Bill 94 explained in plain English
Climate Crisis Health Action Plan 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
This Act requires the Ontario Minister of Health to create a strategic action plan and a secretariat to address the health impacts of the climate crisis, with a science advisory board providing input, and mandates regular reviews of the plan.
This bill, called the Climate Crisis Health Action Plan Act, 2022, requires the Ontario Minister of Health to develop and publish a plan to help Ontario's health systems prepare for the health impacts of the climate crisis. It also requires the establishment of a Climate Crisis and Health Secretariat to help with the plan and a science advisory board to provide expert advice. The plan must be reviewed and updated at least every four years. The Act outlines the content of the strategic action plan, which includes identifying health risks, vulnerable populations, communication strategies, research into climate change and health, and plans for funding and guidance to public health units and health facilities. It also specifies areas to be monitored, such as infectious diseases, air and water quality, extreme temperatures, mental health impacts, and the health of vulnerable communities. The Secretariat will assist the Minister and the Minister of Environment with the plan, gather and share information, track data, and develop preparedness plans and training. The science advisory board will advise the Minister on climate change and health science developments. The Minister must consult with various groups when developing or revising the plan. The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations to help implement the Act.
- Requires the Minister of Health to develop and publish a strategic action plan within two years of the Act receiving Royal Assent.
- Ensures the strategic action plan aims to prepare Ontario's public health and health care systems for health risks from the climate crisis, including mental health impacts, extreme heat, vector-borne diseases, novel contagious diseases, air and water quality issues, storms, and flooding.
- Establishes the Climate Crisis and Health Secretariat to help the Minister develop, revise, and implement the strategic action plan.
- Establishes a science advisory board, made up of public health professionals and climate scientists, to advise the Minister on climate change and health science.
- Requires the strategic action plan to be reviewed and updated at least every four years, starting on the fourth anniversary of the Act receiving Royal Assent.
- Mandates that the plan and any amendments be published on a Government of Ontario website.
- Outlines specific content for the strategic action plan, including identifying health risks, vulnerable populations, communication strategies, government programs for research, assessing existing strategies, prioritizing health care infrastructure projects, providing funding and guidance to public health units and facilities, and developing modelling and forecasting tools.
- Requires the plan to include systems for monitoring and responding to the impacts of the climate crisis on health, covering areas like infectious diseases, novel diseases, respiratory and cardiovascular health, extreme temperatures, air pollution, mental health, the health of Indigenous, Black, and racialized people, harmful algal blooms, extreme weather events, food insecurity, and disruptions to medical care.
- Defines the responsibilities of the Climate Crisis and Health Secretariat, which include assisting with the plan, gathering and disseminating information, tracking data, expanding modelling capacity, conducting research, identifying high-risk locations and groups, communicating health impacts, developing partnerships, providing technical assistance to municipalities and Indigenous communities, developing preparedness response plans, and creating training programs.
- Defines the functions of the science advisory board, which include providing scientific and technical advice on climate crisis health impacts and advising on scientific developments.
- Specifies that the Minister must consider advice from the science advisory board and consult with various individuals and organizations, including other government members, Indigenous and Black communities, municipalities, the scientific community, at-risk communities, and healthcare professional organizations, when developing or revising the plan.
- Grants the Lieutenant Governor in Council the authority to make regulations to effectively implement the Act's intent and purpose.
- The Minister of Health
- The Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council
- Public health and health care systems in Ontario
- Ontarians
- Public health organizations
- Community health organizations
- Health care facilities
- Health professionals
- Public health units
- Municipalities
- First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities
- Scientists
- Members of communities most at-risk of experiencing negative health outcomes
- Organizations representing health care professionals and healthcare providers
- The Minister of Health is obligated to develop and publish a strategic action plan.
- The Minister of Health is obligated to establish the Climate Crisis and Health Secretariat.
- The Minister of Health is obligated to establish a science advisory board.
- The Minister of Health is obligated to review and update the strategic action plan every four years.
- The Minister of Health must consult with specified persons and organizations when developing or revising the plan.
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council has the authority to make regulations.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- The Minister shall develop and publish the strategic action plan on or before the second anniversary of the day the Act receives Royal Assent.
- The Minister shall review the strategic action plan on or before the fourth anniversary of the day the Act receives Royal Assent and every four years thereafter.
- The bill mentions that the strategic action plan should include plans to provide funding and guidance to public health units and health care facilities, and to support the development of academic and regional centres of excellence, which may have financial implications.
- The bill does not specify any direct enforcement mechanisms or penalties for non-compliance by individuals or organizations, but it does grant the Lieutenant Governor in Council the power to make regulations.
- The bill does not specify the exact composition or appointment process for the science advisory board beyond requiring a minimum and maximum number of members and their general expertise.
- The bill allows for "any other prescribed matter" to be included in the monitoring systems for the strategic action plan, which is not defined.
- The bill allows for "any other person or organization" to be consulted by the Minister, which is not defined.
- The bill does not provide specific details on the budget or staffing for the Climate Crisis and Health Secretariat or the science advisory board.
- The bill does not specify the precise criteria or process for assigning the administration of the Act to a different member of the Executive Council.
- The bill refers to "other members of the Executive Council as the Minister considers appropriate" for consultation, which is not further defined.
This bill creates a new law to establish a strategic action plan and related bodies to address the health impacts of the climate crisis in Ontario.
This bill may affect the definition of "Minister" by allowing the administration of this Act to be assigned to a different member of the Executive Council.
Source: Section 1
This bill may affect the definition of "Environment Minister" by allowing the administration of this Act to be assigned to a different member of the Executive Council.
Source: Section 4 (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