Bill 152 explained in plain English
Representation Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 2nd 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
This bill amends Ontario's electoral laws to increase the number of northern electoral districts from 11 to 13, by redefining existing districts and making related changes to election financing and administration.
Bill 152, also known as the Representation Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017, changes how Ontario's electoral districts are defined and managed. It increases the number of northern electoral districts from 11 to 13, by splitting the Kenora-Rainy River and Timmins-James Bay districts into four new ones: Kenora-Rainy River, Kiiwetinoong, Mushkegowuk-James Bay, and Timmins. The bill also makes consequential amendments to other laws, such as the Election Finances Act and the Election Act, to reflect these changes. It includes provisions for reviewing the name of the Mushkegowuk-James Bay electoral district, advertising the new districts, and adjusting rules related to campaign finances and constituency associations. Some provisions of the bill came into effect immediately upon Royal Assent, while others have later commencement dates.
- Increases the number of northern electoral districts in Ontario from 11 to 13.
- Reconstitutes the Kenora-Rainy River and Timmins-James Bay electoral districts into four new districts: Kenora-Rainy River, Kiiwetinoong, Mushkegowuk-James Bay, and Timmins.
- Requires the Attorney General to review the name of the Mushkegowuk-James Bay electoral district and report recommendations.
- Mandates the Chief Electoral Officer to publicly advertise the creation of the four new northern electoral districts.
- Amends the Election Finances Act to reflect the new electoral districts and adjust rules related to nomination contest periods, constituency associations, and fundraising events.
- Amends the Election Act to allow the Chief Electoral Officer to share voter information with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation for electoral purposes.
- Amends the Legislative Assembly Act to update the list of northern electoral districts for which the Board of Internal Economy may authorize expenses.
- Specifies commencement dates for certain provisions of the Act.
- Members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
- The Attorney General of Ontario.
- The Chief Electoral Officer of Ontario.
- Registered political parties in Ontario.
- Registered constituency associations in Ontario.
- Candidates and nomination contestants in Ontario.
- The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation.
- Residents of the northern electoral districts of Ontario.
- The Board of Internal Economy.
- The Attorney General has a duty to review the name of the Mushkegowuk-James Bay electoral district and report recommendations.
- The Chief Electoral Officer must publicly advertise the creation of the new northern electoral districts.
- Registered parties must notify the Chief Electoral Officer of appointed candidates and may direct the transfer of assets and liabilities of dissolved constituency associations.
- Constituency associations must comply with new rules regarding their dissolution and the transfer of assets and liabilities.
- The Act received Royal Assent on October 25, 2017.
- Most of the Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent (October 25, 2017).
- Subsections 4(3) and 4(11) of the Act came into force on June 30, 2018.
- Changes to the Election Finances Act may affect campaign expense limits and the treatment of contributions for candidates and political entities in northern electoral districts.
- The Act allows the Chief Electoral Officer to provide information to the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, which could have administrative implications.
- The bill does not explicitly detail new penalties but amends existing provisions within the Election Finances Act and Election Act, which contain their own enforcement mechanisms and penalties for non-compliance.
- The specific recommendations from the Attorney General's review of the Mushkegowuk-James Bay electoral district name are not predetermined.
- The precise timing and extent of advertising for the new districts depend on the Chief Electoral Officer's actions.
- The details of how constituency associations' assets and liabilities are transferred and apportioned will depend on the directions from registered parties and the Chief Electoral Officer's prescribed forms.
- The bill does not specify the exact financial implications or the cost of implementing these changes beyond what is covered by existing budgets for election administration and financial oversight.
Changes the number of northern electoral districts from 11 to 13 and redefines two northern districts into four new ones. It also adds a requirement for the Attorney General to review the name of the Mushkegowuk-James Bay district and requires the Chief Electoral Officer to advertise the new districts.
Source: Sections 1, 2, 3
Makes consequential amendments to reflect the new electoral districts, enacts rules for registering constituency associations for the new districts, adjusts rules for dissolving constituency associations and handling their contributions, modifies rules for contributions at certain meetings, and updates campaign expense limits for northern districts.
Source: Section 4
Re-enacts section 17.2 to permit the Chief Electoral Officer to provide information from the permanent register of electors to the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation for electoral purposes.
Source: Section 5
Updates the list of northern electoral districts for which the Board of Internal Economy may authorize expenses to include the newly created districts and remove the previously defined Timmins-James Bay district.
Source: Section 6
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