For the first time in the province’s history, the Manitoba government is set to undertake a 30-day online public consultation on regulatory changes.
“We have taken a leading role in modernizing the way government operates,” said Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler. “We are reviewing dated regulations, policies and processes, and consulting key stakeholders because we want to hear from the public to ensure that onerous and outdated regulatory requirements impacting Manitobans are eliminated, while keeping public safety at the forefront.”
Passed in June 2018, The Traffic and Transportation Modernization Act (TTMA) dissolves the Highway Traffic Board and the Motor Transport Board and eliminates more than 6,500 regulatory requirements – a 44 per cent reduction in red tape, the minister noted. The streamlining efforts will reduce vehicle registration classes, clarify vehicle equipment requirements and update signage on Manitoba roads. The consolidation of the truck classification system impacts over 37,000 Manitoba registered trucks.
The Manitoba government is using the Manitoba Regulatory Consultation Portal for the public consultation. This newly developed platform provides the public online access to the proposed regulations, as well as the ability to submit comments and is a part of government’s regulatory accountability initiative.
Schuler said the changes under the TTMA give municipalities the freedom to set speed limits on their roads rather than having to go through the Highway Traffic Board. The act modernizes application processes for access driveways and signs along provincial roadways and simplifies internal government procedures for highway declarations, resulting in red-tape reduction both in and outside of government. Proposed regulations under the TTMA also update and clarify Manitoba’s vehicle equipment requirements and inspection standards.
New regulations are set to go into effect March 1, 2019. Stakeholders and the public can browse and comment on the consultation materials until January 7, 2019, by visiting reg.gov.mb.ca.
Information about Manitoba’s Traffic and Transportation Modernization initiative is available at gov.mb.ca.
