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OntarioDid not become law (session ended)41st Parliament, 1st Session

Bill 76 explained in plain English

Natural Gas Superhighway Act, 2016

Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.

At a glance

Jurisdiction
Ontario Legislature
Legislature / Parliament
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Session
41st Parliament, 1st Session
Bill number
Bill 76
Full title
Natural Gas Superhighway Act, 2016
Current status
Did not become law (session ended)
Latest event
Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly
Last updated
Mar 23, 2016

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.

Chamber
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Current Stage
Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly
Latest Activity
Mar 23, 2016
Plain-language explanation
In plain English (our explanation)

Our plain-language take, written for civic education.

Source: By PoliticalData.ca

AI-assisted, reviewed before publishing
Short Version

This bill encourages the purchase of natural gas vehicles by potentially adjusting weight limits for such vehicles and providing a tax credit for their purchase.

What It Means

Bill 76, the Natural Gas Superhighway Act, 2015, aims to encourage the purchase of vehicles that use natural gas as fuel. It proposes to amend the Highway Traffic Act to allow for regulations regarding weight limits for vehicles using liquefied natural gas. It also amends the Taxation Act, 2007, to create a non-refundable tax credit for taxpayers who purchase qualifying natural gas vehicles. The credit would be equal to half of the Ontario portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) paid on the vehicle.

What This Bill Does
  • Amends the Highway Traffic Act to allow the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations prescribing different weight limits for vehicles that use liquefied natural gas as fuel.
  • Requires the Minister of Transportation to table an annual progress report in the Legislative Assembly until such regulations are made.
  • Amends the Taxation Act, 2007, to provide for a non-refundable tax credit for taxpayers who purchase qualifying vehicles that use natural gas as fuel.
  • Specifies that the tax credit is equal to half of the Ontario portion of the HST paid by the taxpayer for the vehicle.
  • States that the HST on the vehicle must be paid within a period of seven taxation years, beginning with the first taxation year that ends after the bill receives Royal Assent.
  • Allows any unused tax credits in a taxation year to be carried forward and deducted in the following five years.
  • Includes provisions for partnerships to claim the tax credit.
  • States that the tax credit provisions will only apply if the federal government agrees to necessary amendments to the collection agreement to allow the Canada Revenue Agency to administer the credit.
  • Establishes the short title of the Act as the Natural Gas Superhighway Act, 2015.
Who Is Affected
  • Taxpayers who purchase qualifying vehicles that use natural gas as fuel.
  • Partnerships that purchase qualifying vehicles that use natural gas as fuel.
  • The Minister of Transportation.
  • The Lieutenant Governor in Council.
  • The Minister of Finance.
  • The federal government (Canada Revenue Agency).
Rights, Duties, Or Obligations
  • Taxpayers have the right to deduct a tax credit from their otherwise payable tax under the Taxation Act, 2007, for purchasing qualifying natural gas vehicles.
  • The Minister of Transportation has the obligation to table an annual progress report in the Legislative Assembly if no regulations are made regarding weight limits for liquefied natural gas vehicles.
Important Dates
  • The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
  • Tax credits apply to taxation years ending after this section comes into force.
  • HST on the vehicle must be paid in or after the first taxation year ending after this section comes into force but before the end of the seventh taxation year after this section comes into force.
Financial Or Tax Impacts
  • Creates a non-refundable tax credit for the purchase of qualifying natural gas vehicles, equal to half of the Ontario portion of the HST paid.
  • Unused tax credits can be carried forward for up to five years.
Uncertainties Or Limits
  • The application of the tax credit is conditional on the federal Minister agreeing to make necessary amendments to the collection agreement to authorize the Canada Revenue Agency to administer the credit.
  • The specific types or classes of vehicles that do not qualify for the tax credit will be prescribed by the Minister of Finance.
  • The bill does not specify the exact date it will receive Royal Assent, only that it comes into force on that day.
Laws Or Regulations Affected
Highway Traffic Act
amends

Adds a new section that enables the Lieutenant Governor in Council to create regulations for weight limits for vehicles using liquefied natural gas, and requires the Minister of Transportation to report annually on progress until regulations are made.

Source: Section 1

Taxation Act, 2007
amends

Adds a new Part to provide a non-refundable tax credit for the purchase of qualifying natural gas vehicles, equal to half of the Ontario portion of the HST paid. It also outlines rules for eligible expenditures, carry-forward provisions, and partnership claims.

Source: Section 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 text

Process Snapshot

Step 1
First reading
Mar 11, 2015
Step 2
Second reading
Mar 26, 2015
Step 3
Committee review
Mar 23, 2016
Step 4
Third reading
Not reached yet
Step 5
Royal assent
Not reached yet

Vote Summary

No published recorded division

This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.

Sponsor
Robert Bailey
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario | Sarnia—Lambton
Jurisdiction
Ontario Legislature

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