Frequently Asked Questions

There are survivor benefits under the Canada Pension Plan:

• surviving spouse’s pension,
• orphan’s benefits, and
• death benefits.

Contact CPP for more details:

• 1-800-277-9914 or online

The Companies Office will review the names of organizations submitted and make sure that they are not too similar to existing names on their record. If the names are confusing then registration of the business name will be rejected.

The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth (MACY) provides support and advocacy for individuals involved in the Child and Family Services system. They can be contacted at (204) 988-7440 or 1-800-263-7146. They are located at 100 – 346 Portage Avenue.

If your landlord has no claim against the damage deposit (for example the unit was not damaged) your landlord has 14 days after the date of the termination of your tenancy to return the damage deposit, as well as any interest.

If there is a claim for damage, your landlord has 28 days after the date of the termination of the tenancy to inform you of the claim by written notice. If your landlord’s claim is less than the damage deposit, the excess must be returned to you.

You are not automatically entitled to be compensated for your work as an attorney. If the Power of Attorney document does not set out any rate of compensation you could request fair and reasonable compensation from the court.

No. All summary conviction offences, including hybrid offences which are being dealt with summarily, are heard by a Provincial Court judge without a jury. Some less serious indictable offences also must be tried by a Provincial Court judge. There are some very serious indictable offences that may only be tried by a judge of the Court of King’s Bench with a jury. Such offences include murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Other indictable offences allow an accused person to choose (or elect) whether to be tried in Provincial Court, in the Court of King’s Bench by a judge and jury, or in the Court of King’s Bench by a judge alone.

A consent letter may be required in addition to a passport for children traveling with only one parent, legal guardian, or supervising adult. The Government of Canada has a sample consent letter for travel with a child, which can be found here.

Documents providing evidence of the parenting arrangements for separated or divorced parents may also be helpful. A copy of the court order granting guardianship for legal guardians may be requested. You may want to contact the embassy or consulate for the country for additional entry requirements. Global Affairs Canada can be contacted at:

• 1-800-267-6788 (in Canada and the U.S.) or 613-944-6788
• TTY: 1-800-394-3472 (in Canada and the U.S.) or 613-944-1310
• https://travel.gc.ca/assistance/questions

Your monthly housing costs will also include taxes and insurance. These rates will vary from house to house. The actual purchase of a home has additional expenses, like lawyer fees, land transfer tax, application fees, property tax adjustment, home inspections, moving costs, mortgage loan insurance premium, appraisal fees, deposit (at least 5%), property insurance, survey or certificate of location, water tests, septic tank inspection and title insurance. Other costs to consider include: appliances, gardening equipment, snow-clearing equipment, window treatments, decorating materials, hand tools, renovations/repairs, service connection fees, hydro fees and condo fees.

You would file a Notice of Application to start court proceedings like adoptions, guardianship, and applications for contact by someone other than a parent.

You would file a Statement of Claim if you are dealing with a civil dispute. A statement of claim might be filed if there was a civil dispute involving a family business that had to resolved outside of the family property accounting.

* You can get all of the Court of King’s Bench Forms at this link.

Manitoba Justice has a Family Resolution Service that offers a number of programs, including mediation.  If you and your spouse both agree and you attend their information program, For the Sake of the Children, then you can attend their mediation program and a trained mediator will help you work out  the issues that arise from separation.  You may choose to take your agreement to a lawyer to have it finalized.

Next Steps:

How can I contact For the Sake of the Children?

For the Sake of the Children is now available online.

The following records should be kept, pursuant to Section 20 of The Corporations Act:

• • Articles of Incorporation
  • By-laws
  • Amendments to Articles and Bylaws
  • Minutes of all meetings of board and committees
  • Resolutions
  • List of all directors, with addresses, occupations, and dates of service
  • Accounting records

Not anymore. On May 16, 2008, in the case of R v D.B. the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the provisions in the Youth Criminal Justice Act that listed presumptive offences for which an adult sentence would be imposed where the young person is 14 years of age or older. You can read the case here:
http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2008/2008scc25/2008scc25.html

Yes. Some people may qualify to have their legal costs paid entirely by Legal Aid, others who have a greater ability to pay may qualify for Legal Aid’s Agreement to Pay (ATP) program.

Under the ATP program, you will have to make an initial payment as well as interest-free monthly payments until your fees plus the 25% program fee are paid. As long as you keep making your monthly payments, Legal Aid will continue to pay your lawyer fees.

For more information about Legal Aid services and financial rules, contact Legal Aid or visit their website

You can also take a look at Legal Aid’s financial guidelines.

Yes. The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines can be accessed at
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/fl-lf/spousal-epoux/spag/index.html.

The Guidelines are just advisory, not mandatory—so the courts are not required to follow them when making an order for spousal support. A lawyer can provide you with a calculation outlining the range of spousal support and duration of support suggested by the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines. The range will show low, mid, and high levels of spousal support

Yes. Like all Charter rights, this right is only protected within reasonable limits. This means that the government is allowed to place limits on peaceful assemblies, if the limits are reasonable and can be justified. This may be the case if someone’s right to peaceful assembly affects another protected Charter right for somebody else.

For example, a peaceful protest on a public street is likely protected, but a peaceful protest on a busy, icy highway may not be, since the high speeds and slippery conditions could put both drivers and protesters in danger. Ongoing blockades or impediments also may not be protected, although this would depend on the circumstances.

Yes. The Employment Standards Code sets out minimums that apply to most Manitoba workers:

• • Minimum wage: $11.65/hour (as of Oct. 1, 2019)
  • Overtime: If you work more than 8 hours/day or 40 hours/week, you are entitled to be paid at a rate of 1 ½ times your normal wage for the extra time. You may not be entitled to overtime if you worked the extra time without your employer asking you to.
  • Vacation: At least two weeks of vacation per year for the first four years of employment, and at least three weeks of vacation after the fifth consecutive year of employment. Your employer may pay you at the time of your vacation, or may include your vacation pay on your cheques throughout the year.
  • Breaks: One 30 minute unpaid break after every 5 hours of work. You are also entitled to at least one day (24 hours) off per week.

Employers can provide more than the minimums, but they cannot provide less, even if you sign a contract agreeing to it. The minimums are the same for full time and part time employees.

The Employment Standards Code does not apply if you work as an independent contractor or work in a federally regulated industry. Some industries also have exceptions to some of the minimums. For more information, visit the Employment Standards website at https://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards/index.html or call 204-945-3352 (toll-free 1-800-821-4307).

The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) applies to violations of federal laws, including the Criminal Code, by young persons between the ages of 12 and 17. The YCJA recognizes that young persons should be responsible for their actions, yet they should not be held accountable in the same way or face the same consequences as adults in all circumstances. You can find the YCJA at
https://www.laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/y-1.5/index.html

A dealership must provide you with a Certificate of Inspection (or “safety”) if they are selling you a used vehicle. A Certificate of Inspection ensures that a vehicle meets minimum equipment and performance standards before it can be driven. If the vehicle is new, you should receive a New Vehicle Information Statement.

For more information, visit https://www.mpi.mb.ca/Pages/about-vehicle-safety.aspx

A collection agent can contact you at your place of employment. However, if the contact becomes frequent or harassing in nature, you may want to speak to the Consumer Protection Office about your concerns. The Consumer Protection Office is in charge of licensing collection agents in the province of Manitoba. They can be reached at:

• • Winnipeg: (204) 945-3800
  • Outside Winnipeg: 1-800-782-0067
  • https://www.gov.mb.ca/consumerinfo/index.html

A collection agent cannot contact you to demand payment on a Sunday or a holiday. They cannot contact you on any other day of the week before 7:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act provides for non-disclosure of records after a certain period of time in order to prevent individuals from being haunted by their previous infractions as youths. For example, when the offence is indictable, the records are subject to non-disclosure five years after the completion of the sentence. For a summary conviction offence, the access period is three years. The record is accessible if another offence is committed during the access period.