Bill 17 explained in plain English
Protecting Child Performers Act, 2015
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st 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 Protecting Child Performers Act, 2015, sets standards for the employment of child performers in Ontario's entertainment industry, focusing on their well-being, safety, and rights.
This Act, the Protecting Child Performers Act, 2015, establishes rules to protect children working in the live and recorded entertainment industries. It sets out requirements for disclosure of employment terms, tutoring, income protection, working hours, and adult supervision. The Act aims to prioritize the best interests, protection, and well-being of child performers. Many of its provisions are enforced as if they were part of the Employment Standards Act, 2000, and the Occupational Health and Safety Act. If there's a conflict between this Act and other agreements or laws, the rule that offers greater protection to the child performer applies.
- Establishes rules for child performers in the live and recorded entertainment industries.
- Defines 'child performer' as a person under 18 working in the entertainment industry for pay.
- Outlines requirements for employers regarding disclosure of work details, written agreements, and travel.
- Mandates income protection measures for child performers earning over $2,000, requiring a portion of earnings to be held in trust.
- Sets limits on working hours, breaks, and split shifts for child performers in both recorded and live entertainment.
- Specifies requirements for parental or guardian accompaniment and supervision in the workplace.
- Introduces rules for the health and safety of child performers, including training and the right to refuse unsafe work.
- Integrates enforcement mechanisms with the Employment Standards Act, 2000, and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
- States that any provision offering greater protection to a child performer than this Act prevails in case of conflict.
- Child performers (under 18 years of age)
- Employers in the live and recorded entertainment industries
- Parents and guardians of child performers
- Trade unions and professional associations representing child performers
- Employers must disclose terms of employment, potential hazards, and special requirements to parents/guardians.
- Written agreements are required for employing child performers.
- Employers must ensure child performers receive tutoring if they are of compulsory school age.
- Employers must set aside 25% of earnings over $2,000 for child performers into a trust, unless a collective agreement provides comparable protection.
- Limits are set on daily and weekly working hours for child performers, varying by age and industry type.
- Specific break times and durations are mandated, with variations based on the child's age and whether they are before a recording device.
- Parents, guardians, or authorized chaperones must accompany child performers under 16 in certain travel and workplace situations.
- Employers must designate a child performer's co-ordinator and child attendants with specific ratios based on the number and age of child performers.
- Child performers have the right to refuse work if they believe it is unsafe, with their parent/guardian or chaperone having a role in this for children under 14.
- Employers must provide healthy food and consider allergies and dietary needs.
- Certain individuals working with child performers must have a clean criminal record.
- If a conflict exists between this Act and other agreements or laws, the provision offering greater protection to the child performer applies.
- The Act comes into force nine months after receiving Royal Assent.
- Employers are responsible for paying daily expenses, travel, and accommodation costs for parents/guardians, up to prescribed maximums, when a child performer is required to travel overnight.
- Employers must remit 25% of a child performer's earnings over $2,000 to a prescribed person to be held in trust until the child turns 18, unless specific conditions in a collective agreement are met.
- Many provisions are enforced under the Employment Standards Act, 2000, which includes provisions for inspections, orders, and penalties.
- Health and safety provisions are enforced under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which also includes enforcement mechanisms.
- The specific rules and maximum amounts for parental/guardian expenses, travel, and accommodation are to be prescribed by regulation.
- Details regarding tutoring requirements, the persons authorized to hold money in trust, rules for establishing trusts, and the administration of trusts are to be prescribed by regulation.
- The definition of 'clean criminal record' and the individuals required to have one are to be prescribed by regulation.
- The Act specifies that certain definitions or rules may be prescribed by regulation, meaning these details are not fully elaborated in the Act itself.
Certain parts of the Protecting Child Performers Act, 2015 (specifically Part II excluding section 4 and subsections 6(1), (2), (3); Part III excluding sections 10, 14, and 15; and Part IV excluding sections 17, 20, 21, and 22) are enforced as if they were part of the Employment Standards Act, 2000. This includes sections related to general employment standards, hours of work, and enforcement procedures.
Source: 26 (1) and (2)
Parts VIII and IX of the Occupational Health and Safety Act apply to certain provisions of the Protecting Child Performers Act, 2015 (specifically section 4, subsections 6(1), (2), (3); sections 10, 14, and 15; sections 17, 20, 21, and 22; and Part V). This means health and safety rules under that Act will apply to these specific areas of child performer employment.
Source: 26 (4)
The Act comes into force nine months after it receives Royal Assent.
Source: 28
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
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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.
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