VOL. XLVI No. 60 - 1:30 p.m., MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1996

Monday, October 7, 1996

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA

Monday, October 7, 1996

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

Mr. Doug Martindale (Burrows): Madam Speaker, I beg to present the petition of Cathy McMillan, Tamara Dewey, Mabel Rezansoff and others requesting that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba may be pleased to request the Premier (Mr. Filmon) and the Minister of Health (Mr. McCrae) to consider reversing their plan to cut Pharmacare in 1996.

Mr. Mervin Tweed (Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Municipal Affairs): Madam Speaker, I wish to present the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Municipal Affairs.

Mr. Clerk (William Remnant): Your Standing Committee on Municipal Affairs presents the following as its Second Report.

An Honourable Member: Dispense.

Madam Speaker: Dispense.

Your committee met on Thursday, October 3, 1996, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 255 of the Legislative Building to consider bills referred.

Your committee has considered:

Bill 11--The Court of Queen's Bench Surrogate Practice Amendment Act; Loi modifiant la Loi sur la practique relative aux successions devant la Cour du Banc de la Reine

and has agreed to report the same without amendment.

Your committee has also considered:

Bill 43--The Municipal Assessment Amendment, City of Winnipeg Amendment and Assessment Validation Act; Loi modifiant la Loi sur l'evaluation municipale et la Loi sur la Ville de Winnipeg et validant certaines évaluations

and has agreed to report the same with the following amendments:

MOTION:

THAT the following be added after section 3 of the Bill:

3.1 Clause 13(1)(b) is amended by striking out "or" at the end of subclause (vi) and adding the following after subclause (vii):

(viii) the closure of the whole of a building or structure in which a commercial operation was carried on, where

(A) the commercial operation was, before the closure, the only commercial operation on the property,

(B) at least one year has passed since the closure, and

(C) the only use made of the building or structure since the closure is the storage of personal property or fixtures that were used in the commercial operation, or

(ix) a change that causes a building or structure on the property to no longer conform to the requirements of subclause (viii);

MOTION:

THAT subsection 6(1) of the Bill be struck out and the following substituted:

6(1) Subsection 42(1) is amended by striking out "A person, including an assessor," and substituting "A person in whose name property has been assessed, a mortgagee in possession of property under subsection 114(1) of The Real Property Act, an occupier of premises who is required under the terms of a lease to pay the taxes on the property, or the assessor".

MOTION:

That subsection 6(2) of the Bill be struck out.

MOTION:

THAT the following be added after section 7 of the Bill:

7.1 Clause 54(1)(a) and (b) are repealed and the following is substituted:

(a) confirm the assessment; or

(b) change the assessment and direct a revision of the assessment roll accordingly,

(i) subject to subsection (3), by increasing or decreasing the assessed value of the subject property,

(ii) by changing the liability to taxation or the classification of the subject property, or

(iii) by changing both the assessed value of the subject property and its liability to taxation or its classification;

MOTION:

THAT the following be added after section 9 and within Part 1 of the Bill:

9.1 Subsection 60(1) is amended

(a) by repealing clauses (a) to (c) and substituting the following:

(a) confirm the assessment; or

(b) change the assessment and direct a revision of the assessment roll accordingly,

(i) subject to subsection (2), by increasing or decreasing the assessed value of the subject property,

(ii) by changing the classification of the subject property, or

(iii) by changing the assessed value and the classification of the subject property;

(b) by adding ", and the board may award costs against a party" after "just and expedient".

MOTION:

THAT the following be added after section 11 and within Part 3 of the Bill:

Validation of assessment for 1997

11.1(1) The assessment of property for 1997 made in accordance with The Municipal Assessment Act, as amended by this Act, is hereby declared to be valid and binding on all persons affected by the assessment, and no person may challenge the assessment on the ground that this Act was not in force at the time of the assessment.

11.1(2) For greater certainty, subsection (1) applies to any assessment that is the subject of an application for revision, whether or not a decision is or has been rendered.

MOTION:

THAT the section heading for subsection 12(1) of the Bill be struck out and "Validation re railway roadways" substituted.

MOTION:

THAT Legislative Counsel be authorized to change all section numbers and internal references necessary to carry out the amendments adopted by this committee.

Mr. Tweed: Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable member for Sturgeon Creek (Mr. McAlpine), that the report of the committee be received.

Motion agreed to.

Madam Speaker: Prior to Oral Questions, I would like to draw the attention of all honourable members to the public gallery where we have this afternoon twenty-two Grades 11 and 12 students from the Thomas Greenway Collegiate under the direction of Mrs. Jan Henderson. This school is located in the constituency of the honourable member for Turtle Mountain (Mr. Tweed).

On behalf of all honourable members, I welcome you this afternoon.