Veterinary Services Regulation

Veterinary Services Regulation, M.R. 43/89 The Veterinary Services Act , C.C.S.M. c. V50 Regulation 43/89 Registered February 20, 1989 bilingual version (HTML) Table of Contents Section 1 Definition 2 Agreement to establish district 3 Municipalities to adopt plan 4 Government grant 5 Use of grant monies 6 Agreement with veterinarian 7 Duties of Board 8 Powers of Commission 9 Repeal Schedule A Agreements B Hospital and practice standards for hospital and veterinary services Definition 1 In this regulation, "veterinary partnership" means a partnership, all the members of which are registered to practise veterinary medicine under The Veterinary Medical Act . Agreement to establish district 2 An agreement between municipalities to establish a veterinary services district shall be substantially in accordance with Form 1 of Schedule A ("Form 1 agreement"). Municipalities to adopt plan 3 The municipalities included in a district shall adopt one or more of the following assistance plans: (a) REGULAR PLAN: Where a board operates or intends to operate an animal hospital, the municipalities comprising the district shall vote a grant under section 8 of the Act which may be matched by a government grant in an amount set out in section 4, and both grants shall be used to operate the hospital to the standards prescribed in Schedule B; (b) SPECIAL PLAN: Where a board in a remote or sparsely populated district does not operate an animal hospital but provides or intends to provide veterinary services, the municipalities comprising the district shall vote a grant under section 8 of the Act, which may be matched by a government grant in an amount set out in section 4; (c) SUPPLEMENTARY PLAN: Where a board under either the regular plan described in clause (a) or the special plan described in clause (b) determines that the fee income in the district is insufficient to retain adequate veterinary services, the municipalities comprising the district may vote a supplementary grant in addition to the grant under the regular or the special plan, and the supplementary grant may be matched by a government grant in an amount set out in section 4. Government grant 4(1) A grant paid by the Minister of Finance to a board under subsection 11(1) of the Act shall be as follows: (a) where municipalities have adopted either the regular plan described in clause 3(a) or the special plan described in clause 3(b), the amount paid shall be equal to the amount the municipalities have contributed under that plan, to a maximum per year of $15,000; (b) where municipalites have adopted a supplementary plan described in clause 3(c), the amount paid shall be equal to the amount the municipalities have paid under that plan, to a maximum of $5,000 per year. 4(2) Where a board is in operation for only a portion of the year in which a grant is payable under subsection (1), the amount of the grant shall be prorated. 4(3) On the recommendation of the Commission, supported by an audited financial statement of the veterinarian or veterinary partnership that has entered into a Form 2 agreement with a board, the Minister of Finance may pay to that board a grant over and above that set out in subsection (1). 4(4) Where a contravention of a provision of this regulation or the Form 2 agreement entered into by a board and a veterinarian or veterinary partnership persists, no grant shall be paid under this section. Use of grant monies 5 No board that operates an animal hospital shall use a grant paid to it under section 8 or subsection 11(1) of the Act except for the following purposes in respect of that hospital: (a) property taxes; (b) property and public liability insurance; (c) heat, light, water and sewer utilities; (d) repairs to and upgrading of the hospital and equipment; (e) the purchase or rent of hospital and communication equipment; (f) an appropriate reserve for the purposes described in clauses (d) and (e); except that where the board has used sufficient grant monies to achieve the purposes described in clauses (a) to (f), it may use an amount not exceeding $10,000 for caretaking of the hospital. Agreement with veterinarian 6(1) An agreement between a veterinary services district board and a veterinarian or a veterinary partnership shall be substantially in accordance with Form 2 of Schedule A ("Form 2 agreement"). 6(2) Every Form 2 agreement shall contain a maximum schedule of fees set annually by the Commission which shall include a mark-up charged on veterinary drugs expressed as a percentage of the selling price of the drugs. 6(3) Every Form 2 agreement expires on December 31 in the year it was made. Duties of board 7 In addition to the duties set out in section 6 of the Act, every board shall (a) enter into a Form 2 agreement with a veterinarian or a veterinary partnership and ensure that its terms and conditions are fulfilled; (b) administer all grants paid to the board in accordance with this regulation and the assistance plan under which the district operates; (c) maintain and operate a hospital operated by the board in accordance with the standards set out in Schedule B; (d) have the books and records of the board audited in each year prior to June 30th; (e) forward semi-annual case load reports, in a form prescribed by the Commission, to the Commission and the secretary of each municipality comprising the district (i) prior to July 31 in each year for the period January 1 to June 30 of that year, and (ii) prior to January 31 in each year for the period July 1 to December 31 of the preceding year; (f) not later than October 31 in each year, provide the Commission with an inventory of hospital equipment owned by the board as of that date; (g) prepare a hospital maintenance and operation and supplementary service budget proposal for the next year in a form acceptable to the Commission and present it, prior to October 31st in each year, for the review and recommendation of the Commission and the municipalities comprising the district; (h) prior to the end of each year, enter into negotiations for a renewal of the existing agreement between the board and a veterinarian or veterinary partnership; (i) provide the Commission with any information it requires under clause 8(a). Powers of Commission 8 In addition to the powers set out in the Act, the Commission (a) may require a board to provide it with such information as the Commission considers necessary to ensure that this regulation and any Form 1 or Form 2 agreement is being complied with; (b) shall inspect annually, and more often where the Commission considers it appropriate, any animal hospital operated by a board to ensure that it is being operated in accordance with the standards set out in Schedule B; (c) shall in November of each year review the equipment inventory described in clause 7(f) and the budget proposal described in clause 7(g) and make recommendations to the board respecting the maintenance, operation and caretaking allocations in the budget; (d) shall in November of each year negotiate with the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association and set the maximum fee schedules and the amount of professional liability insurance for incorporation into all Form 2 agreements to be entered into by the boards and veterinarians or veterinary partnerships in the following year; (e) shall ensure that written complaints from ratepayers concerning the services provided to a district under this regulation are resolved by the board of the district. Repeal 9 Manitoba Regulation 82/81, as amended by Manitoba Regulation 270/82, is repealed. SCHEDULE A Form 1 Veterinary Services District Agreement Form 2 Agreement SCHEDULE B Hospital and practice standards for hospital and veterinary services