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OntarioDid not become law (session ended)39th Parliament, 2nd Session

Bill 90 explained in plain English

Healthy Decisions for Healthy Eating Act, 2010

Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.

At a glance

Jurisdiction
Ontario Legislature
Legislature / Parliament
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Session
39th Parliament, 2nd Session
Bill number
Bill 90
Full title
Healthy Decisions for Healthy Eating Act, 2010
Current status
Did not become law (session ended)
Latest event
Carried
Last updated
Jun 2, 2010

Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.

Chamber
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Current Stage
Carried
Latest Activity
Jun 2, 2010
Plain-language explanation
In plain English (our explanation)

Our plain-language take, written for civic education.

Source: By PoliticalData.ca

AI-assisted, reviewed before publishing
Short Version

The Healthy Decisions for Healthy Eating Act, 2010, mandates that large food service chains in Ontario display calorie information for menu items.

What It Means

This bill, titled the Healthy Decisions for Healthy Eating Act, 2010, amends the Health Protection and Promotion Act. It requires certain food service businesses to display the calorie count for food and drink items they sell or serve. Specifically, it applies to food service premises that are part of a chain with at least five locations in Ontario and have gross annual revenues exceeding $5 million. The calorie information must be displayed on menus, display boards, or buffet carts, next to the price, and in the same typeface and font size as the price. Alternatively, it can be shown on a label or tag attached to individual food or drink items. If calorie counts vary by less than 5% among different varieties or flavours of an item, the average calorie count can be displayed for all those varieties or flavours.

What This Bill Does
  • Amends the Health Protection and Promotion Act to introduce new requirements for food service premises.
  • Requires food service premises that are part of a chain with at least five locations in Ontario and gross annual revenues over $5 million to display the number of calories for food and drink items.
  • Specifies how calorie information must be displayed, including on menus, display boards, or buffet carts, adjacent to the price and in the same font style and size.
  • Allows for the average calorie count to be displayed if variations among different types of an item are within 5%.
  • Establishes offences and penalties for contravening these new requirements.
Who Is Affected
  • Owners and operators of food service premises that are part of a chain with at least five locations in Ontario and have gross annual revenues exceeding $5 million.
  • Franchisors and persons who indirectly own or operate food service premises through subsidiaries, if they meet the criteria.
  • Consumers who purchase food or drinks from these specified food service premises.
Rights, Duties, Or Obligations
  • Food service premises meeting the specified criteria must display the number of calories per serving for all food and drink items sold or served.
  • Consumers have the right to see calorie information displayed adjacent to the price of food and drink items.
  • The bill establishes that contravening the calorie display requirement is an offence.
Important Dates
  • The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
Financial Or Tax Impacts
  • Businesses meeting the criteria are subject to fines for non-compliance.
  • First offence fine: not more than $500 for each day the offence occurs or continues.
  • Second or subsequent offence fine: not more than $5,000 for each day the offence occurs or continues.
Enforcement Or Penalties
  • A first offence under section 16.1 is subject to a fine of up to $500 per day.
  • A second or subsequent offence under section 16.1 is subject to a fine of up to $5,000 per day.
Uncertainties Or Limits
  • The bill does not specify the exact date of Royal Assent, only that the Act comes into force on that day.
  • While it defines 'food service premise' and outlines general display rules, specific details on the precise visual presentation (e.g., font colour, exact placement beyond 'adjacent to the price') are not detailed in the provided text.
  • The bill applies to premises that are part of a chain with a minimum of five locations in Ontario. It does not address single-location establishments.
  • The bill applies to premises with gross annual revenues over $5 million, excluding those below this threshold.
Laws Or Regulations Affected
Health Protection and Promotion Act
amends

Introduces a new section (16.1) requiring certain food service premises to display calorie information for food and drink items sold or served. It also amends sections related to offences and penalties.

Source: Section 1

Health Protection and Promotion Act, Section 100 (3)
amends

Amends subsection 100 (3) by adding a reference to the new section 16.1, likely related to the administration or enforcement of the new calorie display requirement.

Source: Section 2

Health Protection and Promotion Act, Section 101
amends

Amends section 101 by adding a new subsection (1.1) that outlines the penalties for offences committed under the new section 16.1.

Source: Section 3

Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.

Official text

Process Snapshot

Step 1
First reading
Jun 2, 2010
Step 2
Second reading
Not reached yet
Step 3
Committee review
Not reached yet
Step 4
Third reading
Not reached yet
Step 5
Royal assent
Not reached yet

Vote Summary

No published recorded division

This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.

Sponsor
France Gélinas
New Democratic Party of Ontario | Nickel Belt
Jurisdiction
Ontario Legislature

No published representative vote breakdown

This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.

Official sources

Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.

How this data is sourced