Bill 144 explained in plain English
Northern Health Travel Grant Advisory Committee Act, 2019
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 42nd Parliament, 1st 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 establishes the Northern Health Travel Grant Advisory Committee to advise the Minister of Health on improving travel cost reimbursements for healthcare services in Northern Ontario.
This bill enacts the Northern Health Travel Grant Advisory Committee Act, 2019. It requires the Ontario Minister of Health to establish an advisory committee. This committee will make recommendations to the Minister on how to improve access to health services for people in Northern Ontario by making travel cost reimbursements more reasonable, realistic, and efficient. The committee must consult with various stakeholders, including healthcare providers and patient groups. The committee must report its recommendations to the Minister within six months of its establishment, and the Minister must then inform the Legislative Assembly of which recommendations will be implemented within 90 days of receiving the report.
- Enacts the Northern Health Travel Grant Advisory Committee Act, 2019.
- Requires the Minister of Health to establish an advisory committee within 60 days of the Act receiving Royal Assent.
- Specifies the composition of the advisory committee, including recipients of Northern Health Travel Grants and healthcare providers working in Northern Ontario, and requires efforts to ensure diversity within the committee.
- Defines the mandate of the advisory committee, which is to recommend improvements to the facilitation of reasonable access to health services for people in Northern Ontario through more reasonable, realistic, and efficient reimbursement for travel costs.
- Outlines specific matters the committee must inquire into and make recommendations on, such as reimbursement rates, service standards, broadening covered services, pre-payment options, direct payment to providers, accommodation expenses for travel companions, and simplifying expense proof.
- Requires the committee to consult with a list of specified stakeholders.
- Requires the committee to submit its recommendations to the Minister within six months of being established.
- Requires the Minister to inform the Legislative Assembly of the recommendations that will be implemented within 90 days of receiving the committee's report.
- People in Northern Ontario who require healthcare services and travel for them.
- The Minister of Health.
- Members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
- Recipients of Northern Health Travel Grants.
- Healthcare providers working in Northern Ontario.
- Various health sector stakeholders, including primary care providers, the Ontario Medical Association, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, the Association of Ontario Midwives, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the Ontario Autism Coalition, public health units in Northern Ontario, Cancer Care Ontario (or its successor), and Local Health Integration Networks in Northern Ontario (or their successors).
- The Minister of Health has a duty to establish the advisory committee.
- The advisory committee has a mandate to make recommendations and consult with stakeholders.
- The committee must report its recommendations to the Minister within six months.
- The Minister has a duty to inform the Legislative Assembly about which recommendations will be implemented within 90 days of receiving the report.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- The Minister must establish the advisory committee within 60 days after the Act receives Royal Assent.
- The committee must report its recommendations to the Minister on or before the day that is six months after the committee is established.
- The Minister must inform the Legislative Assembly of implementable recommendations on or before the day that is 90 days after the Advisory Committee reports its recommendations to the Minister.
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council may by regulation prescribe remuneration and payment of expenses for committee members.
- The specific remuneration and payment of expenses for committee members are not detailed in the Act and may be prescribed by regulation.
- The Act does not specify the exact composition of the committee beyond requiring recipients of grants and healthcare providers, though it mandates efforts for diversity.
- The Act does not detail the specific process or criteria the Minister will use to decide which recommendations to implement.
This new Act establishes the Northern Health Travel Grant Advisory Committee.
Source: Short title: 6
The advisory committee established by this Act will make recommendations to improve this grant program.
Source: Explanatory Note, Section 3(2)
The preamble references the Canada Health Act to highlight the importance of reasonable access to health services.
Source: Preamble
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
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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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