies, with any necessary modification" and substituting "on the person personally or by such substitutional service as the Court of Queen's Bench may order on application by the city".
Subsection 494.4(9) is amended by striking out "served immediately on the owner of the building; and subsection 490(3) (substitutional service) applies, with any necessary modification" and substituting "immediately served on the owner personally or by such substitutional service as the Court of Queen's Bench may order on application by the city".
This Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.