JUSTICE UPDATE Saskatchewan Justice September 1992

Transcription

1 JUSTICE UPDATE Saskatchewan Justice September 1992

2 September 1, 1992 TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF SASKATCHEWAN I am pleased to be able to send members of the Law Society a copy of the Justice Update which outlines legislation passed at the current session of the Legislative Assembly. I would ask you to note certain Acts which will be of particular interest to the Bar: 1. The Saskatchewan Farm Security Amendment Act, 1992 established the Government s six year lease-back program, allow certain exemptions to be waived and gives a priority status to the input security interest. A copy of this legislation is enclosed and the regulations will be available in the September 18, 1992, Gazette. This Act will come into force on September 20, The Personal Property Security Amendment Act, 1992 expands the input security interest. This Act will come into force on September 20, The Land Titles Amendment Act, 1992 (No.2) does away with duplicate certificates of title, provides for short-form mortgages and clarifies the priority of mortgages for revolving lines of credit. 4. The Business Corporations Amendment Act, 1992 provides numerous housekeeping amendments, including a new section 42 which no longer prohibits a corporation from providing financial assistance to shareholders and directors. 5. The Public Trustee Amendment Act increases the amount the public trustee can pay to a responsible adult to $10,000 and requires such money to be used in the best interests of the child. 6. The Homesteads Amendment Act, 1992 eliminates the land titles office review relating to homesteads. I would like to thank the many members of the professions who assisted during the preparation and finalization of legislation during this session. Finally, as a result of recent constitutional negotiations, significant changes are potentially on the horizon for the legal community and I look forward to discussing these with you in the coming months. Yours sincerely, Robert W. Mitchell, Q.C. Minister of Justice and Attorney General

3 The Adoption Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 13) Chapter 18 The amendments to The Adoption Act: - require a home study report to be filed in court with an application for an independent adoption; - require parents consenting to an adoption to receive counselling respecting other options for the care of the child, and to have a certificate of counselling completed for filing in the court with the application for adoption; - clarify the confidentiality provisions of the Act; - further limit advertising regarding adoption. This Act will come into force on proclamation. The Agri-Food Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 59) Chapter 42 The amendments to this Act provide that: - agencies established under the Act will be authorized to own shares, bonds and other securities in any incorporated company; - the voting threshold both for establishing and amending marketing development plans will be not less that 60% of those producers who actually vote; - the Lieutenant Governor in Council is authorized to fix the minimum number of votes required to establish boards or amend their plans; - elected development commissions may appoint their auditors and set their own level for expenses, reimbursement and remuneration rates at their annual general meetings. This Act came into force on August 24, The Arbitration Act, 1992 (Bill 64) Chapter A-24.1 The Arbitration Act, 1992 will replace The Arbitration Act, Saskatchewan s existing private arbitration legislation. The Act will apply to private arbitrations to which Saskatchewan law applies except labour arbitrations, certain statutory arbitrations and all international commercial arbitrations. The guiding principles of the Act are: - people who enter into valid arbitration agreements should be held to those agreements; - the parties should have the broad freedom to design the arbitral process to meet their needs; - the process should be fair to both parties; - the arbitrator s award should be readily enforceable, subject to a review of a specific list of flaws of form or substance. Arbitrations remain a matter of contract between the parties. The parties to an arbitration agreement can design their own arbitration process by expressly excluding or modifying provisions of the Act. However all arbitrations are subject to compulsory provisions in section 4. The Act seeks to minimize the opportunities to delay the arbitration either by a party refusing to participate or by seeking court intervention. However, the courts can keep the process moving in the face of resistance, protect the position of the parties during the proceedings, ensure that the arbitral award complies with the law and enforce awards.

4 - 2 - The proposed Act is based upon the Uniform Arbitration Act prepared by the Uniform Law Conference of Canada. Ontario (1990), Alberta (1991) and New Brunswick (1992), have introduced new arbitration Acts modelled on the uniform Act. This Act will likely be proclaimed on January 1, The Assessment Management Agency Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 7) Chapter 19 The amendment fixes the province s contribution to the Agency for the fiscal year at $7,500,000. This Act is deemed to be in force as of January 1, The Auctioneers Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 26) Chapter A-34 This amendment repeals section 21 of the Act which imposed liability on an auctioneer if the purchase and sale of used goods had the effect of defeating creditors. The wording of the section was unclear and the extent of an auctioneer s liability was uncertain. Auctioneers will remain subject to The Fraudulent Preference Act when trading in used goods. The Act came into force on June 3, The Automobile Accident Insurance Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 37) Chapter 20 The amendments to this Act provide for the payment of vehicle registration fees and basic insurance premiums by instalment payments. This Act came into force on July 31, The Bulk Sales Repeal Act (Bill 75) Chapter 43 This Act repealed The Bulk Sales Act. Reference should be made to sections 22 to 26 of The Interpretation Act when considering the impact of the repeal of this Act. This Act came into force on August 24, The Business Corporations Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 45) Chapter 44 The amendments in this bill include provisions which: - reduce filing requirements, to ensure that corporations are not being required to file the same information or documentation with the government more than once; - authorize the Director to compensate a corporation for actual expenses incurred where it is

5 - 3 - granted a corporation name in error and the Director requires it to change its name; - modify section 42, which deals with loans and guarantees that may be provided by a company to directors, employees and shareholders to provide clearer directions to corporations as to what is and is not permissible and to require full disclosure of financial assistance granted to such persons to be given to the shareholders; - give an extra-provincial corporation the option of adopting a second corporate name for use in Saskatchewan where its registered name is too similar to the name of a Saskatchewan corporation; - eliminate the requirement for a Saskatchewan corporation to have at least one director resident in Saskatchewan but require such a corporation to comply with section 268 as if it was an extraprovincial corporation - enact a number of other housekeeping amendments. This Act will likely be proclaimed on November 1, The Child and Family Services Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 14) Chapter 21 The minister is given the discretion to release information obtained in the administration of this Act. This Act will come into force on proclamation. The Clean Air Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 1) Chapter 22 New provisions have been added to provide that: - the terms of an existing permit continue to apply after its expiry and until a new permit is issued; - injunctions prohibiting further breaches of an order can be granted by a court; - environmental fees and charges based on the amount of emissions released may be prescribed in regulations. Oil and gas facilities are now subject to the Act. Licensing of burning activities of municipal waste disposal grounds will be exempt from The Clean Air Act and fall exclusively within The Environmental Management and Protection Act. This Act came into force on July 31, The Commissioners for Oaths Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 17) Chapter 3 The amendment removes the annual appointments of commissioners for oaths. Consequently, all future appointments will be for five year terms. The Act came into force on June 3, 1992.

6 - 4 - The Community Bonds Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 60) Chapter 45 The Act amends the existing legislation by: - including co-operatives as eligible businesses for Community Bond investments; - limiting the liability of nominee directors of a community bond corporation; - adding the existing requirement of commercial viability as a prerequisite in the approval process; - introducing a statutory cap on guaranteed principal debt for the program at $100 million; - providing for regulations to restrict the use of community bond funds by the project company; - provide for regulations to limit the equity position of a community bond corporation to 50% of any one project; - introducing a maintenance fee payable by a community bond corporation in return for the guarantee provided by the province. This Act is expected to come into force on October 1, The Consumer Products Warranties Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 42) Chapter C-30 This Act repeals section 31 of The Consumer Products Warranties Act, which permitted the Consumer Protection Branch of Saskatchewan Justice to offer mediation services in the case of consumer-business product warranty disputes. This Act came into force on July 31, The Construction Industry Labour Relations Act, 1992 (Bill 93) Chapter C This Act creates special labour relations legislation to govern collective bargaining in the construction industry which is similar to legislation that was in place from 1979 to It establishes a framework for province-wide collective bargaining on a trade-by-trade basis. It also establishes a principle that employers must bargain collectively through an employer s organization. It prohibits the formation of non-union spin-off companies by unionized contractors. New policies in the 1992 version of the legislation include: - establishing a mandatory reconciliation process for collective bargaining in the construction industry before a strike or lockout can occur; - establishing the power to create, by regulation, a jurisdictional assignment plan for the resolution of jurisdictional disputes. This Act will come into force on proclamation which will occur shortly. The Contributory Negligence Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 19) Chapter 24 At common law, a judgment against or a settlement with one of several persons responsible for the same loss or damage was a bar to an action against the others. This applied even if the judgment against the first person could not be enforced. This Act provides that where two or more persons are responsible for - 5 -

7 the same loss or damage, the person who suffered the loss or damage may deal with them separately. A judgment against one or a settlement with one does not preclude an action against the others. This Act came into force on August 24, 1992, but is retroactive to April 1, The Corporation Capital Tax Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 30) Chapter 46 These amendments implement the following changes announced in the budget: - increases the resource surcharge from 2% to 3% of the value of resource sales, effective April 1, 1992; - increases the corporation capital tax rate for banks and trust corporations from 3% to 3.25% effective April 1, 1992; - defines paid up capital to include long-term debt of a corporation where the amount is owing to a pension trust or other trust. This Act came into force on August 24, 1992, but is retroactive to April 1, The Criminal Injuries Compensation Repeal Act (Bill 81) Chapter 65 The repeal of The Criminal Injuries Compensation Act is part of a new strategy for dealing with victims in Saskatchewan, aimed at reaching more victims and in a more meaningful way than in the past. With the repeal of the Act, the Crimes Compensation Board is being wound down. However, there is a transition period during which the board may complete its business. The board may deal with applications received by it before April 1, Applications received after that date will be considered by the Minister of Justice under The Victims of Crime Amendment Act, Except as noted below, the Act will be proclaimed on September 19, 1992, but will be retroactive to April 1, Subsections providing for a quorum of one for the Crimes Compensation Board while it winds up its activities came into force on August 28, The Critical Wildlife Habitat Protection Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 72) Chapter 66 An additional 1.5 million acres of wildlife habitat on government-owned agricultural land is designated under this Act. The legislation also provides that critical wildlife habitat lands may be granted by or transferred from a provincial government department that administers those lands to a Crown corporation or agency specified in the regulations or from such a corporation or agency to a department. This Act came into force on August 28, 1992.

8 - 6 - The Crown Minerals Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 10) Chapter 25 Changes have been made to this Act to: - remove sand and gravel from the definition of mineral ; - facilitate the transfer of Crown minerals to the federal government to satisfy treaty land entitlements under Indian land settlements; - clarify and strengthen the Province s authority to limit compensation payments on Crown acquired lands as it pertains to the original owners and any secondary interest existing as a result of registered encumbrances or caveats; - provide for the cancellation of Crown petroleum and natural gas dispositions for environmental protection reasons; - clarify the Crown s authority to assess royalties that may be deemed to be taxes under the Act; - expand the Lieutenant Governor in Council regulation making powers under the Act; - add a general royalty avoidance clause. This Act came into force on July 31, 1992, however, subsections 11(2) and (3) are retroactive to January 1, 1974; subsection 11(1) and section 12 are retroactive to February 1, 1990; clause 3(1)(a) and sections 16 and 17 will come into force on proclamation; and section 15 is retroactive to June 22, The Doukhobors of Canada, C.C.U.B. Trust Fund Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 22) Chapter 4 This Act provides that the minister, rather than the Lieutenant Governor in Council, shall appoint the members of the Doukhobors of Canada C.C.U.B. Trust Fund board and approve the reimbursement of board member expenses. The Act, which also contains some housekeeping amendments, came into force on June 3, The Education Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 68) Chapter 47 The amending Act provides for the following: - a provision is put in place dealing with the use of copyright materials by educational institutions under agreements entered into by the Minister of Education; - a second provision is put in place setting out the new procedure for Boards of Education to close schools and to discontinue grades in schools. The copyright license agreement provisions came into force on August 24, The provisions dealing with school closure will come into force on proclamation. The Education and Health Tax Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 29) Chapter 48 This Act increases the sales tax rate from 7% to 8%. It also removes the exemption from tax for tobacco. This Act came into force on August 24, 1992, but is retroactive to May 8, 1992.

9 -7- The Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 12) Chapter 5 These amendments: - streamline the procedure for garnishment of arrears; - modify the writ of execution provisions to ensure that no property is exempt from seizure and that writs will remain in force for as long as the arrears they encompass are enforceable; - strengthen the director s enforcement powers by authorizing him to fix an amount that can be enforced by way of a continuing garnishment toward reduction of arrears; - authorize greater access to financial information regarding the respondent; - allow for garnishment of joint bank accounts; - enact a number of minor housekeeping changes. This Act will come into force on proclamation. The Environment Management and Protection Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 3) Chapter 49 The amendments: - introduce a definition of waste dangerous goods consistent with other jurisdictions; - expand regulation making authority to permit: (i) charging of fees for permits and other approvals required under the Act; (ii) the monitoring and storage of hazardous substances, and the monitoring of the construction, operation and decommissioning of storage facilities; and (iii) certification of tank installers; - provide for rights of entry for enforcement officers; - permit the Minister to delegate powers to Directors in the Department. This Act came into force on August 24, The Farm Financial Stability Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 53) Chapter 50 This Act provides for amendments to: - clarify in what situations a future loan guarantee may be withheld under the Act; - provide authority to restrict the use of a specific dealer by a feeder/breeder association; - provide access to the local supervisor under the Act to custom feedlot facilities to ensure proper care of association cattle. This amendment will also provide for access by the provincial supervisor to members facilities and to custom feedlot facilities. The Act also contains other housekeeping amendments. This Act came into force on July 31, The Farm Financial Stability Amendment Act, 1992 (No.2) (Bill 54) Chapter 67 This amending legislation provides for: - termination of the counselling function of the Counselling Assistance for Farmers Program (CAFF) as of April 1, 1992;

10 -8- - termination of operating and consolidation loan guarantee approvals for new program clients as of April 1, 1992, except where application was made prior to April 1, 1992; - termination of the consolidation loan guarantee program effective April 1, 1992; - termination of new operating loan guarantee approvals for existing program clients effective July 31, 1992; - renewal of existing operating loan guarantees until March 31, 1995; - termination of the existing administration for the CAFF program effective July 31, This Act came into force on August 28, 1992, but is retroactive to April 1, The Farm Financial Stability Amendment Act, 1992 (No.3) (Bill 55) Chapter 68 This Act provides for: - the transfer of the administration of the Counselling Assistance for Farmers (CAFF) Program to the Agricultural Credit Corporation of Saskatchewan (ACS) for phase down; - the authority for ACS to honour guarantees already provided for under the CAFF Program; - a transfer of the authority to realize upon loan security after a guarantee is provided to lenders from the Minister of Agriculture and Food to ACS; - the authority for ACS to provide extensions to existing guarantees until March 31, 1995; - the authority to transfer files from the existing administration to ACS as of August 1, This Act came into force on August 28, 1992, but is retroactive to August 1, The Farm Income Insurance Legislation Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 87) Chapter 51 This Act provides the legislative basis for the 1991 and 1992 version of the Gross Revenue Insurance Program (GRIP) and makes provisions for a statutorily prescribed contract for both years. The notice provision from the 199 contract is declared void and any cause of action based on that provision is extinguished. Some portions of this Act come into force on proclamation while others are retroactive to either January 1, 1991 or April 1, The Financial Administration Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 50) Chapter 26 This Act permits the Lieutenant Governor in Council to cancel all or part of an advance, liability or obligation between the Crown and any board, commission, Crown agent or Crown corporation, amend or vary the terms and conditions governing these actions and transfer obligations between such entities. It provides that pubic accounts are to be tabled by October 31 following the end of the fiscal year an permits payment of grants to Crown corporations in the amount of their net operating losses. This Act came into force on July 31, 1992 except that provisions respecting advances, liabilities and obligations are retroactive to December 31, 1991.

11 - 9 - The Fire Prevention Act, 1992 (Bill 85) Chapter F This Bill updates The Fire Prevention Act. The legislation provides greater authority for municipalities to deal with the fire prevention matters at the local level and allows for provincial adoption of the National Fire Code. The Bill also provides for education and training for fire-fighters that meets provincial standards and certification procedures. It deals with the appointment and powers of local assistants who investigate fires. The Saskatchewan Municipal Board is designated to hear appeals respecting fire inspection orders. The Act outlines the responsibilities of the Fire Commissioner and allows for delegation of that person s duties to fire chiefs and local assistants. In terms of enforcement, fine levels are updated and if building owners do not comply with the fire inspector s order, the fire chief can carry out the work or have it carried out by someone else. This Act will come into force on proclamation. The Fuel Tax Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 62) Chapter 52 These amendments increase the gasoline and diesel fuel tax rate from 10 to 13 per litre. As well, effective May 8, 1992, farmers and primary producers of renewable resources are required to pay taxes on their bulk gasoline purchases and they will be eligible for an annual rebate to a maximum of $900. The amendments also provide for the implementation of a diesel fuel colouring program effective January 1, Provisions are added for administrative and enforcement measures related to diesel fuel colouring. Portions of the Act came into force on August 24, 1992, and other portions are retroactive to May 8, The Health Research Repeal Act (Bill 47) Chapter 69 This Act repeals The Health Research Act and transfers the assets and liabilities of the Saskatchewan Health Research Board to the Health Services Utilization and Research Commission. This Act came into force on August 28, The Heritage Fund (Saskatchewan) Repeal Act (Bill 51) Chapter 53 This Act provides for the winding up of the Saskatchewan Heritage Fund and the Farm Purchase Program Fund. All assets and liabilities of the Funds are transferred to the Consolidated Fund, as are Energy Security and Environmental Protection reserves within the Heritage Fund. Agricultural lease revenues will now be collected by the Consolidated Fund. This Act came into force on August 24, 1992 but is retroactive to March 31, 1992.

12 The Highway Traffic Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 40) Chapter 54 Amendments are included with respect to seat belts and child security seats: - requiring shoulder straps to be worn over the shoulder; - matching the description of child safety seats with those contained in other provincial legislation and federal government safety standards; - providing authority to allow young children to wear a should strap behind their back when it would otherwise come across the face. The Act makes it an offence to operate a vehicle in excess of 5,000 kilograms when the vehicle is registered by wheelbase. It will also be an offence for vehicles to operate with a weight in excess of that stated on a registration permit. Finally, to meet constitutional requirements, the Bill provides immunity from imprisonment for the registered owner of a vehicle who is charged with an offence under the Act. This Act came into force on August 24, The Homesteads Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 65) Chapter 27 These amendments eliminate the requirement that the Land Titles Office enforce compliance with the Act. However, the consent of the non-owning spouse and the certificate of independent acknowledgement or the completion of the appropriate affidavit will still be required before the owning spouse can dispose of the homestead (e.g. sell, lease, mortgage). The amendments will mean that in many situations the primary responsibility to ensure proper compliance will rest with the solicitor handling the transaction. Amendments are also made to clarify that if a non-owning spouse is wrongfully deprived of homestead rights, he or she will have recourse against the owning spouse or, if a judgment is unsatisfied, from the land titles system. This Act will likely come into force on October 1, The Hospitals Tax Repeal Act (Bill 43) Chapter 16 As a housekeeping measure, the Act which provided for a tax on certain gaming activities such as bingos, raffles and lottery ticket sales is repealed. It also amends The Revenue and Financial Services Act to remove references to The Hospitals Tax Act. This Act came into force on June 30, The Income Tax Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 46) Chapter 55 Budget initiatives are implemented to: - impose a 10% surtax on individual income tax; - increase the child tax reduction from $200 to $250 per child; - decrease the small business corporate income tax rate from 10% to 9%; - increase the general corporate income tax rate from 16% to 17%. These amendments are retroactive to January 1, 1992.

13 An amendment is made to the Corporate Income Tax Reduction for New Small Businesses provision to require that the corporation not only was incorporated between March 26, 1986 and April 1, 1992, but also commenced business during that time period. This amendment is retroactive to March 26, The Industrial Development Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 66) Chapter 56 A number of housekeeping amendments are made to The Industrial Development Act, including: - an amendment to the definition of financial assistance to allow financing in all forms; - a modification of corporate purposes to include facilitating the development and operation of businesses; - a provision for services to companies incorporated, continued, registered or operating in Saskatchewan. This Act came into force on August 24, The Interprovincial Subpoena Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 80) Chapter 70 The Interprovincial Subpoena Act previously provided for the interprovincial enforcement of subpoenas in non-criminal matters only if the subpoena was issued by a court. These amendments provide for the legislation to also apply where the subpoena is issued by a person, board, commission or tribunal that has the power to issue a subpoena. The application of the Act is also expanded to apply to provincial offences. This Act came into force on August 28, The Jury Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 16) Chapter 6 The Act will permit jury summons and information returns to be served by regular, certified or registered mail. Persons who fail to attend pursuant to a summons will be required to explain that they failed to receive the summons. This Act came into force on June 3, The Labour-sponsored Venture Capital Corporations Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 78) Chapter 57 The Act increases contribution limits per investor in a provincially registered labour-sponsored venture capital corporation from $3,500 to $5000. Contribution limits for federally registered corporations remains unchanged. Additional compliance requirements are added including prior ministerial approval for use of equity capital for a purpose other than investing in shares or debt instrument and mandatory offering of equity issues of Type B corporations to all employees of an operating company who are Saskatchewan residents. This Act is expected to come into force on October 1, 1992.

14 The Land Titles Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 33) Chapter 28 The Act will permit land titles registrars to process instruments affecting estate land provided that there is a certificate that no infants are interested in the estate signed by either a local registrar of the Surrogate Court or the public trustee. Previously this certificate was only available from the public trustee. This Act will come into force on proclamation. The Land Titles Amendment Act (No.2), 1992 (Bill 74) Chapter 58 The Act introduces several important changes to the land titles system. The following changes are to be proclaimed in force on October 1, 1992: Duplicate Certificates of Title Duplicate certificates of title will no longer be issued or processed by the land titles system except to accommodate exceptional arrangements. Instead registered owners will receive a certified copy of title at no charge immediately following registration of a transfer, discharge of a mortgage or surrender or lapsing of a memorandum of a lease provided no other lease or mortgage remains on the title to the land. Duplicate certificates of title held by a third party will continue to be processed for the term of an exceptional arrangement. These arrangements include duplicates held by a financial institution as security for a loan. Once an exceptional arrangement expires and the duplicate has been cancelled no further duplicates will be issued for that land. Where an exceptional arrangement exists, it is important to advise the land titles office when the duplicate certificate of title is submitted to ensure that the duplicate or a new duplicate is returned. Revolving Lines of Credit Mortgages A new provision clarifies that mortgages including revolving lines of credit have priority in relation to subsequent instruments registered against a title to land, except builders liens and personal property security notices. Building Restriction Caveats Presently a court order is usually required to remove a building restriction caveat. The amendments will permit a registrar to remove a building restriction caveat if on its face it has expired or 50 years have elapsed. Also, a registered owner of the land benefiting from the building restriction will be able to withdraw the caveat provided that requirements for removing an easement are followed. The land that benefits from the building restriction must be identifiable and other persons with an interest in that title must consent to removal of the restrictions. The following amendments will be proclaimed at a later date: Summary form Mortgages Presently, the entire mortgage document is registered in the land titles office. Under the new system mortgages are divided into two parts.

15 Part 1 of the mortgage is the summary form which will simplify the presentation of key variable information which will be required to be submitted except in certain exceptional cases. Infrequent user may attach the actual mortgage document as Part 2 if standard terms have not been used. Part 2 is the set of standard terms which routinely appear in any mortgage document. Frequent registry users, such as financial institutions, may apply to the master of titles for approval of these terms for filing once in some or all registry office. All subsequent Part 1 mortgages will simply refer to Part 2 rather than filing all of the standard terms in each case. Mortgagees are required to provide mortgagors with a copy of the mortgage prior to its execution. The Assurance Fund The Act deletes all references to the assurance fund and substitutes the consolidated fund in its place. Claims against the land titles system will be processed as before without the need to administer a separate fund. The liability of the land titles system does not change. The Marriage Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 11) Chapter 7 This Act provides that marriages may no longer be solemnized only under the authority of the publication of banns. Couples previously had the choice of obtaining marriage licences or publishing banns. All couples intending to marry must now purchase marriage licences. The amendments do not prohibit the publication of banns; banns may still be published in accordance with religious traditions. The Act also provides that the minister responsible for the Act, rather than the Lieutenant Governor in Council, may appoint marriage commissioners. The Act, which also contains some housekeeping amendments, will likely come into force on October 1, The Meewasin Valley Authority Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 6) Chapter 8 This Act fixes the level of funding provided by participating parties for the fiscal year at 95% of the funding provided during the fiscal year. Additional provisions provide for the granting of easements in favour of the Authority. Section 5 of the Act (funding) is deemed to be in force as of April 1, The balance of the Act came into force on June 3, The Mentally Disordered Persons Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 34) Chapter 29 This Act provides that certificates of incompetence lapse on the later of: - the date that the Act comes into force; or - one year after their issue; unless a property guardian was appointed, the public trustee acts as property guardian or proceedings are underway to appoint a property guardian. The Act came into force on July 31, 1992.

16 The Milk Control Act, 1992 (Bill 35) Chapter M-15.1 This new Act consolidates the previous legislation and clarifies language to provide for: - milk to be defined as cow s milk only; - authority for the Milk Control Board to establish production quotas, quota transfers, etc.; - milk price pooling through the use of blended or pooled price systems; - the collection of levies on behalf of the Canadian Dairy Commission by the Board; - the ability for the Board to establish a plant security fund from which producers could be paid in the event of a foreclosure against a plant; - clarification of certain hearing procedures under the Act; - an increase in the penalties for offenses under the Act. This Act will come into force on proclamation. The Mineral Taxation Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 9) Chapter 9 This Act provides for an increase in the annual mineral rights tax assessment to $960 per nominal section from $640 per nominal section. It also clarifies the existing mineral rights transfer provisions from taxable corporations to non-taxable individuals. This Act came into force on June 3, 1992, but is retroactive to January 1, The Mortgage Protection Amendment Act, 1992 Bill (49) Chapter 30 This Act terminates the mortgage protection plan effective June 30, The Municipal Employees Superannuation Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 77) Chapter 71 This Act amends The Municipal Employees Superannuation Act to comply with recent changes to the Income Tax Act (Canada), including limitations on contributions and benefits, and providing regulationmaking ability to accommodate future changes as required. Other amendments include increased pension benefits for members, redefining the cohabitation period for common-law spouses, amending the age and service criteria for unreduced pensions for police and fire-fighters, and more equitable death benefits. Clause 8(1)(c), respecting pension plan membership, is retroactive to January 1, Subsection 9(3), prohibiting voluntary contributions to the former pension plan, is retroactive to October 9, The remainder of the Act will come into force on January 1, 1993.

17 The Municipal Revenue Sharing Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 8) Chapter 10 The amendment fixes grants payable to urban municipalities at 85% of funding levels and to rural municipalities at 92% of the amount available at the beginning of the fiscal year. This Act came into force on June 3, 1992, but is retroactive to April 1, The Ombudsman Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 63) Chapter 59 Amendments to The Ombudsman Act bring its provisions in line with those in Ombudsman legislation in other jurisdictions. The amendments: - remove the requirement that the Ombudsman be a Canadian citizen; - remove the requirement that the Ombudsman receive Lieutenant Governor in Council approval before delegating authority; - remove the requirement that person complaining to the Ombudsman be provincial residents and that they complain within one year of the event giving rise to the complaint; - remove limitations on the Ombudsman s jurisdiction respecting the investigation of ministers, deputy ministers and arbitrators acts and decisions and respecting the investigation of acts and decisions of departments or officials concerning intergovernmental matters. This Act came into force on August 24, The Ozone-depleting Substances Control Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 2) Chapter 31 Additional powers are given to the minister to: - regulate a program for certification of persons who recover and recycle ozone-depleting substances; - issue orders respecting the handling, recycling and disposal of these substances; - apply to the court for an injunction to enjoin infractions of the Act. Regulations may provide for the adoption and enforcement of codes and standards and prescribes fees related to ozone-depleting substances. This Act came into force on July 31, The Parks Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 36) Chapter 60 Changes are made with respect to the size of a number of provincial parks with an overall increase in the amount of provincial park land. Several name changes and changes in designation are being made. The name Nipawin Provincial Park is being changed to Narrow Hills Provincial Park. The Athabasca Sand Dunes Parkland Reserve and the Wildcat Hill Protected Area will be designated as provincial wilderness parks. A section dealing with speed-measuring devices will assist in the enforcement of speed limits within provincial parks. This Act came into force on August 24, 1992.

18 The Pension Benefits Act, 1992 (Bill 83) Chapter P The major changes implemented by this new Act are: - better control of pension plan management by, for example, clarifying the responsibilities of pension plan administration and the Superintendent of Pensions; - the establishment of improved minimum standards to which pension plans must adhere, for example, by extending coverage to part-time employees, requiring a pension plan to vest after two years of service and requiring pre-retirement survivor benefits; - providing rules for credit splitting on marriage breakdown. This Act is targeted to be proclaimed as of September 20, The Personal Property Security Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 56) Chapter 72 This Act provides for: - the simplification of the existing input security interest for grain farmers and for an extension of that interest to livestock producers. This amendment corresponds to an amendment to The Saskatchewan Farm Security Act to grant an input security interest the same priority as a purchase money security interest under the Act; - an amendment to the definition of financing change statement and financing statement to allow for registration by data transmission to the office of the registry; - an express prohibition from liability for the Person Property Registrar for loss or damage suffered by a person because of oral advice received from a government employee or by the failure to register or register correctly electronic data that is transmitted to the registry s data base; - an expansion of the regulation making power of the Lieutenant Governor in Council to provide for the ability to prescribe the form and content of electronic data registration. This Act is targeted to be proclaimed as of September 20, The Pest Control Products (Saskatchewan) Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 38) Chapter 33 This Act provides authority to establish regulations requiring that vendors of commercial, agricultural, industrial pesticides and restricted pesticides be licensed. The Act also contains certain housekeeping amendments. The Act will come into force on proclamation. The Pest Control Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 39) Chapter 32 This Act provides authority to establish the Dutch Elm Disease Control Regulations as a minimum standard for other Dutch Elm Disease related legislation and to clarify potential conflicts between The Pest Control Act and The Urban Municipality Act, The Act also provides the exemption of specific geographic areas from the provisions of the regulations. This Act came into force on July 31, 1992.

19 The Power Corporation Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 88) Chapter 61 The Power Corporation Act is amended to provide SaskPower with the authority to expropriate land for the purpose of installing underground protection, control and communication cable related to SaskPower s operations. The Act currently only provides SaskPower with the authority to expropriate land for the purposes of installing power lines. This Act came into force on August 24, The Public Trustee Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 32) Chapter 34 This Act: - increases the amount that the Public Trustee may authorize to be paid to a responsible adult acting on behalf of a child from $2,000 to $10,000; - requires responsible adults to use the money in the best interests of the child rather than in their own absolute discretion; - clarifies that the 30 days notice to the public trustee of an intent to begin or continue legal proceedings against a person who is the subject of a certificate of incompetence and who does not have a property guardian, is not required once a certificate lapses under The Mentally Disordered Persons Act; - reflects recent changes to The Homesteads Act, 1989 and continues the requirement that the public trustee consent to transactions respecting homesteads where the public trustee acts for an infant or has been appointed property guardian for an adult spouse. The first three changes noted above came into force on July 31, The fourth change will come into force on proclamation of The Homesteads Amendment Act, 1992, which is expected to occur on October 1, The Queen s Bench (Surrogate Procedures) Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 67) Chapter 62 This Act: - amalgamates the Surrogate Court with the Court of Queen s Bench; - repeals The Surrogate Court Act and transfers the substantive law from that Act to The Queen s Bench Act; - establishes the Public Trustee as the Official Administrator throughout the province respecting new estates following the date of proclamation of this Act; - removes references to The Succession Duty Act from the provisions added to The Queen s Bench Act (as that Act was repealed by Bill l8); - amends sections which apply to small estates by increasing the values to which they apply. This Act will come into force on proclamation.

20 The Queen s Printer Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 24) Chapter 35 This Act allows the minister to make regulations providing that the Queen s Printer may charge corporations or members of the public directly for publishing notices on their behalf in the Gazette pursuant to legislative requirements. The amendments further provide that where the tariff charges are not paid, the Office of the Queen s Printer is not required to publish the notice. The Lieutenant Governor in Council, however, retains the discretion to order the Office of the Queen s Printer to publish such a notice notwithstanding failure to make a payment. This Act came into force on July 31, The Real Estate Brokers Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 25) Chapter 36 This Act ensures provisions that protect consumer deposits on lease or purchase of real estate apply from the time an offer to lease or purchase is made, by amending the definition of trade. Also, limitation periods for consumer claims against the Real Estate Assurance Fund, formerly in the regulations, are now included in the Act. This Act came into force on July 31, The Registrar s Services (Co-operatives, Credit Unions and Names of Homes) Act (Bill 73) Chapter R-15.1 This Act amends The Co-operatives Act, 1989, The Credit Union Act, 1985 and The Names of Homes Act by adding provisions for regulations respecting fees for any services provided by the registrar pursuant to these Acts. This Act came into force on August 24, The Regulatory Reform Act, 1992 (Bill 18) Chapter 11 The purpose of regulatory reform legislation is to repeal obsolete statutes. Seven statutes are repealed by this Act. Two statutes of particular note to the legal professions being repealed are The Succession Duty Act and The Succession Duty Act, These Acts imposed succession duties during the periods 1918 to 1947 and 1972 to 1976, respectively. They have been kept in force up to this date for the purpose of collecting outstanding succession duties. With their repeal, any further outstanding succession duties due with respect to those time periods will now be waived. This Act came into force on June 3, 1992/ The repeal of six of the statutes named is effective that date; the repeal of The Agricultural Products Market Development Fund Act will come into force on proclamation.

21 The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 61) Chapter In addition to a number of housekeeping amendments, changes to the Act are made to: - simplify the procedure for resolving security deposit disputes; - remove the requirement that Rentalsman investigate every complaint and substitute a requirement that a hearing be held in every case; - eliminate the Rent Appeal Commission and provide for appeals from orders of the Rentalsman to go to the Court of Queen s Bench; - repeal all rent review and rent control provisions; - give landlords and tenants the alternative of having their residential tenancy disputes resolved in the Court of Queen s Bench. Clause 16(b) and subsection 34(1) came into force on July 31, Section 18 came into force on August 14, The balance of the Act will come into force on proclamation, which will likely occur on October 1, The Revenue and Financial Services Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 28) Chapter 38 This Act: - allows tax collectors a refund for tax remitted on bad debts; - imposes an obligation to pay tax on the portion of bad debts collected; - extends the limitation period for obtaining refunds of tax overpayments from three to four years; - removes the provision which permitted vendors to avoid the obligation of collecting tax on sales if purchasers refused to pay the tax; - makes changes to procedures in the Provincial Comptroller s office, the most significant change allowing the Comptroller to examine payments either before or after payment is made; - provides that the persons who are full-time members of the Saskatchewan Municipal Board are also members of the Board of Revenue Commissioners. Except as noted below, this Act came into force on July 31, The third change referred to above came into force on July 31, 1992, but is retroactive to April 1, The first and second changes referred to above came into force on July 31, 1992, but are retroactive to January 1, The Rural Municipality Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 27) Chapter 63 This legislation provides for amendments to: - clarify election procedures; - clarify the authority of the municipal councils with respect to municipal roads; - accommodate the licensing of trailers and mobile homes in trailer parks; - remove the limitation placed on the license fees changed to transient traders; - expand the power of councils with respect to utilities in order to facilitate rural water pipe lines; - better facilitate the entering into of agreements with persons, associations or Indian bands; - clarify the authority respecting and the consequences flowing from the amalgamation of municipalities; - clarify the operation of organized hamlets; - clarify that the exemption provided for registered independent schools applies only to non-profit schools;

22 clarify exemptions for agricultural operations; - restrict the exemptions provided to dwellings; - introduce a penalty on arrears of taxes during the month of January. This Act came into force on August 24, 1992, but is retroactive to January 1, 1992, except that section 5 is retroactive to January 1, 1990, and section 86 comes into force on January 1, The Saskatchewan Farm Security Amendment Act, 1992 (Bill 57) Chapter 73 This amending legislation makes the following changes: 1. Introduction of a six year lease-back program containing the following major features: Lease-back - Within 60 days following foreclosure, quit claim or judicial sale, a lender or purchaser by judicial sale is required to either: (a) offer the farmer involved a lease for the farm land which was quit claimed, sold or foreclosed upon; or (b) provide the farmer with written notice that he or she will not be offered the farm land for lease. - the lender may refuse to offer the least to the farmer if: (a) the farmer has been dishonest in his or her dealings with the lender with respect to the mortgage or agreement for sale; (b) deterioration of the farm land is occurring through the neglect of the farmer; (c) the farm land has been abandoned; or (d) the farmer had the ability to meet his or her obligations under the mortgage or agreement for sale but did not do so. - within 30 days of receiving the lender s written notice that a lease will not be offered, the farmer can apply to the Farm Tenure Arbitration Board for review of the lender s decision; - the lease-back provisions will not apply to new mortgages for new debt. Farm Tenure Arbitration Board - a new board to be known as the Farm Tenure Arbitration Board is established to determine the following issues: (a) where the lender and farmer cannot agree on the terms or conditions of a lease or on the rent of a lease either party may refer the matter to the Board for determination; (b) the Board, upon application, may review the basis for a lender s refusal to offer a lease to a farmer; (c) the Board, upon application, may review the basis for a termination of a lease by a lender; - lenders and farmers are deemed to have agreed to apply to the Farm Tenure Arbitration Board, subject to express election by either party that the matter proceed before the Court of Queen s Bench. Termination - a farmer s right to lease pursuant to this Act terminates where: (a) a farmer fails at any time to exercise the rights provided to him under the Act; (b) the farm land is sold to that farmer; (c) the farmer fails to make payment pursuant to the terms of the lease; (d) the farmer breaches a term or condition of the lease;