Bill 256 explained in plain English
Awenen Niin Act (Who Am I) Respecting Identity Documents, 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
Bill 256 amends Ontario's Photo Card Act and Vital Statistics Act to eliminate fees for certain identity documents and establish an advisory committee to address barriers in obtaining identification.
This bill, titled the Awenen Niin Act (Who Am I) Respecting Identity Documents, 2021, makes changes to Ontario's Photo Card Act, 2008 and Vital Statistics Act. It aims to remove fees for certain identification documents and create an advisory committee to recommend ways to reduce barriers in obtaining identification. The bill also repeals a section of the Strong Action for Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2012.
- Amends the Photo Card Act, 2008 to eliminate fees for photo cards.
- Amends the Vital Statistics Act to remove fees for registering births, changing birth registrations, searching birth registrations, obtaining birth certificates, and obtaining certified copies of registrations for births, name changes, deaths, or still-births.
- Repeals and substitutes certain provisions in the Vital Statistics Act related to name changes and searches.
- Establishes an Advisory Committee on Efficient Identification Document Services to recommend ways to end systemic barriers to obtaining identification documents in Ontario.
- Requires the Minister of Government and Consumer Services to establish this advisory committee within 60 days of the bill receiving Royal Assent.
- Specifies the composition of the advisory committee, including individuals who have faced barriers, service providers, advocates, and researchers.
- Requires the committee to consult with various stakeholders, including Indigenous organizations, community legal clinics, and community health centres.
- Requires the committee to report its recommendations to the Minister within six months of its establishment.
- Requires the Minister to inform the Legislative Assembly of the recommendations the Minister will implement within 90 days of receiving the committee's report.
- Repeals a specific subsection of the Strong Action for Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2012.
- Applicants for photo cards.
- Holders of photo cards.
- Individuals registering births, changing birth registrations, or seeking birth certificates in Ontario.
- Individuals seeking certified copies of registrations for births, name changes, deaths, or still-births.
- Individuals seeking name change certificates or conducting searches for vital statistics records.
- Individuals facing barriers to obtaining personal identification documents in Ontario.
- Service providers and advocates assisting individuals facing barriers to identification.
- Community legal clinics and community health centres in Ontario.
- Academic researchers studying barriers to identification.
- The Minister of Government and Consumer Services.
- The Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
- No fee shall be charged to an applicant for a photo card or to a holder of a photo card for anything done or provided under the Photo Card Act, 2008.
- No fee shall be charged for specific services under the Vital Statistics Act, including registering a birth, modifying a birth registration, searching a birth registration, obtaining a birth certificate, or obtaining a certified copy of various registrations.
- The Minister of Government and Consumer Services is obligated to establish an advisory committee within 60 days of the bill receiving Royal Assent.
- The advisory committee is mandated to make recommendations to end systemic barriers to obtaining identification documents.
- The committee is required to consult with specific stakeholders and report its recommendations to the Minister within six months of establishment.
- The Minister is required to inform the Legislative Assembly of the recommendations the Minister intends to implement within 90 days of receiving the committee's report.
- The advisory committee must be established within 60 days after the Awenen Niin Act receives Royal Assent.
- The advisory 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 implemented recommendations on or before the day that is 90 days after the advisory committee reports.
- Most of the Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Subsection 2 (3) of the Act comes into force on the later of April 30, 2021, and the day the Act receives Royal Assent.
- Subsection 2 (12) of the Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Eliminates fees for photo cards.
- Eliminates fees for various services under the Vital Statistics Act, including birth registration, birth certificates, and certified copies of certain registrations.
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe remuneration and expenses for members of the Advisory Committee on Efficient Identification Document Services.
- The bill text does not specify any new penalties or enforcement mechanisms for non-compliance with its provisions.
- The specific remuneration and expenses for members of the Advisory Committee on Efficient Identification Document Services will be determined by regulation.
- The commencement of Subsection 2 (12) of the Act is dependent on a proclamation by the Lieutenant Governor.
- The bill does not specify what constitutes 'evidence that satisfies the Registrar General' for noting changes on a birth registration.
Removes the requirement for fees when registering a birth, adding to or changing a birth registration, having a search made for a birth registration, obtaining a birth certificate, or obtaining a certified copy of a registration of birth, change of name, death, or still-birth. Also modifies provisions related to name changes and searches, removing fee requirements.
Source: Sections 15 (2), 30.1 (1) and (3), 31 (1) (b), 31 (3) (a), 31 (7), 31.1 (2) (a) and (6) (a), 44 (1), (2), and (4), 45 (1), 48 (1), and 48.2 (3), and adds Section 54.1
Repeals subsection 9 (2) of Schedule 58.
Source: Schedule 58, Section 9 (2)
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 does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.
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