Bill 71 explained in plain English
Keeping Students Safe on School Buses Act (Highway Traffic Amendment), 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 71, the Keeping Students Safe on School Buses Act (Highway Traffic Amendment), 2021, amends the Highway Traffic Act to mandate three-point seat belts on school buses, with specific transitional provisions.
This bill, titled the Keeping Students Safe on School Buses Act (Highway Traffic Amendment), 2021, proposes changes to the Highway Traffic Act regarding seat belts on school buses. It aims to make it mandatory for school buses to be equipped with three-point seat belts on forward-facing seats. There are specific transition rules for buses manufactured before a certain date and for certain types of routes.
- Amends the Highway Traffic Act to require school buses to be equipped with three-point seat belts on forward-facing seats.
- Introduces specific conditions under which older school buses (manufactured before September 1, 2022) must still be equipped with seat belts, even during a transition period.
- Specifies that certain highway routes and expressways require school buses to have seat belts, regardless of the transition period, if children are on board for longer than 45 minutes.
- Establishes different commencement dates for different parts of the Act.
- School bus operators
- School bus manufacturers
- Children transported on school buses
- The Ministry responsible for the Highway Traffic Act
- The Ministry responsible for transportation
- School buses must be equipped with three-point seat belts on forward-facing seats.
- During a transition period ending December 31, 2026, older school buses manufactured before September 1, 2022, may not need seat belts unless specific conditions are met regarding transport time or route.
- After December 31, 2026, all school buses must be equipped with seat belts according to specified regulations.
- September 1, 2022: The Act, subject to subsection 2(2), comes into force.
- December 31, 2026: The transition period for school buses manufactured before September 1, 2022, ends.
- January 1, 2028: Subsection 1(3) of the Act comes into force, which repeals subsection 106 (7.2) of the Highway Traffic Act.
- The bill may result in costs for school bus operators and manufacturers to equip buses with seat belts.
- The bill does not explicitly state penalties for non-compliance. It amends the Highway Traffic Act, which typically includes penalty provisions for violations of its sections.
- The bill text does not specify the exact penalties for non-compliance with the new seat belt requirements.
- The definition of "children" for the purpose of the 45-minute transport rule is referenced but not provided within the excerpt.
- The specific requirements of subsection 208 (5) of Schedule IV to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (Canada) are not detailed in this bill text.
This bill amends section 106 of the Highway Traffic Act to mandate seat belt requirements for school buses.
Source: Section 1
The bill references requirements under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Canada) concerning vehicle manufacturing and safety equipment, specifically in relation to seat belts.
Source: Section 1 (1) and (2)
The bill references specific requirements from Schedule IV to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (Canada) for equipping school buses.
Source: Section 1 (2)
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