Bill 29 explained in plain English
Combatting Eating Disorders in Ontario Act, 2018
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 3rd 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 Ontario Act requires disclaimers on digitally altered commercial images, establishes an eating disorder awareness campaign, and allows for awards and regulatory reviews, with exceptions for the film and television industry.
Bill 29, also known as the Combatting Eating Disorders in Ontario Act, 2018, requires that any person who publishes a digitally altered or retouched photograph or video for commercial purposes must include a disclaimer. This requirement does not apply to the commercial film, television, or video industry. The Act also provides for the appointment of inspectors to ensure compliance and allows for complaints to be made. Additionally, the Minister responsible for Government and Consumer Services is mandated to conduct an annual eating disorder awareness campaign and to review regulations related to the film and television industry, potentially recommending disclaimers for that industry as well. The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care may also give awards to individuals or groups who have taken significant action to reduce the prevalence of eating disorders. The Act outlines the Minister's power to make regulations concerning these matters and sets fines for contraventions.
- Requires that digitally altered or retouched photographs and videos, when published for a commercial purpose, include a disclaimer text indicating the alteration.
- Exempts the commercial film, television, and video industry from the requirement to display disclaimers on digitally altered or retouched images.
- Establishes the framework for appointing inspectors to monitor compliance with the Act and its regulations.
- Allows any person to make a complaint about an alleged violation of the Act or its regulations.
- Mandates that the Minister of Government and Consumer Services review existing regulations concerning the commercial film, television, and video industry within one year of the Act coming into force.
- Empowers the Minister to make recommendations to amend regulations in the film, television, and video industry, including the possibility of requiring disclaimers for digitally altered content.
- Requires the Minister to conduct an annual eating disorder awareness campaign focused on promoting healthy body image perceptions.
- Allows the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care to issue awards to those who have meaningfully acted to reduce eating disorder prevalence.
- Grants the Minister of Government and Consumer Services the power to create regulations related to the Act's provisions.
- Sets penalties, including fines, for contravening the Act's requirements regarding digitally altered images.
- Publishers of photographs and videos for commercial purposes (excluding the film, television, and video industry).
- The commercial film, television, and video industry.
- The Minister of Government and Consumer Services.
- The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.
- Inspectors appointed under the Act.
- Individuals and organizations involved in publishing or creating content.
- Individuals who wish to make complaints about violations.
- The public, through the eating disorder awareness campaign and potential impact of disclaimers on body image.
- Obligation for publishers of commercially used digitally altered images to include a disclaimer.
- Right for the commercial film, television, and video industry to be exempt from disclaimer requirements.
- Right for the Minister to appoint inspectors.
- Right for any person to make a complaint.
- Obligation for the Minister to conduct an annual eating disorder awareness campaign.
- Obligation for the Minister to review film and television industry regulations.
- Right for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care to issue awards.
- The Act comes into force one year after the day it receives Royal Assent (Section 8).
- The Minister must conduct a review of film, television, and video industry regulations within one year of the Act coming into force (Section 4(1)).
- Fines for contravening the disclaimer requirement for digitally altered images: not more than $25,000 for a first offence, not more than $50,000 for a second offence, and not more than $75,000 for a third or subsequent offence (Section 2(6)).
- Contravention of Section 2 (requiring disclaimers on digitally altered commercial images) is an offence with fines of up to $25,000 for a first offence, $50,000 for a second, and $75,000 for subsequent offences (Section 2(6)).
- Inspectors may be appointed to perform inspections to determine compliance with the Act and regulations (Section 3(1)).
- Complaints about alleged contraventions can be made in accordance with the regulations (Section 3(2)).
- The specific text required for the disclaimer is to be prescribed by regulations, and is not detailed in the Act itself (Section 2(3), Section 7(b)).
- Exemptions from the disclaimer requirement are also to be prescribed by regulations (Section 2(2), Section 7(c)).
- The manner in which the text must be displayed (legible, apparent, comprehensible) is to be in accordance with regulations (Section 2(3)).
- The details regarding the retention, maintenance, and disposal of unaltered image records are to be governed by regulations (Section 2(4), Section 7(d)).
- The powers and duties of inspectors and the process for making complaints are to be established and governed by regulations (Section 7(e), Section 7(f)).
- The criteria and process for issuing awards for reducing eating disorders are to be established and governed by regulations (Section 6, Section 7(g)).
- The Act does not specify when the regulations will be made or come into effect, only that the Act itself comes into force one year after Royal Assent.
- The Bill title and explanatory note suggest a focus on eating disorders, but Section 2 and its related provisions primarily address digitally altered images for commercial purposes, creating a potential gap between the title's emphasis and the scope of some sections.
- The determination of 'meaningful action' for awards related to eating disorders is at the discretion of the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care (Section 6).
The Act comes into force one year after it receives Royal Assent.
Source: Section 8
The Minister is required to review regulations related to the commercial film, television, and video industry within one year of the Act coming into force and may recommend amendments, potentially including disclaimers for digitally altered content.
Source: Section 4
The Minister may make regulations to prescribe various aspects of the Act, including the text for disclaimers, exemptions, record-keeping, inspector duties, complaint processes, and award criteria.
Source: Section 7
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