Bill 115 explained in plain English
Putting Students First Act, 2012
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 40th Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
The Putting Students First Act, 2012, imposed a two-year compensation restraint period on Ontario's education sector employees, setting specific terms for compensation, benefits, and collective agreements, and amended the Education Act regarding sick leave.
The Putting Students First Act, 2012, establishes a two-year "restraint period" that began for most education sector employees on September 1, 2012. During this period, the Act sets specific rules for compensation and benefits for school board employees and their collective agreements. It aims to stabilize funding, protect investments in smaller class sizes and full-day kindergarten, and manage public sector compensation costs. The Act also makes consequential amendments to the Education Act concerning sick leave credits. The Lieutenant Governor in Council has powers to make orders concerning collective agreements and other related matters during this period.
- Establishes a "restraint period" for employees in the education sector, generally lasting two years starting September 1, 2012.
- Sets requirements for employment contracts for employees not covered by collective agreements.
- Sets requirements for collective agreements, including terms related to compensation and benefits.
- Allows the Minister to advise the Lieutenant Governor in Council on matters related to collective agreements and contraventions of the Act.
- Grants the Lieutenant Governor in Council the power to make orders regarding collective agreements, strikes, lock-outs, and other matters.
- Limits the jurisdiction of the Ontario Labour Relations Board and arbitrators regarding this Act.
- Provides immunity from lawsuits for actions taken in good faith under the Act.
- Amends the Education Act to allow for regulations regarding sick leave credits and their termination.
- Amends the Education Act to modify how collective agreement commencement dates are defined.
- School boards in Ontario
- Employees of school boards
- Employee bargaining agents representing school board employees
- Students (indirectly, through the stated aims of the Act)
- The Minister of Education
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council
- Employment contracts must include specific terms regarding compensation and sick leave credits.
- Collective agreements must include specific terms derived from Memoranda of Understanding or as prescribed by regulation.
- School boards must comply with the Act and report on compliance.
- The Minister has the right to advise the Lieutenant Governor in Council and participate in proceedings.
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council has the power to make orders to enforce the Act.
- The restraint period began on September 1, 2012, for most employees.
- The Act came into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- The Act aims to contain public sector compensation costs.
- It restricts increases in employee compensation and limits the accumulation and payout of sick leave credits.
- It may require employees to reimburse boards for payments made contrary to the Act.
- The Minister can complain to the Ontario Labour Relations Board alleging contraventions of the Act.
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council can make orders to enforce the Act, including imposing collective agreements or prohibiting strikes/lock-outs.
- Strikes or lock-outs in contravention of certain orders are deemed unlawful.
- The exact start date of the restraint period can vary for different employee groups based on their collective agreement status.
- The duration of the restraint period can be extended by regulation.
- Certain specific terms for collective agreements are to be prescribed by regulation.
- The Act does not apply to employment contracts for employees covered by Part II.1 of the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, 2010.
- The Act limits the jurisdiction of courts, arbitrators, and the Ontario Labour Relations Board in reviewing its provisions or orders.
This is the main Act that establishes the restraint period and its rules.
Source: Section 21(1)
Introduces new provisions related to sick leave credits and modifies definitions related to collective agreement commencement dates.
Source: Section 21(1) and 21(2), 21(3), 21(4)
The Act's provisions modify how the Labour Relations Act, 1995 applies to education sector employees, particularly regarding strikes and lock-outs, and how the Putting Students First Act is enforced.
Source: Sections 11, 13(1), 13(2), 13(3), 13(4), 13(5), 14(1), 14(2)
Allows for deductions from wages for reimbursement to a board as ordered under the Act, overriding Section 13 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000.
Source: Section 9(6)
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.
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Vote Summary
This bill does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.
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