Bill 30 explained in plain English
Human Rights Code Amendment Act (Genetic Characteristics), 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 bill amends the Ontario Human Rights Code to prohibit discrimination based on genetic characteristics, with a specific exception for certain insurance contracts.
Bill 30, the Human Rights Code Amendment Act (Genetic Characteristics), 2016, amends the Ontario Human Rights Code to include genetic characteristics as a protected ground of discrimination. This means that discrimination based on a person's genetic traits, or their refusal to undergo genetic testing or disclose its results, is prohibited in areas such as services, employment, and housing. However, certain high-value insurance contracts are permitted to make distinctions based on genetic characteristics if done for reasonable and bona fide reasons.
- Adds 'genetic characteristics' as a prohibited ground of discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
- Ensures the right to equal treatment without discrimination based on genetic characteristics in areas including services, goods, facilities, housing, contracts, employment, and membership in organizations.
- Explicitly states that refusing to undergo or disclose the results of a genetic test is protected from discrimination based on genetic characteristics.
- Allows for exceptions in certain high-value insurance contracts (automobile, life, accident, sickness, disability, group insurance, and life annuity) where distinctions, exclusions, or preferences based on genetic characteristics are made for reasonable and bona fide grounds.
- Specifies the definition of 'genetic characteristics' to include genetic traits that may cause or increase the risk of developing a disorder or disease.
- All individuals in Ontario, as they are protected from discrimination based on genetic characteristics.
- Employers and service providers, who are prohibited from discriminating based on genetic characteristics.
- Insurers offering specific high-value contracts, who may be permitted to make distinctions based on genetic characteristics under defined conditions.
- Individuals who refuse to undergo or disclose the results of genetic tests.
- The right to equal treatment without discrimination because of genetic characteristics when accessing services, goods, facilities, housing, employment, and when entering into contracts or joining organizations.
- The right to equal treatment even if a person refuses to undergo a genetic test or disclose its results.
- The Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent.
- Certain high-value insurance contracts (over $1,000,000 in total benefit or $75,000 per annum) are permitted to differentiate, exclude, or prefer individuals based on genetic characteristics for reasonable and bona fide reasons.
- The bill does not specify new penalties; enforcement would likely follow the existing mechanisms within the Ontario Human Rights Code for contraventions.
- The bill does not detail the specific procedures or remedies available in cases of discrimination based on genetic characteristics, relying on the existing framework of the Human Rights Code.
- The scope and application of 'reasonable and bona fide grounds' for distinctions in insurance contracts are not further defined in the bill.
- The bill does not specify what constitutes a 'genetic test'.
Adds 'genetic characteristics' as a prohibited ground of discrimination. This impacts various sections of the Code related to rights in services, goods, facilities, housing, contracts, employment, and organizational membership.
Source: Sections 1, 2(1), 2(2), 3, 5(1), 5(2), 6, 10, 22.1, and 24(1)(a)
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.
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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.
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