The province will look into how it can make changes to the Municipal Act and other legislation to better handle bullying and harassment in municipal government work environments.

Municipal Relations Minister Jeff Wharton made the announcement Monday at the Manitoba Municipal Administrators Association Conference and Annual General Meeting in Winnipeg. He says the province will be reviewing the Act to find ways to add enforcement mechanisms for code of conduct violations.

"The code of conduct essentially doesn't have any teeth in it in order to address the concern, whether it be an issue with an elected official, or an official within the office, or the public," said Wharton.

The government will be holding roundtable discussions with the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) and the Manitoba Municipal Administrators Association in June and September.

AMM president Chris Goertzen says they're pleased to partner with the province to talk about what tools can be put in place.

"The reality is is that even though (municipalities) have a code of conduct, if on the rare occasion there is bad behaviour or unacceptable behaviour,  there are very few tools to use to actually enforce the code of conduct and actually have some consequences for the situation," said Goertzen.

The Municipal Act requires all municipalities to adopt a code of conduct establishing guidelines for council members on what's acceptable behaviour when dealing with each other, employees, and the public. Wharton says, "any potential amendments would require careful consideration and would be developed in consultation with municipalities and other stakeholders." Wharton told reporters both penalties and rules are being considered.