Bill 20 explained in plain English
Improving Mental Health and Addictions Services in Ontario 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, 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 Act continues the Mental Health and Addictions Leadership Advisory Council to advise on and monitor mental health service improvements and expands the Ombudsman's investigative powers to include mental health and addictions service providers.
This Act continues the Mental Health and Addictions Leadership Advisory Council and amends the Ombudsman Act. The Council's mandate is to advise on and monitor the implementation of recommendations from a 2010 Select Committee report on mental health and addictions. The Council must submit a plan to the Minister within one year outlining how to establish a single body to manage the mental health and addictions system, consolidate services within the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and address service gaps. The Ombudsman Act is amended to allow the Ombudsman to investigate providers of mental health and addictions services in Ontario.
- Continues the Mental Health and Addictions Leadership Advisory Council.
- Requires the Council to advise on and monitor the implementation of recommendations from a 2010 Select Committee report on mental health and addictions.
- Requires the Council to submit a plan to the Minister within one year regarding the establishment of a single body to manage the mental health and addictions system and the consolidation of services within the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
- Empowers the Council to make recommendations to the government on improving mental health and addictions services, including reducing incidence, severity, and stigma.
- Requires the Council to prepare and publish an annual report on its progress and the government's progress on implementing recommendations.
- Amends the Ombudsman Act to allow the Ombudsman to investigate providers of mental health and addictions services in Ontario.
- Specifies that the Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- The Mental Health and Addictions Leadership Advisory Council
- The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
- Providers of mental health and addictions services in Ontario
- The Ombudsman
- Individuals and families needing mental health and addictions services
- The government of Ontario
- The Council is obligated to advise on and monitor the implementation of recommendations from the 2010 Select Committee report.
- The Council must submit a plan to the Minister within one year.
- The Council may make recommendations to the government.
- The Council must prepare and publish an annual report.
- The Ombudsman has the right to investigate providers of mental health and addictions services.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent (Section 7).
- The Council must submit a plan to the Minister within one year after the Act comes into force (Section 3(2)).
- Council members and the Chair must be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council within 14 days after the Act comes into force (Section 2(6)).
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council may determine the remuneration and expenses for Council members (Section 2(5)).
- The Council's plan must include a proposed budget for Mental Health and Addictions Ontario sufficient to remedy existing service gaps (Section 3(3)(i)).
- The bill does not specify the exact composition or number of members beyond 'no more than 19 persons' for the Council.
- The bill does not detail the specific powers or procedures for the proposed 'Mental Health and Addictions Ontario' umbrella organization, only that the Council must create a plan for its governance and accountability.
- The bill does not outline specific penalties for non-compliance by service providers with Ombudsman investigations.
Allows the Ombudsman to conduct investigations into providers of mental health and addictions services in Ontario.
Source: Section 6
Defines 'geographic area' in relation to local health integration networks.
Source: Section 1(1)
Defines the 'Minister' as the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care or another member of the Executive Council assigned responsibility for this Act.
Source: Section 1(1)
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