Bill 220, eHealth Ontario Spending Accountability Act, 2009

Preamble

In 2009, a series of freedom of information requests brought to light the excessive spending of taxpayer dollars relating to Ontario's Electronic Health Records Initiative.  The one billion dollars of misspent taxpayer dollars have raised concerns among all parties in the Legislature and for many Ontarians.

Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Definition

   1.  In this Act,

"Commission" means the Commission established under subsection 2 (1).

Appointment of Commission

   2.  (1)  Not later than 60 days after this Act receives Royal Assent, the Lieutenant Governor in Council shall, by order, appoint one or more persons as a Commission to conduct an inquiry in accordance with this Act.

Term of office

   (2)  Persons appointed to the Commission shall hold office until three months after the Commission's final report is submitted to the Lieutenant Governor in Council under subsection 9 (3).

Replacement

   (3)  If a person appointed to the Commission dies, resigns or is unable or neglects to perform the functions of office, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint another person to the Commission in the place of the first person.

Removal for cause

   (4)  A person appointed to the Commission is removable at any time for cause by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Nature of employment

   3.  (1)  Persons appointed to the Commission shall work exclusively for the Commission and shall not hold any other office under the Crown or engage in any other employment.

Remuneration and benefits

   (2)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall determine the remuneration and benefits payable to persons appointed to the Commission.

Staff

   4.  Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the Commission may employ the employees that the Commission considers necessary to carry out its duties under this Act and may determine their remuneration and benefits, which shall be comparable to the remuneration and benefits for similar positions or classifications in the public service of Ontario.

Premises and supplies

   5.  Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the Commission may lease premises and acquire the equipment and supplies that the Commission considers necessary to carry out its duties under this Act.

Duties

   6.  (1)  Within 60 days after the day this Act receives Royal Assent, the Commission shall commence an inquiry into the events surrounding the spending related to Ontario's Electronic Health Records Initiative.

Recommendations

   (2)  For the purposes of the Commission's final report to the Lieutenant Governor in Council under subsection 9 (3), the Commission shall make recommendations directed to the avoidance of unaccountable spending in other government agencies and in similar circumstances related to Ontario's Electronic Health Records Initiative.

Disclosure of evidence

   (3)  The Commission shall ensure that the disclosure of evidence and other materials balances the public interest, the principle of open hearings, and the privacy interests of persons affected, taking into account any legal requirements.

Civil and criminal liability

   (4)  The Commission shall perform its duties without expressing any conclusion or recommendation regarding the civil or criminal liability of any person or organization.

Ongoing legal proceedings

   (5)  The Commission, in the conduct of its inquiry, including its recommendations, shall ensure that it does not interfere with any ongoing legal proceedings relating to these matters.

Powers of the Commission

   7.  (1)  The Commission has the powers conferred on a commission under Parts II and III of the Public Inquiries Act and those Parts apply to an inquiry held under this Act.

Procedure on inquiry

   (2)  The Commission has the power to determine the conduct of and the procedure to be followed on the inquiry described in subsection 6 (1).

Website

   8.  (1)  Within 30 days after the Commission has been established, the Commission shall have a publicly available website.

Same

   (2)  Subject to subsection 6 (3), the website referred to in subsection (1) shall include,

  (a)  a history of the Commission;

  (b)  rulings and orders made by, and testimony and submissions made to, the Commission;

   (c)  witnesses and parties with standing before the Commission;

  (d)  legal documents made in relation to the Commission;

  (e)  statements by persons appointed to the Commission;

    (f)  the reports referred to in section 9;

  (g)  the audit referred to in section 10;

   (h)  a live webcast of the inquiry when the Commission is in session;

    (i)  all notices and reasons received by the Commission under subsection 11 (2); and

    (j)  any other information the Commission considers to be in the public interest.

Accessibility

   (3)  The Commission shall maintain its website referred to in subsection (1) for at least four years from the time it becomes publicly available.

Link to website

   (4)  Within 12 months of the Commission's website referred to in subsection (1) becoming publicly available, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care shall provide a reasonably accessible link on the Ministry's website to the Commission's website.

Report

   9.  (1)  The Commission shall submit an interim report to the Lieutenant Governor in Council within six months after the inquiry begins.

Interim report to be made public

   (2)  Within 10 days after submitting the interim report to the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the Commission shall put the interim report on its website under section 8.

Final report

   (3)  The Commission shall submit a final report to the Lieutenant Governor in Council within 12 months after the inquiry begins.

Tabling

   (4)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall, within 10 days after receiving the final report,

  (a)  table the final report with the Assembly if it is in session; or

  (b)  deposit the final report with the Clerk of the Assembly if the Assembly is not in session.

Final report to be made public

   (5)  Within 10 days after submitting the final report to the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the Commission shall put the final report on its website under section 8 and make it publicly available in hardcopy format.

Audit

   10.  (1)  The Auditor General shall prepare an audit of the Commission on its affairs and submit it to the Assembly and the Commission three months after the Commission's final report is submitted to the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Audit to be made public

   (2)  The Auditor General shall make the audit referred to in subsection (1) publicly available in both electronic and hardcopy formats.

Timing for Commission

   (3)  The Commission shall put the audit on its website under section 8 within 10 days after receiving it from the Auditor General.

Extensions

   11.  (1)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council may extend the time limits for submitting the interim and final reports, and may extend the term of office of the Commission.

Notice to Commission

   (2)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall notify the Commission of an extension granted under subsection (1), including the reasons for the extension.

Public Inquiries Act, 2009

   12.  (1)  This section applies only if Bill 212 (Good Government Act, 2009), introduced on October 27, 2009, receives Royal Assent.

Same

   (2)  References in this section to provisions of Bill 212 are references to those provisions as they were numbered in the first reading version of the Bill.

Same

   (3)  On the later of the day subsection 7 (1) of this Act comes into force and the day Schedule 6 of Bill 212 comes into force, subsection 7 (1) of this Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Powers of the Commission

   (1)  The Commission has the powers conferred on a commission under sections 8 to 30 of the Public Inquiries Act, 2009 and those sections apply to an inquiry held under this Act.

Commencement

   13.  This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

   14.  The short title of this Act is the eHealth Ontario Spending Accountability Act, 2009.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill requires the Lieutenant Governor in Council to establish a Commission to inquire into and report on the spending relating to Ontario's Electronic Health Records Initiative and to make recommendations directed to the avoidance of unaccountable spending in other agencies and similar circumstances relating to Ontario's Electronic Health Records Initiative.  The Commission has the powers of a commission under a public inquiry.  Once the inquiry begins, the Commission must make an interim report in six months, and a final report in 12 months.