Bill 93 explained in plain English
Joshua's Law (Lifejackets for Life), 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
Joshua's Law (Lifejackets for Life), 2023, would require parents, guardians, or supervising adults to ensure children 12 and under wear a lifejacket on pleasure boats, with exceptions for enclosed cabins, and carries a penalty of up to $200 for non-compliance.
This bill, called Joshua's Law (Lifejackets for Life), 2023, would create a new law in Ontario. It requires parents or guardians to ensure that children 12 years old or younger wear a lifejacket or personal flotation device when on a moving pleasure boat or being towed behind one while using recreational water equipment. If another adult (18 or older) is supervising the child instead of the parent or guardian, that supervising adult must ensure the child wears the lifejacket. This rule does not apply if the child is inside an enclosed cabin. It would be an offence not to follow this rule, with a penalty of up to $200. The bill also defines 'child', 'pleasure boat', and 'recreational water equipment'. The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations to exempt certain types of boats or equipment from these rules. The law would come into effect on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Enacts Joshua's Law (Lifejackets for Life), 2023.
- Requires parents or guardians to ensure children 12 years old or younger wear a lifejacket or personal flotation device while on a pleasure boat that is underway or being towed behind a pleasure boat using recreational water equipment.
- Requires a supervising adult (18 or older) to ensure a child wears a lifejacket or personal flotation device if they are supervising the child instead of the parent or guardian.
- States that the requirement to wear a lifejacket does not apply if the child is in an enclosed cabin.
- Defines 'child', 'pleasure boat', and 'recreational water equipment'.
- Makes it an offence to not comply with the lifejacket requirement, with a maximum fine of $200.
- Allows the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations exempting certain pleasure boats or recreational water equipment from these requirements.
- Specifies that the Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Parents and guardians of children 12 years of age or younger.
- Adults 18 years of age or older who are supervising children 12 years of age or younger on pleasure boats.
- Children 12 years of age or younger when they are on a pleasure boat that is underway or being towed behind one using recreational water equipment.
- Parents or guardians have a duty to ensure their child (12 or under) wears a compliant lifejacket on a pleasure boat that is underway or being towed using recreational equipment.
- A supervising adult (18 or over) has a duty to ensure a child wears a compliant lifejacket on a pleasure boat that is underway or being towed using recreational equipment, if they are supervising the child instead of the parent or guardian.
- The duty to ensure a child wears a lifejacket applies regardless of whether the responsible adult is also on the boat or in the water.
- There is no obligation to ensure a child wears a lifejacket if the child is in an enclosed cabin.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- A person who contravenes the lifejacket requirement is liable to a fine of not more than $200.
- It is an offence to not comply with the requirement for children to wear lifejackets on pleasure boats.
- A person found guilty of this offence may be liable to a fine of not more than $200.
- The bill does not specify how the definition of 'pleasure boat' applies to very small vessels or those propelled by human power, beyond stating they must be nine metres or shorter.
- The exact compliance requirements for lifejackets are tied to the federal 'Small Vessel Regulations (Canada)', which are not detailed in this bill.
- The bill does not specify who enforces this law or the exact process for issuing fines.
- The potential regulations that the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make to exempt certain types of pleasure boats or recreational water equipment are not detailed.
This bill enacts a new law named Joshua's Law (Lifejackets for Life), 2023, which establishes rules about wearing lifejackets for children on pleasure boats.
Source: Section 1
The bill requires that any lifejacket or personal flotation device worn must comply with the federal Small Vessel Regulations.
Source: Section 1(2) and 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
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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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