Bill 96 2012

An Act to amend the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000

Note: This Act amends the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000, which has not previously been amended.

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

   1.  (1)  Subsection 11 (3) of the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 is amended by adding "or described in subsection (3.1)" after "a class prescribed for those purposes".

   (2)  Section 11 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Documents affecting land

   (3.1)  Documents, including agreements of purchase and sale, that create or transfer interests in land and require registration to be effective against third parties constitute a class of documents to which subsection (3) applies.

   2.  (1)  Paragraph 4 of subsection 31 (1) of the Act is repealed.

   (2)  Subsection 31 (2) of the Act is repealed.

Commencement

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

Short title

   4.  The short title of this Act is the Electronic Commerce Amendment Act, 2012.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill amends the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 to remove the current exemption from the Act for documents, including agreements of purchase and sale, that create or transfer interests in land and require registration to be effective against third parties. However, those documents are subject to the requirements of subsection 11 (3) of the Act relating to the reliability of electronic signatures.