Bill 176 explained in plain English
Better Business Climate Act, 2014
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 40th Parliament, 2nd 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 Better Business Climate Act, 2014, enacts the Burden Reduction Reporting Act, 2014, requiring annual reports on reducing business burdens, and the Partnerships for Jobs and Growth Act, 2014, enabling plans for economic cluster development.
This Act, titled the Better Business Climate Act, 2014, enacts two new pieces of legislation: the Burden Reduction Reporting Act, 2014, and the Partnerships for Jobs and Growth Act, 2014. The first act requires the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment to publish an annual report on government actions to reduce burdens on businesses. The second act allows the same Minister to create plans for developing economic clusters, which involves consulting with interested parties and reporting on the plan's progress. The Act also outlines how these new laws will come into effect.
- Enacts the Burden Reduction Reporting Act, 2014.
- Requires the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment to publish an annual report on actions taken by the Government of Ontario to reduce burdens.
- Enacts the Partnerships for Jobs and Growth Act, 2014.
- Allows the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment to prepare plans for the development of economic clusters.
- Requires the Minister to consult with interested parties when preparing these plans.
- Requires the Minister to review these plans and make public a report on the review's results.
- Provides the Minister with regulation-making powers related to these plans.
- The Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment (and other members of the Executive Council)
- Businesses in Ontario
- The Government of Ontario
- The Minister must publish an annual report on actions taken to reduce burdens.
- The Minister must make plans for economic clusters public and consult with interested parties.
- The Minister must review economic cluster plans every five years and report on the results.
- The Minister has the power to make regulations related to the Burden Reduction Reporting Act and the Partnerships for Jobs and Growth Act.
- The Better Business Climate Act, 2014, came into force on the day it received Royal Assent.
- The Burden Reduction Reporting Act, 2014 (Schedule 1) comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- The Partnerships for Jobs and Growth Act, 2014 (Schedule 2) comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- The annual report on burden reduction must be available to the public on or before June 30 each year, or a date prescribed by regulations.
- Reviews of economic cluster plans must be conducted on or before the fifth anniversary of the plan's final version being made public, and subsequent reviews occur every five years thereafter.
- The Burden Reduction Reporting Act, 2014, focuses on identifying and reporting on 'burdens,' which are defined as costs measured in money, time, or resources, aiming to reduce these for businesses.
- The specific day the Burden Reduction Reporting Act, 2014, and the Partnerships for Jobs and Growth Act, 2014, will come into force depends on future proclamations by the Lieutenant Governor.
- The Minister has discretion in determining how to consult with stakeholders and what constitutes an 'advisable' manner for making information public.
- Regulations may be made that specify details regarding the burden reduction report and economic cluster plans, which are not fully detailed in the Act itself.
This new Act requires the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment to publish an annual report detailing actions the Ontario government has taken to reduce 'burdens' (costs measured in money, time, or resources) on businesses. The Act also allows the Minister to make regulations concerning the content and timing of this report.
Source: Schedule 1
This new Act permits the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment to develop plans for 'clusters' (geographically concentrated groups of businesses and related entities) to foster economic development. These plans must include descriptions, objectives, performance measures, and proposed actions. The Minister must consult with stakeholders, make draft and final plans public, and conduct reviews every five years, reporting on the results. The Minister also has powers to make regulations related to these plans.
Source: Schedule 2
The definition of 'Minister' in both new Acts refers to the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment or another member of the Executive Council assigned responsibility under the Executive Council Act. This implies a connection to how ministerial responsibilities are assigned.
Source: Schedule 1, Section 1; Schedule 2, Section 1
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 is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
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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