Bill 32 explained in plain English
Great Lakes Shoreline Right of Passage Act, 2011
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 39th Parliament, 2nd 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 Great Lakes Shoreline Right of Passage Act, 2010 (Ontario) establishes a public right of passage along the Great Lakes shoreline between the shore and the high water mark, with specific limitations and protections.
This Ontario Act creates a right for the public to walk or use non-motorized means to travel along the shoreline of the Great Lakes, specifically between the shore and the high water mark. It states that people exercising this right assume the risks involved, but property owners must not intentionally cause harm or recklessly disregard the presence of those using the passage. The Act also sets a penalty for interfering with this right of passage and allows for regulations to be made regarding conduct and exemptions. It clarifies that this right does not interfere with existing property rights, nor does it constitute expropriation.
- Establishes a public right of passage along the shoreline of the Great Lakes, between the shore and the high water mark.
- Specifies that the right of passage is for walking or non-motorized means only, excluding vehicles or motorized transport.
- States that people exercising the right of passage assume associated risks.
- Obligates those with an interest in the shoreline not to intentionally cause harm or act with reckless disregard towards persons exercising the right of passage.
- Requires persons exercising the right of passage to comply with any prescribed rules of conduct.
- Clarifies that the Act does not interfere with existing property rights, except for the reserved right of passage.
- Specifies that actions taken under the Act do not constitute expropriation or injurious affection.
- Creates an offence for interfering with the right of passage, with a penalty of up to $2,000.
- Empowers the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations, including exemptions and rules of conduct.
- The public
- Owners of property along the shoreline of the Great Lakes
- Persons exercising the right of passage
- The public has a right of passage along the Great Lakes shoreline on foot or by non-motorized means.
- Persons exercising the right of passage must do so in compliance with prescribed rules of conduct.
- Persons with an interest in the shoreline must not create a danger with intent to harm or act with reckless disregard for those exercising the right of passage.
- The Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent.
- Interfering with the right of passage is an offence.
- A person convicted of interfering with the right of passage is liable to a fine of not more than $2,000.
- The Act does not define what constitutes 'high water mark', other than describing it as a mark where the presence and action of water is continuous and leaves a distinct mark.
- The Act does not specify which Great Lakes are included, other than referring to 'any Great Lake'.
- The Act allows for regulations to be made exempting certain properties or classes of property from its application, the details of which are not yet specified in the Act.
- The Act allows for regulations to prescribe rules of conduct, the details of which are not yet specified in the Act.
This is the Act that creates the right of passage along the Great Lakes shoreline.
Source: Section 2
Nothing done under this Act or its regulations will be considered expropriation or injurious affection under the Expropriations Act.
Source: Section 6
This Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent.
Source: Section 9
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