Bill 286 explained in plain English
Inherent Right to Safe Drinking Water 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 Inherent Right to Safe Drinking Water Act, 2021 amends the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002 to establish the entitlement to safe drinking water for Ontarians on reserves and mandates the Ontario Minister to work with the federal government to create regulations for safe drinking water on reserves.
This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002. It recognizes that Indigenous peoples living and working on reserves are entitled to safe drinking water, just like other Ontarians. It requires the Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to develop recommended safe drinking water standards for reserves and submit them to the federal Minister of Indigenous Services. The Ontario Minister must consult with First Nations rights holders when developing these standards. The standards must be at least as protective as current Ontario drinking water standards for areas off-reserve. The Ontario Minister must also follow up with the federal Minister to ensure these standards are made into regulations under federal law for reserves in Ontario. Additionally, the Ontario Minister must report annually on efforts to ensure safe drinking water on reserves.
- Recognizes the entitlement of Ontarians living and working on reserves to safe drinking water.
- Requires the Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to prepare and submit recommended safe drinking water standards for reserves to the federal Minister of Indigenous Services of Canada.
- Mandates consultation with community-based First Nations rights holders when developing these recommended standards.
- Requires that the recommended standards meet or exceed current drinking water quality standards for areas off-reserve in Ontario.
- Requires the Ontario Minister to request that the federal Minister recommend these standards for regulation under the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act (Canada).
- Requires the Ontario Minister to periodically inquire about the status of these recommended standards until they are made into regulations.
- Requires the Ontario Minister to include a summary of efforts regarding safe drinking water on reserves in the annual provincial drinking water report.
- Ontarians living and working on reserves
- First Nations rights holders
- Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (Ontario)
- Minister of Indigenous Services of Canada (Federal)
- Ontarians living and working on reserves have the right to safe drinking water.
- The Ontario Minister has the obligation to prepare, consult on, and submit recommended safe drinking water standards for reserves.
- The Ontario Minister has the obligation to inquire about the status of the recommended standards.
- The Ontario Minister has the obligation to report on efforts related to safe drinking water on reserves.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- The Minister must prepare and submit recommended standards within six months after the day the Act receives Royal Assent.
- The bill does not specify any direct financial or tax impacts.
- The bill does not specify any penalties or enforcement mechanisms.
- The bill does not specify what happens if the federal Minister does not recommend the standards for regulation.
- The bill does not specify the exact content of 'any other matters that may be prescribed' for the recommended standards.
- The specific process or timeline for the federal government to enact regulations is not detailed in this bill.
Adds definitions for 'Indian' and 'reserve', clarifies that Ontarians on reserves are entitled to safe drinking water, requires the Minister to develop and submit recommended safe drinking water standards for reserves to the federal government, and mandates annual reporting on efforts to ensure safe drinking water on reserves.
Source: Section 1, 2, 3, and 164.1
The definitions of 'Indian' and 'reserve' in this bill are based on the definitions found in the Indian Act (Canada).
Source: Section 2
The bill requests that the recommended standards be made into regulations under this federal Act.
Source: Section 164.1 (4)
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