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OntarioPassed41st Parliament, 1st Session

Bill 77 explained in plain English

Affirming Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Act, 2015

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 77
Full title
Affirming Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Act, 2015
Current status
Passed
Latest event
Royal Assent received
Last updated
Jun 4, 2015

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
Royal Assent received
Latest Activity
Jun 4, 2015
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

Bill 77, also known as the Affirming Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Act, 2015, prohibits and disallows insurance coverage for services aimed at changing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, with specific provisions for individuals under 18.

What It Means

This bill amends the Health Insurance Act and the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991. It aims to prohibit services that attempt to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. For individuals under 18, it makes it an offence to provide such treatments. It also clarifies that these types of services are not considered 'insured services' under the Health Insurance Act. Exceptions are made for services that provide acceptance, support, understanding, or facilitate coping, social support, or identity exploration. Sex-reassignment surgery and related services are also excluded.

What This Bill Does
  • Amends the Health Insurance Act to ensure that services attempting to change sexual orientation or gender identity are not insured services.
  • Amends the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, to prohibit the provision of treatments that seek to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of individuals under 18 years of age.
  • Makes it an offence to provide treatments aimed at changing the sexual orientation or gender identity of individuals under 18 years of age.
  • Specifies that substitute decision-makers cannot consent to treatments aimed at changing the sexual orientation or gender identity of a person under 18.
  • Includes exceptions for services that provide acceptance, support, understanding, or facilitate coping, social support, or identity exploration.
  • Excludes sex-reassignment surgery and related services from the prohibitions.
  • Allows for regulations to clarify terms like 'services', 'sexual orientation', 'gender identity', or 'seek to change', and to exempt certain services or persons.
  • Amends subsection 40 (1) of the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, to include references to the new section 29.1 (1).
Who Is Affected
  • Individuals receiving or seeking to receive services aimed at changing their sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • Individuals under 18 years of age seeking treatments to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • Healthcare providers offering services related to sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • Substitute decision-makers for individuals under 18.
  • The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care (through regulation-making power).
  • The Lieutenant Governor in Council (through regulation-making power).
Rights, Duties, Or Obligations
  • Prohibition against providing treatments to change sexual orientation or gender identity to individuals under 18.
  • Prohibition against certain services being considered insured services.
  • Right to receive services that provide acceptance, support, or understanding, or that facilitate coping, social support, or identity exploration.
  • Right to receive sex-reassignment surgery and related services.
  • Inability for a substitute decision-maker to consent to treatments aimed at changing sexual orientation or gender identity for a minor.
  • The Act makes it an offence to violate certain provisions regarding treatments for minors.
Important Dates
  • The Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent, which was June 4, 2015.
Financial Or Tax Impacts
  • Services that seek to change sexual orientation or gender identity are no longer insured services under the Health Insurance Act.
Enforcement Or Penalties
  • It is an offence to provide a treatment that seeks to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a person under 18 years of age in the course of providing health care services.
Uncertainties Or Limits
  • The specific meaning of terms like 'services', 'sexual orientation', 'gender identity', or 'seek to change' can be clarified by future regulations.
  • Certain services or persons may be exempted from the prohibitions through regulations.
Laws Or Regulations Affected
Health Insurance Act
amends

Prohibits services that seek to change sexual orientation or gender identity from being considered insured services, with specific exclusions. Allows for regulations to clarify terms and exempt services. (Section 1)

Source: Section 1

Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991
amends

Prohibits the provision of treatments to change sexual orientation or gender identity for individuals under 18, making it an offence. It clarifies that substitute decision-makers cannot consent to such treatments for minors. It also allows for regulations to clarify terms and exempt persons or treatments. (Section 2)

Source: Section 2

Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991
amends

Amends subsection 40 (1) to include a reference to the new section 29.1 (1) relating to treatments to change sexual orientation or gender identity. (Section 3)

Source: Section 3

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
Apr 2, 2015
Step 3
Committee review
Jun 3, 2015
Step 4
Third reading
Jun 4, 2015
Step 5
Royal assent
Jun 4, 2015

Vote Summary

No published recorded division

This bill does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.

Sponsor
Cheri DiNovo
Sponsor party or district not listed
Jurisdiction
Ontario Legislature

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