ORDERS OF THE DAY

Hon. Jim Ernst (Government House Leader): Madam Speaker, would you call Bill 8 for second reading, please.

SECOND READINGS

Bill 8--The Off-Road Vehicles Amendment Act

Hon. Glen Findlay (Minister of Highways and Transportation): Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to move, seconded by the Minister of Rural Development (Mr. Derkach), that Bill 8, The Off-Road Vehicles Amendment Act (Loi modifiant la Loi sur les véhicules à caractère non routier) be now read a second time and be referred to a committee of this House.

Motion presented.

Mr. Findlay: Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to introduce Bill 8 amending The Off-Road Vehicles Act.

The amendments relate to four main policy proposals, two of the proposals being brought forward at the request of Manitoba Public Insurance. You will recall that during the last session of the Legislature The Off-Road Vehicles Act was amended by introducing a mandatory annual coterminous registration, an insurance cycle for off-road vehicles.

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After further program review the corporation identified the need for two additional amendments. The first amendment relates to the introduction of staggered registration renewals for off-road vehicles. Off-road vehicles are currently registered for a fixed period, October 1 to September 30 of the next year. Under a staggered renewal system a vehicle owner will be assigned a renewal date based on the customer's birth date plus an offset of four months. This parallels the corporation's plan for the staggering of motor vehicle registrations which is currently being implemented. By staggering renewals for off-road vehicles, Manitoba Public Insurance will be able to provide greater convenience to the customers by consolidating all registration renewal requirements on one day.

The second amendment proposal my department is introducing, on behalf of Manitoba Public Insurance, relates to authority for the registration of motor vehicles to cancel the registration of an off-road vehicle due to an indebtedness by the owner to the Manitoba Public Insurance or the Registrar of motor vehicles.

The Registrar currently has the authority with respect to indebtedness for motor vehicle registrations and drivers licences. Due to the compulsory nature of off-road vehicle registration and insurance, it is necessary to have such a mechanism in place. Without this authority there are no consequences for a person who pays off-road vehicle registration and insurance fees by an NSF cheque or is indebted for any other reason related to the registration of an off-road vehicle.

Madam Speaker, there are two remaining amendment proposals, both of a housekeeping nature. The first is an increase to the property damage threshold for off-road vehicle accidents required to be reported to the police. My department is proposing to increase the threshold from the current $500 to $1,000 of total property damage in a single incident. This will ensure consistency in reporting of all vehicle accidents in Manitoba. The current threshold for motor vehicle accidents being reported to the police is $1,000.

It will also bring Manitoba into harmony with the majority of other Canadian jurisdictions. Currently Manitoba is one of five provinces reporting thresholds under $1,000, and there is no consistency or a reporting threshold for jurisdictions who maintain levels below $1,000. We are now with the majority.

I should point out to my honourable colleagues that the average dollar value, and this will surprise a few people, of off-road vehicle property damage is higher than that for motor vehicle claims. Statistics maintained by MPIC indicate that the average first-party damage claim paid out during the last three years is in excess of $2,000 for off-road vehicles. In contrast the average motor vehicle property damage claim is $1,800. Surprising.

The final amendment proposal introduced for this bill is necessary to ensure the legal integrity of certificates a Registrar provides as evidence in court on driving-related charges. The charges relate to the legal technicality raised in a Manitoba Court of Appeal decision regarding the court certificate provisions of the Manitoba Highway Traffic Act. The relevant provisions in The Highway Traffic Act were amended during last session of the Legislature, and while similar provisions in The Off-Road Vehicles Act were not the focus of the Appeal Court decision, they are nonetheless subject to the same criticism and are being amended for that reason.

Madam Speaker, with that overview I am pleased to introduce these amendments which are put forward in the interests of serving customer needs as well as harmonizing some of the administrative rules to complement legislative changes to The Highway Traffic Act last session, and I look forward to discussing the bill in detail in committee.

I would like to also tell the member for Flin Flon (Mr. Jennissen) and the member for St. Boniface (Mr. Gaudry) I have spreadsheets here that I will deliver to them so it will give them a better understanding of the amendments being proposed and the reasons for them.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Doug Martindale (Burrows): Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by my honourable colleague the member for Point Douglas (Mr. Hickes), that debate be adjourned.

Motion agreed to.

House Business

Hon. Jim Ernst (Government House Leader): I move, seconded by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Stefanson), that Madam Speaker do now leave the Chair and the House resolve itself into a committee to consider the Supply to be granted to Her Majesty.

Motion agreed to, and the House resolved itself into a committee to consider of the Supply to be granted to Her Majesty, with the honourable member for La Verendrye (Mr. Sveinson) in the Chair for the departments of Consumer and Corporate Affairs; and Industry, Trade and Tourism; the honourable member for Sturgeon Creek (Mr. McAlpine) in the Chair for the Department of Education and Training; and the honourable member for St. Norbert (Mr. Laurendeau) in the Chair for the Department of Health.

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