EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 56 and does not form part of the law. Bill 56 has been enacted as Chapter 17 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2001.

Part I - Education Act Amendments

Part I of the Bill amends the Education Act. The amendments are complementary to the amendments made to the Municipal Act by Part III of the Bill.

Part II - Environmental Protection Act Amendments

Part II of the Bill amends the Environmental Protection Act. The amendments add two new Parts to the Act.

The proposed Part XV.1 of the Act provides for the establishment of an Environmental Site Registry. An owner of property may file a record of site condition in the Registry if specified criteria are met. An initial assessment (referred to as a “phase one environmental site assessment”) is required to determine the likelihood that contaminants have affected the property. A more detailed assessment (referred to as a “phase two environmental site assessment”) may be required to determine the location and concentration of contaminants on the property. If a phase two environmental site assessment is conducted in respect of any part of the property, a qualified person must certify in the record of site condition that the assessed property meets standards prescribed by regulation or that, in the case of specific contaminants, the assessed property meets standards specified in a risk assessment that has been accepted by the Director. If the Director accepts a risk assessment, he or she may also issue a certificate of property use that requires the owner to take actions specified in the certificate or to refrain from using the property for a use specified in the certificate or from constructing a building specified in the certificate.

If a record of site condition is filed in the Environmental Site Registry, the Bill provides that certain types of orders specified by the Bill cannot be made against the owner of the property and certain other persons, subject to specified exceptions.

The proposed Part XV.1 would also prohibit certain specified changes of property use (e.g. from industrial use to residential use) unless a record of site condition has been filed in the Environmental Site Registry.

The proposed Part XV.2 of the Act contains special provisions that apply to municipalities, secured creditors, receivers, trustees in bankruptcy, fiduciaries and property investigators. These provisions provide protection to these persons from the making of orders under the Act, subject to limitations and exceptions specified in the Bill.

Most of the other amendments made to the Act are complementary to the new Parts XV.1 and XV.2.

Part III - Municipal Act Amendments

Part III of the Bill amends the Municipal Act. The amendments allow municipalities to pass by-laws providing for municipal tax assistance to assist with the cost of action taken to reduce the concentration of contaminants in order to meet the standards prescribed for filing a record of site condition in the Environmental Site Registry in accordance with the amendments made to the Environmental Protection Act by Part II of the Bill. With the approval of the Minister of Finance, these by-laws may also apply to school taxes.

Part IV - Municipal Tax Sales Act Amendments

Part IV of the Bill amends the Municipal Tax Sales Act. The amendments provide that, if a public tax sale of property fails to find a purchaser, the municipality may acquire the property, but is not required to do so. If the municipality does not acquire the property within one year after the tax sale, the tax arrears certificate is deemed to be cancelled, although this does not prevent the registration of a new tax arrears certificate or relieve the taxpayer of any liability to pay taxes. The amendments also provide that, if a public tax sale of property fails to find a purchaser, the municipality may enter the property and carry out an environmental site assessment for the purpose of assisting the municipality to determine whether it is desirable to acquire the property.

Part V - Ontario Water Resources Act Amendments

Part V of the Bill amends the Ontario Water Resources Act. The amendments are analogous to some of the amendments made to the Environmental Protection Act by Part II of the Bill.

Part VI - Pesticides Act Amendments

Part VI of the Bill amends the Pesticides Act. The amendments are analogous to some of the amendments made to the Environmental Protection Act by Part II of the Bill.

Part VII - Planning Act Amendments

Part VII of the Bill amends the Planning Act. The amendments provide that municipalities may make grants or loans to tenants, as well as property owners, for the purpose of carrying out community improvement plans. The total of the grants and loans made in respect of property and the tax assistance provided to the property under the amendments made to the Municipal Act by Part III of the Bill cannot exceed the cost of rehabilitating the property. The amendments remove the requirement that the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing approve community improvement plans, although plans that provide for the making of grants or loans or the granting of tax assistance to businesses could not come into effect without the Minister’s approval.

Part VIII - Commencement and Short Title

Part VIII of the Bill provides that the Bill comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation and provides for the Bill’s short title.