EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 190 and does not form part of the law. Bill 190 has been enacted as Chapter 19 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2006.

The Bill is part of the government’s initiative to promote good government.

The Bill amends or repeals a number of Acts. For convenience, the amendments and repeals are set out in separate Schedules. Schedules with the name of Ministries include amendments to and repeals of Acts that are administered by the Ministry involved or that affect that Ministry. The commencement provisions for each of the Schedules are set out in the Schedules.

SCHEDULE A
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Farm Products Marketing Act

All references to The Ontario Apple Marketing Commission are removed from the Act since the Commission has been dissolved and replaced by a local board known as the Ontario Apple Growers which does not have the authority to determine prices for apples.

The name of The Ontario Egg Producers’ Marketing Board is changed to the Egg Farmers of Ontario.

The maximum age for chicks-for-placement and the minimum age for fowl are reduced from 20 weeks to 19 weeks.

Veterinarians Act

The Council of the College of Veterinarians of Ontario is allowed to make by-laws to deal with various matters that it could previously deal with only by way of regulation. Those matters include requirements governing the practice of veterinary medicine through professional corporations and requirements that members of the College pay fees and provide information to the College. The Council is required to circulate a proposed by-law to the members at least 60 days before passing it.

The Complaints Committee under the Act may sit in panels composed of at least three members of the Committee.

The Discipline Committee under the Act may sit in panels composed of members of the Committee selected by the chair of the Committee.

General

The Schedule amends the French version of a number of Acts to correct an error in references to the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal.

The Schedule also repeals a number of unconsolidated statutory provisions, revokes a number of regulations where the authority to make them has been repealed and revokes a number of unconsolidated regulations.

SCHEDULE B
MINISTRY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Assessment Review Board Act

Section 8.1 of the Assessment Review Board Act is re-enacted to clarify the Board’s power to set and charge fees. (Section 2 of Schedule)

Change of Name Act

Subsection 8 (2) of the Change of Name Act provides that a name change is treated as confidential if “the Attorney General or a person authorized by the Attorney General certifies that a change of name is intended to prevent significant harm to the person to whose name the application relates”. This is amended to clarify that the intention to prevent significant harm must exist in the opinion of the Attorney General or authorized person. (Section 3 of Schedule)

Children’s Law Reform Act

Under section 10 of the Children’s Law Reform Act, the court may give a party to a civil proceeding leave to obtain blood tests to assist in determining a child’s parentage. The section is rewritten to include DNA tests as well. Section 11 of the Act, which provides for regulations governing blood tests under section 10, is repealed. (Section 4 of Schedule)

Crown Witnesses Act

The Crown Witnesses Act is amended to provide authority for agreements relating to confidential name changes under subsection 8 (2) of the Change of Name Act. The agreements will permit the Attorney General, in appropriate circumstances, to facilitate secure access to government services and benefits by persons who have undergone confidential name changes, and the enforcement of their financial obligations to the Crown. (Section 5 of Schedule)

Execution Act

Section 3 of the Execution Act is rewritten to simplify wording and correct cross-references, and to clarify that the exemption for motor vehicles applies even if the chattel is worth more than the exempted amount (the same rule as for tools of the trade in similar circumstances). Complementary amendments are made to section 4 and subsections 35 (1) and (3). (Section 6 of Schedule)

Executive Council Act, Expropriations Act and Substitute Decisions Act, 1992

The Executive Council Act, the Expropriations Act and the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 are amended to correct references to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Act. (Sections 7, 8 and 22 of Schedule)

Human Rights Code

Section 18 of the Human Rights Code is amended to correct an error in the French version. (Section 10 of Schedule)

Interpretation Act and Real Property Limitations Act

Definitions of “mental defective”, “mentally defective person” and “mental deficiency” are removed from the Interpretation Act, and similar references are removed from the Real Property Limitations Act. The only other occurrences of these expressions, in the Land Titles Act and the Marriage Act, are also being removed by amendments contained in Schedule G for the Ministry of Government Services (Former Ministry of Consumer and Business Services). (Sections 11 and 20 of Schedule)

Legal Aid Services Act, 1998

Section 24 of the Legal Aid Services Act, 1998, which currently requires applications for legal aid certificates to be submitted to area directors (and, in the case of applications by non-residents, to be decided in the prescribed manner), is rewritten to require applications to be made and decided in a manner approved by Legal Aid Ontario. (Section 12 of Schedule)

Provincial Offences Act

The Provincial Offences Act is amended to clarify that new section 158.2, which requires a person who has seized anything under a warrant to report to a justice of the peace, applies only if no procedure for dealing with the thing is otherwise provided by law. (Section 15 of Schedule)

Public Accounting Act, 2004

The Public Accounting Act, 2004 is amended to correct an oversight and to permit the extension of a statutory deadline by regulation. (Section 16 of Schedule)

Public Authorities Protection Act

Subsection 6 (1) of the Public Authorities Protection Act requires that a person who wishes to commence an action against a constable, police officer, small claims court bailiff or other officer for anything done under a warrant must first leave a demand for a copy of the warrant at the officer’s “usual place of abode”. This is changed to “usual place of work”. (Section 17 of Schedule)

Public Guardian and Trustee Act

Section 10.1 is added to the Public Guardian and Trustee Act to clarify that records stored by the Public Guardian and Trustee in any medium are admissible in evidence and have the same probative force as the contents of the original document in the Public Guardian and Trustee’s possession would have had. (Section 18 of Schedule)

Public Inquiries Act

The Public Inquiries Act is amended to require that the final report of a commission of inquiry be submitted and released in both English and French at the same time. An exception may be made if the Lieutenant Governor in Council is of the opinion that public health or safety would not be served by delaying because only one language version is ready; in that case, the other version must be made available as soon as possible. (Section 19 of Schedule)

Statutory Powers Procedure Act

The Statutory Powers Procedure Act is amended to clarify that the power of tribunals to award costs is a substantive matter rather than a procedural matter. (Section 21 of Schedule)

Substitute Decisions Act, 1992

A number of amendments are made to the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 to clarify the intention of existing provisions. Sections 31.1 and 59.1, requiring the disclosure of certain categories of personal information about an incapable person to his or her guardian, are added. Section 81, dealing with orders for the enforcement of assessment orders, is rewritten to place responsibility for enforcement on the applicant in the proceeding in which the assessment order is made, rather than on the Public Guardian and Trustee. Power to make regulations of general or particular application is added. (Section 22 of Schedule)

Trustee Act

Section 1 of the Trustee Act is amended to remove definitions of “mental incompetent”, “mentally incompetent person” and “person of unsound mind” because these expressions are not actually used in the rest of the Act. (Section 23 of Schedule)

General

Technical amendments are made to various statutes in order to update postal terminology and references to the Minister of Finance.

SCHEDULE C
COURT NAMES

Technical amendments are made to a large number of statutes in order to update court names and related titles.

SCHEDULE D
AMENDMENTS RELATING TO THE ENACTMENT OF THE YOUTH CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT (CANADA)

The Schedule amends numerous Acts as a result of the repeal of the Young Offenders Act (Canada) (“YOA”) and the enactment of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Canada) (“YCJA”). In some cases, Acts are amended by keeping the reference to the YOA and adding a reference to the YCJA and in other cases by repealing the reference to the YOA and replacing it with a reference to the YCJA. The Schedule also changes terminology in the various Acts from that used in the YOA to the new terminology used in the YCJA. Finally, the Schedule makes necessary changes to certain Acts where a substantive difference between the provisions of the YOA and those of the YCJA has an effect on the provincial statute.

SCHEDULE E
MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL SERVICES

Developmental Services Act

The Schedule changes references to the Minister of Health in the Developmental Services Act to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997

The Schedule makes a number of amendments to the Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997. It adds extended health benefits to the Act and allows them to be provided for the benefit of former recipients of income support who are members of a prescribed class and for the benefit of their dependants. It also provides that overpayments under the Act are debts due to the Crown in right of Ontario and allows for their collection. It allows the Cabinet to make regulations governing appeals under the Act to the Divisional Court.

Ontario Works Act, 1997

A number of changes are made by the Schedule to the Ontario Works Act, 1997. The Act is amended to provide that overpayments by a delivery agent are debts due to the delivery agent and may also be deemed by the Director to be a debt due to the Crown. The Act is also amended to allow recovery of debts that are deemed to be debts due to the Crown. The restriction on the number of vice-chairs for the Tribunal is removed. The amendments also allow the Cabinet to make regulations governing appeals under the Act to the Divisional Court.

Social Work and Social Service Work Act, 1998

The Social Work and Social Service Work Act, 1998 is amended by the Schedule by allowing the Council to continue when there are vacancies in the membership as long as the number of members is not less than a quorum.

SCHEDULE F
MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY SAFETY AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES

Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act

Section 12 of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act authorizes entry onto property by an inspector or agent of the Society, together with a veterinarian, in order to find, examine, care for or destroy an animal in distress. The section is amended to permit entry by more than one inspector or agent, together with one or more veterinarians or other persons as the inspectors or agents consider advisable.

Currently, section 12 of the Act provides for the issue of a warrant that may be executed between sunrise and sunset. This is amended so that the warrant must specify the hours when it may be executed and when it expires.

Section 15 of the Act permits the Society to serve an owner with a statement of account for its costs incurred in caring for the owner’s animal. Section 15 currently allows service of the statement by mail. This is amended to allow for personal service as well.

Under section 17 of the Act, an owner or custodian of an animal may appeal an order of the Animal Review Board or request return of the animal. This is amended to require more detail in the notice of appeal respecting the remedy or action sought and the reasons for it.

Deadlines throughout the Act are based on the passage of a number of days. These are amended to refer to business days.

Police Services Act

The Police Services Act is amended to authorize the appointment of one or more deputy Commissioners of the Ontario Provincial Police and the delegation of powers by the Commissioner to a deputy Commissioner.

SCHEDULE G
MINISTRY OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES (FORMER MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AND BUSINESS SERVICES)

Bailiffs Act

The Bailiffs Act currently provides for the revocation of an assistant bailiff’s registration under the Act and an assistant bailiff’s appointment described in clause 3.1 (b) of the Act. The Act is amended to provide, as well, for the revocation of an assistant bailiff’s authorization to act as an assistant bailiff described in clause 3.1 (c) of the Act.

Business Corporations Act

The Business Corporations Act currently requires that a consent to act as a first director be provided by each individual who is named in the articles of incorporation as a first director and who is not an incorporator. The Act is amended to require, if the articles are in electronic format and, therefore, not signed, that a consent to act as a first director also be provided by each incorporator who is named in the articles as a first director.

Land Titles Act and Marriage Act

The Schedule updates the terminology of references in each of the Acts to mentally incapable persons.

Liquor Licence Act

The Liquor Licence Act currently prohibits the Registrar of Alcohol and Gaming from issuing a licence to sell liquor to an applicant who has a financial relationship with a liquor manufacturer unless the board of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has considered the nature and extent of the financial relationship and it is not contrary to the public interest to issue the licence. The Act is amended to provide for the Registrar, rather than the board, to consider the nature and extent of the financial relationship between the applicant and the manufacturer in order to decide whether it is contrary to the public interest to issue the licence.

Ministry of Consumer and Business Services Act

A provision is added to the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services Act to provide protection from personal liability for the Deputy Minister, the Director and various other persons acting under an Act administered by the Minister, in respect of acts or omissions in the performance in good faith of their duties. The liability of the Crown under the Proceedings Against the Crown Act in respect of the torts committed by its employees and agents is retained.

Ministry of Consumer and Business Services Statute Law Amendment Act, 2004

Amendments made to the Repair and Storage Liens Act that have not yet come into force are repealed.

Partnerships Act

The Partnerships Act prohibits a limited liability partnership that was formed or continued by an agreement governed by the Act from carrying on business under a name other than the firm name it registered under the Business Names Act. The Partnerships Act is amended to allow such a partnership to have a firm name that is in an English form only, a French form only, a French and English combined form, or a French form and an English form where the French and English forms are equivalent but are used separately. This gives limited liability partnerships more flexibility with respect to their firm names and is consistent with the rules for corporate names.

Personal Property Security Act

The Personal Property Security Act currently provides that a document sent by registered mail is deemed to have been given when the addressee actually receives the document or 10 days after the day of registration, whichever is earlier. A purchase-money security interest in inventory or its proceeds is excepted from this rule. The Act is amended to remove the exception. A purchase-money security interest is a security interest in collateral taken by a seller to secure payment of all or part of its price, or taken by a person who gives value for the purpose of enabling the debtor to acquire rights in or to collateral.

The Act currently provides that if, as a result of an inability to operate the personal property security registration system’s computer, a security interest cannot be perfected by registration or a registration cannot be discharged within a time period specified in the Act, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations extending particular time periods in specified situations or deeming particular unperfected security interests to be continuously perfected in specified situations. The Act is amended to transfer this regulation-making power to the Minister because that would allow speedier action in resolving registration issues resulting from the unavailability of the registration system in cases such as labour disruptions or electricity blackouts.

Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002

The French version of several provisions of the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 is amended to distinguish the term “client” from the term “customer”.

Repair and Storage Liens Act

Provisions of the Repair and Storage Liens Act dealing with when a repairer’s lien arises and when a storer’s lien arises, and with the amount of such liens, are amended to reflect the requirements of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002.

Safety and Consumer Statutes Administration Act, 1996

A provision is added to the Safety and Consumer Statutes Administration Act, 1996 to provide protection from personal liability for various persons in respect of acts or omissions in the performance in good faith of their duties or powers under designated legislation or a Minister’s order made under designated legislation. Designated legislation is legislation whose administration has been delegated to a designated administrative authority under the Act. The liability, if any, of the designated administrative authority in respect of the acts or omissions of the protected persons is retained.

A designated administrative authority to which the administration of designated legislation is delegated is allowed to set and govern payments that persons are required to make to any fund or account established or continued under the designated legislation delegated to the authority.

Vital Statistics Act

The Vital Statistics Act is amended to change references to the Ministry of Health and Minister of Health to be references to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, respectively.

SCHEDULE H
MINISTRY OF CULTURE

Royal Ontario Museum Act

Subsection 2 (2) of the Royal Ontario Museum Act is amended in order to change the Museum’s fiscal year beginning in 2006 so that it begins on April 1 of each year and ends on March 31 of the following year. Currently, the Museum’s fiscal year runs from July 1 of each year and ends on June 30 of the following year.

Tartan Act, 2000

The Schedule to the Tartan Act, 2000 is amended to correct the description of the first block of colour in the tartan of the Province of Ontario.

SCHEDULE I
MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRADE

General

All references to the Minister and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Technology in the Statutes of Ontario are changed to the Minister or Ministry of Economic Development and Trade respectively to reflect the transfer of responsibilities from the former Minister to the latter Minister in August 1999.

IDEA Corporation Act, 1981

The Schedule repeals the IDEA Corporation Act, 1981, whose affairs were terminated by regulation in 1986, and revokes that regulation.

Ministry of Industry, Trade and Technology Act

The Schedule amends the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Technology Act (now the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade Act) to allow the Lieutenant Governor in Council or the Minister under that Act to appoint advisory committees to the Minister.

SCHEDULE J
DISSOLUTION OF INACTIVE CORPORATIONS ACT, 2006

The Act dissolves five inactive corporations that were incorporated under the Business Corporations Act: IDEA Information Technology Fund Inc., IDEA Innovation Fund Inc., IDEA Research Investment Fund Inc., Ontario Investment Service Inc. and Ontario VL Corporation Ltd.

SCHEDULE K
MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Environmental Protection Act and Ontario Water Resources Act

If a risk assessment is accepted under section 168.5 of the Environmental Protection Act, subsection 168.6 (1) of the Act permits a certificate of property use to be issued only at the time notice of the acceptance is given. Subsection 168.6 (1) is amended to remove this restriction. In addition, paragraph 1 of subsection 168.6 (1) is amended to provide that, when a certificate of property use imposes a requirement to take specified action on a property owner, the requirement can only require action on the owner’s property, although the adverse effect to which the action is directed need not be on that property.

Under section 168.13 of the Act, a municipality that becomes the owner of property by virtue of the registration of a notice of vesting under Part XI of the Municipal Act, 2001 (sale of land for tax arrears) is given protection from certain orders made under the Environmental Protection Act in respect of a period that runs for five years after the municipality becomes the owner.

Section 168.18 of the Act is a similar provision that applies to a secured creditor who becomes the owner of property by virtue of a foreclosure. These provisions, and similar provisions in the Ontario Water Resources Act, are amended to ensure that the protection from orders does not apply in respect of anything done after the municipality or secured creditor ceases to own the property.

Ontario Water Resources Act

Section 30 of the Ontario Water Resources Act is amended to require notice of discharges that impair the quality of water to be given to the Ministry of the Environment, not the Minister.

General

Other amendments update references to statute names, correct section references, ensure consistency of terminology, and ensure consistency between the English and French versions of provisions.

SCHEDULE L
MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND LONG-TERM CARE

Drug Interchangeability and Dispensing Fee Act

The Drug Interchangeability and Dispensing Fee Act is amended to add a definition of “Minister”.

Health Care Consent Act, 1996

The Health Care Consent Act, 1996 is amended to clarify that the jurisdiction of the Consent and Capacity Board does not include the consideration of constitutional questions.

Health Insurance Act

The Health Insurance Act is amended to clarify terminology in certain provisions and to update certain cross-references.

Health Protection and Promotion Act

The Health Protection and Promotion Act is amended to include a reference to the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, to clarify that a medical officer of health may disclose personal information to another medical officer of health where conditions for disclosure, including that the disclosure is authorized by the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, are met.

Laboratory and Specimen Collection Centre Licensing Act

The Laboratory and Specimen Collection Centre Licensing Act is amended to modernize the definition of “laboratory”, to update the provisions with respect to the quality management program for laboratories and to remove sections of the Act which are no longer in use.

Quality of Care Information Protection Act, 2004

The Quality of Care Information Protection Act, 2004 is amended to clarify the intent of several provisions.

General

Various Acts are amended to update or correct cross-references, and to update the terminology for Ministers and for the current name of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and to update references to the Health Care Accessibility Act to the Commitment to the Future of Medicare Act, 2004.

SCHEDULE M
MINISTRY OF LABOUR

Employment Standards Act, 2000

The Employment Standards Act, 2000 is amended by adding new section 88.1 to permit the Director to transfer an investigation of a complaint or an inspection of an employer from an employment standards officer to another employment standards officer.

Section 91 of the Act authorizes an employment standards officer to carry out inspections to ensure compliance with the Act. Clause 91 (6) (a) of the Act is amended to give the employment standards officer the authority to decide which records may be relevant to the inspection for the purposes of determining which records to examine during an inspection.

The amendment to section 118 of the Act corrects a cross-reference to provide that an order in council to bring into effect Ontario Labour Relations Board rules of practice only applies to rules for expedited decisions on jurisdiction.

Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997

The enactment of subsection 49 (5) of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 makes the non-disclosure and non-compellability provisions of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 relating to conciliators applicable to conciliators appointed under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997.

Labour Relations Act, 1995

Section 119 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 provides for the non-disclosure of information provided to a conciliation officer and the conciliator’s report except to certain persons listed in the section. The amendments to section 119 of the Act remove references to the chief conciliation officer who no longer exists and replace them with references to the Director of Labour Management Services who currently performs the functions. The amendments also add Assistant Deputy Ministers of Labour to the list of persons to whom information or the conciliator’s report may be disclosed.

The enactment of section 124.1 of the Act and the repeal of clause 125 (g) of the Act transfer to the Minister of Labour the authority to fix the remuneration and expenses of persons who are not Crown employees and who serve on conciliation boards, as mediators or special officers or on a Disputes Advisory Committee.

Ministry of Labour Act

The enactment of section 4.1 of the Ministry of Labour Act protects ministry employees from liability for any action carried out in good faith in the course of their duties.

Occupational Health and Safety Act

The enactment of section 68.1 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act allows a Director under the Act to publish or otherwise publicly disclose the name of a person convicted of an offence under the Act, a description of the offence, the date of the conviction and the person’s sentence.

Pay Equity Act

Amendments to the Schedule to the Pay Equity Act update references to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997

The amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 change the French name of the Office of the Employer Advisor from “Bureau des conseillers du patronat” to “Bureau des conseillers des employeurs”.

SCHEDULE N
MINISTRY OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES (FORMER MANAGEMENT BOARD SECRETARIAT AND THE CENTRE FOR LEADERSHIP AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT)

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

Both the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act are amended to provide that a disclosure of personal information about a deceased individual to his or her spouse or a close relative pursuant to an access request does not constitute an unjustified invasion of personal privacy if the head is satisfied that, in the circumstances, the disclosure is desirable for compassionate reasons. Both Acts are also amended by adding definitions of “spouse” and “close relative”. For consistency, references to “next of kin” in both Acts are changed to refer to the spouse or a close relative.

The Acts are also amended to clarify what information must be included in a head’s annual report in the case of access requests under the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 made to the institution or to a health information custodian that is acting as part of the institution.

Ministry of Government Services Act

The Ministry of Government Services Act is amended to expand the Ministry’s mandate so that in addition to acquiring, managing and providing common services for the Government, the Ministry may acquire, manage and provide particular common services for one or more Government related agencies or related governments if doing so furthers the interests of the Government and if the Ministry and the Government related agency or related government enter into an agreement with respect to those services. Definitions of “common services” and “related government” are added and the definition of “Government related agency” is changed.

Public Service Act

The Public Service Act is amended to remove the requirement that the Civil Service Commission establish a list of eligibles when recruiting qualified persons for the civil service. The Act is also amended to remove the requirement that the deputy minister choose from the lists of eligibles when nominating a person to fill a vacancy in the classified service.

The Act is amended to provide for the Commission, rather than the Lieutenant Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Commission, to appoint persons on the probationary staff of the classified service to the regular staff. The Commission may make these appointments effective as of a date before the date on which the amendment comes into force. The Act is amended to retain the Commission’s power, but remove the Lieutenant Governor in Council’s power, to appoint persons in the term classified service to another part of the classified service. The Act is amended to provide for the Commission, rather than the Lieutenant Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Commission, to reappoint civil servants who retire at the age of 65 years for a period not exceeding one year at a time until the end of the month in which they attain the age of 70 years. The Commission may make these reappointments effective as of a date before the date on which the amendment comes into force.

In addition to the Commission’s authority to delegate to a deputy minister the Commission’s powers to appoint persons nominated by the deputy minister to positions on the probationary staff, to appoint persons nominated by the deputy minister to the term classified service, and to appoint persons in the term classified service to another part of the classified service, the Commission is given the authority to delegate to a deputy minister the Commission’s new power to appoint persons on the probationary staff of the classified service to the regular staff. However, deputy ministers are not authorized to subdelegate the appointment powers that the Commission delegates to them.

The Act is amended to add deputy ministers to the lists of those who may appoint civil servants, public servants and Crown employees.

The Act is amended to clarify that if a deputy minister is absent or if there is a vacancy in the office, a public servant designated by the minister of the deputy may perform the duties and exercise the powers of the deputy, not only as set out in the Public Service Act but also as set out in any other Act or as otherwise assigned to the deputy.

Treasury Board Act, 1991

The Treasury Board Act, 1991 is amended to remove the qualifiers “financial and administrative” in the provision empowering the Board to issue directives, so that the Board may issue any directives it considers necessary in the performance of its duties.

SCHEDULE O
MINISTRY OF MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS AND HOUSING

Building Code Act, 1992

Amendments to clause 7 (e) and subsection 13 (6) are made to reflect the role of registered code agencies that may be appointed. The other amendments are technical in nature.

Building Code Statute Law Amendment Act, 2002

An amendment to the Building Code Act, 1992 that has never been proclaimed is repealed.

Municipal Act, 2001

Section 110 is amended to clarify that municipalities may provide for exemptions from development charges without also providing for exemptions from property taxes.

The time limitation in clause 356 (1) (b) is removed.

Municipal Tax Assistance Act

The amendment to section 4 of the Municipal Tax Assistance Act would allow the Minister to designate provincial properties as properties in respect of which subsection 4 (3) does not apply.

Social Housing Reform Act, 2000

The amendments to section 64 and subsection 172 (2) of the Social Housing Reform Act, 2000 provide that waiting lists for units modified to be accessible to a person with physical disabilities may be managed differently than waiting lists for units with provincially funded services, if permitted by the regulations.

Subsections 103 (3) and (4) of the Act are amended to clarify that the amounts determined under those provisions may be negative amounts for the purposes of determining the amount of a subsidy payable to a housing provider.

Technical corrections are made to sections 17, 20, 96, 117 and 158 of the Act.

SCHEDULE P
MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Aggregate Resources Act

Licensees and permittees must inform the Aggregate Resources Trust of the amount of material they have removed from a site.

Subsection 62 (1) of the Act specifies that documents relating to quantities of aggregate removed and to inventories of material on site are to be kept.

A new section 63 gives an inspector the power to issue an order directing compliance with a provision of the Act or the regulations that is being contravened and, where a pit or quarry is being operated without a licence, an order may be made requiring that operations cease. Section 63.1 provides for an appeal from an order of an inspector under section 63 but the order appealed from remains in effect until the decision on the appeal is made.

Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act

The main amendments are as follows:

Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act

The amendments to the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act relate to provisions dealing with the communication of a notice of decision on an application for a development permit and the service of certain notices and orders.

Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act

In addition to providing new definitions for the terms “correlative rights”, “facility”, “well”, “pipeline” and “inspector”, the main amendments relate to the following:

Public Lands Act

The amendments to the Public Lands Act are of a housekeeping nature.

SCHEDULE Q
MINISTRY OF NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT AND MINES

Northern Services Boards Act

The Schedule also makes amendments to the Northern Services Boards Act to correct a reference in Form 2 of that Act.

Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Act

The Schedule changes the Commission’s fiscal year.

SCHEDULE R
MINISTRY OF TOURISM

The Schedule repeals the City of Toronto XXIX Summer Olympic Games Bid Endorsement Act, 1998.

SCHEDULE S
MINISTRY OF TRAINING, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act

The Schedule amends the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act to clarify the authority of the Minister to make awards and grants, in addition to the authority to make student loans, and to expand the regulation-making authority in relation to such awards, grants and student loans.

Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act, 2002

The Schedule amends the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act, 2002 to provide that each college established under that Act is a non-share corporation. The Act currently provides that the board of governors of the college is a corporation, not the college itself.

University of Ontario Institute of Technology Act, 2002

The Schedule makes a minor amendment to the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Act, 2002.

SCHEDULE T
MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION

Bridges Act

Section 2 of the Bridges Act is amended to clarify that the approval of the Minister of Transportation under that Act is not required for work on a bridge, culvert or causeway that has been approved under the Public Lands Act or the Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act.

Highway 407 Act, 1998 and Highway 407 East Completion Act, 2001

The Schedule amends the Highway 407 Act, 1998 and the Highway 407 East Completion Act, 2001 to provide that Highway 407 and Highway 407 East Completion are deemed to be public highways for the purposes of allowing access to them under the Electricity Act, 1998.

Highway Traffic Act

Housekeeping amendments are made to the Highway Traffic Act as follows: changing obsolete references to the Fire Departments Act to the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997; changing obsolete references to the Solicitor General and Minister of Correctional Services to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services; repealing clause 70 (1) (i) that refers back to a now repealed subsection; using consistent terminology respecting traffic control signals in section 144.

Local Roads Boards Act

An obsolete reference to prepaid first class mail is changed to mail.

Ministry of Transportation Act

A provision is added to the Ministry of Transportation Act to protect individuals from personal liability if they act in good faith in the exercise of their duties.

Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act

An obsolete reference to the Treasurer of Ontario is changed to the Minister of Finance.

Financial assistance for transit to municipalities and band councils is provided through sections 116 and 118 of the Act. The alternative funding provisions in sections 91, 92, 93 and 93.1 of the Act are repealed.

Shortline Railways Act, 1995

The definitions of “shortline railway” and “shortline railway company” and the application section of the Shortline Railways Act, 1995 are amended.

A new section 4.1 is added to regulate the construction and alteration of shortline railways.

Housekeeping amendments are made to ensure consistent use of terminology in the Act.

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