Manitoba Committee Hansard — 13 May 2025 (Social and Economic Development Committee, Sitting 4, 43rd Legislature, 2nd Session)

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Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)

Second Session – Forty-Third Legislature of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba Standing Committee on Social and Economic Development Chairperson Carla Compton Constituency of Tuxedo Vol. LXXIX No. 4 - 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 13, 2025 ISSN 1708-6698

MANITOBA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Forty-Third Legislature Member Constituency Political Affiliation ASAGWARA, Uzoma, Hon. Union Station NDP BALCAEN, Wayne Brandon West PC BEREZA, Jeff Portage la Prairie PC BLASHKO, Tyler Lagimodière NDP BRAR, Diljeet Burrows NDP BUSHIE, Ian, Hon. Keewatinook NDP BYRAM, Jodie Agassiz PC CABLE, Renée, Hon. Southdale NDP CHEN, Jennifer Fort Richmond NDP COMPTON, Carla Tuxedo NDP COOK, Kathleen Roblin PC CORBETT, Shannon Transcona NDP CROSS, Billie Seine River NDP DELA CRUZ, Jelynn Radisson NDP DEVGAN, JD McPhillips NDP EWASKO, Wayne Lac du Bonnet PC FONTAINE, Nahanni, Hon. St.

Johns NDP GOERTZEN, Kelvin Steinbach PC GUENTER, Josh Borderland PC HIEBERT, Carrie Morden-Winkler PC JOHNSON, Derek Interlake-Gimli PC KENNEDY, Nellie, Hon. Assiniboia NDP KHAN, Obby Fort Whyte PC KINEW, Wab, Hon. Fort Rouge NDP KING, Trevor Lakeside PC KOSTYSHYN, Ron, Hon. Dauphin NDP LAGASSÉ, Bob Dawson Trail PC LAMOUREUX, Cindy Tyndall Park Lib. LATHLIN, Amanda The Pas-Kameesak NDP LINDSEY, Tom, Hon. Flin Flon NDP LOISELLE, Robert St. Boniface NDP MALOWAY, Jim Elmwood NDP MARCELINO, Malaya, Hon. Notre Dame NDP MOROZ, Mike, Hon. River Heights NDP MOSES, Jamie, Hon. St. Vital NDP MOYES, Mike, Hon.

Riel NDP NARTH, Konrad La Vérendrye PC NAYLOR, Lisa, Hon. Wolseley NDP NESBITT, Greg Riding Mountain PC OXENHAM, Logan Kirkfield Park NDP PANKRATZ, David Waverley NDP PERCHOTTE, Richard Selkirk PC PIWNIUK, Doyle Turtle Mountain PC REDHEAD, Eric Thompson NDP SALA, Adrien, Hon. St. James NDP SANDHU, Mintu, Hon. The Maples NDP SCHMIDT, Tracy, Hon. Rossmere NDP SCHOTT, Rachelle Kildonan-River East NDP SCHULER, Ron Springfield-Ritchot PC SIMARD, Glen, Hon. Brandon East NDP SMITH, Bernadette, Hon. Point Douglas NDP STONE, Lauren Midland PC WASYLIW, Mark Fort Garry Ind. WHARTON, Jeff Red River North PC WIEBE, Matt, Hon.

Concordia NDP WOWCHUK, Rick Swan River PC Vacant Spruce Woods

89 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Tuesday, May 13, 2025 TIME – 6 p.m. LOCATION – Winnipeg, Manitoba CHAIRPERSON – MLA Carla Compton (Tuxedo) VICE-CHAIRPERSON – Mr. Tyler Blashko (Lagimodière) ATTENDANCE – 6 — QUORUM – 4 Members of the committee present: Hon. Min. Moses Mr. Blashko, MLAs Compton, Dela Cruz, Messrs. Nesbitt, Schuler Substitutions: Hon. Min. Wiebe for Hon. Min. Moses at 6:43 p.m. Hon. Min. Moses for Hon. Min. Wiebe at 6:52 p.m. Hon. Min. Moyes for Hon. Min. Moses at 6:59 p.m. APPEARING: Wayne Balcaen, MLA for Brandon West Hon.

Matt Wiebe, MLA for Concordia PUBLIC PRESENTERS: Bill 11 – The Oil and Gas Amendment Act Kristin Rennie, Tundra Oil & Gas Ltd. David McGuinness, Corex Resources Ltd. Bill 232 – The Victims of Impaired Drivers Com- memoration Day Act (Com memoration of Days, Weeks and Months Act Amended) Karen Reimer, private citizen MATTERS UNDER CONSIDERATION: Bill 11 – The Oil and Gas Amendment Act Bill 22 – The Environment Amendment and Waste Reduction and Prevention Amendment Act Bill 232 – The Victims of Impaired Drivers Com- memoration Day Act (Com memoration of Days, Weeks and Months Act Amended) * * * Clerk Assistant (Ms.

Katerina Tefft): Good evening. Will the Standing Committee on Social and Economic Development please come to order. Before the committee can proceed with the busi- ness before it, it must select a Chairperson. Are there any nominations? MLA Jelynn Dela Cruz (Radisson): I nominate MLA Compton. Clerk Assistant: MLA Compton has been nominated. Are there any other nominations? Hearing no other nominations, MLA Compton, will you please take the Chair. The Chairperson: Our next item of busi ness is the election of a Vice-Chairperson. Are there any nominations? MLA Dela Cruz: I nominate MLA Blashko.

The Chairperson: MLA Blashko has been nominated. Are there any other nominations? Hearing no other nominations, MLA Blashko is elected Vice-Chair. This meeting has been called to consider the following bills: Bill 11, The Oil and Gas Amendment Act; Bill 22, The Environ ment Amendment and Waste Reduction and Preven tion Amendment Act; Bill 232, The Victims of Impaired Drivers Com - memoration Day Act (Commemo ration of Days, Weeks and Months Act Amended). I would like to inform all in attendance of the provisions in our rules regarding the hour of adjourn- ment.

A standing committee meeting to consider a bill must not sit past midnight to hear public presentations or to consider clause by clause of a bill, except by unanimous consent of the committee. Public pre sentation guide lines: prior to pro - ceeding with public pre sentations, I would like to advise members of the public regarding the process for speaking in a com mittee. In accordance with our rules, a time limit of 10 minutes has been allotted for presentations with another five minute s allowed for questions from com mittee members. Questions shall

90 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 13, 2025 not exceed 45 seconds in length, with no time limit for answers. Questions may be addressed to presenters in the following rotation. For gov ernment bills: first, the minister sponsoring the bill or another member of their caucus; second, a member of the official opposi- tion; and third, an inde pendent member. For private members' bills: first, the member sponsoring the bill or another member of their caucus; second, a member from each other recognized party; and third, an inde- pendent member.

If a presenter is not in attendance when their name is called, they will be dropped to the bottom of the list. If the presenter is not in attendance when their name is called a second time, they will be removed from the presenters' list. The proceedings of our meetings are recorded in order to provide a verbatim transcript. Each time someone wishes to speak, whether it be an MLA or a presenter, I first have to say the person's name. This is the signal for the Hansard recorder to turn the mics on and off. Thank you for your patience and we will now proceed with public presentations.

Bill 11–The Oil and Gas Amendment Act The Chairperson: I will now call on Mrs. Christian [phonetic]–Kristin Rennie from Tundra Oil & Gas Ltd. And please proceed with your presentation. Kristin Rennie (Tundra Oil & Gas Ltd.): Hello, I'm Kristin Rennie, the vice -president of land at Tundra Oil & Gas, a wholly- owned subsid iary of James Richardson & Sons Ltd. Before I begin, I will share that I've recently had oral surgery and have a dental appliance in, impairing my speech.

If it is impacting your ability to under - stand, please do feel free to raise your hand or ask me to repeat, as I relearn how to use my tongue with the appliance in over the coming weeks. I don't want this to interfere with our time together on this impor tant matter. For background, some of you may be more familiar with oil and gas in the province than others. It's good to see a few familiar faces around the table. The southwest part of Manitoba has been home to oil and gas dev elopment since the 1950s and currently produces over 40,000 barrels of oil per day.

There are remaining over 700 million barrels of oil in the ground. These are deemed technically recoverable but not yet produced. That means we have at least six decades worth of ongoing oil and gas production from the southwest province –part of our province. In Manitoba, the oil and gas sector accounts for over 50 per cent of the mining sector's total gross domestic product and 2 per cent of the provincial gross domestic product. The gross domestic product from oil and gas extraction has increased by 10 per cent over the past four years. We support over 5,000 jobs in the province.

There are 255 direct oil and gas jobs. We also have over 1,000 indirect jobs that are associated with the industry and a further 7,800 associated with induced jobs. These are when jobs are created when people working in the industry take their dollars and spend it within the economy. Oil and gas employees within the province paid an estimated $100 million in total personal income tax in 2023. It is a material component of southwest Manitoba's economy. Tundra, as the primary operator of oil and gas in the province, has been producing oil and gas since 1980. Our staff of over 350 professionals operate 5,000 wells.

We employ three and a half contractors for every employee. So that means if you're driving around in the area, you may see over 1,000 staff and contractors working each and every day in Manitoba's oil fields. We are a major employer in towns like Deloraine, Waskada, Virden and surrounding rural areas. Many of our staff work full time and farm part time in the area. Changes to The Oil and Gas Act are very wel - come. They are necessary for good regulation and that is needed to be both efficient and effective. How am I doing for speech? Can you understand? [interjection] Okay, thank you.

We are sup portive of many elements in the new act and yet we have concerns. There are three key concerns. The first is that specific language is very broad and it has punitive out comes for simple reporting omissions. The second is around specific challenges that require a well to be abandoned six months after a freehold mineral lease expires. And the third, and potentially most complex, is the unrestricted ability to alter permits after they have

May 13, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 91 been issued and after companies have invested millions of dollars. I'll give a few more examples of these and refer to specific pieces of the act. The changes of the act appear to be designed to address specific scenarios. These scenarios sound like poor behaviour from industry. They do not solve the root cause. If the language as tabled is applied without flexibility, it will be punitive and likely not deliver the compliance out- comes that government is looking for. The language, as currently proposed, is overly broad. One example is the expansion of clause 62.

I'll repeat that because it's actually parti cularly hard for me to say: 62, where the minister can cancel a permit without notice for failing to submit a document; any document, no matter what it's related to; no matter if it's material or immaterial. The first two parts of

section 62 speak to material misrepresentation and false statements. These are in - tentional actions. Adding in an error of omission and making the outcome a cancelled permit is punitive. * (18:10) A permit can be a well site; it can be a battery site. Either of these would have companies spend between two and 10 million dollars on that permit. It does not seem reasonable that a permit like this with millions in sunk capital could be cancelled for a failure to submit a document. We recognize that regular reporting is robust and necessary.

This is an example of how the broad language of the act can open it up for unintended con- sequences. We've been working with the de partment to reduce red tape but must say processes are a bit behind the times: heavily paper-based with limited electronic automation and lots of duplication in current reporting. I know that's not unusual in today's world, but it does, again, point to the challenge of having the permit cancelled for an omission on reporting. It could be as simple as an email that didn't get to the right person that is then deemed to be a failure to report.

If there was language around the materiality of that document–if it related to health, safety or an environmental risk mitigation, that would be different. But as it's written, we view it as punitive. The second concern is the requirement to abandon wells on freehold lands within six months of lease expiry. Our concern here is threefold. The first is that replacing a lease takes longer than six months. It regularly takes 12 months with complex mineral ownership, living across North America and sometimes around the world. You'll need to get in touch with the individuals.

Very often, there has been a generational change, someone has passed away, there is an estate. There is a fair bit of complexity in freehold leasing that we do not see in Crown permitting. A longer window of time would be appropriate. Tundra spends about $20 million per year on our abandonment and closure activities. We ensure that these wells are closed safely and timely. We use an area-based approach. This means that when a region of a few square miles has a group of wells to be abandoned, we will wait until it reaches a critical point where it is most cost effective to move our equipment in.

Sometimes that's eight months; sometimes it's 18 months. We move that equipment in and deploy it in a very fast and efficient way so that the activities of farmers in the area are not impacted. We also do this to ensure that our resources and our costs are used in the most efficient manner. An arbitrary six -month time limit challenges this ability to be efficient and reduces our ability to work with the landowners and limit inter - ference with access to their own lands for farming purposes. The third point is a bit more technical and it relates to water flooding.

Water flooding is where we inject water into an underground reservoir to increase the pressure and increase oil production. We regularly re-enter historical wells for water flood. This past year, there were four wells that had not produced for over 10 years that we re -entered and turned on to production as a part of a water flood dev- elopment. This is an impor tant part of oil production in our province, as water flooding represe nts 50 per cent of today's oil produced. Abandoning wells within six months reduces the chance that they will be used in future water flood work.

It impacts operational efficiency and it requires a new surface lease footprint for us to drill a re place- ment well sometime down the road. In February of 2025, we had requested a language change to include a reasonable extension to the six-month window for technical reasons. We make that request again.

92 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 13, 2025 Tundra and our peer companies work hard to ensure our liabilities are being addressed in a timely manner. We also operate in Saskatchewan, which has a robust liability management framework. They do a financial health check on every operator to ensure they can meet their liability obligations and have set a target on liability spend, a set amount of dollars that each party needs to spend each year. Oh, I'm going to run out of time; I need to speed up.

In Saskatchewan, our spend, which is similar in Manitoba, is six times the government– The Chairperson: Excuse me, Mrs. Rennie. I just want to check in with the committee. Is there leave for Mrs. Rennie to complete her presentation? [Agreed] Yes, okay. So continue on, Mrs. Rennie. K. Rennie: Two minutes. The third and final concern is the number of additional terms and con ditions through out the act. There are 10 additions of additional terms and condi- tions. In effect, they say a permit is only good for the day it's issued and can change or be revoked at any time, for any reason.

It is extremely unusual to see this language without any type of framework for when it is applied. We'd expect to see changes to permits where health, safety or environmental concerns are raised. In February, we have requested a change to have additional language added to clarify what specific circumstances would trigger a permanent change. We again make that request. Busi nesses need certainty to continue to invest. This, currently, is viewed as an increase in red tape with limited benefits.

Again, we ask for consid eration on the three items: (1) punitive outcomes where compliance items are not material–i.e., a missing docu ment; item 2, additional language to provide the director with the ability to waive or amend the six-month window on abandoned wells; and additional language to clarify what circum- stances would trigger a permanent change. I ap preciate that we have a gov ernment that is committed to increasing job prospects for Manitobans and ensuring we reduce red tape. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. The Chairperson: Thank you for your presentation.

Do members of the committee have questions for the presenter? Hon. Jamie Moses (Minister of Business, Mining, Trade and Job Creation): Kristin, it's great to hear– seer from you again and meet you again. I really appreciate all the feedback that you've had on the bill. You know, your insights are tre mendous; obviously, Tundra does the bulk of the production in Manitoba and your –the economic activity in –that it brings to a GDP, as you mentioned, is significant. And it's even more signi ficant for the southwest region of Manitoba.

The type and the number of folks you employ is really, really impactful for that region, and it's some thing that our govern ment, I think, certainly recognizes as really im portant for us con - tinuing to have a strong economy through out the Westman, the southwest Manitoba region. I think that, you know, the concerns and things you've raised on the bill are things that we're certainly going to continue– The Chairperson: Thank you, Minister Moses. Mrs. Rennie, would you like to respond? An Honourable Member: Oh, how long do I have? The Chairperson: Forty-five seconds. An Honourable Member: Oh, I had 45 seconds.

Sorry. I didn't know. I just want to say thank you. I'm– that we'll continue to have conver sations around the bill. And if you have any other further things, that we can follow up after the meeting. Thank you. The Chairperson: So, just to clarify, 45 seconds for the question asker. Mr. Greg Nesbitt (Riding Mountain): Thank you, Mrs. Rennie, for your presentation tonight, and I want to thank Tundra for their investment in Manitoba. And as the MLA for Riding Mountain I'm certainly well aware of what you do out in the Virden area there and what you contribute to the economy of that area.

I hear your three concerns tonight, and I'm just wondering whether or not you have had a chance to express those concerns to the minister prior to this evening, and if so, what response did you get? [interjection]

May 13, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 93 The Chairperson: Sorry, excuse me, Mrs. Rennie, just wait for me to re-recognize you, okay? So, Mrs. Rennie. K. Rennie: We had met with the branch in early February and provided some framework elements without specific language changes. I have been a bit more specific in the presentation today with language, and I've also had the oppor tunity to speak with the minister's special assistant in the last number of weeks. The Chairperson: Any further questions? No? Okay, thank you Mrs. Rennie. I will now call on Mr.

David McGuinness who will be presenting to us from Zoom. And so, Mr. McGuinness, please proceed with your presentation. David McGuinness (Corex Resources Ltd.): Hello? Can you hear me? The Chairperson: We can hear you, Mr. McGuinness. Can you please turn on your camera? There we go, thank you. Please proceed with your presentation. * (18:20) D. McGuinness: Hi, thanks for allowing Corex the opportunity to–or, do I have to wait for you? Sorry. Hi, my name is David McGuinness. I'm the executive vice- president at Corex Resources and a lineman by trade.

Corex is the second-largest producer in Manitoba, and we've been in the province now for about 12 years. We've reviewed the–we echo the concerns of Tundra on the amendments that are being proposed, and–I'm sorry, I wasn't sure I was– had everything together here for this moment, so I do apologize. The timeline, the –some of the concerns that Tundra raised, for instance, the abandonment of wells within a required six -month period, and not only wells, but there was also a facility –an–a requirement to abandon facilities where a mineral lease expired.

Sometimes that's not all that–that's not diligent, because often facilities service more than one well, and to force an abandonment of an oil and gas facility on a mineral lease that's expired where it is servicing more than one well is not good. Like, it just–it doesn't–it's not logical.

Some of the other concerns that we have are that the amendments are kind of broad, and we're –as Kristin said, we're–things can be cancelled without–or changed without any prior –author–not notarization– things can be changed without–like, when you sign up for an agreement, but it can be changed arbitrarily after the fact is concerning to Corex. I think those were our main concerns. We did meet with the branch back in, I believe it was February, and notified them of our concerns. And we were waiting–we're waiting to hear back as to how those are met. That's all I had.

The Chairperson: Thank you for your presentation. Do members of the committee have any questions for the presenter? Mr. Moses: David, thanks for the pre sentation, and I think that, you know, the core –the work that Corex does is obviously very significant, and appreciate your presentation here and the time you're taking out to speak on behalf of the busi ness and the operations here in Manitoba. In terms of the feedback you've given, I think we– definitely we're going to take it. We know that it was provided to the branch earlier, and so we got that, I thank you for that.

And so after this, definitely we'll connect and discuss about some of these details a little bit further. I look forward to that con versation, and thanks for presenting tonight. That's just what I wanted to say to you, so if there's anything else you want to add in follow -up, feel free to go ahead. The Chairperson: Mr. McGuinness, do you have a response? D. McGuinness: No, we just ap preciate the gov ern- ment's working with the oil and gas com munity and making sure we get this right. So thank you very much for taking the time. Mr. Nesbitt: Well, thank you very much, Mr.

McGuinness, and again, I want to reiterate our thanks to you for your investment in Manitoba, parti- cularly in my constituency of Riding Mountain, which serves the Virden area. We note your concerns tonight that were the same as Tundra had, and we also note that the minister

94 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 13, 2025 has promised to take a look at this again prior to third reading. Thanks again. The Chairperson: Would you like to respond, Mr. McGuinness? D. McGuinness: No, I just want to say thanks again to everybody. The Chairperson: I will now call on Ms. Laura Cameron from Manitoba's Climate Action Team. Okay. So I'll just call one more time: I will now call on Ms. Laura Cameron from Manitoba's Climate Action Team. So Ms. Cameron will be dropped to the bottom of the presenter list, and we will revisit if she is here later.

I will now call on David Grant, private citizen, from Bill 22. And he's not online? So we will drop Mr. Grant to the bottom of the list, and we will reinvite him again. Bill 232–The Victims of Impaired Drivers Commemoration Day Act (Commemoration of Days, Weeks and Months Act Amended) The Chairperson: Okay, so we're going to move to Bill 232. I will now call on Ms. Karen Reimer, private citizen. So, Ms. Reimer, please proceed with your presen- tation.

Karen Reimer (Private Citizen): Dear com mittee members, my name is Karen Reimer, and I am pleased to be here as a member of the public to voice my support for Bill 232, The Victims of Impaired Drivers Commemoration Day Act. This im portant act has been brought forward by Mr. Wayne Balcaen, MLA for Brandon West and Justice critic. I was very encouraged to see the unity in all parties for this important bill, 232, during the second reading on May 8.

This was an excellent example of how a non- partisan issue like impaired driving was addressed collaboratively and united by all parties for the greater cause of saving all Manitobans' lives. Three years ago, on May 1, 2022, our family's lives were shattered when my daughter Jordyn Reimer was killed by an impaired driver and his accomplice. That haunting call when Jordyn's dad, Doug, her three sisters, Alex, Nikki and Andi and I received that unfathomable phone call will be forever etched in our memories and in our hearts.

That–the tragic irony that Jordyn was acting as a designated driver the night she was killed must not be ignored. More needs to be done to educate and advocate for changes to help save families from the devastation that results from the very avoidable, senseless and criminal act of impaired driving. I support all legis - lative changes to impaired driving that will be impactful and meaningful changes to save lives. Prevention must be our priority, and I agree with MADD that Canada's proactive preventative measure to stop impaired driving before it happens must be the priority.

One strong initiative to do this has been to lobby the federal gov ernment for anti- impaired-driving technology in all new vehicles. Pre vention is also where Bill 232 comes in. Bill 232 is a dual purpose bill. The first purpose is it gives a day of reflection, of remembrance and knowing that each and every individual victim will never be forgotten. It is a day to honour and recognize the countless victims and victims' families suffering immeasurable loss for impaired driving.

The commemoration day w ill be a day to educate the public on the perils of impaired driving not only at the time of the tragedy but for a lifetime and years and years to come. It will provide a time of reflection about impaired driving and its cost on all Manitobans. The second purpose of the bill will be to offer a means to help prevent tragedies through education and advocacy to the public at large. People need more edu- cation and more reminders that impaired driving is not just about alcohol but also involves co nsumption of cannabis and other illicit drugs.

Impaired driving crashes are not rare occurrences but, rather, continue to be persistent, long- occurring, preventable tragedies. Mr. Ron Schuler, MLA for Springfield- Ritchot, put it so clearly. Quote: After all this, after all the fines, after the 60 days of the cars being impounded, after all of that, how is that we are still having individuals thinking it is okay to go out and be stoned, drunk and be driving? End of quote. When you're impaired and choose to get behind the wheel, you turn your vehicle into a weapon, and it is not just the safety –it is not just your own safety at stake.

It is the safety of the kids playing on the streets,

May 13, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 95 the pedestrians that are out enjoying a walk, the other drivers that are on the road. Your choice has conse - quences, and those conse quences can be fatal and irreversible. We need people to stop and think. Impaired driving is an irreversible decision tha t you do not want to be on either side of.

Honourable Glen Simard, minister of municipal of northern relations, spoke on May 8 about the signi- ficant impact of impaired driving on victims when he said, quote: This is a heartbreak that echoes for a lifetime. * (18:30) Jordyn represents the future–a bright future filled with love and deter mination. Her death is a cruel reminder that the recklessness of a single individual can devastate an entire com munity. Now her family carries the grief no one should ever have to endure, and, sadly, they are not alone.

My thoughts also go out to the family of Kellie Verwey, a young woman at the beginning of her life who lost the opportunity to have her own family. End of quote. We must consider there is a sig nificant ripple effect from the primary victim that extends far reaching to many, many other victims.

From that primary victim, gravely harmed or killed, it extends to all the secondary and extended victims: to the mothers, the fathers, the sisters, the brothers, the sons, the daughters, the grandmothers, the grandfathers, the aunts, the uncles, the best friends, the com munity members, the work friends, the –and the first respon - ders, the paramedics, the fire fighters, th e police officers. I am happy to hear the NDP's initiative to support grief and healing for victims of violent crimes like murder.

I hope this support can be extended to supporting the grief and healing for families that are also victims of impaired driving. On May 8, 2025, during the second reading of Bill 232, Mr. Balcaen eloquently captured the impact to victims when he said, quote: This bill has brought for–this bill was brought forward to ensure that victims of impaired driving were recognized for what they go through, what the families go through, what the communities go through and collectively what we all–what all of society goes through based on a completely preventable act.

It extends to families, friends, com munities and all Manitobans. Anybody who uses our roads and anybody who enters Manitoba and expects safe roadways and the ability to operate to those roadways without harm. End of quote. The selection of May 1 as the day of recognition for the act is sig nificant. It is the day that Jordyn was killed. Jordyn represents the girl next door and could have been anybody's loved one. Jordyn represents all victims of impaired driving. May 1 precedes the winter-long-anticipated May long week- end when many people look forward to the outdoors and plan many celebrations.

May 1 precedes high school gradu ations and is an annual oppor tunity before these happy celebrations for educators and parents to remind our young drivers about the dangers of impaired driving. During the discussion period for the bill reading on Bill 232 on May 8, several MLAs and ministers referred the gov ernment's tough–referenced the gov - ernment's tough measures to combat impaired driving. I commend and want to acknowledge many of the NDP's initiatives reported to be taking place to battle impaired driving.

A number of these initiatives were reviewed and include working hand in hand with MADD Canada; partnering with MADD Canada to support law en- forcement in running Check Stop programs during the holidays; working with Manitoba Public Insurance, which delivers high-impact awareness campaigns and education programs in our province; closing the loophole that allowed impaired drivers to appeal their licence suspension without installing ignition inter - locking devices and increasing investment money and enforcement by supporting the Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police for new roadside screening devices by support to the RCMP for drug impairment equip- ment, by support to the Winnipeg Police Service for public education campaigns.

Bill 5, The Highway Traffic Act (Impaired Driving Measures) was also reviewed on May 8 as an initiative. This–there was an omission in how the bill was described, and key pieces of infor mation were omitted that may unfor tunately lead the public to some erroneous conclusions. For clari fication, the presented infor mation stated that the legis lation includes new lifetime licence suspensions for individuals convicted of two impaired driving offences within 10 years.

The bill's amendment only applies to persons convicted of two impaired driving offences that have caused grave bodily harm or death within a 10-year period. The bill does not mean that anybody convicted of any kind of driving suspension within 10–two driving suspensions within 10 years will get a lifetime suspension. I think it's important to clarify that.

96 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 13, 2025 Bill 5 cannot be said to be one of the strongest crackdowns on impaired driving Manitoba has ever seen, since it will impact very few repeat offenders who, on two separate occasions, have killed two people during that 10-year period. It is impor tant that people understand the limit- ations of Bill 5 as it was originally presented, and hopefully, the NDP is open to some of the amend - ments that have been proposed to strengthen it. Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the discussion on impaired driving.

It is im portant to develop and implement strong, impactful changes to impaired driving legislation. It is encouraging to see the unity of all the parties for the –this important Bill 232. This example of non- partisan partnering on a united front to save Manitobans is very inspirational. I will close with a quote I use many times, by Martin Luther King, Jr.: Our lives –quote–our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter. End of quote. Jordyn's life mattered. All lives matter. Sincerely, Karen Reimer; Jordyn's mom. The Chairperson: Thank you for your presentation.

Do members of the committee have questions for the presenter? Mr. Wayne Balcaen (Brandon West): Karen, thank you very much for being here again tonight. I know you have been a relentless advocate for change and for needed change within the legis lation framework, but also the under standing of the perils of impaired driving. I can't think of anybody who could speak to it more eloquently than yourself. So my question is: With May 1 being the date that has been designated for this bill, what sort of educa- tion would you like to see come forward for the public? [interjection] The Chairperson: Just a moment, Ms.

Reimer. Ms. Reimer. K. Reimer: Sorry. Did that last time too. I think it's really impor tant that we look broadly at edu cation, but we –I mean, we are always –it's frustrating because it's not like we're not trying to educate. The police are constantly in the media, trying to educate. MPI is constantly trying to educate. I think it's time to educate in different ways.

You know, doing things like this bill, where we are going to recog nize victims, talk about victims, support victims in different ways and look at how we really can hammer home with the–I think the young people, who we now know –you know, with the legalization of cannabis, for instance, there's a lot more people out there that are maybe not as aware that it's as impactfully bad as impaired –being impaired by alcohol. So I think there's a lot of work ahead for everybody. Hon. Matt Wiebe (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): Karen, thank you so much.

Thank you to your friends and family, the whole community that has really stepped up to be advocates. The strength you have is phenomenal. That you're able and willing to do this is just so inspiring. We are committed to continuing on this path together, and so I look forward to more opportunities. This bill, this date, gives us that focal point; gives us this chance to recommit ourselves each year, and I just wanted to let you know that we're on this journey with you together to make our roads safer and stop this impaired driving. The Chairperson: Ms. Reimer, did you have a response? K. Reimer: No.

I just–well, maybe. I guess I would just like to say that –thank you to everybody. I really do feel that, for this particular bill, it really is non-partisan and I really do feel that every- body is united, and I think that's what we need. And I also appreciate that it is–that we're bringing it back to the forefront of people's minds and we're talking about it even though we have to talk about it over and over and over again. The presentations today at MADD RID 911 were awesome.

The pr esentation by the police officers were impactful and em power- ing, and I was parti cularly happy to hear one of the police officers reference this as murder, because in our minds we feel our daughter has been murdered. Mr. Ron Schuler (Springfield-Ritchot): To the Reimer and Verwey families: your advocacy and your tenacity, that's inspirational. Thank you. The Chairperson: Did you want to respond, Ms. Reimer? K. Reimer: I appreciate those kind words. It is very hard to keep doing it over and over again, so I appreciate that. Thank you.

May 13, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 97 The Chairperson: Any further questions? Oh. * (18:40) MLA Jelynn Dela Cruz (Radisson): Yes, I want to just send a personal thank-you to yourself and to Doug and the rest of the extended family and friends of Jordyn. Jordyn was a blessing to have in our commu- nity, and I'm so grateful that the com munity that surrounded her is one that will continue her legacy. As well–yes, just really acknowledge the fact that you have had to repeat your –the story over and over to so many of us.

My hope is that very soon it will start feeling like no longer new conversations that you have to have but continued conversations with each one of us over the years to come. Thank you. The Chairperson: There's three seconds, but Ms. Reimer. K. Reimer: I just would like to say that if Jordyn was here, Jordyn is –was fearless and was fierce, and she would be up here. Her motto was always, let's start a riot; let's get stuff done. She led her university hockey team onto the ice. She revved them up, she got them worked up and that's what she said, let's start a riot.

And she would have gone hard after getting justice for everyone. The Chairperson: Thank you. The time for questions is over. Okay, let me –I will now call on David Grant, private citizen. So he's not online, so he will now go to the bottom of the list. And we will check in with repeating folks. So we'll go back to Bill 11. I will now call on Ms. Laura Cameron. Okay. She will now be dropped from the list. Bill 22: I will call on David Grant, private citizen. And he's still not online. So David Grant will be crossed off the list. I'm going back to Bill 232. I will now call on David Grant, private citizen.

And he is not online and not in the room so he will be crossed off the list. So this concludes the list of presenters that I have before me. * * * The Chairperson: In what order does the committee wish to proceed with the clause -by-clause con sid- eration of these bills? MLA Dela Cruz: I'll do 232 first to acknowledge the presence of the guests in the gallery. The Chairperson: So 232 first and then numerical? [Agreed] Committee Substitution The Chairperson: Order, please.

I would like to inform the com mittee that under our rule 84(2), the following member ship substi- tution has been made for this com mittee, effective immediately: Honourable Mr. Wiebe for Honourable Mr. Moyes–or Moses, because , technically, it was Moses. Thank you. * * * The Chairperson: We will now proceed with clause by clause of Bill 11. Does the minister respon sible for Bill 11 have – [interjection] Oh, two three –I'm really good at reading the script. There we go. Okay.

Bill 232–The Victims of Impaired Drivers Commemoration Day Act (Commemoration of Days, Weeks and Months Act Amended) (Continued) The Chairperson: Bill 232: does the bill's sponsor, the honourable member for Brandon West , have an opening statement? Mr. Wayne Balcaen (Brandon West): Yes. I will make this very quick on my opening statement, but this bill was brought forward after listening to the Reimer family, Doug and Karen and their extended family, their children and all of their friends that have been relentless advocates on need ed changes in our impaired driving laws.

They paid the ultimate price in losing a child, and society can never give back to them what has been lost. But what we can do is work col laboratively and collectively amongst ourselves as legislators to try and make sure that Jordyn's life wasn't lost in vain and that all of the impaired drivers, the victims, their family, their friends, co-workers and society as a whole gets some sort of meaning from what has happened due to these tragedies and have a positive outcome.

98 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 13, 2025 I know that Bill 232 will look at two avenues. One will be to recog nize the impaired drivers and their – sorry, the impaired driving victims and their families; but the second and equally important is the opportun- ity to educate the public and continue to educate them. I dedicate this bill to Jordyn Reimer, and it is my hope that we will never forget her legacy. Thank you. The Chairperson: We thank the member. Does any other member wish to make an opening statement on Bill 232? Hon.

Matt Wiebe (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): Just a few quick words as well on this bill. I wanted to once again thank Doug and Karen and the extended family and the com munity who once again has showed up here in the Manitoba Legislature to help focus us as legislators on what's important: on the victims, the victims of impaired driving, a nd in this case on Jordyn and her memory. You–I said it briefly in my question to you in– during the presentation, but this is all about honouring Jordyn and you're doing an amazing job at that. And so, I just want to thank you for your continued advocacy.

But we know that this bill is also about so much more. We know that impaired driving is a choice; it's not an accident. We know that this is a senseless crime and one that's entirely preventable. And so, as–again, as Jordyn's family has begun to, you know, educate the public, work with law enforce- ment talking about preventative work that we can all do collectively, we start to see a path forward. We start to see an opportunity.

And this bill, as the member said, is really about not only honouring the victims and their families, but giving us that oppor tunity every single year to recommit ourselves to making change with regard to impaired driving legislation. And as I've said before, that's what we're committed to do as a gov ernment. I look forward to working with the opposition to make that happen. This impacts –as you said, Karen –not only families, but whole communities. And it affects every Manitoban.

I heard some really impactful stories even from just members of our own caucus and other members in the Legislature, and it shows how wide - spread this issue is. Jordyn's life mattered and this bill will give us an opportunity to honour her and give us an opportunity to recommit ourselves each and every year. We're fully in support of this. We look forward to working with the family as we continue to strengthen impaired driving legis lation in this province, and we look forward to working with them as a partner when we lobby the federal government as well. So I ap preciate those comments as well.

With that, let's get this bill passed. Thank you, Honourable Chair. The Chairperson: We thank the member. * (18:50) Does any other member wish to make an opening statement for Bill 232? No? During the consid eration of a bill, the enacting clause and the title are postponed until all other clauses have been considered in their proper order. Clause 1 –pass; clause 2 –pass; clause 3 –pass; enacting clause–pass; title–pass. Bill be reported. Committee Substitution The Chairperson: Order, please.

I would like to inform the committee that under rule 84(2), the following membership substitution has been made for this committee, effective immediately: the Hon ourable Mr. Moses for the Hon ourable Mr. Wiebe. Bill 11–The Oil and Gas Amendment Act (Continued) The Chairperson: All right. Bill 11. Does the minister responsible for Bill 11 have an opening statement? Hon. Jamie Moses (Minister of Business, Mining, Trade and Job Creation): Yes. So I'm pleased to be– give a few opening comments around Bill 11, The Oil and Gas Amendment Act.

The main purpose of this bill is actually to address and to make sure that we have a secure and stable and safe supply of fuel throughout Manitoba's pipelines. So right now, there is no requirement for pipeline licensees to promptly notify govern ment in case of a shutdown. So because lack of timely notification could impact contingency planning, both from a prov- incial and a municipal level, and so in order to optimize any planning that goes on with that, we want

May 13, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 99 to bring forward the amend ment to The Oil and Gas Act under the following scenarios–the three following scenarios. So first, if a pipeline operator finds an anomaly that could impact safe operations, the pipeline will need to be shut down immediately. Then we're asking the operator to notify government within 24 hours of that shutdown for the pipeline.

The second situation is if the pipeline operator finds an anomaly that would impact the safe oper - ation, and the pipeline would need to be shut down soon, that would interrupt the supply of refined petroleum products into the province, that they would receive the–require the notification and consent of the minister. And the third situation is if the pipeline operator finds an anomaly that could impact its operation but does not need to be shut down. Then the process remains unchanged as it currently is.

And so we really want to be able to ensure that we have proper notification if there is ever a shutdown to our pipeline system in Manitoba. And the reason of that is so that the proper planning can happen so that Manitobans can continue to have safe and continuous operation of our economy and our daily lives. In addition to some of these changes, there's also an additional flexibility that was added to some of the amendments around changing the industrial and environmental issues around dealing with some of the issues that we heard from presenters Kristin and Grant [phonetic].

And it allows the director of mines and petroleums be granted powers to esta blish programs for well inspection, for other pipeline use, including oil, gas, helium and natural hydrogen. And it also ensures that these inspection provisions are present thr oughout the existing act, and these provisions will be added to allow for clear main- tenance and inspection control schedules.

So this is really meant to be done in a way that both balances out a very clear and leading approach compared to other juris dictions that have similar requirements, but that one that really takes Manitoba's safety and interest in heart, and parti cularly when it comes to making sure that we have –comes the pipe- lines are safe and continued supply of oil and gas products into our province. Given the conversations we've had with some of the presenters today, we look forward to continuing those discussions and making sure that we put forward the right amend ments towards our Oil and Gas Amendment Act at this time.

Thank you. The Chairperson: We thank the minister. Does the critic from the official op position have an opening statement? Mr. Greg Nesbitt (Riding Mountain): Well, tonight we heard two compelling pre sentations from the two largest oil and gas companies here in Manitoba. Both of them were basically identical, identifying three major concerns with this bill.

So, with that being said, as I think the opposition is encouraging the minister to take another look at this bill and to work with his department, meet with these two companies and perhaps address these concerns and/or present amend ments on third reading, and I think we would–I think we'll be looking for that on third reading, so we encourage the minister, again, to work with Tundra Oil & Gas, and Corex Resources to resolve the concerns that will hamper their operations here in Manitoba.

And, quite obviously as they said, these particular rules and legis lation isn't in effect in Saskatchewan and Alberta, so why do they need to be in effect in Manitoba? Thank you. The Chairperson: We thank the member. During the consid eration of a bill, the enacting clause and the title are postponed until all other clauses have been considered in their proper order.

Also, if there is agreement from the com mittee, the Chair will call clauses in blocks that conform to pages, with the understanding that we will stop at any particular clause or clauses where members may have comments, questions or amendments to propose. Is that agreed? [Agreed] Clauses 1 and 2 –pass; clauses 3 through 5 –pass; clauses 6 and 7–pass; clauses 8 and 9–pass; clauses 10 through 14–pass; clause 15–pass; clauses 16 through 18–pass; clauses 19 and 20 –pass; clause 21 –pass; clauses 22 through 25–pass; clauses 26 through 28–pass; clauses 29 through 31 –pass; enacting clause–pass; title–pass.

Bill be reported.

100 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 13, 2025 Committee Substitution The Chairperson: So, order, please. I would like to inform the com mittee that under rule 84(2) the following membership substitution has been made for this committee, effective immediately: Honourable Minister Moyes for Honourable Minister Moses. Thank you. Bill 22–The Environment Amendment and Waste Reduction and Prevention Amendment Act The Chairperson: All right, so Bill 22. Does the minister responsible for Bill 22 have an opening statement? Hon.

Mike Moyes (Minister of Environment and Climate Change): Honourable Chair and members of the committee, I am pleased to present for your con- sideration Bill 22, The Environment Amendment and Waste Reduction and Prevention Amendment Act. * (19:00) Bill 22 represents our gov ernment's continued commitment to modernizing Manitoba's environ- mental legislation in ways that better protect our land, water and air now and for future generations.

Last year, our govern ment worked hard to pass legislation that intro duced adminis trative monetary penalties to The Environment Act, a step in the right direction to ensure that we have a modern -day enforcement framework to hold polluters accountable. However, we continue to hear from First Nations, Indigenous communities, municipalities and the public that more can be done to evolve our environmental legislation in ways that address today's challenges more effectively.

Honourable Chair, our government is listening–is a listening govern ment, and I am pleased to be here today to continue our good work on modernizing our environmental legislation in Manitoba. This bill responds to the calls we have heard for change and bills –builds on previous successes by introducing more measures that enhance public transparency, further strengthen our enforce ment capabilities and streamline processes to better serve Manitobans.

The Environment Act and The Waste Reduction and Prevention Act, backbones of environmental protection in our province, have helped us preserve the natural beauty of Manitoba. It safeguards public health and maintains our high quality of life. However, these statutes have not been significantly amended since their inception, and ongoing modern- ization is required to maintain the high standards of environmental protection. Honourable Chair, our govern ment has com - mitted to protecting Manitoba's environment and safe- guarding our public health.

This is why we bring forth Bill 22, which introduces key provisions that will enhance reporting and transparency so that Manitobans are informed when environmental incidents that may impact their communities occur or are likely to occur; strengthens enforcement capability so that those who violate environmental law face real con sequences; holds polluters accountable and deters polluting activity; modernizes the way in which environmental proposals and hearings are communicated to the public to increase engagement; and streamlines landfill levy payments to reduce adminis trative burdens for landfill owners and improve government's efficiency.

In March of 2024, our govern ment made a commitment to enhancing trans parency in Manitoba through the expansion of notification requirements if a pollutant is released into the environment. Bill 22 begins making good on this commitment. Under the current notification regime, only proponents are required to report releases into the environment and only after the release has occurred. With these new provisions, proponents will have to notify additional local author ities who may be impacted by a release and will be required to pro - actively report when there is an imminent risk of release.

The safety of Manitobans and trans parency are paramount to our govern ment. This is why Bill 22 also contains additional notification requirements for government. Once informed of a release or a risk of imminent release, gov ernment will be require d to make that infor mation available on the de partment's public registry and notify the relevant local authorities in affected areas to ensure com prehensive communi- cation. This will include notifying Indigenous com - munities and municipalities so that they better under- stand the potential impacts to their members and residents and make informed decisions.

This bill reduces the threshold of pollution that is required to prosecute offenders. This bill also strengthens enforcement capabilities under The Environment Act to prevent environmental damage and ensure that polluters are held accountable. This aligns Manitoba

May 13, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 101 with best practices in environmental protection across Canada. Bill 22 also modernizes how notices of environ- mental assessment received by gov ernment and abatement project proposals reviewed by the Clean Environment Commission are communicated to the public so that they can partici pate in these impor tant processes. Lastly, Bill 22 amends The Waste Reduction and Prevention Act to reduce the adminis trative burden associated with the waste reduction and recycling support levy.

Right now, over a hundred landfill operators pay disposal levies to government on nearly 150 landfills across Manitoba. Reporting and remitting the levies is an administrative burden on both municipalities and government. This bill streamlines the process by changing the levy collection from two semi -annual payments to one annual payment, with no changes to levies that support waste reduction initiatives. Honourable Chair, Bill 22 aligns with broader environmental commitments we made in the Throne Speech that emphasize protecting Manitoba's environ- ment and public health.

In closing, I just want to thank the department for their good work on ensuring that we can continue to modernize our protec tions for the environment and hold polluters accountable. Thank you very much. The Chairperson: We thank the minister. Does the critic from the official op position have an opening statement? Mr. Greg Nesbitt (Riding Mountain): Bill 22 introduces changes to Manitoba's environmental legislation aimed at improving public notification, strengthening enforcement and streamlining adminis- trative processes.

Key change being– key changes being proposed by the minister include proponents must notify gov- ernment and affected com munities when there's any sort of release of a pollutant into the environment. Government has new obligations to notify authorities, affected com munities and the public of pollutant releases, or imminent risk of pollutants being released. Regulations which will be written after this bill receives royal assent will define what types of releases must be reported.

New public notice provisions will give the government the discretion to use social media and other digital platforms for environmental notices, as well as continue to use newspapers. Waste disposal operators will now be able to pay a single annual payment of the Waste Reduction and Recycling Support Levy. This change from paying semi-annually is supported by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities. I want to make it clear that this NDP government didn't propose these changes until after a sewage leak spilled 230 million litres of untreated waste water into the Red River between November 2023 and February 2024.

To put this into perspective, the amount of waste water that spilled into the river would have filled 90 Olympic-sized swimming pools. That being said, as the opposition critic, I want to thank the current Minister of Environment and Climate Change (MLA Moyes) and his predecessor for bringing forward this progressive legislation. The Chairperson: We thank the member. During the consid eration of a bill, the enacting clause and the title are postponed until all other clauses have been considered in their proper order.

Also, if there is agreement from the com mittee, the Chair will call clauses in blocks that conform to pages, with the understanding that we will stop at any particular clause or clauses where members may have comments, questions or amendments to propose. Is that agreed? [Agreed] Clauses 1 and 2 –pass; clauses 3 through 6 –pass; clause 7–pass; clause 8–pass; clauses 9 and 10–pass; clauses 11 and 12–pass; clauses 13 and 14–pass; clause 15 –pass; enacting clause–pass; title –pass. Bill be reported. The hour being 7:08, what is the will of the committee? Some Honourable Members: Rise.

The Chairperson: Committee rise. COMMITTEE ROSE AT: 7:08 p.m.

The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba Debates and Proceedings are also available on the Internet at the following address: http://www.manitoba.ca/legislature/hansard/hansard.html

Document details

Collection	Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	43-2-sed4
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	43rd 2nd hansardpdf sed4.pdf
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	062e8102a594f7d7c133e1046f4414160f0aa31e

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