Bill 108 explained in plain English
Protecting Ontario by Upholding Honesty and Integrity Act, 2026
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 44th 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 108 requires all newly elected Ontario MPPs to take an oath or affirmation of office pledging to act with honesty, integrity, fairness, and in the public interest before they can sit in the Legislature.
Bill 108 amends the Legislative Assembly Act to create a new requirement for Ontario Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Starting after the next general election following when this bill becomes law, every newly elected MPP must take an oath or affirmation of office before the Clerk of the Assembly before they can take their seat and vote. The oath has the person swear or affirm that they will: carry out their duties to the best of their ability; not accept payment or rewards for biased, corrupt, or improper exercise of their office; act with fairness and integrity; be impartial and honest, avoiding false statements; represent their constituents' views according to their judgment; act in the public interest and not exploit their powers for personal gain; and respect and uphold the Legislature's rules and the laws of Ontario and Canada. The oath can be taken in English or French. MPPs who do not take the oath cannot take their seat in the Legislature. The bill comes into force when it receives Royal Assent.
- Amends the Legislative Assembly Act to add a new section 24.1 requiring newly elected members to take an oath or affirmation of office
- Specifies the exact wording of the oath that must be taken, covering duties, honesty, integrity, impartiality, constituent representation, public interest, and respect for rules and laws
- Allows the oath to be taken in English or French at the member's choice
- Requires the oath to be taken before the Clerk of the Assembly before the member can sit and vote for the first time after their election
- Makes the requirement apply only to members elected on or after the polling day of the next general election held after the bill comes into force
- Denies the entitlement to take a seat to any member who does not comply with the oath requirement
- Persons elected as members of the Ontario Legislative Assembly on or after the polling day of the next general election following Royal Assent of the bill
- The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly (who must administer the oath)
- The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (institutional procedures and rules)
- Newly elected MPPs must take an oath or affirmation of office before they can sit and vote in the Assembly
- The oath commits MPPs to execute their powers and duties to the best of their ability
- MPPs must swear they have not and will not accept payment or rewards for biased, corrupt, or improper exercise of office
- MPPs must act with fairness and integrity at all times
- MPPs must be impartial and honest, avoiding false statements
- MPPs must represent their constituents' views according to their judgment and best ability
- MPPs must act in the public interest and not exploit powers or privileges for personal gain
- MPPs must respect and uphold the rules of the Legislature and laws of Ontario and Canada
- The oath may be taken in English or French
- Members who do not take the oath are not entitled to take their seat
- Bill comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent (Royal Assent date unknown at time of this bill)
- The oath requirement applies to members elected on or after the polling day of the next general election held after the bill comes into force
- A member who does not take the required oath or affirmation is not entitled to take their seat in the Assembly (section 24.1(2))
- This prevents the member from sitting and voting in the Legislative Assembly
- The bill does not specify what happens if an MPP takes the oath but later violates its terms—there are no enforcement mechanisms or penalties described for breach after the oath is taken
- The bill does not define how disputes about whether an oath was properly taken would be resolved
- The bill does not specify whether the oath would apply to by-election candidates or only to members elected in general elections
- Royal Assent date and timing of the next general election are not specified in the bill text, so the exact date the requirement would take effect is unknown
- The bill does not address what happens to current MPPs or those elected before the requirement takes effect—they are not subject to this oath
A new section 24.1 is added to establish a mandatory oath or affirmation of office for newly elected MPPs, with specific commitments to honesty, integrity, fairness, impartiality, constituent representation, public interest, and respect for laws and rules. Members who do not take the oath cannot take their seat in the Legislature.
Source: Section 1 of Bill 108
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