Bill 121 explained in plain English
Provincial Offences Statute Law Amendment Act (Jury Trials), 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 121 (2013) allows defendants charged with certain provincial offences to elect a trial by judge and jury and makes related amendments to the Juries Act.
This bill, the Provincial Offences Statute Law Amendment Act (Jury Trials), 2013, proposes to allow individuals charged with certain provincial offences to request a trial by a judge and jury. It outlines the conditions under which this election can be made, the composition and conduct of the jury, and the jury's role in sentencing recommendations. The bill also makes amendments to the Juries Act to facilitate the application of jury trial procedures to provincial offences.
- Amends the Provincial Offences Act to allow defendants to elect to be tried by a judge and jury under specific circumstances.
- Amends the Juries Act to enable regulations for applying jury trial procedures to provincial offences.
- Specifies that a jury will consist of 12 people chosen according to the Juries Act.
- States that jury verdicts must be unanimous.
- Allows a judge to discharge a juror under certain conditions and to continue the trial with fewer jurors if necessary.
- Allows a judge to discharge a jury and empanel a new one if they cannot reach a unanimous verdict.
- Allows a jury to make recommendations regarding sentencing.
- Specifies that the election for a jury trial must be made when entering a plea.
- Provides an exception where the jury trial election does not apply to trials for assessing a defendant's capacity to conduct their defence.
- Allows a court to direct separate offences to be tried together by a judge and jury if the defendant has elected a jury trial for any of the offences.
- Individuals charged with provincial offences
- Judges presiding over provincial offence trials
- Potential jurors
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council
- Right for a defendant to elect a trial by judge and jury if certain conditions related to the penalty or consequences of conviction are met.
- Obligation for the jury to reach a unanimous verdict.
- Right for the jury to provide recommendations on sentencing.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- The specific circumstances under which a jury trial can be elected are outlined, but the application to all potential provincial offences may depend on the interpretation of 'reasonable likelihood' and the threshold for penalties.
- The text does not specify the exact procedures or timelines for empanelling a new jury if the first jury is discharged.
Adds provisions that allow a defendant to elect a trial by a judge and jury if the offence is punishable by a fine of $25,000 or more, seizure of property, or imprisonment, or if a conviction is likely to result in the suspension or revocation of a professional or business licence. It also details jury composition, verdict requirements, and the jury's role in sentencing recommendations.
Source: Section 1
Amends Section 57 to allow a jury, in cases tried by a judge and jury, to provide recommendations for sentencing.
Source: Section 2
Adds a section that allows the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations prescribing necessary modifications for applying the Juries Act to jury trials in the Ontario Court of Justice for proceedings under the Provincial Offences Act.
Source: Section 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
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