We have been asked by the Office of the Office of the Public Trustee Newfoundland and Labrador to circulate the following notice to our membership:

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Bill 11, which received Royal Assent on December 6, 2019, has made amendments to the Public Trustee Act, 2009. A copy of Bill 11 can be found at https://www.assembly.nl.ca/HouseBusiness/Bills/ga49session1/bill1911.htm

The Explanatory Notes contained in the Bill state as follows:

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Public Trustee Act, 2009 to

• clarify that a judge may only make an order authorizing or requiring the public trustee to act in financial or property matters
• provide that a judge shall not appoint the public trustee unless the public trustee is given an opportunity to make representations regarding the appointment or the public trustee consents to the appointment;
• provide that the public trustee is not required to act or to accept an appointment by reason only of being empowered or authorized to do so; and
• allow the public trustee to apply to court to rescind or vary the terms of an appointment where the public trustee has not been given a reasonable opportunity to make representations regarding the appointment or where the public trustee has not consented to the appointment.