Bill 64 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, 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 64, the Awenen Niin Act (Who Am I) Respecting Identity Documents, 2021, aims to reduce fees and barriers for obtaining identity documents in Ontario and establishes an advisory committee to address systemic issues.
This bill, titled the Awenen Niin Act (Who Am I) Respecting Identity Documents, 2021, aims to make identity documents more accessible in Ontario. It proposes changes to the Photo Card Act and the Vital Statistics Act. Key changes include eliminating fees for obtaining a photo card and for various services related to birth registrations, birth certificates, and certified copies of registrations for births, deaths, and name changes. The bill also establishes an Advisory Committee on Efficient Identification Document Services, tasked with identifying and recommending solutions to barriers faced by Ontarians in obtaining identification documents. This committee must consult with various stakeholders and report its findings to the Minister, who will then inform the Legislative Assembly about which recommendations will be implemented.
- Eliminates fees for obtaining a photo card in Ontario.
- Removes fees associated with registering a birth, modifying a birth registration, searching for a birth registration, and obtaining a birth certificate.
- Eliminates fees for obtaining certified copies of birth registrations, name changes, deaths, and still-births.
- Repeals specific provisions within the Photo Card Act, 2008 and the Vital Statistics Act.
- Amends various sections of the Vital Statistics Act to remove references to fees.
- Establishes an Advisory Committee on Efficient Identification Document Services.
- Mandates the Advisory Committee to consult with stakeholders and make recommendations to end systemic barriers to obtaining identification documents.
- Requires the Minister of Government and Consumer Services to establish the advisory committee within 60 days of the bill receiving Royal Assent.
- Requires the Minister to inform the Legislative Assembly of the recommendations they intend to implement.
- Applicants for and holders of Ontario photo cards.
- Individuals seeking to register births, add to or change birth registrations, search birth registrations, or obtain birth certificates.
- Individuals seeking certified copies of registrations for births, name changes, deaths, or still-births.
- The Minister of Government and Consumer Services.
- Members of the public who face barriers in obtaining personal identification documents.
- Service providers and advocates assisting individuals facing barriers to identification documents.
- Academic researchers studying barriers to identification documents.
- Indigenous organizations.
- Community legal clinics.
- Community health centres.
- No fee shall be charged to an applicant for a photo card or to a holder of a photo card.
- No fee shall be charged for registering a birth, adding to or changing a birth registration, having a search made for a birth registration, or obtaining a birth certificate.
- No fee shall be charged for obtaining a certified copy of a registration of birth, change of name, death, or still-birth.
- The Minister of Government and Consumer Services is obligated to establish the Advisory Committee on Efficient Identification Document Services within 60 days of Royal Assent.
- The Advisory Committee is mandated to make recommendations to end systemic barriers to obtaining identification documents.
- The Minister is obligated to inform the Legislative Assembly of the recommendations they will implement.
- The Advisory Committee on Efficient Identification Document Services 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 the recommendations the Minister will implement on or before the day that is 90 days after the Advisory Committee reports its recommendations.
- Most of the Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Subsection 2 (11) comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Eliminates fees for Ontario photo cards.
- Eliminates fees for various services related to birth registrations, birth certificates, and certified copies of registrations for births, name changes, deaths, and still-births.
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council may by regulation prescribe remuneration and payment of expenses for advisory committee members.
- The bill does not specify any new penalties or enforcement mechanisms.
- The advisory committee's recommendations may lead to future policy changes regarding enforcement or penalties, but this is not detailed in the bill.
- The specific amount of remuneration and expenses for advisory committee members is not detailed in the bill and may be prescribed by regulation.
- The exact date for Subsection 2 (11) coming into force is not specified and will be proclaimed by the Lieutenant Governor.
- The bill does not specify which recommendations the Minister will implement, only that the Minister will inform the Assembly of those decisions.
Removes all fees for applicants and holders of a photo card.
Source: Section 8
Removes fees for specific services related to birth registrations, name changes, and obtaining copies of registrations.
Source: Sections 15(2), 30.1(3), 31(1)(b), 31(3)(a), 31(7), 31.1(2)(a), 31.1(6)(a), 44(1), 44(2), 44(4), 45(1), 48.2(3), and adds section 54.1
Establishes the Advisory Committee on Efficient Identification Document Services, detailing its composition, mandate, and consultation requirements.
Source: Section 54.2 and 54.3
Repeals subsection 9 (2) of Schedule 58.
Source: Section 3
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
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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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