Bill 134 explained in plain English
Broader Public Sector Advertising Act, 2014
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
The Broader Public Sector Advertising Act, 2013, requires that certain advertisements, printed matter, and messages from broader public sector organizations in Ontario be reviewed by the Auditor General to ensure they meet specified standards before being released to the public.
This bill, titled the Broader Public Sector Advertising Act, 2013, establishes a process for reviewing certain types of advertising and other public communications by broader public sector organizations in Ontario. The Auditor General will be responsible for this review. The Act defines what constitutes a broader public sector organization and outlines specific standards that these communications must meet. It also details the process for submitting items for review, the Auditor General's decision-making power, and the consequences if an item does not meet the required standards. The bill includes provisions for reporting on contraventions and allows the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations. A review of the Act is required within five years of its commencement.
- Requires the head of a broader public sector organization to submit certain advertisements, printed matter, and other messages to the Office of the Auditor General for review before they can be published, distributed, or conveyed to the public.
- Prohibits broader public sector organizations from using these items until the Auditor General has completed the review and notified them of the results.
- Prohibits the use of these items if the Auditor General determines they do not meet the standards set out in the Act.
- Requires the Auditor General to review submitted items to determine if they meet the Act's standards, with the Auditor General's decision being final.
- Establishes standards for these communications, including that they must be a reasonable means to inform the public, not be partisan, not use the name, voice, or image of elected officials, and include a statement of payment by the organization.
- Requires the Auditor General to report annually to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on contraventions of the Act and allows for special reports.
- Grants the Auditor General access to records of broader public sector organizations to determine if the Act has been contravened.
- Provides immunity to persons who publish or distribute items that a broader public sector organization was not permitted to use under the Act.
- Authorizes the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations regarding the Act.
- Requires a review of the Act within five years of its commencement.
- Broader public sector organizations in Ontario, including hospitals, school boards, universities, colleges, children's aid societies, community care access corporations, certain publicly funded organizations receiving $10 million or more in public funds, entities controlled by broader public sector organizations, Hydro One Inc. and its subsidiaries, Ontario Power Generation Inc. and its subsidiaries, and any prescribed organizations.
- The Auditor General of Ontario and their office.
- The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council.
- The public in Ontario, as recipients of communications from broader public sector organizations.
- Broader public sector organizations have an obligation to submit certain advertising, printed matter, and messages to the Auditor General for review before public release.
- Broader public sector organizations have an obligation not to use these items until the review is complete and approved.
- The Auditor General has the power and duty to review submitted items and determine if they meet the Act's standards.
- The Auditor General has the right to access records of broader public sector organizations.
- Individuals and entities are protected from legal action for publishing or distributing items that broader public sector organizations were not permitted to use under the Act.
- The Act comes into force six months after receiving Royal Assent. (Section 15)
- A review of the Act must be undertaken within five years after Section 13 comes into force. (Section 13)
- If an item does not meet the standards, the broader public sector organization is prohibited from using it. (Sections 2(4), 3(4), 4(4), 8(3))
- The Auditor General is required to report contraventions of specified sections to the Speaker of the Assembly. (Section 9(2))
- The Act allows for regulations to prescribe additional classes of messages, circumstances, standards, factors, and days for certain provisions, the details of which are not fully specified in the text provided. (Section 12)
- The definition of 'broader public sector organization' includes 'any authority, board, commission, corporation, office, person or organization of persons, the majority of whose members, directors or officers are appointed or chosen by or under the authority of the Lieutenant Governor in Council or a member of the Executive Council,' which could be broad.
- While the Act lists specific purposes for communications (Section 6(1) 1 i-iv), the determination of whether an item is a 'reasonable means of achieving' these purposes will be subject to the Auditor General's opinion.
- The Act refers to 'reviewable advertisement,' 'reviewable printed matter,' and 'reviewable message' but the precise scope of these terms, beyond the initial application in sections 2, 3, and 4, may depend on prescribed regulations.
This Act establishes new rules and procedures for advertising and public communications by broader public sector organizations in Ontario, including requirements for review by the Auditor General and specific standards that must be met.
Source: Sections 1-16
Amends the Auditor General Act to include references to the Broader Public Sector Advertising Act, 2013, in relation to the Government Advertising Act, 2004.
Source: Section 14
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
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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.
How this data is sourced