Bill 176 explained in plain English
End the Public Funding of Partisan Government Advertising Act, 2024
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
This bill amends the Government Advertising Act, 2004, to prohibit the use of partisan government advertising and to reinstate previous review processes by the Auditor General, particularly concerning advertising during election periods.
Bill 176, titled the End the Public Funding of Partisan Government Advertising Act, 2024, proposes to amend the Government Advertising Act, 2004. The main goal is to revert certain rules regarding government advertising reviews to how they were before 2015 amendments, specifically aiming to prevent the use of partisan advertising by the government. The bill introduces new prohibitions on government offices publishing, displaying, broadcasting, distributing, or conveying advertisements, printed matter, or messages if the Auditor General determines they do not meet the required standards or if they are partisan in nature. It also restricts such use during election periods, with specific exceptions. The bill outlines the standards that government advertising must meet, including requirements that it not be partisan and not primarily aim to foster a positive impression of the governing party or a negative impression of critics. The changes are to take effect on a date proclaimed by the Lieutenant Governor.
- Amends the Government Advertising Act, 2004.
- Repeals and substitutes definitions and sections within the Act.
- Introduces prohibitions on government offices using advertisements, printed matter, or messages that do not meet prescribed standards or are deemed partisan.
- Establishes specific standards for government advertising, including that it must not be partisan and must not primarily aim to foster a positive impression of the governing party or a negative impression of critics.
- Restricts the use of government advertising during election periods, with exceptions for revenue-generating activities, time-sensitive content, or other prescribed criteria.
- Reverts certain aspects of the Auditor General's review process for government advertising to their pre-2015 status.
- Specifies when the Auditor General must review government advertising and the timelines for providing notice of the review results.
- Outlines procedures for the review of revised government advertising.
- Government offices in Ontario.
- The Auditor General of Ontario and the Office of the Auditor General.
- Members of the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly (indirectly, by restricting the use of their names, voices, or images in advertising).
- The public (as recipients of government advertising).
- Government offices are prohibited from using advertising, printed matter, or messages that do not meet the standards set by the Auditor General.
- Government offices must not use advertising, printed matter, or messages during election periods, unless an exception applies.
- The Auditor General has the right and duty to review government advertising to determine if it meets the required standards.
- The Auditor General must provide notice of the results of their review.
- This Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- The bill does not directly impose new taxes or fees. However, it may affect the budget allocated to government advertising by requiring more careful adherence to standards and potentially limiting the scope or duration of certain advertising campaigns, especially around election periods. The cost of ensuring compliance is not specified.
- The bill introduces prohibitions on the use of advertising if it does not meet standards or is partisan. It does not specify penalties for contravention, but the prohibitions themselves act as a form of enforcement, preventing the use of non-compliant materials.
- The bill includes exceptions for certain types of advertising during election periods, such as revenue-generating activities or time-sensitive content, which implies that other types of advertising are not permitted during these times.
- The bill states that the Auditor General shall consider 'such factors as may be prescribed' and may consider 'such additional factors as he or she considers appropriate' when determining if advertising is partisan. The specific prescribed factors are not detailed in this bill text.
- The bill refers to 'prescribed numbers of days' and 'prescribed criteria' for certain review timelines and exceptions during election periods. The details of these prescribed numbers and criteria are not provided in the bill text.
- The bill mentions that an item is considered partisan 'if, in the opinion of the Auditor General, a primary objective of the item is to promote the partisan political interests of the governing party.' The interpretation of 'primary objective' and 'partisan political interests' is left to the Auditor General's opinion.
- The commencement of the Act is dependent on a proclamation by the Lieutenant Governor, meaning the exact date it takes effect is not yet determined.
- The impact of amendments that strike out references to '4.1' is unclear without further context on what '4.1' specifically referred to within the original Act.
The bill makes numerous changes to this Act, including altering definitions, adding prohibitions, establishing new standards for government advertising, and modifying the review process by the Auditor General. These changes aim to restrict partisan advertising and align the Act's provisions with its state before 2015 amendments.
Source: Various sections
Changes the definition of 'item' to include a reviewable advertisement, reviewable printed matter, or a reviewable message.
Source: Section 1 (1)
Removes the existing definition of 'standards'.
Source: Section 1 (2)
Removes this section of the Act.
Source: Section 2
Removes the word 'preliminary'.
Source: Section 3 (1)
Adds new subsections that prohibit government offices from publishing, displaying, or broadcasting an advertisement before receiving notice of the review results from the Auditor General, and also prohibits its use if the Auditor General determines it does not meet the required standards or is partisan.
Source: Section 3 (2)
Removes the word 'preliminary'.
Source: Section 4 (1)
Adds new subsections that prohibit government offices from distributing printed matter before receiving notice of the review results from the Auditor General, and also prohibits its use if the Auditor General determines it does not meet the required standards or is partisan.
Source: Section 4 (2)
Removes the word 'preliminary'.
Source: Section 5 (1)
Adds new subsections that prohibit government offices from conveying a message before receiving notice of the review results from the Auditor General, and also prohibits its use if the Auditor General determines it does not meet the required standards or is partisan.
Source: Section 5 (2)
Removes this section of the Act.
Source: Section 6
Changes the wording related to the Auditor General's review to state that the Auditor General shall review an item to determine if it meets the standards required by the Act.
Source: Section 7
Replaces these sections with new provisions detailing the required standards for government advertising, the process for review by the Auditor General, and rules for revised advertising.
Source: Section 8
Removes a reference to '4.1'. The exact impact is unclear without knowing what '4.1' referred to.
Source: Section 9
Removes a reference to '4.1'. The exact impact is unclear without knowing what '4.1' referred to.
Source: Section 10
Changes a reference from 'paragraph 3' to 'paragraph 6'.
Source: Section 11 (2)
Replaces these clauses with new provisions related to prescribing factors for partisan interests, prescribing numbers of days for review periods, and prescribing criteria for exceptions during election periods.
Source: Section 11 (3)
Removes this subsection from the Act.
Source: Section 11 (4)
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.
Official textProcess Snapshot
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