Bill 31 2011

An Act to establish political oversight over legislation and regulations to reduce red tape and unjustified regulatory burdens

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

Definitions

   1.  In this Act,

"Committee" means the Standing Committee on Red Tape and Regulatory Review established under subsection 2 (1); ("comité")

"public sector" has the same meaning as in subsection 2 (1) of the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996; ("secteur public")

"regulation-maker", with respect to a regulation made under an Act, means the person or body, including the Lieutenant Governor in Council, that is authorized to make the regulation. ("autorité réglementaire")

Standing Committee established

   2.  (1)  A standing committee of the Legislative Assembly is established to be known as the Standing Committee on Red Tape and Regulatory Review in English and Comité permanent de la révision des formalités administratives et des dispositions réglementaires in French.

Members

   (2)  Within the first 10 sitting days after the beginning of the first session of the Legislature after a general election, the Assembly shall, on motion with notice, appoint members of the Assembly to serve as members of the Committee for the duration of that Legislature.

Review of public bills

   3.  (1)  Despite anything in the Standing Orders of the Assembly, every public bill shall be referred to the Committee after it receives second reading and before it is ordered for third reading except if it has been ordered for third reading before the day this Act comes into force.

Report

   (2)  The Committee shall review the bill and report to the Assembly on,

  (a)  whether the bill is necessary to achieve its purposes or whether an existing law adequately achieves the purposes of the bill;

  (b)  whether the bill imposes a regulatory burden on persons or bodies, other than the public sector;

   (c)  whether the bill infringes on the freedom of persons or bodies, other than the public sector, to own and use property and the right to not be deprived of that freedom except upon receiving full, fair and timely compensation;

  (d)  taking into account the purposes of the bill, whether the regulatory burden that the bill imposes on persons or bodies, other than the public sector, constitutes an unjustified burden and red tape for those persons and bodies; and

  (e)  taking into account the purposes of the bill, whether the person or body that administers the provisions of the bill that impose a regulatory burden is best suited to administer those provisions or whether another person or body is better suited to administer those provisions.

Amendments

   (3)  In its report to the Assembly, the Committee may amend the bill to,

  (a)  better achieve the purposes of the bill;

  (b)  avoid having the bill,

           (i)  infringe on the freedom of persons or bodies, other than the public sector, to own and use property and the right to not be deprived of that freedom except upon receiving full, fair and timely compensation, or

          (ii)  constitute an unjustified burden and red tape for the persons or bodies, other than the public sector, on which the bill imposes a regulatory burden; or

   (c)  transfer the administration of the provisions of the bill that impose a regulatory burden to a person or body that is better suited to administer those provisions.

Consequence

   (4)  No public bill shall be enacted unless,

  (a)  the Assembly has received the report on it from the Committee under subsection (2), if required; or

  (b)  it includes a provision stating that it applies despite this Act.

Repeal after 90 days

   (5)  A public bill that is enacted and that includes a provision described in clause (4) (b) is deemed to include a provision that the Act is repealed on the 90th day after the day on which the first provision of it to come into force comes into force, unless the Act is repealed before that 90th day.

Review of draft regulations

   4.  (1)  No regulation-maker shall make a regulation under an Act after this Act comes into force unless,

  (a)  it has given notice of the proposed regulation to the Committee;

  (b)  the notice complies with the requirements of this section;

   (c)  the time period specified in the notice, during which the Committee may comment on the proposed regulation, has expired; and

  (d)  the regulation-maker has considered whatever comments that the Committee has made on the proposed regulation in accordance with clause (2) (b) and has reported to the Committee on what, if any, changes to the proposed regulation the regulation-maker considers appropriate.

Contents of notice

   (2)  The notice mentioned in clause (1) (a) shall contain,

  (a)  a description of the proposed regulation and the text of it; and

  (b)  a statement of the time period during which the Committee may submit written comments on the proposed regulation to the regulation-maker and the manner in which and the address to which the comments must be submitted.

Time period for comments

   (3)  The time period mentioned in clause (2) (b) shall be at least 60 days after the regulation-maker gives the notice mentioned in clause (1) (a).

Extent of comments

   (4)  In commenting on the proposed regulation, the Committee shall address the matters described in clauses 3 (2) (a) to (e), reading the references in those clauses to the bill as references to the proposed regulation.

Proposed amendments

   (5)  In its comments, the Committee may propose amendments to the proposed regulation if the amendments are for the purposes described in clauses 3 (3) (a) to (c), reading the references in those clauses to the bill as references to the proposed regulation.

Discretion to make regulations

   (6)  Upon receiving the Committee's comments under clause (2) (b), the regulation-maker, without further notice under subsection (1), may make the proposed regulation with the changes that the regulation-maker considers appropriate, whether or not those changes are mentioned in the Committee's comments.

No Committee review

   (7)  The regulation-maker may decide that subsections (1) to (6) should not apply to the power of the regulation-maker to make a regulation if the regulation-maker is of the opinion that the urgency of the situation requires it.

Temporary regulation

   (8)  If the regulation-maker decides that subsections (1) to (6) should not apply to the power of the regulation-maker to make a regulation and makes a regulation,

  (a)  those subsections do not apply to the power of the regulation-maker to make the regulation;

  (b)  the regulation-maker shall give notice of the decision to the Committee as soon as is reasonably possible after making the decision;

   (c)  the regulation shall be identified as a temporary regulation in the text of the regulation; and

  (d)  unless it is revoked before its expiry, the regulation is deemed to include a provision that it is revoked on the 90th day after the day on which the first provision of it to come into force comes into force, unless the regulation is revoked before that 90th day.

Contents of notice

   (9)  The notice mentioned in clause (8) (b) shall include a statement of the reasons of the regulation-maker for making the decision and all other information that the regulation-maker considers appropriate.

No review

   (10)  Subject to subsection (11), no court shall review any action, decision, failure to take action or failure to make a decision by the regulation-maker under this section.

Exception

   (11)  Any person resident in Ontario may make an application for judicial review under the Judicial Review Procedure Act on the grounds that the regulation-maker has not taken a step required by this section.

Time for application

   (12)  No person shall make an application under subsection (11) with respect to a regulation later than 21 days after the day on which,

  (a)  the regulation-maker gives a notice to the Committee with respect to the regulation under clause (1) (a), if it is a regulation made under subsection (6); or

  (b)  the regulation is filed, if it is a regulation described in subsection (8).

Review of Acts and regulations

   5.  (1)  The Committee may review and prepare a report on any public Act that it has not reviewed under section 3 before its enactment and any regulation made under any Act on which it has not been allowed to submit written comments to the regulation-maker under section 4 before the regulation was made.

Report

   (2)  The report shall be on the matters described in clauses 3 (2) (a) to (e), reading the references in those clauses to the bill as references to the Act or the regulation that the Committee is reviewing.

Proposed amendments

   (3)  In its report, the Committee may propose amendments to the Act or the regulation that the Committee is reviewing if the amendments are for the purposes described in clauses 3 (3) (a) to (c), reading the references in those clauses to the bill as references to the Act or the regulation that the Committee is reviewing.

Tabling of reports

   (4)  As soon as the Committee completes a report under this section, it shall table the report by,

  (a)  submitting a copy of the report to the Lieutenant Governor in Council;

  (b)  submitting a copy of the report to the regulation-maker at its last business address known to the Committee, if the report relates to a regulation that is not made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council;

   (c)  laying the report before the Assembly if it is in session; and

  (d)  depositing the report with the Clerk of the Assembly if the Assembly is not in session.

Commencement

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

Short title

   7.  The short title of this Act is the Red Tape and Regulatory Review Act, 2011.

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill establishes a standing committee of the Legislative Assembly to be known as the Standing Committee on Red Tape and Regulatory Review.

Every public bill must be referred to the Committee for a review or include a provision stating that it applies despite the requirement for a review. The review deals with whether the bill imposes a regulatory burden on persons or bodies, other than the public sector, whether the bill infringes on the freedom of those persons or bodies to own and use property, whether the regulatory burden constitutes an unjustified burden and red tape and whether the person or body that administers the bill is best suited to do so. The Committee may amend the bill before reporting it back to the Assembly.

No person or body, including the Lieutenant Governor in Council, is allowed to make a regulation under an Act without giving the Committee at least 60 days notice to review the regulation and to propose amendments to it, except if the person or body gives notice to the Committee that the urgency of the situation requires the making of an emergency regulation. An emergency regulation can remain in force for no longer than 90 days.

The Committee can also review Acts after they have been enacted and regulations after they have been made and make a report on them to the Assembly.