Bill 31 2010

An Act to help prevent skin cancer

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

Services and treatments to minors prohibited

   1.  (1)  No person shall market or sell tanning services or ultraviolet light treatments to an individual who is less than 19 years old.

Apparent age

   (2)  No person shall market or sell tanning services or ultraviolet light treatments to an individual who appears to be less than 25 years old unless,

  (a)  the individual has provided the person with identification of a type prescribed by the regulations showing that the individual is not less than 19 years old; and

  (b)  there is no apparent reason to doubt the validity of the identification.

Exception

   (3)  Subsections (1) and (2) do not affect the right of a member of the College of a health profession, as defined in the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, to prescribe or provide ultraviolet light treatments.

Registry

   2.  The Minister responsible for the administration of this Act shall establish and maintain a registry containing information prescribed by the regulations relating to the commercial use of tanning and ultraviolet light equipment.

Training

   3.  Every person who owns or operates an establishment at which tanning services or ultraviolet light treatments are provided shall ensure that all persons involved in the provision of the services or treatments at the establishment receive training as prescribed by the regulations.

Signage

   4.  Every person who owns or operates an establishment at which tanning services or ultraviolet light treatments are provided shall, in accordance with the regulations, post signs at the establishment respecting the health effects of the services or treatments.

Offence

   5.  (1)  A person who contravenes subsection 1 (1) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable, for each day on which the offence occurs, to a fine of not more than $2,000.

Same

   (2)  A person who contravenes subsection 1 (2) or section 3 or 4 is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable, for each day on which the offence occurs, to a fine of not more than $2,000.

Same

   (3)  A person who fails to provide the information required by regulations made under clause 6 (1) (b) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable, for each day on which the offence occurs, to a fine of not more than $2,000.

Defence

   (4)  A person is not guilty of an offence under subsection (1) if he or she reasonably believed that the individual who received the services or treatments was at least 19 years old.

Same

   (5)  A person is presumed to have reasonably believed that the individual who received the services or treatments was not less than 19 years old if the individual provided the person with identification showing that he or she was at least 19 years old and there was no apparent reason to doubt the validity of the identification.

Regulations

   6.  (1)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this Act, including but not limited to,

  (a)  prescribing information for the purposes of the registry established under section 2;

  (b)  requiring persons who own or operate establishments at which tanning services or ultraviolet light treatments are provided to supply information for the purposes of the registry established under section 2;

   (c)  prescribing the training to be provided under section 3;

  (d)  prescribing the content, placement, size and format of the signs required to be posted by section 4;

  (e)  prescribing types of identification for the purposes of subsections 1 (2) and 5 (5).

Commencement

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

Short title

   8.  The short title of this Act is the Skin Cancer Prevention Act, 2010.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill prohibits marketing and selling tanning services and ultraviolet light treatments to persons under the age of 19. The Bill also requires the establishment and maintenance of a registry relating to the use of tanning and ultraviolet light equipment.  Persons who own or operate an establishment at which tanning services or ultraviolet light treatments are provided are required to ensure that persons involved in providing the services or treatments receive training, and that signage respecting the health effects of the services or treatments are posted at the establishments where the services or treatments are provided. The Bill also makes it an offence to contravene certain provisions of the Bill.