Bill 106 explained in plain English
Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act, 2022
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 42nd Parliament, 2nd 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 Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act, 2022, enacts new laws and amends existing ones to improve Ontario's emergency preparedness and response capabilities, covering areas like emergency management, supply chains for critical equipment, food security, health professions, and public service retention.
Bill 106, the Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act, 2022, enacts new legislation and amends several existing Ontario laws to strengthen the province's ability to prepare for and respond to emergencies, including pandemics. Key changes involve enhancing emergency management planning and coordination, ensuring the supply and production of essential protective equipment, supporting the stability of the food supply, and making adjustments to regulations affecting health professions and public service compensation. The Act received Royal Assent on April 14, 2022.
- Amends the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act to improve hazard and risk assessments, provincial emergency management planning, and accountability during emergencies.
- Enacts the Personal Protective Equipment Supply and Production Act, 2022, to ensure a maintained supply of personal protective equipment and critical supplies, and to authorize the Minister to manage their supply chains.
- Amends the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act to clarify the Minister's role in promoting a safe and stable food supply and to require a report on its safety and stability.
- Amends the Ontario Food Terminal Act to require the Ontario Food Terminal Board to develop a contingency plan for emergency situations.
- Amends the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, to add regulation-making powers for specifying electronic formats for accessing personal health information and to govern its collection, use, and disclosure by Ontario Health Teams.
- Amends the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, to set requirements for language proficiency, limit the requirement for "Canadian experience" for registration (subject to exemptions), and mandate the creation of an emergency class of registration.
- Enacts the Supporting Retention in Public Services Act, 2022, to authorize funding for employers to enhance public sector employee compensation, with specific provisions for pay equity and the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019.
- Amends the Supply Chain Management Act (Government, Broader Public Sector and Health Sector Entities), 2019, to exclude activities related to the procurement of personal protective equipment and critical supplies and equipment from its scope.
- Establishes the power for the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of the various Acts amended or enacted by this Bill.
- Allows the Minister to establish and charge fees to recover costs related to goods or services provided under the Personal Protective Equipment Supply and Production Act, 2022.
- Provincial government ministries and agencies
- Public servants
- Ontario Food Terminal Board
- Health information custodians
- Ontario Health Teams
- Regulated health professional Colleges
- Applicants for registration in regulated health professions
- Employers of public service employees
- Employees of public service employers
- Manufacturers and suppliers of personal protective equipment and critical supplies
- Government entities and public sector entities requiring personal protective equipment and critical supplies
- Individuals who obtain personal protective equipment or critical supplies through government-managed supply chains
- Ministers and designated agencies must identify and assess hazards and risks to public safety and report this information annually.
- The Solicitor General must formulate a provincial emergency management plan, conduct training, and prepare annual reports.
- The Solicitor General must develop and publish a written framework for accountability and governance during emergencies.
- The Ontario Food Terminal Board must develop and maintain a contingency plan for emergencies.
- The Minister must maintain a supply of personal protective equipment and critical supplies and equipment.
- Government entities and public sector entities receiving notice from the Minister must obtain supply chain management for PPE and critical supplies from the Minister.
- Colleges under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, must comply with regulations on language proficiency, cannot require "Canadian experience" for registration (unless exempted), and must establish an emergency class of registration.
- Employers may receive funding to enhance compensation for public service employees under the Supporting Retention in Public Services Act, 2022.
- Individuals who obtain personal protective equipment or critical supplies without charge or fee through Minister-provided supply chain management are prohibited from selling them.
- The Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act, 2022, received Royal Assent on April 14, 2022.
- Most provisions of the Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent.
- Some provisions, including those in Schedule 1 (Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act amendments), Schedule 5 (Personal Protective Equipment Supply and Production Act, 2022), and Schedule 6 (Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 amendments related to registration requirements), come into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- The Minister may establish and charge fees to recover costs for goods or services provided under the Personal Protective Equipment Supply and Production Act, 2022.
- The Supporting Retention in Public Services Act, 2022, authorizes the provision of funding to employers to enhance compensation for public service employees.
- The Supporting Retention in Public Services Act, 2022, details how compensation enhancements are treated under the Pay Equity Act and the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019, potentially impacting employer obligations and employee entitlements.
- A person who sells or offers to sell personal protective equipment or critical supplies obtained without charge or fee as a result of Minister-provided supply chain management is guilty of an offence. Individuals are liable to a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $20,000, and corporations are liable to a fine of not less than $20,000 and not more than $250,000.
- Prosecutions for offences under the Personal Protective Equipment Supply and Production Act, 2022, must be commenced within two years of the offence.
- The specific "prescribed requirements" for maintaining a supply of personal protective equipment and critical supplies and equipment under the Personal Protective Equipment Supply and Production Act, 2022, are not detailed in the provided text and will be set out in regulations.
- The specific "prescribed requirements" for electronic formats for accessing personal health information, and the details governing the collection, use, and disclosure of personal health information by Ontario Health Teams and authorized entities, are to be set out in regulations.
- The specific "prescribed" meaning of "Canadian experience" and the details of exemptions from requiring it for registration in regulated health professions will be established by regulation.
- The specific details of "compensation enhancement programs" for public service employees under the Supporting Retention in Public Services Act, 2022, including eligibility rules and program terms, will be set out in regulations.
- Certain provisions of the Act, as indicated in various schedules, are to come into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, meaning their commencement date is not yet fixed.
- The Act itself does not specify the exact nature or scope of all regulations that may be made under the various Acts that it amends or enacts.
Requires ministers and designated agencies to regularly assess hazards and risks to public safety, identify necessary goods/services/resources for response, and report this information annually. It also requires the Solicitor General to formulate a provincial emergency management plan, conduct training, and report on progress, and to develop and publish a written framework for accountability and governance during emergencies. The Act clarifies the roles and reporting structure of the Commissioner of Emergency Management and the Chief, Emergency Management Ontario. It also grants the Lieutenant Governor in Council new regulation-making powers.
Source: Schedule 1
Clarifies that the Minister's responsibilities include providing policies, recommendations, advice, coordination, and assistance regarding a safe and stable food supply. It also introduces a new requirement for the Minister to report on the safety and stability of Ontario's food supply.
Source: Schedule 2
Requires the Ontario Food Terminal Board to develop and maintain a contingency plan for its operations during emergency situations that could disrupt continuity. This plan must include how operations could be temporarily carried out from an alternative location for up to 30 days, and the Minister can direct the Board to implement the plan.
Source: Schedule 3
Modifies the right to access personal health information to include electronic formats meeting prescribed requirements or specified by the Agency. It adds new regulation-making powers for the Agency to specify electronic formats and for the Lieutenant Governor in Council to govern the collection, use, and disclosure of personal health information by Ontario Health Teams and authorized entities.
Source: Schedule 4
Establishes this new Act which requires the Minister to maintain a supply of personal protective equipment and critical supplies. It authorizes the Minister to provide or support supply chain management for these items for government, public sector, and other entities and individuals under certain conditions. The Act prohibits reselling items obtained through Minister-provided supply chain management without charge or fee, with penalties for violations. It also includes provisions for reporting, delegation of powers, and fee establishment.
Source: Schedule 5
Amends this Act to state that its scope does not include activities related to the procurement of personal protective equipment and critical supplies and equipment. It also allows the Lieutenant Governor in Council to incorporate corporations for supply chain management and delegate duties from the Personal Protective Equipment Supply and Production Act, 2022.
Source: Schedule 5
Amends the Act and its associated Health Professions Procedural Code. It adds regulation-making powers to define "Canadian experience" and to establish English or French language proficiency requirements for Colleges. It prohibits Colleges from requiring Canadian experience for registration unless exempted by regulation and requires Colleges to establish an emergency class of registration. It also adds powers to set time limits for Colleges to make registration decisions.
Source: Schedule 6
Establishes this new Act, which authorizes a Minister to provide funding to employers to enhance compensation for public service employees, based on compensation enhancement programs set out in regulations. The Act specifies how this compensation is treated under the Pay Equity Act and the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019, and outlines rules regarding labour matters, complaints, and prohibits certain legal actions against the Crown related to the Act.
Source: Schedule 7
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
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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.
How this data is sourced