By The Canadian Press
The Manitoba Law Courts building in downtown Winnipeg is seen on Monday, August 18, 2014. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods)
WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government is planning to increase pay for people on jury duty and set shorter time limits for civil litigation.
Two bills now before the legislature propose several changes to the way the court system operates.
One would ensure jurors are paid for their service from the start, by eliminating a rule that only provides pay starting on the 11th day of duty.
The bill would also allow people with criminal convictions to serve on juries, as long as they were not convicted of an indictable or more serious offence.
The second bill would reduce an array of time limits for different types of civil court action that currently run from two to 10 years.
The proposed law would establish a two-year limit for most civil proceedings, with exceptions for some matters such as sexual assault.
