Bill 129 explained in plain English
Human Rights Code Amendment Act (Genetic Characteristics), 2015
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
Bill 129 of 2015 amends the Ontario Human Rights Code to prohibit discrimination based on genetic characteristics, with specific exceptions for certain high-value insurance contracts.
This bill amends the Ontario Human Rights Code to include "genetic characteristics" as a prohibited ground for discrimination. It ensures that people cannot be discriminated against based on their genetic traits in areas like services, housing, employment, and contracts. It also clarifies that refusing to take a genetic test or disclose its results is protected from discrimination. However, insurance contracts for life, accident, or disability, as well as group insurance and annuities, can still make distinctions or exclusions based on genetic characteristics if they are reasonable and based on good faith, provided the benefit exceeds $1,000,000 or $75,000 annually.
- Adds "genetic characteristics" as a protected ground against discrimination in Ontario.
- Extends the right to equal treatment, without discrimination based on genetic characteristics, to services, goods, facilities, housing, contracts, employment, and memberships.
- Specifies that refusing to undergo a genetic test or disclose its results is protected from discrimination.
- Allows certain insurance contracts (life, accident, disability, group insurance, annuities) to make distinctions based on genetic characteristics if they meet specific criteria related to benefit amounts and bona fide reasons.
- Defines "genetic characteristics" to include genetic traits that may cause or increase the risk of developing a disorder or disease.
- Individuals in Ontario
- Employers
- Service providers
- Landlords and housing providers
- Insurers
- Organizations and associations
- The right to equal treatment without discrimination based on genetic characteristics in employment, services, goods, facilities, housing, and contracts.
- The right to equal treatment without discrimination for refusing to undergo or disclose the results of a genetic test.
- The ability for certain high-value insurance contracts to differentiate or exclude based on genetic characteristics for bona fide reasons.
- The Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent.
- The bill allows high value insurance contracts (over $1,000,000 total benefit or $75,000 per annum) to make distinctions based on genetic characteristics.
- The bill does not specify what constitutes a 'disorder or disease' in the definition of genetic characteristics.
- The bill does not define 'reasonable and bona fide grounds' for insurance distinctions, beyond the benefit amount thresholds.
Adds 'genetic characteristics' as a prohibited ground of discrimination in various sections of the Code, including those related to services, goods, facilities, housing, contracts, employment, and memberships.
Source: Sections 1, 2(1), 2(2), 3, 5(1), 5(2), 6, 10(1), 10(2), 24(1)(a)
Defines 'genetic characteristics' for the purposes of the Code.
Source: Section 10(1)
Clarifies that the right to equal treatment includes protection against discrimination for refusing to undergo or disclose the results of a genetic test.
Source: Section 10(2)
Creates an exception allowing certain insurance contracts (automobile, life, accident, sickness, disability, group insurance, annuities) to make distinctions or exclusions based on genetic characteristics under specific conditions.
Source: Section 22.1
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