The Accessibility for Manitobans Act (C.C.S.M. c. A1.7), accessibility standards, compliance orders, administrative penalties and offences
The Accessibility for Manitobans Act, S.M. 2013, c. 40
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding public and private bodies.
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
- Obligation class
- Governance, Prohibition
As of .
What it requires
- If an accessibility standard made under the Act applies to you, comply with it within the time period the standard specifies (s. 20).
- Prepare and keep records in accordance with the regulations, and make them available for inspection and examination under the Act (s. 18).
- If you are in charge of premises or a place being inspected, or have custody or control of the relevant records or things, produce the records and things the inspector requires, give the assistance and additional information, including personal information, that the inspector reasonably requires, and on request give written answers to the inspector's questions (s. 24 (5)).
- Comply with an inspector's written order to remedy a contravention within the time period the order specifies; a request for the director's review must be received within 14 days after the order is served, or the order is final (ss. 27 and 28 (2)).
- If you fail to comply with an inspector's order within its time period, the director may require you to pay an administrative penalty, which is due within 30 days after the notice is served unless you appeal it to the Court of King's Bench within 30 days (ss. 29 (1), 30 (3) and 31 (1)).
- Do not knowingly make a false or misleading statement to the director or an inspector, or in a record or report given or required under the Act, and do not hinder, obstruct or interfere with, or attempt to hinder, obstruct or interfere with, the director or an inspector (s. 34 (1) (c) to (e)).
- If you are a director, officer, employee or agent of a corporation, do not authorize, permit or acquiesce in the corporation's commission of an offence under the Act (s. 34 (2)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Failing to comply with an accessibility standard as required under section 20 is an offence under section 34 (1) (b), and a person guilty of an offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $250,000 (s. 34 (3)). A director, officer, employee or agent of a corporation who authorized, permitted or acquiesced in the corporation's offence is also guilty of an offence (s. 34 (2)). A person who pays an administrative penalty may not be charged with an offence for that non-compliance unless it continues after the payment (s. 31 (4)).
Penalty structure
Section 34 (3) states one ceiling of $250,000 for a person guilty of an offence under the Act, on summary conviction, with no separate amount for a corporation and no amount per day. Section 29 (1) lets the director require payment of an administrative penalty "in the amount determined in accordance with the regulations", and neither the Act nor any of the five regulations made under it, as listed on , sets that amount.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- CAD
- Fixed cap
- 250,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
An inspector whom the minister appoints under section 23 of The Accessibility for Manitobans Act, together with the director appointed under subsection 22 (1)
What this law does
Section 1 defines an organization as any organization in the public or private sector, and the definition includes a sole proprietorship. Section 6 lets the Lieutenant Governor in Council make regulations establishing accessibility standards. A standard may apply only to a person or organization that employs persons, offers accommodation, controls an aspect of the built environment, provides goods, services or information, or is engaged in a prescribed activity.
A standard may not impose requirements on the owner or occupier of residential premises that contain one or two dwelling units. Section 20 requires a person or organization subject to an accessibility standard to comply with it within the time period the standard specifies. Section 18 requires that person or organization to prepare and keep records in accordance with the regulations and to make them available for inspection and examination.
Section 27 lets an inspector who finds a contravention order the person or organization responsible to remedy it. If a person or organization fails to comply with an inspector's order within the time period the order specifies, section 29 lets the director issue a notice requiring payment of an administrative penalty in the amount determined in accordance with the regulations. An administrative penalty that is not paid on time is a debt due to the government.
Section 32 lets the director issue public reports disclosing details of orders and administrative penalties. A person who pays an administrative penalty may not be charged with an offence for that non-compliance unless it continues after the payment.
That bar was added by chapter 5 of the Statutes of Manitoba, 2026, Schedule A. Section 34 makes it an offence to fail to keep records or make them available, to fail to comply with an accessibility standard, to make a knowingly false or misleading statement, or to obstruct the director or an inspector. A director, officer, employee or agent of a corporation who authorized, permitted or acquiesced in the corporation's offence is also guilty of an offence.
A person guilty of an offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $250,000. The Act came into force on royal assent. It was assented to on . Section 33 requires a public sector body to prepare or update an accessibility plan, and that duty binds only public sector bodies and is not described here.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app ships a consumer interface.