The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Manitoba's Public Safety Investigations Unit and law enforcement agencies now have a new tool to help protect them, emergency responders and the public from dangerous properties. Changes that came into effect Sunday create a new offence under the Fortified Buildings Act for anyone who sets a trap on a property or allows a trap to remain there. Traps targeted by this legislation are intended to cause serious injury or death and are triggered by the presence or movement of a person. They are often used to protect illegal operations like marijuana grow-ops. There are exemptions in place to allow legitimate uses of traps. This law does not affect the historical rights of First Nations trappers. 'We know that illegal traps and building fortifications are used to protect illegal activity and they are a serious risk to the public as well as police and emergency responders entering a building or property,' said Justice Minister Andrew Swan. 'Manitoba's Public Safety Investigations Unit and police agencies will now be able to better identify, isolate and remove these traps, reducing the risk to themselves and any other Manitobans who could be injured by these illegal devices.' The new regulations also give the province the power to order building closures if owners do not remove traps or fortifications located on the property. Landowners are responsible for the cost of removing illegal building fortifications under existing legislation and will now also have to pay to remove any illegal traps. As well, the new regulations define other types of fortifications that are prohibited under the act such as razor or barbed wire, certain door and window barriers, and dangerous obstacles. Individuals convicted of offences under the provisions face a fine of up to $25,000, up to six months in jail or both. Corporations face a fine of up to $50,000. The Fortified Buildings Act was put in place in 2002 to give law enforcement a tool to force the removal of barricades and other obstacles that pose a risk to public safety and interfere with an emergency responder or law enforcement officer's ability to access a building. The amendments and regulations were developed in consultation with law enforcement and other groups. _ Compiled from a Government of Manitoba news release
