Bill 178 explained in plain English
Smoke-Free Ontario Amendment 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
Bill 178, the Smoke-Free Ontario Amendment Act, 2016, expands smoking prohibitions to include 'prescribed products and substances' in various public and private spaces, including motor vehicles with minors present.
This bill amends the Smoke-Free Ontario Act to expand its scope beyond tobacco to include "prescribed products and substances." This means that prohibitions on smoking or holding lit items will now apply to these new categories of products and substances in enclosed public places, enclosed workplaces, and other specified locations. It also prohibits smoking these items in a motor vehicle with a person under 16 years old present. The bill outlines employer and proprietor responsibilities for enforcement, requires signs to be posted, and makes exceptions for scientific research facilities. It also provides rules for enforcement and potential presumptions in legal proceedings. The Act came into effect on a date proclaimed by the Lieutenant Governor.
- Prohibits smoking or holding a lighted prescribed product or substance in enclosed public places, enclosed workplaces, and other specified areas.
- Prohibits smoking or holding a lighted prescribed product or substance in a motor vehicle if a person under 16 years old is present.
- Requires employers to ensure compliance with these prohibitions in workplaces they control and to post required signs.
- Requires proprietors of public places to ensure compliance and post required signs.
- Establishes an exception for scientific research and testing facilities.
- Provides for the enforcement of these new prohibitions.
- Amends existing provisions of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act to include prescribed products and substances where applicable.
- Individuals who smoke or hold lit prescribed products or substances.
- Employers with enclosed workplaces or controlled places where smoking may occur.
- Proprietors of enclosed public places or other specified areas.
- Individuals under 16 years old in motor vehicles.
- Scientific research and testing facilities.
- Enforcement officers responsible for administering the Smoke-Free Ontario Act.
- Obligation not to smoke or hold a lighted prescribed product or substance in specified locations.
- Obligation to ensure compliance with smoking prohibitions in workplaces and public places.
- Obligation to post signs indicating smoking prohibitions.
- Right to conduct research or testing in designated facilities without being subject to certain smoking prohibitions.
- The Act came into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- The bill does not specify any new taxes or direct financial impacts, but may lead to costs for employers and proprietors to comply with signage and enforcement requirements.
- The bill provides for enforcement of the new prohibitions, including employer and proprietor responsibilities.
- It also refers to existing enforcement mechanisms and powers, and potentially allows for presumptions to be made in prosecutions regarding prescribed products or substances.
- The specific "prescribed products and substances" are not detailed within this text; their definition would be found in regulations made under the Act.
- The exact scope of "other places and areas" mentioned in section 12.1 (1) (d) is not specified and would also be subject to regulations.
- The specific details of signage requirements, notice provisions, and other compliance measures are to be set out in regulations.
The Act is amended to apply to prescribed products and substances, not just tobacco, to the extent necessary for the implementation and enforcement of section 12.1 and related provisions.
Source: Section 1
Section 10 of the Act, which deals with signs, is repealed and replaced to require owners or occupants of places described in sections 9 or 12.1 to post signs referring to the prohibition in accordance with regulations.
Source: Section 2
Section 12 of the Act is amended by adding a subsection stating that section 12 (which appears to deal with general prohibitions) does not apply to signs required under section 10 solely concerning a prohibition under section 12.1.
Source: Section 3
Section 14 of the Act is amended to include references to places where smoking a prescribed product or substance is prohibited under section 12.1.
Source: Section 5
Section 15 of the Act is amended to include references to new prohibitions related to prescribed products and substances under section 12.1 in various contexts, including enforcement and penalties.
Source: Section 6
Section 19 of the Act is amended to extend prohibitions to sections 9 and 12.1 and to grant the Lieutenant Governor in Council power to make regulations governing the application of section 12.1, including exemptions and presumptions in prosecutions.
Source: Section 7
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