Bill 62 explained in plain English
Public Health Accountability Act (In Honour of Dr. Sheela Basrur), 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 62, the Public Health Accountability Act (In Honour of Dr. Sheela Basrur), 2025, proposes to amend the Health Protection and Promotion Act to redefine the roles and appointment processes for the Chief Medical Officer of Health and Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health, and establish a select committee for health emergencies.
This bill proposes changes to Ontario's Health Protection and Promotion Act. The main changes focus on the positions of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and the Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health. The bill would make the Chief Medical Officer of Health an officer of the Legislative Assembly, outline how they are appointed, reappointed, removed, or suspended, and establish rules for a temporary Chief Medical Officer of Health. It also proposes the creation of a select committee if a public health emergency is declared. The bill also repeals certain sections of the existing Act.
- Makes the Chief Medical Officer of Health an officer of the Legislative Assembly.
- Establishes a process for appointing, reappointing, and removing or suspending the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
- Provides for the appointment of a temporary Chief Medical Officer of Health.
- Establishes a select committee of the Legislative Assembly in the event of a declared emergency related to public health.
- Repeals certain sections of the Health Protection and Promotion Act.
- The Chief Medical Officer of Health.
- The Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health.
- Members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
- The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
- The Board of Internal Economy.
- The public, in the context of public health emergencies and the functions of the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
- The Chief Medical Officer of Health must take an oath or affirmation to faithfully and impartially exercise their functions.
- The Chief Medical Officer of Health shall not be a member of the Assembly and shall not hold other office or employment without prior approval.
- The Legislative Assembly has the power to appoint, reappoint, remove, or suspend the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
- The Board of Internal Economy has the power to suspend the Chief Medical Officer of Health when the Assembly is not in session and to determine salary and benefits.
- A select committee has the mandate to receive and provide advice to the Chief Medical Officer of Health during a health emergency.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- The Chief Medical Officer of Health holds office for a term of five years, with a possible reappointment for one further term.
- The Chief Medical Officer of Health may continue in office after their term expires until a successor is appointed.
- A temporary Chief Medical Officer of Health holds office until a permanent Chief Medical Officer of Health is appointed or able to resume duties.
- A select committee is dissolved three months after the end of a declared emergency, unless another emergency is declared.
- The current Chief Medical Officer of Health is deemed to be in the first term of their appointment and will continue for the remainder of that term.
- The Board of Internal Economy shall determine the salary and benefits of the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
- The Chief Medical Officer of Health is entitled to be reimbursed for reasonable expenses, subject to approval.
- A temporary Chief Medical Officer of Health shall be paid a salary and benefits determined by the Board of Internal Economy and reimbursed for reasonable expenses.
- The Assembly may remove or suspend the Chief Medical Officer of Health for cause by a two-thirds vote.
- The Board of Internal Economy may suspend the Chief Medical Officer of Health for cause if the Assembly is not in session.
- The bill does not specify what constitutes 'cause' for removal or suspension of the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
- The bill does not detail the composition or specific operating procedures of the selection panel for the Chief Medical Officer of Health beyond requiring representation from each recognized party and independent members if any.
- The duration of suspension by the Board of Internal Economy when the Assembly is not in session is limited, but the exact sessional days might vary.
- The bill does not explicitly define 'public health event' or 'pandemic' for the purposes of triggering the select committee.
- The specific details of how the select committee will function beyond receiving and providing advice are not provided.
- The exact number of members for the select committee is not specified, only that it will have an equal number from recognized parties.
Changes the rules around the appointment, term, removal, and salary of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, and specifies duties for the Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health. It also adds provisions for a temporary Chief Medical Officer of Health and the establishment of a select committee during public health emergencies.
Source: Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
Replaces existing provisions with new rules making the Chief Medical Officer of Health an officer of the Assembly and detailing their appointment and office.
Source: Section 1
Replaces existing provisions with new rules specifying the functions and duties of an Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health.
Source: Section 2
Introduces new sections detailing the appointment, term, removal, suspension, salary, benefits, and temporary appointments of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, as well as the establishment of a select committee during health emergencies.
Source: Section 3
Removes this section from the Act.
Source: Section 4
Removes references to the Chief Medical Officer of Health and repeals a paragraph within this subsection.
Source: Section 5
This section is referenced in relation to the declaration of an emergency that could trigger the appointment of a select committee.
Source: Section 3 (adding 81.1.11 (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 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