Bill 85 explained in plain English

Bill 85 requires certain health sector organizations and suppliers that receive at least $1 million in public funding to comply with transparency and accountability legislation including executive compensation disclosure, salary disclosure, and audits.

Bill 85, the Transparent and Accountable Health Care Act, 2025, is a private member's bill designed to increase transparency and accountability in how Ontario health care organizations spend public money. The bill applies to two main groups of organizations: "major health sector organizations" and "publicly-funded suppliers." Both groups must receive at least $1 million in public funding per year to fall under the bill's rules. Major health sector organizations are entities like hospitals, long-term care homes, Ontario Health, boards of health, and ambulance services that receive funding directly from Ontario's Ministry of Health. Publicly-funded suppliers are companies or organizations that receive at least $1 million annually (directly or indirectly) from major health sector organizations or from other publicly-funded suppliers. This could include contractors, vendors, or service providers to the health system. For both groups, the bill requires compliance with three existing Ontario laws: 1. The Broader Public Sector Executive Compensation Act, 2014 – This law requires disclosure of senior executive salaries and compensation above certain thresholds. 2. The Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996 – This law requires disclosure of public sector employee salaries above a set threshold. 3. The Ombudsman Act – Organizations are deemed to be governmental organizations, meaning people can file complaints about them with Ontario's Ombudsman. Additionally, the bill authorizes the Auditor General of Ontario to audit any aspect of these organizations' operations. The bill applies starting with the first fiscal year beginning on or after April 1, 2027. It comes into force when it receives Royal Assent. The bill allows the provincial Cabinet (Lieutenant Governor in Council) to make regulations needed to carry out the law's purposes.