Bill 217 explained in plain English
Service Dogs for Persons with Disabilities 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 217, the Service Dogs for Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities who use service dogs and establishes penalties for violations.
This bill, titled the Service Dogs for Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, aims to ensure that persons with disabilities are not denied accommodation, services, or facilities because they are accompanied by a service dog. It also addresses situations where a support person or an assistive device is needed to help with a service dog. The Act specifies that it applies even if other laws, regulations, or by-laws say something different, and it binds the Crown. It defines 'disability' based on the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, and outlines what constitutes a 'service dog.' The bill also includes provisions for identification cards for persons with disabilities and their service dogs, and sets out penalties for contravening its provisions. The Act comes into force on a date proclaimed by the Lieutenant Governor.
- Prohibits denying accommodation, services, or facilities to a person with a disability who is accompanied by a service dog, or requires a support person or assistive device to help with their service dog.
- Prohibits discrimination against a person with a disability concerning the terms of occupancy in a self-contained dwelling unit if they have a service dog.
- States that the Act applies despite any other Act or regulation.
- Binds the Crown.
- Defines 'disability' by referencing the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.
- Defines 'service dog' as a dog trained as a guide for a person with a disability and having prescribed qualifications.
- Prohibits falsely representing oneself as a person with a disability, or a dog as a service dog, to claim the benefits of the Act.
- Allows for the issuance of identification cards by the Attorney General or a designated officer to persons with disabilities and their service dogs.
- States that an identification card serves as proof of qualification in the absence of contrary evidence.
- Requires the surrender of identification cards upon request for amendment or cancellation.
- Empowers the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations prescribing qualifications for service dogs.
- Establishes penalties for contravening sections related to service dogs in public places and dwelling units.
- Establishes penalties for contravening sections related to false representations.
- Persons with disabilities who use service dogs
- Owners and operators of schools
- Owners and operators of places to which the public is customarily admitted
- Landlords of self-contained dwelling units
- The Crown
- The Attorney General or a designated officer of the Ministry
- Persons who falsely represent themselves or their animals as being covered by the Act
- Right of a person with a disability to be accompanied by a service dog in schools and public places.
- Right of a person with a disability to occupy a self-contained dwelling unit with a service dog.
- Obligation not to deny accommodation, services, or facilities to a person with a disability and their service dog.
- Obligation not to discriminate against a person with a disability and their service dog.
- Obligation not to falsely claim the benefits of the Act.
- The Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- A person contravening section 2 (service dogs in public places and dwelling units) is liable to a fine of up to $5,000.
- A person contravening section 3 (false representations) is liable to a fine of up to $500.
- Fines of up to $5,000 for denying accommodation, services, or facilities, or discriminating against a person with a disability accompanied by a service dog in schools or public places.
- Fines of up to $5,000 for denying occupancy of a self-contained dwelling unit, or discriminating against a person with a disability regarding occupancy, because of a service dog.
- Fines of up to $500 for falsely representing oneself as a person with a disability, a dog as a service dog, a person as a support person, or a device as an assistive device to claim the benefits of the Act.
- The specific qualifications for a 'service dog' are to be prescribed by regulations, which are not detailed in this bill text.
- The 'support person' and 'assistive device' concepts are mentioned but not defined within the bill.
- The bill text does not specify the process or criteria for the Attorney General or designated officer when deciding whether to issue or cancel identification cards, other than that it is upon application or request.
This bill creates the Service Dogs for Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which sets out rights and obligations related to service dogs for persons with disabilities.
Source: Section 1(1)
The definition of 'disability' in this new Act will be the same as the definition in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.
Source: Section 1(1)
This new Act will apply even if there are conflicting provisions in other existing Acts, regulations, by-laws, or rules.
Source: Section 1(2)
The entire Act comes into force on a day specified by the Lieutenant Governor through proclamation.
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 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