Bill 120 explained in plain English
Grand Juries Act, 2013
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 40th 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
Bill 120, if passed, would re-establish grand juries in Ontario to review public institutions, with specified powers and reporting requirements.
This bill, if passed, would establish a Grand Juries Act in Ontario. It would require judges of the Superior Court of Justice to convene grand juries in every county and district. These grand juries would serve one-year terms and be composed of seven members selected from the jury roll, similar to regular juries. Grand juries would have the power to review the activities of certain public institutions within their jurisdiction, defined by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. They could consult the public on which institutions to review, enter premises, question employees, and appoint experts. They would have access to records, with exceptions similar to those in freedom of information legislation, though some exceptions would not apply if public interest outweighs the exemption. Grand juries would be required to prepare and publicly file reports of their reviews, which would also be tabled in the Legislative Assembly. Obstructing a grand jury review would be an offense with penalties.
- Establishes the Grand Juries Act, 2013.
- Requires judges of the Superior Court of Justice to convene a grand jury in each county and district.
- Specifies that grand juries will be composed of seven members selected from the jury roll, serving one-year terms.
- Grants grand juries the power to review activities of institutions as defined by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
- Allows grand juries to consult the public on which institutions to review.
- Empowers grand juries to enter premises, make inquiries of employees, and appoint experts for assistance.
- Grants grand juries access to records, subject to certain exemptions under freedom of information legislation, with provisions for overriding exemptions based on compelling public interest.
- Requires grand juries to prepare and file reports of their reviews as public documents, available for inspection and to be tabled in the Legislative Assembly.
- Creates an offense for wilfully obstructing a grand jury review, with specified penalties.
- Allows the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations regarding grand jury procedures, fees, and allowances.
- Judges of the Superior Court of Justice
- Sheriffs
- Persons selected for jury rolls
- Members of grand juries
- Public institutions as defined by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
- Employees of public institutions
- The public (through consultation and access to reports)
- The Legislative Assembly
- Judges are required to convene grand juries.
- Grand juries have the right to review specified public institutions.
- Grand juries have the right to consult the public.
- Grand juries have the power to enter premises and make inquiries.
- Grand juries have the right of access to records, subject to exemptions.
- Persons asked for information by a grand jury must respond within a reasonable time.
- Grand juries must prepare and file reports.
- The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly must table grand jury reports.
- It is an offense to obstruct a grand jury review.
- Grand juries are convened on the first Monday in November each year or as soon thereafter as practicable.
- Grand juries serve one-year terms.
- The Act comes into force one year after receiving Royal Assent.
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe fees and allowances payable to grand jury members and provide for expense reimbursement.
- Conviction for obstructing a grand jury review can result in a fine of up to $10,000.
- Any person who wilfully obstructs a review by a grand jury or any member of the jury is guilty of an offense and liable to a fine of not more than $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or to both.
- The specific timing for a judge to convene a grand jury is 'as soon thereafter as is practicable' if not on the first Monday in November.
- The Act allows grand juries to determine their own procedures, subject to the Act and regulations.
- Access to records is subject to exemptions in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
- However, certain exemptions do not apply if a compelling public interest in disclosure clearly outweighs the purpose of the exemption.
- The details of regulations regarding grand jury procedures, fees, and allowances are not specified in the Act.
The Juries Act will apply to the selection, recording, summoning, attendance, and service of persons for grand jury duty in the same manner as for regular jury panels.
Source: Section 1(3)
Service on a grand jury will be considered jury service for the purposes of subsection 3(4) of the Juries Act.
Source: Section 1(4)
Grand juries' access to records will be subject to exemptions listed in sections 12 to 22 of this Act, unless a compelling public interest in disclosure outweighs the purpose of the exemption (as per section 5(2)).
Source: Section 5(1)(a) and 5(2)
Grand juries' access to records will be subject to exemptions listed in sections 6 to 15 of this Act, unless a compelling public interest in disclosure outweighs the purpose of the exemption (as per section 5(3)).
Source: Section 5(1)(b) and 5(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.
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
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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.
How this data is sourced