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OntarioPassed43rd Parliament, 1st Session

Bill 215 explained in plain English

Ukrainian Heritage Month Act, 2024

Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.

At a glance

Jurisdiction
Ontario Legislature
Legislature / Parliament
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Session
43rd Parliament, 1st Session
Bill number
Bill 215
Full title
Ukrainian Heritage Month Act, 2024
Current status
Passed
Latest event
Royal Assent received
Last updated
Dec 19, 2024

Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.

Chamber
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Current Stage
Royal Assent received
Latest Activity
Dec 19, 2024
Plain-language explanation
In plain English (our explanation)

Our plain-language take, written for civic education.

Source: By PoliticalData.ca

AI-assisted, reviewed before publishing
Short Version

Bill 215 proclaims September as Ukrainian Heritage Month in Ontario each year.

What It Means

This Ontario law officially designates September as Ukrainian Heritage Month. The law recognizes that September 7th marks the anniversary of the first documented Ukrainians arriving in Canada, and that September also celebrates Ukraine's independence anniversary (August 24th historically, though the bill references 1991). The law acknowledges that over 340,000 Ontarians of Ukrainian heritage have made significant contributions to the province's social, cultural, political, and economic development over more than 130 years. The law came into effect immediately upon receiving Royal Assent on December 19, 2024.

What This Bill Does
  • Proclaims the month of September in each year as Ukrainian Heritage Month in Ontario
  • Recognizes the contributions of Ukrainian-Canadians to Ontario's society and economy
  • Marks September 7th as the anniversary of the first documented Ukrainians arriving in Canada
  • Celebrates Ukraine's independence anniversary in 1991
Who Is Affected
  • Ukrainian-Canadians and people of Ukrainian heritage in Ontario
  • People of diverse cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds in Ontario
  • Ontario residents generally
Rights, Duties, Or Obligations
  • September is designated as Ukrainian Heritage Month each year
Important Dates
  • December 19, 2024 – the date the law received Royal Assent and came into force
  • September 7 – anniversary of the first documented Ukrainians arriving in Canada
  • September 1991 – Ukraine's independence
Uncertainties Or Limits
  • The bill text does not specify what activities, events, or recognition programs are required or encouraged for Ukrainian Heritage Month
  • The bill does not describe any government duties, budget allocations, or specific actions related to marking the month
  • The bill does not explain the practical effect of the proclamation beyond the symbolic designation
Laws Or Regulations Affected
Ukrainian Heritage Month Act, 2024
creation

A new Ontario law that establishes September as Ukrainian Heritage Month each year

Source: Section 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 text

Process Snapshot

Step 1
First reading
Oct 29, 2024
Step 2
Second reading
Dec 11, 2024
Step 3
Committee review
Not reached yet
Step 4
Third reading
Dec 11, 2024
Step 5
Royal assent
Dec 19, 2024

Vote Summary

No published recorded division

This bill does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.

Sponsor
Sheref Sabawy
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario | Mississauga—Erin Mills
Jurisdiction
Ontario Legislature

No published representative vote breakdown

The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.

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