LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

New Laws

May 7: Manitoba’s newly tabled 2026 Budget Bill (Bill 53) would remove the provincial sales tax (PST) from all food items and non-alcoholic beverages sold at grocery stores, effective July 1.

Leaves of Absence

May 6: Manitoba passed Bill 10 giving employees with at least seven consecutive months service up to 16 weeks of unpaid leave if a child is placed into their care through adoption or surrogacy. Employees must provide written notice four weeks before leave begins, unless circumstances necessitate shorter notice. Employers may require “reasonable” evidence of leave entitlement.

Action Point: Find out how to implement a legally sound Parental Leave Compliance Game Plan at your workplace.

Leaves of Absence

May 13: Bill 11 banning employers from making employees provide a “sick note” verifying absences due to injury or illness unless either the absence lasts more than a week or the employee’s been absent more than 10 scheduled workdays in the calendar year has been reported out of Committee. Employers must reimburse employees for the cost of getting a sick note.

Action Point: Find out about the rules determining whether you can ask sick employees for a doctor’s note and what you can do to verify health-related absences without such notes.

Overtime

May 6: Manitoba is getting set to pass Bill 26 authorizing the government to take action to ban mandatory overtime for nurses. Exception: Health care systems could still require mandatory overtime: (a) in a present or imminent situation or condition that requires prompt action to avoid or limit loss of life or harm to an individual's health; or (b) when required by or under an enactment in relation to an existing or threatened disaster or emergency.

Action Point: Find out about the 10 most common overtime mistakes Canadian companies make and what you must do to avoid them.

New Laws

May 6: Bill 28 amending The Health System Governance and Accountability Act to enable the government to establish nurse-to-patient ratios by regulation, is out of Committee. Health authorities, health care organizations, or health corporations or other persons receiving funding from a health authority that’s subject to a ratio must implement the ratio and prepare a plan to ensure compliance.

Health & Safety

May 7: Manitoba declared a Public Health Emergency to combat the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Manitoba continues to experience some of the highest HIV rates in Canada, especially in the Winnipeg, Prairie Mountain Health and Northern Health regions. Risk factors for acquiring HIV in Manitoba are different from national trends, with over 50% of cases being female, compared to a Canadian average of 32% female.

Retaliation

May 6: Newly passed Bill 14 enhances protections for public sector whistleblowers. Highlights: i. The chief executive of a public body must act as the designated officer when a disclosure of alleged wrongdoing involves the designated officer or another senior official; ii. A disclosure involving the chief executive must be referred to the Ombudsman or, if the chief executive is a deputy minister, to the Clerk of the Executive Council; iii. An employee may make a disclosure despite any agreement to the contrary; iv. The circumstances in which reprisals are prohibited expanded to include when the employee is suspected of making a disclosure, declines to participate in a wrongdoing, or otherwise complies with the Act; and v. The person alleged to have taken reprisal action has the burden of proving that it didn’t take reprisal action.

Action Point: Find out how to avoid inadvertent reprisals or retaliation.

New Laws

Apr 21: Manitoba expanded the 2025 Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) program to include dedicated funding for disaster risk reduction and wildfire mitigation. Previously focused solely on response and recovery, the DFA program will provide 12 municipalities directly affected by last year’s wildfires additional funding for projects designed to rebuild their communities while reducing future wildfire and disaster risk with each eligible municipality to receive mitigation funding equal to 25% of its total DFA‑eligible response and recovery costs.

New Laws

Apr 16: Manitoba is investing up to $7.6 million in the Urban/Hometown Green Team program, which will create approximately 1,900 summer employment opportunities and support 624 projects in over 170 communities across the province. The grants cover 100% of wage costs plus $250 per position for non-profit organizations, and 50% of wage costs for municipalities on a cost-shared basis.

New Laws

May 19: Applications opened for Innovation Growth Program (IGP) grants to commercialize innovative products and processes. Eligible applicants include: i. for-profit, taxable Canadian-controlled private corporations with a permanent establishment in Manitoba that pay at least 50% of total salaries and wages to Manitoba resident employees; ii. companies with annual revenue of $15 million or less, or fewer than 100 full-time equivalent employees; and iii. companies with a cash equity position of at least $25,000. Deadline to apply: June 30.

Privacy

May 5: Bill 51 requiring the government, government agencies, health authorities, universities, school divisions, municipalities, and other public sector entities to comply with regulations governing the use of AI systems and cybersecurity passed Third Reading. Such regulations may include provisions requiring disclosure of information about AI use, development of accountability frameworks, and reporting of cybersecurity incidents.

Action Point: Find out how to guard against AI legal and liability risks by implementing a legally sound workplace artificial intelligence use policy.

Privacy

May 4: The Manitoba Assembly passed Bill 2 expanding privacy protections under existing legislation banning the sharing of intimate images without consent has been reported out of Committee. Highlights: i. expanded definition of intimate image to include ‘nearly nude’; ii. new ban on threatening to distribute an intimate image; iii. ban on taking or sharing nude or nearly-nude images of a person after their death; and iv. potential liability for websites that fail to act reasonably to remove nude or nearly-nude images.

Action Point: Digital privacy and nonconsensual publication of intimate images is also a potential liability risk for employers. Find out how to protect your organization from revenge porn and cyberbullying liability.

Health & Safety

May 1: Starting in October, all infants in Manitoba will be eligible to receive one free dose of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) antibody vaccination during their first RSV season. The dose will be offered shortly after birth in hospitals or through public health offices, nursing stations, and other designated sites across the province. This means infants born at any time of year will be eligible during their first RSV season, including those born outside of the fall and winter months.

Action Point: Find out how to create a legally and clinically sound workplace Exposure Control Plan to protect your employees against the risk of RSV and other infectious illnesses.

CASES

Health & Safety: Government Agency Fined $100,000 for Wildfire Worker’s ATV Rollover Death

A government worker lost control of the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) they were operating on a paved road. The ATV rolled over and ejected the worker resulting in fatal injuries. The victim’s employer was fined $100,000 after pleading guilty to three OHS violations, including failure to train and ensure worker compliance with safe work procedures and ensure that workers who operate ATVs use proper headwear protection [Manitoba Dept. of Natural Resources and Indigenous Futures, Wildfire Service, Govt. Press Release, April 20, 2026].