Bill 109 explained in plain English
Hands Off the Greenbelt Act, 2023
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 43rd 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 Hands Off the Greenbelt Act, 2023, amends the Greenbelt Act, 2005, to prohibit the removal of land from the Greenbelt Area, Greenbelt Plan, or Protected Countryside designation, with retroactive effect to December 13, 2022.
Bill 109, also known as the Hands Off the Greenbelt Act, 2023, proposes to amend the Greenbelt Act, 2005. The bill aims to prevent the Minister and the Lieutenant Governor in Council from taking actions that would remove land from the Greenbelt Area, the Greenbelt Plan, or the designation of Protected Countryside. It also repeals specific subsections of the Greenbelt Act, 2005, and declares certain regulatory actions made under the Act to be void. The bill has retroactive effect to December 13, 2022.
- Amends the Greenbelt Act, 2005, to add a new section establishing limitations on the exercise of powers conferred by the Act.
- Prohibits the Minister and the Lieutenant Governor in Council from removing land from the Greenbelt Area, from the application of the Greenbelt Plan, or from the designation of Protected Countryside.
- States that any action taken in contravention of these limitations is deemed to have never been done.
- Declares Ontario Regulation 567/22, which amended Ontario Regulation 59/05 (Designation of Greenbelt Area), to be deemed never to have been made or filed.
- Repeals specific subsections of the Greenbelt Act, 2005: Subsection 2 (4), Subsection 12 (2), and Subsection 13 (7).
- States that the Act is deemed to have come into force on December 13, 2022.
- The Minister of the Crown responsible for the Greenbelt Act, 2005.
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council.
- The Greenbelt Area.
- The Greenbelt Plan.
- Lands designated as Protected Countryside.
- A new right or limitation is created, preventing the Minister and Lieutenant Governor in Council from removing land from the Greenbelt Area, the Greenbelt Plan, or the Protected Countryside designation.
- Any action taken against this limitation is deemed never to have occurred.
- The Act is deemed to have come into force on December 13, 2022.
- Anything done in contravention of the new limitations is deemed never to have been done.
- The bill does not specify what powers the Minister or Lieutenant Governor in Council may exercise under the Greenbelt Act, 2005, beyond what is explicitly stated as being prohibited.
- The bill does not provide details on how the determination of 'removing any land' would be made or applied in practice.
Adds a general limitation preventing the Minister and Lieutenant Governor in Council from removing land from the Greenbelt Area, the Greenbelt Plan, or the Protected Countryside designation. It also deems any actions taken against this limitation as if they never happened. Certain subsections (2(4), 12(2), 13(7)) are repealed.
Source: Section 1 and Section 2
This regulation, which amended Ontario Regulation 59/05 (Designation of Greenbelt Area), is deemed never to have been made or filed.
Source: Section 1 (3)
Ontario Regulation 567/22, which amended this regulation, is deemed never to have been made or filed.
Source: Section 1 (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.
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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
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