Bill 75 explained in plain English
Queen's Park Restoration Act, 2023
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
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.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 75 establishes the Queen's Park Restoration Secretariat to manage the restoration of the Ontario Legislative Building and makes related changes to provincial oversight and information access laws.
Bill 75 creates a new government secretariat (office) to oversee the restoration and renovation of the Ontario Legislative Building in Queen's Park. The bill establishes the Queen's Park Restoration Secretariat and appoints a Minister to manage the project, which includes restoring the building, its systems, grounds, and making sure the Legislative Assembly can continue operating during the work. The bill also changes rules about the Board of Internal Economy to allow for alternate commissioners, updates the Legislative Protective Service's role, and temporarily exempts documents about the restoration project from freedom of information laws for 20 years after the secretariat is shut down.
- Creates a new government ministry called the Queen's Park Restoration Secretariat with a Minister in charge
- Requires the Minister to oversee restoration, refurbishment, rehabilitation and preservation of the Legislative Building, its systems, infrastructure, grounds, and the Lieutenant Governor's office
- Requires the Minister to identify and secure a temporary location for the Legislative Assembly to operate during the restoration
- Requires the Minister to seek stable and secure funding for the project
- Establishes a Deputy Minister position for the Secretariat
- Requires the Minister to establish an executive project working group with representatives from the Minister, Deputy Minister, and Board of Internal Economy
- Allows the Lieutenant Governor in Council to establish advisory committees to advise on the restoration project
- Requires the Minister to consult with and report to a Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly on the restoration project and seek their input on major decisions
- Requires the Minister to seek advice from the Board of Internal Economy and consider all their recommendations
- Requires the Minister to provide the Board with progress reports at least every three months
- Protects government officials and employees from personal lawsuits for actions taken in good faith while working on the project, though the Crown remains liable
- Allows the Minister to delegate powers to the Deputy Minister, public servants, or Crown agents
- Amends the Legislative Assembly Act to allow alternate commissioners on the Board of Internal Economy
- Adds duties to the Board of Internal Economy to work with and advise the Queen's Park Restoration Secretariat
- Clarifies the role of the Legislative Protective Service in protecting the legislative precinct
- Allows the Speaker to make the Legislative Protective Service role extend outside the legislative precinct by agreement or written directive
- Allows regulations to adjust the definition of 'legislative precinct' to accommodate the restoration work
- Exempts documents prepared by the Assembly about the restoration project from freedom of information laws until 20 years after the Secretariat is repealed
- The Minister responsible for the Queen's Park Restoration Secretariat and their staff
- The Deputy Minister of the Queen's Park Restoration Secretariat
- Members and employees of the Legislative Assembly
- The Board of Internal Economy
- Standing Committees of the Legislative Assembly
- The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
- The Clerk of the Assembly
- The Legislative Protective Service
- Members of the Executive Council (who appoint commissioners to the Board of Internal Economy)
- Party caucuses in the Legislative Assembly
- Government House Leader
- Members of the public seeking information about the restoration project (who will not have access to some documents)
- The Minister must have charge of the Queen's Park Restoration Project (Schedule 1, section 2(3))
- The Minister must identify, secure and prepare a location for the Legislative Assembly to operate during restoration (Schedule 1, section 2(3))
- The Minister must seek stable and secure funding for the restoration (Schedule 1, section 2(3))
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council must appoint a Deputy Minister for the Secretariat (Schedule 1, section 2(4))
- The Minister must establish an executive project working group with representatives from the Minister, Deputy Minister, and Board of Internal Economy (Schedule 1, section 5)
- The Minister must consult with and provide reports to a Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly on the restoration project (Schedule 1, section 7(1))
- The Minister must seek advice from the Board of Internal Economy on the restoration project (Schedule 1, section 7(2))
- The Minister must take into consideration all advice from the Board of Internal Economy and take reasonable steps to implement their requests (Schedule 1, section 7(3))
- If the Minister does not implement a Board request, they must provide a detailed written explanation to the Board (Schedule 1, section 7(4))
- The Minister must provide the Board with progress reports at least every three months (Schedule 1, section 7(5))
- The Deputy Minister or their representative must routinely consult with the Clerk of the Assembly or their representative about Office of the Assembly and Board needs (Schedule 1, section 7(6))
- The board must work with and advise the Queen's Park Restoration Secretariat on restoration and preservation of the Legislative Building (Schedule 2, section 2, amending section 90 of the Legislative Assembly Act)
- The Minister must report to the Standing Committee when the restoration project is completed (Schedule 1, section 12)
- Bill 75 received Royal Assent on May 18, 2023
- Most of Bill 75 comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent (May 18, 2023) (section 2(1))
- The specific schedules come into force on dates to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor (section 2(2))
- The Queen's Park Restoration Secretariat Act itself comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor (Schedule 1, section 14)
- Schedule 2 (amendments to the Legislative Assembly Act) comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor (Schedule 2, section 9)
- Schedule 3 (amendments to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor (Schedule 3, section 2)
- The exact start date of the Queen's Park Restoration Secretariat Act is not specified; it will be set by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor
- The specific definitions of what constitutes the 'Queen's Park Restoration Project' may be adjusted through regulations
- The duration of the restoration project is not specified
- The amount of funding to be allocated to the restoration is not detailed in the bill
- The bill does not specify which Standing Committee will consult with the Minister on the project
- The specific composition and roles of the executive project working group are not detailed beyond minimum requirements
- Regulations about the legislative precinct, legislative precinct restoration zone, and other matters are to be made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council but are not detailed in the bill itself
- The bill text does not define which temporary location will be used for the Legislative Assembly during restoration
A new law is created establishing a government secretariat to manage the restoration of the Legislative Building, defining the Minister's responsibilities, requiring consultations and reporting, and providing legal protections for officials involved in the project.
Changes are made to allow for alternate commissioners on the Board of Internal Economy (so if a commissioner cannot attend, a designated alternate can vote instead), to add duties for the Board to advise on the restoration project, to clarify the Legislative Protective Service's role in protecting the legislative precinct, and to allow regulations that adjust the definition of 'legislative precinct' for the duration of the restoration.
Documents prepared by the Assembly about the Queen's Park Restoration Project are exempted from freedom of information access until 20 years after the Queen's Park Restoration Secretariat Act, 2023 is repealed.
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 does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
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