Bill 279 explained in plain English
Environmental Protection Amendment Act (Microplastics Filters for Washing Machines), 2021
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 42nd 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
Bill 279 amends the Environmental Protection Act to prohibit the sale of washing machines without a microplastics filter and sets penalties for non-compliance, taking effect two years after Royal Assent.
This Bill amends the Environmental Protection Act to require that washing machines sold or offered for sale in Ontario be equipped with a filter to remove microplastics. The filter must have a maximum mesh size of 100 microns, or a smaller size if specified by a Minister's regulation. The Bill also establishes penalties for selling or offering for sale washing machines without this required filter. The Act comes into force two years after receiving Royal Assent.
- Prohibits the sale or offering for sale of washing machines that do not have a filter designed to remove microplastics.
- Specifies that the microplastics filter must have a maximum mesh size of 100 microns, or a smaller size determined by a Minister's regulation.
- Establishes penalties for individuals and corporations that sell or offer for sale washing machines without the required microplastics filter.
- Sets the commencement date for these provisions to be two years after the bill receives Royal Assent.
- Manufacturers or sellers of washing machines in Ontario.
- Consumers of washing machines in Ontario.
- The Minister responsible for environmental protection, who may prescribe a smaller mesh size for the microplastics filter through regulation.
- Obligation: No person shall offer for sale or sell a washing machine that is not equipped with a microplastics filter of a specified size or smaller, as prescribed by regulation (Section 88.1).
- Right: Individuals and corporations have the right to be subject to specific penalties for contravening Section 88.1, with maximum fines outlined for first and subsequent units sold or offered for sale without the required filter (Section 90).
- The Act comes into force on the second anniversary of the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Individuals selling or offering for sale a washing machine without the required filter face a maximum fine of $1,000 for the first unit and $2,000 for each subsequent unit.
- Corporations selling or offering for sale a washing machine without the required filter face a maximum fine of $2,000 for the first unit and $5,000 for each subsequent unit.
- Contravention of the prohibition on selling washing machines without a microplastics filter is an offence.
- Penalties include a maximum fine of $1,000 for the first unit and $2,000 for subsequent units for individuals.
- Penalties include a maximum fine of $2,000 for the first unit and $5,000 for subsequent units for corporations.
- These penalties apply despite any penalties set out in section 187 of the Environmental Protection Act.
- The exact mesh size requirement for the microplastics filter may be further specified by a Minister's regulation to be a size smaller than 100 microns.
- The term 'person' is not explicitly defined in the relevant sections of the bill but typically refers to individuals and corporations.
- The exact date of Royal Assent is not provided, which means the precise commencement date (two years after Royal Assent) is not yet fixed.
Adds a new section (88.1) to prohibit the sale of washing machines without a microplastics filter and adds a new section (90) to create offences and penalties related to contraventions of section 88.1.
Source: Section 1 and Section 2
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
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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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