Bill 100 explained in plain English
Supporting Ontario's Trails Act, 2016
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 1st 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 Supporting Ontario's Trails Act, 2016 enacts the Ontario Trails Act to promote trail use and protection, and amends existing legislation concerning liability, public lands, and trespassing.
This bill, known as the Supporting Ontario's Trails Act, 2016, aims to promote and protect trails in Ontario. It establishes a new Ontario Trails Act that focuses on increasing awareness and use of trails, enhancing the trail experience, and ensuring trails are protected for future generations. The bill also amends several existing laws to support these goals, including changes related to liability for trail users, protection of public lands, and penalties for trespassing.
- Enacts the Ontario Trails Act, 2016.
- Amends the Motorized Snow Vehicles Act.
- Amends the Occupiers' Liability Act.
- Amends the Off-Road Vehicles Act.
- Amends the Public Lands Act.
- Amends the Trespass to Property Act.
- Declares the week beginning on the Monday before the first Saturday in June as Trails Week, which the Minister may change.
- Allows the Minister to recognize trails as Ontario trails of distinction.
- Allows the Minister to establish a trail classification system, though compliance is voluntary.
- Allows the Minister to establish best practices for trails, though compliance is voluntary.
- Requires the Minister to maintain and review an Ontario trails strategy and publish progress reports.
- Allows the Minister to establish targets to further the purposes of the Ontario Trails Act.
- Provides rules for the creation, registration, and enforcement of easements and covenants related to trails.
- Clarifies what does not constitute a fee for entry or activity under the Motorized Snow Vehicles Act and the Off-Road Vehicles Act, in relation to liability.
- Amends the Occupiers' Liability Act to include portage routes in circumstances where risks are willingly assumed.
- Amends the Public Lands Act to prohibit prescribed types of damage to Crown land or property, and increases penalties and enforcement powers.
- Increases the maximum fines for trespassing under the Trespass to Property Act and removes a limit on damages that can be awarded.
- Specifies commencement dates for the various schedules of the Act.
- The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport
- Owners of land
- Eligible bodies (including government entities, First Nations, municipalities, conservation authorities, educational institutions, registered charities, and others prescribed by regulation)
- Users of motorized snow vehicles
- Users of off-road vehicles
- Occupiers of premises
- Recreational users of trails
- Individuals and corporations who cause damage to Crown land or property
- Individuals and corporations who commit offences under the Public Lands Act
- Individuals and corporations who trespass on property
- Officers appointed under the Public Lands Act
- The general public in Ontario
- Landowners may grant easements with covenants for trail-related purposes.
- Eligible bodies can enforce easements and covenants.
- Owners of land can enforce covenants against eligible bodies.
- Individuals must not cause prescribed damage to Crown land or property.
- Individuals must comply with orders from courts or the Minister regarding rehabilitation and repair of damage to Crown land or property.
- Officers appointed under the Public Lands Act have powers to stop conveyances and arrest individuals.
- Individuals must not obstruct officers acting under the Public Lands Act.
- Corporations and individuals are liable for offences under the Public Lands Act, with increased penalties.
- Individuals are liable for increased fines for trespassing.
- The Minister must maintain and review an Ontario trails strategy.
- Compliance with trail classification systems and best practices established by the Minister is voluntary.
- The Supporting Ontario's Trails Act, 2016, comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent (June 9, 2016), with some exceptions.
- The Ontario Trails Act (Schedule 1) comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Schedule 2 (Motorized Snow Vehicles Act) comes into force on the day subsection 1 (1) of Schedule 3 comes into force.
- Schedule 3 (Occupiers' Liability Act) comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Schedule 4 (Off-Road Vehicles Act) comes into force on the day subsection 1 (1) of Schedule 3 comes into force.
- Schedule 5 (Public Lands Act) comes into force on the day the Supporting Ontario's Trails Act, 2016 receives Royal Assent.
- Schedule 6 (Trespass to Property Act) comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- The Minister is required to prepare an initial report on the Ontario trails strategy no later than the second anniversary of the day section 8 (Ontario Trails Strategy) comes into force.
- Fines for offences under the Public Lands Act are increased for individuals and corporations, with provisions for higher fines based on monetary benefits gained from the offence.
- Maximum fines for trespassing under the Trespass to Property Act are increased to $10,000.
- A court may award damages against a trespasser, with the previous $1,000 limit removed.
- The Minister may incur costs in rehabilitating lands and repairing Crown property if a person fails to comply with a court order.
- Offences under the Public Lands Act can result in fines for individuals (up to $15,000 for a first offence, $25,000 for subsequent) and corporations (up to $25,000 for a first offence, $50,000 for subsequent), with additional daily fines.
- Courts may order the rehabilitation of Crown lands and repair of damage as part of a penalty for causing damage to Crown land or property.
- Officers appointed under the Public Lands Act have powers to stop conveyances and arrest individuals without a warrant in certain circumstances.
- Penalties for trespassing under the Trespass to Property Act are increased to a maximum fine of $10,000.
- The limitation period for commencing prosecutions for offences under the Public Lands Act is two years from the date evidence first came to an officer's attention, but no more than five years after the offence was committed.
- The specific 'prescribed types of damage' to Crown land or property under the Public Lands Act are not detailed in this text and would be defined by regulation.
- The effective dates for the commencement of the Ontario Trails Act, the Occupiers' Liability Act amendments, and the Trespass to Property Act amendments are dependent on proclamation by the Lieutenant Governor.
- The exact nature of 'best practices' and 'trail classification systems' established by the Minister under the Ontario Trails Act is not specified, only that compliance is voluntary.
- The definition of 'eligible body' for granting easements includes 'prescribed' categories, which are not detailed in this text.
Establishes new provisions and purposes related to trails in Ontario, including recognizing trails, establishing a strategy, and setting up rules for easements.
Source: Schedule 1
Clarifies that certain payments or benefits, such as for parking or from non-profit recreation clubs, do not count as a fee for entry or activity for the purposes of assumed risk.
Source: Schedule 2
Clarifies that certain payments or benefits do not count as a fee for entry or activity for the purposes of assumed risk, and adds 'portage routes' to the types of premises where risks are assumed.
Source: Schedule 3
Clarifies that certain payments or benefits, such as for parking or from non-profit recreation clubs, do not count as a fee for entry or activity for the purposes of assumed risk.
Source: Schedule 4
Prohibits causing prescribed damage to Crown land or property, grants officers new powers to stop conveyances and arrest individuals, increases penalties for offences, and modifies the limitation period for prosecutions.
Source: Schedule 5
Increases the maximum fine for trespassing from $2,000 to $10,000 and removes the $1,000 limit on damages a court can award.
Source: Schedule 6
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 does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.
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