Bill 27 explained in plain English
Social Assistance Programs Consolidation 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
The Social Assistance Programs Consolidation Act, 2013 requires the Ontario government to introduce a bill that merges the Ontario Disability Support Program and the Ontario Works Program into a single, consolidated program.
This bill requires the Minister of Community and Social Services to introduce new legislation that will merge the Ontario Disability Support Program and the Ontario Works Program into a single, consolidated program. This new program must be administered by the same body, which will be responsible for determining eligibility and providing assistance. The bill specifies that the consolidated program should align with the purposes of both existing programs. It also requires that decisions about eligibility for assistance will be subject to consistent internal review and appeal processes. Assistance provided to individuals with disabilities under the new program must consider their disability, and may differ from assistance provided to those without disabilities. The new legislation is also expected to address transitional matters and may allow for regulations to be made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
- It mandates that the Minister of Community and Social Services must introduce a bill in the Legislative Assembly.
- This new bill must propose merging the Ontario Disability Support Program and the Ontario Works Program into a single, consolidated program.
- The consolidated program must be administered by a single body responsible for all aspects, including eligibility and assistance delivery.
- The consolidated program must be consistent with the stated purposes of both the Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997 and the Ontario Works Act, 1997.
- It requires that internal reviews and appeals related to eligibility decisions for the consolidated program be handled by a consistent body.
- It mandates that assistance provided to persons with disabilities under the consolidated program must consider their disability and may differ from assistance provided to those without disabilities.
- The bill requires that the new legislation address all necessary transitional matters for effective implementation, potentially allowing for regulations to be made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
- It sets a deadline for the introduction of this new bill: within 120 days of this Act receiving Royal Assent, or on the next day the Assembly is in session if the 120-day period ends when the Assembly is not sitting.
- The Minister of Community and Social Services
- Individuals receiving disability support or employment assistance in Ontario
- The Legislative Assembly of Ontario
- The body responsible for administering social assistance programs
- The Minister of Community and Social Services has an obligation to prepare and introduce a bill to consolidate social assistance programs.
- Individuals with disabilities will have their disability considered when determining assistance under the consolidated program.
- Eligibility decisions for the consolidated program will be subject to consistent internal review and appeal processes.
- The Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent.
- The new bill merging the programs must be introduced no later than 120 days after Royal Assent, or on the first day the Assembly is in session after that 120-day period.
- The new consolidated program bill must come into force no later than six months after it receives Royal Assent.
- The bill does not specify any direct financial or tax impacts, but it mandates the creation of a new consolidated program that will involve the provision of financial assistance.
- The bill does not specify any penalties for non-compliance.
- The exact details of the consolidated program, including specific eligibility criteria and levels of assistance, will be determined by the new bill that the Minister is required to introduce, and are not detailed in this Act.
- The specific body that will administer the consolidated program is not identified in this Act.
- The precise nature of how disability will be considered for assistance, beyond stating it must be taken into account, is not detailed.
- The Act requires the introduction of a bill, but does not guarantee its passage or content beyond the requirements outlined in Section 2.
The program established by this Act will be merged into a new consolidated program, ceasing to exist as a separate program.
Source: Section 2(2)1 and 2(2)2
The program established by this Act will be merged into a new consolidated program, ceasing to exist as a separate program.
Source: Section 2(2)1 and 2(2)2
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