Bill 114 explained in plain English
Pandemic 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
Bill 114 amends Ontario's Health Protection and Promotion Act to require public health unit programs to be funded at least 75% by the Province and no more than 25% by municipalities, and to establish a Pandemic Preparedness Review Committee to review Ontario's pandemic response plan every five years.
Bill 114 makes two main changes to how Ontario handles public health and pandemic preparation. First, it changes how public health unit programs are paid for. Currently, municipalities and the Province share these costs. The bill would require the Province to pay at least 75% of the cost of public health programs that are shared between the Province and municipalities, while municipalities would pay no more than 25%. However, this only applies if the Ontario Legislature approves money for this purpose. Second, the bill creates a Pandemic Preparedness Review Committee made up of public health experts, pandemic preparedness experts, and community leaders from groups that have faced inequities. This committee would review Ontario's pandemic response plan every five years to see what changes should be made based on new public health practices, medical science, technology developments, and to make sure the plan addresses equity. The committee would report its findings to the Minister of Health, who would then tell the Ontario Legislature about these findings and the Government's recommendations within 90 days. The bill comes into effect once it receives Royal Assent.
- Establishes a funding requirement that the Province of Ontario must provide at least 75% of the cost of cost-shared public health unit programs and services, with municipalities contributing no more than 25% (Section 77.0.1)
- Makes this funding requirement subject to legislative appropriation of funds (Section 77.0.1(2))
- Creates a Pandemic Preparedness Review Committee composed of public health experts, pandemic preparedness experts, and community leaders from equity-seeking groups, appointed by the Minister of Health (Section 95.1(2))
- Requires the Review Committee to examine Ontario's pandemic response plan every five years, considering developments in public health practice, medical science and technology, and equity concerns (Section 95.1(3))
- Requires the Review Committee to report its findings to the Minister of Health every five years starting five years after the section comes into force (Section 95.1(4))
- Requires the Minister of Health to inform the Ontario Legislature of the Review Committee's findings and make recommendations for government implementation within 90 days of each report (Section 95.1(5))
- Allows the Lieutenant Governor in Council to set pay and expenses for committee members, subject to legislative appropriation (Section 95.1(6-7))
- Ontario municipalities that fund public health units
- The Ontario Ministry of Health
- Public health units in Ontario
- Public health experts and pandemic preparedness experts appointed to the Review Committee
- Community leaders from equity-seeking groups appointed to the Review Committee
- The Ontario Legislature
- Ontarians who rely on public health services during pandemics
- The Province of Ontario must fund at least 75% of cost-shared public health unit programs and services (Section 77.0.1(1))
- Municipalities are limited to funding no more than 25% of cost-shared public health unit programs and services (Section 77.0.1(1))
- The Minister of Health must establish a Pandemic Preparedness Review Committee (Section 95.1(1))
- The Review Committee must review Ontario's pandemic response plan every five years (Section 95.1(3))
- The Review Committee must report its findings to the Minister every five years (Section 95.1(4))
- The Minister must inform the Ontario Legislature of the Review Committee's findings and recommendations within 90 days of each report (Section 95.1(5))
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent (Section 2)
- The Pandemic Preparedness Review Committee must provide its first report five years after Section 95.1 comes into force (Section 95.1(4))
- The Minister has 90 days after each Review Committee report to inform the Legislature and provide recommendations (Section 95.1(5))
- The Review Committee reviews the pandemic response plan every five years thereafter (Section 95.1(3) and (4))
- Public health unit funding split is changed: Province must provide at least 75% (previously unspecified), municipalities limited to no more than 25%
- The funding change only applies if the Ontario Legislature appropriates money for this purpose (Section 77.0.1(2))
- The remuneration and expenses of Review Committee members must be determined by the Lieutenant Governor in Council and require legislative appropriation (Section 95.1(6-7))
- The bill text does not specify the total cost of these changes
- The bill does not specify penalties or enforcement mechanisms if the Province fails to provide 75% of cost-shared public health unit funding
- The funding requirement in Section 77.0.1 does not apply unless the Legislature appropriates money for it (Section 77.0.1(2))
- The bill does not specify how much money the Legislature would need to appropriate to meet the 75% provincial funding requirement
- The bill does not specify which programs and services are 'cost-shared' between the Province and municipalities
- The bill does not define 'equity-seeking groups' for the purpose of appointing community leaders to the Review Committee
- The bill does not specify how many members should be on the Review Committee
- The bill does not specify what remedies or consequences exist if the Province does not meet the 75% funding requirement
- The bill text indicates the status is before the 3rd Reading stage; it is not yet law
- The actual cost and scope of implementing the Review Committee's recommendations are not specified
Adds new provisions requiring minimum provincial funding of 75% for cost-shared public health unit programs (Section 77.0.1) and creating a Pandemic Preparedness Review Committee to review Ontario's pandemic response plan every five years (Section 95.1)
Source: Sections 77.0.1 and 95.1
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.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
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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.
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