Bill 304 explained in plain English
Harvey and Gurvir's Law (Providing Information about Down Syndrome to Expectant Parents, Regulated Health Professionals and the Public), 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
Harvey and Gurvir's Law amends the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, to ensure the Minister provides updated information about Down syndrome to the public and health professionals, and requires health professionals to share this information with expectant parents receiving a prenatal diagnosis.
This bill, known as Harvey and Gurvir's Law, amends the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991. It requires the Minister to make sure that up-to-date, evidence-based written information about Down syndrome is available to health professionals and the public. This information must cover life expectancy, development, education, psychosocial outcomes, and available resources. Before releasing this information, the Minister must consult with experts on Down syndrome and advocacy groups. The information must be provided in English and French, and possibly other languages. Additionally, when a regulated health professional communicates a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, they must give the expectant parents this written information. The main parts of the law come into effect on the day it receives Royal Assent, but the section requiring health professionals to provide the information to parents will come into effect six months after Royal Assent.
- Amends the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991.
- Creates a duty for the Minister to ensure up-to-date, evidence-based written information about Down syndrome is made available to regulated health professionals and the public.
- Specifies the content of the information to include details on life expectancy, development, education, psychosocial outcomes, and resources for individuals with Down syndrome.
- Requires the Minister to consult with experts and advocacy groups before making the information available.
- Mandates that the information be publicly available in English and French, and potentially other languages.
- Requires regulated health professionals to provide this written information to expectant parents when communicating a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.
- Establishes commencement dates for the different provisions of the Act.
- The Minister of Health (or relevant Minister)
- Regulated health professionals in Ontario
- Expectant parents receiving a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome
- Members of the public in Ontario
- Organizations representing or advocating for persons with Down syndrome
- Individuals with expertise in Down syndrome
- The Minister has a duty to ensure up-to-date, evidence-based information about Down syndrome is available.
- Regulated health professionals have a duty to provide this information to expectant parents when communicating a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.
- The public and regulated health professionals have a right to access this information.
- Most provisions of the Act come into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Section 2 of the Act, which requires health professionals to provide information to expectant parents, comes into force six months after the day the Act receives Royal Assent.
- The bill does not explicitly mention any new taxes or fees. There may be costs associated with developing, reviewing, translating, and distributing the information about Down syndrome.
- The bill does not specify penalties for non-compliance. The amendments are to the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, which governs the conduct of regulated health professionals.
- The specific Minister responsible for ensuring the information is made available is not explicitly stated, though the context implies the Minister of Health.
- The bill does not define 'up-to-date' or 'evidence-based' for the information.
- The bill does not specify the exact format or method of distribution for the information, beyond being 'made available' and 'written'.
- The bill does not detail the consequences for a regulated health professional failing to provide the information.
Adds a duty for the Minister to provide information about Down syndrome and requires health professionals to share this information with expectant parents.
Source: Section 1 and Section 2
Adds subsections requiring the Minister to ensure up-to-date, evidence-based written information relating to Down syndrome is made available to health professionals and the public, including specific details and consultation requirements.
Source: Section 1
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
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