Gemma L. Brown Law Corporation

What to expect from your Lawyer with Gemma Brown from Smith Neufeld Jodion Elaine Friesen-Realtor 204-371-8318 [email protected] www.friesengroup.ca... Gemma Brown-Partner 204-346-5109 [email protected] www.snj.ca #realestate #lawyer #whattoexpectfromyourlawyer #homebuying #homeselling #Smithneufeldjodinllp #coldwellbanker #coldwellbankersteinbach #thefriesengroup

Keep an eye on our Social Media Platforms for an Interview coming with Gemma Brown talking about what to expect from your lawyer when purchasing/selling your ho...me. Elaine Friesen-Realtor 204-371-8318 [email protected] www.friesengroup.ca Gemma Brown-Partner 204-346-5109 [email protected] www.snj.ca #realestate #lawyer #whattoexpectfromyourlawyer #homebuying #homeselling #Smithneufeldjodinllp #coldwellbanker #coldwellbankersteinbach #thefriesengroup

ELIMINATION OF PROBATE CHARGES By Gemma L. Brown Effective November 6, 2020, The Law Fees and Probate Charges Act (Manitoba) was amended to become The Court Services Fees Act (Manitoba). By virtue of the amendments, any probate charges relating to applications for Probate or Administration were eliminated. That means there are no longer fees to be paid to the Court when submitting probate or administration documents. This will result in significant savings for many estates... in Manitoba. Proper inventory is still required to be filed with the Court of all assets held by the deceased at the time of death, along with the prescribed forms. To view the amendments in their entirety you can visit https://web2.gov.mb.ca/bills/42-3/pdf/b002.pdf If you wish to discuss any estate matters further, please contact one of our lawyers and we would be happy to assist further.

We have been advised that effective November 6, 2020, fees associated with the filing of Probate or Administration of Estates in Manitoba were eliminated by the Province of Manitoba....stay tuned for any further updates in this regard.

https://apple.news/AreJnaOu7Qb-8ck_T4AJwXw

Looking for a Legal Assistant for our Niverville Office We at SNJ think this is a great place to work. The people we work with, and the clients we work for, make us this way. Although we are one of the largest firms in Manitoba based outside of Winnipeg, we still cling to all of the benefits of a small town local firm. We pay competitively, have first class office facilities, utilize leading technologies, and offer free parking as some of our benefits. In a period of uncer...tain global economic times we are thankful that our firm’s history and continued growth demonstrate our stability and strength. We employ a large staff, and continue in our commitment to serving the ongoing and changing needs of the people in the communities that surround us. We are always looking for energetic and self-motivated legal assistants to join our team in almost all areas. If you are looking for a career where you can feel good about working hard as a part of a team while continuing to learn and advance, and if you are serious about finding out more about the opportunities we currently have, please review the current postings or contact our human resources department. [email protected]

New Register Requirements of "Individuals with Significant Control" By: Gemma Brown Effective June 13, 2019, each private corporation incorporated under the Can...ada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) was required to prepare a register of "individuals with significant control" (ISC) over such corporation. The purpose of these changes is to identify the actual individuals behind business activities being seen as an important and key component of Canada’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime. Manitoba has harmonized its legislation with changes that were made to federal legislation respecting ownership transparency by enacting The Business, Supervision and Ownership Transparency Act. Therefore, effective April 8. 2020, each private corporation incorporated under The Corporations Act (Manitoba) (MBCA) was also required to comply with this transparency requirement. For the purposes of the MBCA, these amendments apply to most Manitoba corporations, the only exceptions are as follows: 1. A reporting issuer under The Securities Act; 2. Corporations listed on a designated stock exchange, as defined in subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada); 3. A loan corporation or a trust corporation, as those terms are defined in section 315 of The Corporations Act; 4. A corporation without share capital. Note: The register requirements do not apply to extra provincial corporations registered in Manitoba. Extra provincial corporations should however familiarize themselves with the requirements of their home jurisdiction. If your Corporation falls within the requirements, the following steps now must be taken: Who is an individual with significant control? An individual that has any of the following interests or rights, or any combination of them, in respect of a significant number of shares of the corporation are individuals with significant control: 1. Is the registered holder of them, 2. Is the beneficial owner of them, or 3. Has direct or indirect control or direction over them. And/or Individuals who have influence, directly or indirectly over a corporation’s decision making and direction. Further, two or more individuals are each considered to be an individual with significant control over a corporation if, in respect of a significant number of shares of the corporation: 1. An interest or right, or combination of interests or rights, referred to in section 2.1(1)(a) of the Act is held jointly by those individuals; or 2. A right, or combination of rights referred to in section 2.1(1)(a) of the Act, is subject to any agreement or arrangement under which the right or rights are to be exercised jointly or in concert by those individuals What does a significant number of shares mean? A significant number of shares of the corporation means: 1. Any number of shares that carry 25% or more of the voting rights attached to all of the corporation’s outstanding voting shares; or 2. Any number of shares that is equal to 25% or more of all the corporation’s outstanding shares measured by fair market value What does beneficial ownership mean? In the Canada Business Corporations Act, beneficial ownership is defined as including ownership through any trustee, legal representative, agent or mandatary, or other intermediary. Note: If you are unable to locate an individual with significant control, it is recommended you outline in your register all the steps you exhausted in attempt to locate that individual(s). What must the Corporation maintain? The Corporation, at its registered office, must maintain a register which includes the following information about all individuals with significant control: 1. The name, date of birth and latest known address ; 2. The jurisdiction of residence for income tax purposes ; 3. The date on which each individual became or ceased to be an individual with significant control, as the case may be; 4. A description of how each individual is an individual with significant control over the corporation, including as applicable, a description of their interests and rights in respect of shares in the corporation; and 5. A description of each step taken in accordance with the requirement to keep the register up to date. What are the steps I need to take to keep the register up to date? At least once during each financial year of a corporation, reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that all individuals with significant control have been identified and the register information is complete, accurate and up to date. If through this process or any other means a corporation becomes aware of any information in relation to individuals with significant control then that information must be recorded in the register within 15 days of becoming aware of it. Who can access the register? The following people: 1. Shareholder; 2. Creditor; 3. Director Appointed under the Act. You do not file a copy with the Manitoba Companies Office. Your register is not accessible to the public at this time. Are there penalties for not complying with these amendments? Yes. There are newly created offences and penalties that cover a corporation’s failure to observe the new provisions. Depending on the offence, the penalties include monetary fines ranging from $5,000 to $200,000 and may include a period of imprisonment. It is important to know that the offences cover a variety of situations including entering false information on the register and shareholders withholding information. HOW WE CAN HELP: We understand that these issues are very complex. Please feel free to contact one of our lawyers for more information on new home purchases and its application to you. Notice: This article is provided for general information purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal advice or opinion. The article reflects the current state of the law as at the date of the Article, and is subject to change without notice. If you require legal advice or opinion, we would be pleased to provide you with our assistance on any of the issues raised in these articles.

Shout out to Farrel Rempel for the incredible service on getting up Lexan Glass to help keep our staff safe last week!

OUR COVID-19 RESPONSE Smith Neufeld Jodoin LLP is still open Monday to Friday, 9:00-12:00 and 1:00-5:00 in Steinbach and Niverville. We are committed to assist...ing our clients in meeting their legal and contractual obligations. We respect government directives and note that effective April 1, 2020 legal services are specifically listed by our Province as critical or essential services, and we are continuing operation. Now more than ever, the traditional hand shake deal is not recommended! In order to protect our team, our clients, and our community, we would greatly appreciate it if people would call or email us, rather than popping in without an appointment. If an in-person attendance at our office is required, we will ask the usual coronavirus questions such as ensuring no recent travel outside the province or contact with those who have, and that anyone not feeling completely well refrain from coming to our office at this time. When possible we are also emailing documents out in advance for review and discussions via telephone, so that in-person meetings can be reduced to a few minutes, observing social distancing recommendations. Please call ahead to arrange for pick up or drop offs if needed. To make arrangements to attend our Steinbach office, please call 204-326-3442, or for Niverville, please call 204-388-9300; or email us at [email protected]. We would be happy to help you.

Covid-19 and Lay-Offs: What Does It Mean for Employment Contracts? By: Grant M. Driedger In the midst of the Covid-19 crisis many businesses are scaling back or... shutting down completely. In a matter of two weeks in late March, 2020, approximately 1 million Canadians have applied for employment insurance benefits. More will surely follow. Many employers and employees are wondering about their rights, obligations and options, especially in small businesses. An employment arrangement is, on a fundamental legal level, a contract. Even if nothing has been formally written - many small businesses don’t write formal contracts - there are terms to the contract. The terms can be determined through a combination of verbal agreements, the conduct of the parties, and terms implied at law. While lay-offs are sometimes contemplated in unionized settings, where a collective bargaining agreement sets out the parameters in which lay-offs may occur, and certain seasonal industries like construction may imply the term based on past practice, for most employment agreements they are not part of the contract. At common law an employer always has the right to terminate an employment contract, without any particular reason or explanation (provided of course that the rationale doesn’t violate human rights legislation by basing it upon a person’s race, religion, gender, disability etc). Outside of situations where there may be just cause based upon an employee’s misconduct the employer will generally be obligated to pay severance pay, or give advance working notice of the termination. The term layoff generally implies that it is short term, and there is an expected return to work at some point in the future. However, unless this was part of the contract, failing to pay an employee is really a fundamental breach of the employer’s obligations under the employment contract. Traditionally a layoff that was not bargained for in advance has been treated by the courts as a repudiation of the employment agreement, and a constructive dismissal. While this pandemic is uncharted territory in many respects it seems unlikely to relieve an employer of the obligation to abide by severance pay obligations. Claims to the Manitoba Labour Board under The Employment Standards Code (the Code) may be treated differently than the courts would rule under traditional common-law principles. A layoff may relieve the employer of the obligation to pay severance, in so far as there are claims to the Labour Board under that Code, if the employer re-hires in a fairly short period of time. The provincial government has announced an intention to make amendments to the Code regarding layoffs, in light of this pandemic. However, the precise details remain to be enacted. Regardless of what those amendments entail it is a near certainty that they will not change the law regarding contractual employment principles. The federal government has also announced various measures aimed at supporting employees and employers through this difficult period. Some have been characterized as essentially permitting employers to quit paying employees for a period of time, while still maintaining the employment relationship. From a legal perspective these announcements are difficult to rely upon. First, there may be some gap between what is announced in a press conference versus the actual substance of the program once the details are produced. Separate and apart from that, it is far from clear, and indeed seems doubtful, that a government support program can suspend contractual employment obligations. These are difficult, complex situations in a time of unprecedented uncertainty. Employers and employees are advised to tread carefully and seek legal advice when considering how to deal with these situations. Notice: The articles on our Facebook page are provided for general information purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal advice or opinion. They reflect the current state of the law as at the date of posting on Facebook, and are subject to change without notice. If you require legal advice or opinion, we would be pleased to provide you with our assistance on any of the issues raised in these articles.