Bill 248 explained in plain English
COVID-19 Public Inquiry Act, 2021
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
The COVID-19 Public Inquiry Act, 2021 mandates the establishment of a public inquiry commission to review Ontario's pandemic response and make recommendations.
This Bill, titled the COVID-19 Public Inquiry Act, 2021, requires the Ontario government to establish a public inquiry commission to examine the province's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission will report on the response and provide recommendations for minimizing future harm. The Act specifies timelines for the commission's establishment, the commencement of its inquiry, the submission of interim and final reports, and requires that all hearings and reports be made public. The Act also outlines the process for removing a commissioner.
- Requires the Lieutenant Governor in Council to establish a commission to inquire into and report on the Government of Ontario's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Requires the commission to make recommendations on how to minimize future harm, including loss of life, in similar circumstances.
- Specifies that the commission must hold public hearings.
- Sets deadlines for the commission to begin its inquiry (within 60 days of establishment).
- Sets deadlines for the commission to submit an interim report (within six months of establishment) and a final report (within 12 months of establishment).
- Requires that all commission reports be made public within 10 days of submission.
- Allows for an extension of the final report deadline if requested by the commission, which would also require a further interim report.
- Provides that the Assembly may remove a commissioner for cause by a two-thirds vote.
- States that the Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- The Government of Ontario
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council
- The Legislative Assembly of Ontario
- Members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
- Commissioners appointed to the inquiry
- Ontarians (through the inquiry's findings and recommendations)
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council has the obligation to establish the commission.
- The commission has the obligation to inquire into and report on the Government of Ontario's response to COVID-19 and make recommendations.
- The commission has the obligation to hold public hearings.
- The commission has the obligation to submit interim and final reports within specified timelines.
- The commission has the obligation to make all reports public.
- The Legislative Assembly has the right to remove a commissioner for cause by a two-thirds vote.
- Ontarians have the right to access the commission's hearings and reports.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall establish the commission within 60 days after the Act comes into force.
- The commission shall begin its inquiry within 60 days after it is established.
- The commission shall submit an interim report within six months after it is established.
- The commission shall submit its final report within 12 months after it is established.
- Reports must be made public within 10 days after submission.
- A further interim report is required no later than 12 months after the commission is established if an extension for the final report is granted.
- The text does not specify any direct financial or tax impacts, although the establishment and operation of a public inquiry commission would likely incur costs.
- The text specifies that the Legislative Assembly may remove a commissioner for cause by a vote of at least two-thirds of its members.
- The specific individuals who will be appointed as commissioners are not detailed.
- The exact scope or specific areas of the Government of Ontario's response to be inquired into are not exhaustively listed, beyond the general requirement to inquire into the response and make recommendations.
- The text does not specify the exact date of Royal Assent for the Act.
- The text does not detail the financial implications or funding mechanisms for the commission.
- The text does not explicitly define what constitutes 'cause' for the removal of a commissioner.
The Lieutenant Governor in Council is required to establish a commission under section 3 of this Act.
Source: Section 1(1)
This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
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 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