The Remembrance Day Act

The Remembrance Day Act, C.C.S.M. c. R80 bilingual version (HTML) Table of Contents Section 1 Definitions 1.1 Interpretation of "retail business" 2 Engaging in industry prohibited on Remembrance Day 3 Where section 2 not applicable 3.1 Retail business restrictions on Remembrance Day 3.2 Performances prohibited between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. 3.3 Right to refuse to work on Remembrance Day 3.4 Employee required to work on Remembrance Day 4 Suspension of work at 11 o'clock 5 Permit for emergency work 5.1 Right to wear a poppy 6 Offence and penalty WHEREAS Canada's heritage of freedom and human dignity has, under Providence been preserved through the unselfish devotion of those who sacrificed health, limb, and life itself in two World Wars, the Korean War, the Gulf War and international peacekeeping activities; AND WHEREAS the eleventh day of November has been set aside by the Parliament of Canada as a day to be kept and observed throughout Canada in each and every year under the name: "Remembrance Day"; AND WHEREAS it is fitting that on Remembrance Day the people of Manitoba should pay grateful tribute to the memory of those who have died, cherish those who have suffered grievous injury, and dedicate themselves anew to the maintenance and furtherance of the great ideals hallowed by those sacrifices; AND WHEREAS poppies are worn during Remembrance Day Awareness Week as a symbol of remembrance and respect; S.M. 2023, c. 44, s. 2 . THEREFOR HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows: Definitions 1 In this Act, "continuous operation"  means a business or a part of a business that in a week usually operates day and night without cessation until completion of the regular operation of the business or part of the business; (« exploitation ininterrompue ») "employee" means a person who is in receipt of, or entitled to, compensation for labour or services performed for another in an industry or retail business establishment, but does not include an independent contractor; (« employé ») "employer" means a person, firm, corporation, agent, manager, representative, contractor, sub-contractor, or principal, having control or direction of, or responsible directly or indirectly for, the employment of an employee in an industry or retail business establishment; (« employeur ») "industry"  means (a) any establishment or works other than a retail business establishment, or (b) any undertaking, business, calling, trade, profession, work or occupation other than a retail business, but does not include the business, work or occupation of farming or the carrying on, giving, production or conduct of a performance or engaging in work preparing for a performance; (« industrie ») "minister" means the minister appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council to administer this Act; (« ministre ») "performance" includes any game, match, sport, contest, exhibition, entertainment, dance, program, theatrical presentation, or motion picture presentation; (« spectacle ») "retail business establishment"  means the premises or place in which or from which a retail business is carried on. (« établissement de commerce de détail ») S.M. 1996, c. 54, s. 3 ; S.M. 2001, c. 43, s. 61 . Interpretation of "retail business" 1.1 For greater certainty, "retail business" includes (a) the selling or offering for sale of services at retail, including (i) services of a person engaged in a trade or profession, and (ii) rentals of goods; and (b) the charging of admission to a performance. S.M. 1996, c. 54, s. 4 . Engaging in industry prohibited on Remembrance Day 2 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, no person carrying on or engaged in an industry shall on Remembrance Day (a) sell or rent or offer for sale or rent any real or personal property; or (b) for gain or reward act as an employer in the industry. S.M. 1996, c. 54, s. 5 . Where section 2 not applicable 3(1) Section 2 does not apply to (a) the operation of hospitals or work for the relief of sickness or suffering; (b) [repealed] S.M. 1996, c. 54, s. 6 ; (c) the operation of hotels and restaurants; (d) the work of police officers, firefighters, security officers, power engineers, janitors, domestic servants, child care workers or home care workers; (e) the effecting of emergency repairs; (f) the operation of a continuous operation; (g) the transportation of goods or passengers by railway, motor vehicle, aircraft or other similar means and work incidental thereto; (g.1) vehicle rental agencies; (h) the caring for perishable products and live animals, including the operation of animal hospitals; (i) [repealed] S.M. 1996, c. 54, s. 6 ; (j) the operation of a dairy, a milk processing plant or a dairy manufacturing plant as defined in The Dairy Act , or to which that Act applies; (k) the operation of a bakery for the baking of products only; (l) the conducting, in meat packing plants, of those processes that cannot be postponed without serious deterioration of meat quality; and the carrying on of such other operations as are necessary in receiving, paying for, and shipping livestock and meat products; (m) the doing of any work without the doing of which on Remembrance Day electric current, heat, gas, light, or water, cannot be continuously supplied; (n) work incidental to the conducting of commemorative or religious services; (o) the operation of the office of a broker who is registered as such under The Securities Act and who, in the conduct of his business, has occasion on behalf of clients to transact business on Remembrance Day on stock exchanges outside the province; (p) the publication of newspapers including all work necessary for, or incidental to, the preparation, printing, and distribution thereof; (q) [repealed] S.M. 1996, c. 54, s. 6 ; (r) the operation of telecommunications carriers, television and radio stations, cable companies and other similar operations. 3(2) to (5) [Repealed] S.M. 1996, c. 54, s. 6 . S.M. 1996, c. 54, s. 6 . Retail business prohibited between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Remembrance Day 3.1(1) No person who owns or operates a retail business in a retail business establishment shall between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Remembrance Day admit members of the public to the retail business establishment or sell or offer for sale any goods or services in the retail business establishment. Exceptions 3.1(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who owns a retail business establishment if the only goods or services sold or offered for sale in the retail business establishment between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. are (a) goods or services in the form of or in connection with living accommodation or prepared meals and sale or offering for sale of those goods or services is the principal business of the person; (b) professional health services; (c) veterinary services; (d) drugs, medicines, surgical appliances or infant formula; (e) gasoline, motor oil or related products; or (f) parts and services for the purpose of emergency repairs to a vehicle. Exception re premises 3.1(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to premises that are the subject of a licence or permit issued under The Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act . S.M. 1996, c. 54, s. 7 ; S.M. 2013, c. 51, Sch. B, s. 199 ; S.M. 2018, c. 9, s. 51 ; S.M. 2021, c. 5, s. 20 . Performances prohibited between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Remembrance Day 3.2 No person shall carry on, give, produce or conduct a performance or engage in work preparing for a performance between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Remembrance Day. S.M. 1996, c. 54, s. 7 . Right to refuse to work on Remembrance Day 3.3 An employee in a retail business establishment may refuse to work on Remembrance Day, and section 81 of The Employment Standards Code applies as if Remembrance Day were a Sunday. S.M. 1996, c. 54, s. 7 ; S.M. 1998, c. 29, s. 160 ; S.M. 2012, c. 37, s. 6 ; S.M. 2020, c. 22, s. 6 . Employee required to work on Remembrance Day 3.4 An employee who is required to work and does work on Remembrance Day is entitled to be paid a wage for that day not less than the total of (a) the holiday pay that would be payable under Division 4 (General Holidays) of Part 2 of The Employment Standards Code if Remembrance Day were a general holiday; and (b) the employee's overtime wage rate under The Employment Standards Code multiplied by (i) the number of hours that the employee actually worked that day, or (ii) half of the employee's normal hours of work on a regular workday, whichever is more. S.M. 1996, c. 54, s. 7 ; S.M. 1998, c. 29, s. 160 ; S.M. 2006, c. 26, s. 61 . Suspension of work at 11 o'clock 4 Every employer carrying on or engaged in an industry to which section 2 does not apply shall, subject to section 5, relieve the employees in the industry from duty, and suspend the operations of the industry, for a period of three minutes, at one minute before 11 o'clock on the forenoon on Remembrance Day. Permit for emergency work 5 In circumstances beyond human control and for which no other arrangements can be made, the minister may grant a permit for the doing of work required in the circumstances to meet an emergency; and the minister may attach such conditions as he or she deems fair and reasonable in the circumstances. S.M. 2001, c. 43, s. 61 . Right to wear a poppy 5.1(1) An employee has the right to wear a poppy while working during the seven-day period that begins on November 5 and ends on November 11 of each year. Limit 5.1(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the wearing of a poppy may pose a danger or hazard to the health, safety or welfare of any person. S.M. 2023, c. 44, s. 3 . Offence and penalty 6 Any person who contravenes a provision of this Act is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction, in the case of first offence, to a fine of not less than $1,000. and not more than $10,000., and, in the case of a subsequent offence occurring within two years of any previous offence, to a fine of not less than $10,000. and not more than $50,000. S.M. 1996, c. 54, s. 8 .