Bill 53 explained in plain English
Right to Timely Mental Health and Addiction Care for Children and Youth Act, 2022
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
Bill 53, the Right to Timely Mental Health and Addiction Care for Children and Youth Act, 2022, mandates access to mental health and addiction services for Ontarians under 26 within 30 days of assessment.
This bill enacts the "Right to Timely Mental Health and Addiction Care for Children and Youth Act, 2022." It requires the Minister of Health (or another designated minister) to ensure that individuals under 26 years old residing in Ontario receive access to a necessary mental health or addiction service within 30 days of being assessed as requiring it. The Act also allows the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations to define terms, prescribe services, and establish a compliance monitoring system. The Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent.
- Enacts the Right to Timely Mental Health and Addiction Care for Children and Youth Act, 2022.
- Requires the Minister of Health to ensure timely access to mental health and addiction services for eligible individuals.
- Establishes a 30-day timeframe for accessing required mental health or addiction services.
- Grants the Lieutenant Governor in Council the power to make regulations related to the Act.
- Specifies that the Act came into force upon receiving Royal Assent.
- Individuals under 26 years old residing in Ontario who require mental health or addiction services.
- Mental health service providers in Ontario (who assess the need for services).
- The Minister of Health (or designated minister) responsible for ensuring timely access to services.
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council (who may make regulations).
- The right for eligible individuals to receive access to a required mental health or addiction service within 30 days of being deemed to require it.
- The obligation for the Minister to ensure this timely access.
- The power of the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations to support the Act's implementation.
- The Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent.
- The preamble states that prioritizing child and youth mental health and addiction services is "fiscally responsible" and that "early interventions are more effective," implying potential long-term cost savings, but no specific financial details or new taxes/fees are mentioned in the provided text.
- The Act allows for the establishment of a system to monitor compliance with the Act and its regulations, but no specific penalties for non-compliance are detailed in the provided text.
- The specific mental health and addiction services that are considered 'required' will be defined by regulation.
- The process by which a person is "deemed by a mental health service provider as requiring that service" is not detailed in the Act itself and may be subject to regulation.
- The Act does not specify what happens if the 30-day timeframe cannot be met or what recourse individuals have if access is not provided within that period.
- While the 'Minister' is defined, the specific minister responsible for administering the Act could be changed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
- The precise mechanism for monitoring compliance and any potential consequences for non-compliance are not detailed and may be subject to regulations.
Establishes new rights and obligations regarding timely access to mental health and addiction services for young people in Ontario.
Source: Section 1
Allows the Lieutenant Governor in Council to assign the administration of the Right to Timely Mental Health and Addiction Care for Children and Youth Act, 2022 to a minister other than the Minister of Health.
Source: Section 1 (3)
Permits the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations to define terms, prescribe services, and establish a compliance monitoring system for the Act.
Source: 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.
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