Bill 4 explained in plain English
Peter Kormos Memorial Act (Saving Organs to Save Lives), 2025
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 4 changes Ontario's tissue donation rules from a consent-based system to an opt-out system, where tissue may be removed after death unless the person objected or (for children under 16) parents did not consent.
Bill 4, called the Peter Kormos Memorial Act (Saving Organs to Save Lives), 2025, changes how Ontario regulates the removal and use of human tissue after death for transplants, medical education, and research. Currently, the Gift of Life Act requires people to give consent before tissue can be removed. Bill 4 changes this to an "opt-out" system: tissue may be removed and used after a person dies unless that person objected before death, or unless a substitute decision-maker objected on their behalf after death. For children under 16, the rule stays closer to consent-based: parents or guardians must consent before tissue is removed. The bill allows people aged 16 and older to object to tissue removal in three ways: in writing (signed), orally (in front of two witnesses), or by email or recorded message. Objections must be communicated to a doctor or to the Agency (Ontario Health). If someone dies without making an objection and relatives are available, certain family members can object on their behalf (spouse first, then children, then parents, then siblings, then other next of kin). However, relatives cannot object if they believe the deceased would not have wanted to object. The bill requires hospitals and other designated health facilities to notify Ontario Health when a patient dies or death is imminent. Ontario Health will then determine whether to contact the patient or substitute to ask about objections or consent. Ontario Health must establish and maintain a registry of people who have objected to tissue removal or whose parents consented (for children under 16). The registry will show whether objections or consents apply to all tissue or only specific parts. The bill comes into force when it receives Royal Assent.
- Removes the requirement that people consent before tissue is removed after death; instead allows tissue removal unless the person objected or (for children under 16) parents did not consent
- Allows people aged 16+ to object to tissue removal at any time before death or during their final illness, in writing, orally with two witnesses, or by email or recorded message
- Allows family members (spouse, children, parents, siblings, other next of kin) to object on behalf of a deceased person if no objection was made and death has occurred or is imminent, unless they believe the deceased would not have objected
- Requires parents or guardians to consent before tissue is removed from children under 16 years of age
- Requires designated health facilities to notify Ontario Health when a patient dies or death is imminent
- Directs Ontario Health to determine whether to contact patients or substitute decision-makers to ask about objections or consents
- Requires Ontario Health to establish and maintain a registry of objections and consents, showing whether they apply to all tissue or only specified parts
- Updates the Connecting Care Act, 2019 to expand Ontario Health's role in tissue removal, donation, and transplantation activities
- Changes the heading of Part II of the Gift of Life Act from 'Post Mortem Transplants' to 'Post Mortem Transplants and Other Uses of Tissue' to reflect that tissue may be used for medical education and research, not just transplants
- All Ontario residents aged 16 and older who may wish to object to tissue removal after death
- Parents and guardians of children under 16 years of age
- Family members of deceased persons (spouses, children, parents, siblings, next of kin) who may wish to object to tissue removal on the deceased's behalf
- Hospital and other designated health facilities required to notify Ontario Health of patient deaths or imminent deaths
- Ontario Health (the Agency), which will determine whether to contact patients about objections and maintain a registry
- Physicians and health care providers involved in tissue removal decisions
- Persons with bodies in the possession of hospitals, coroners, funeral directors, crematoria, or the Public Guardian and Trustee
- Right of all persons aged 16+ to object to tissue removal before or during final illness, using written, oral (with two witnesses), or recorded methods
- Right of family members to object to tissue removal on behalf of deceased persons under specified circumstances
- Right of parents/guardians to consent on behalf of children under 16
- Obligation of designated facilities to notify Ontario Health when a patient dies or death is imminent
- Obligation of Ontario Health to determine whether to contact patients/substitutes about objections or consents for children under 16
- Obligation of Ontario Health to establish and maintain a registry of objections and consents
- Prohibition on family members objecting if they believe the deceased would not have objected
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent (section 12)
- The bill text does not specify what methods or timelines Ontario Health must use to contact patients or substitutes about objections or consents, nor does it detail the qualifications required for persons making such contact beyond stating they must meet requirements prescribed by the Minister
- The bill does not specify the exact format or content requirements for the registry of objections and consents beyond showing the person's name and whether the objection/consent applies to all tissue or specified parts
- The bill does not clarify whether objections made before the bill comes into force will be recognized under the new system
- The bill does not specify penalties or enforcement mechanisms if a facility fails to notify Ontario Health or if tissue is removed in violation of an objection
Removes the definition of 'consent' and 'writing' from the Act; changes tissue removal from a consent-based system to an opt-out system where tissue may be removed unless the person objected or (for children under 16) parents did not consent; allows objections to be made orally, in writing, or by recorded message; requires facilities to notify Ontario Health of deaths; allows family members to object on behalf of deceased persons under certain conditions.
Expands Ontario Health's powers to plan, coordinate, undertake, support, and promote activities related to tissue removal, donation, and transplantation in accordance with the Gift of Life Act; adds a requirement that Ontario Health establish and maintain a registry of objections and consents to tissue removal.
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