Bill 141, Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2014

Murray, Hon. Glen R. Minister of Infrastructure

Versions

Bill 141 2013

An Act to enact the Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2013

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

CONTENTS

Purpose and Interpretation
1.	Purpose
2.	Definitions
Infrastructure Planning Principles
3.	Principles
Long-Term Infrastructure Plans
4.	Long-term infrastructure plans
5.	Publication
Other Infrastructure-Related Requirements
6.	Criteria for prioritizing foundational infrastructure projects
7.	Requirements respecting architects, others
8.	Requirements respecting apprentices
Other Matters
9.	No cause of action
10.	Existing obligations continue
Regulations
11.	Regulations
Commencement and Short Title
12.	Commencement
13.	Short title

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Purpose and Interpretation

Purpose

1. The purpose of this Act is to establish mechanisms to encourage principled, evidence-based and strategic long-term infrastructure planning that supports job creation and training opportunities, economic growth and protection of the environment, and to incorporate design excellence into infrastructure planning.

Definitions

2. In this Act,

"broader public sector entity" means,

(a) a municipality as defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Municipal Act, 2001,

(b) a local board, as defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Municipal Act, 2001,

(d) any post-secondary educational institution in Ontario that receives regular operating funding from the Government,

(e) a hospital within the meaning of the Public Hospitals Act,

(f) a board of health, as defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Health Protection and Promotion Act, and

(g) any other persons or entities prescribed for the purposes of this definition; ("entité du secteur parapublic")

"construction" includes reconstruction, improvement, extension, alteration, replacement and repairs; ("construction")

"Government" means,

(a) the Government of Ontario and the Crown in right of Ontario,

(b) a ministry of the Government of Ontario,

(c) a Crown agency, other than a college of applied arts and technology established under the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act, 2002, and

(d) any board, commission, authority or unincorporated body of the Crown; ("gouvernement")

"infrastructure" means the physical structures and associated facilities that form the foundation of development, and by or through which a public service is provided to Ontarians, such as highways, bridges, bicycle paths, drinking water systems, hospitals, courthouses and schools, as well as any other thing by or through which a public service is provided to Ontarians that may be prescribed, but does not include,

(a) infrastructure relating to the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity, including generation facilities, transmission systems, distribution systems, and structures, equipment and other things connected to the IESO-controlled grid, as these terms are defined in subsection 2 (1) of the Electricity Act, 1998,

(b) any other thing wholly or partly owned or leased by Hydro One Inc., Ontario Power Generation Inc., or a subsidiary of either of them, and

"infrastructure asset" means all or part of any single physical structure, facility, or other thing that falls within the definition of "infrastructure" in this section; ("bien d'infrastructure")

"Minister" means the Minister of Infrastructure or such other member of the Executive Council to whom responsibility for the administration of this Act may be assigned or transferred under the Executive Council Act; ("ministre")

"prescribed" means prescribed by the regulations; ("prescrit")

"regulations" means the regulations made under this Act. ("règlements")

Infrastructure Planning Principles

Principles

3. The Government, and every broader public sector entity, shall consider the following principles when making decisions respecting infrastructure:

1. Infrastructure planning and investment should take a long-term view, and decision-makers should take into account the needs of Ontarians by being mindful of, among other things, demographic and economic trends in Ontario.

2. Infrastructure planning and investment should take into account any applicable budgets or fiscal plans, such as fiscal plans released under the Fiscal Transparency and Accountability Act, 2004 and budgets adopted under Part VII of the Municipal Act, 2001 or Part VII of the City of Toronto Act, 2006.

3. Infrastructure priorities should be clearly identified in order to better inform investment decisions respecting infrastructure.

4. Infrastructure planning and investment should ensure the continued provision of core public services, such as health care and education.

5. Infrastructure planning and investment should promote economic competitiveness, productivity, job creation and training opportunities.

6. Infrastructure planning and investment should foster innovation by creating opportunities to make use of innovative technologies, services and practices, particularly where doing so would utilize technology, techniques and practices developed in Ontario.

7. Infrastructure planning and investment should be evidence based and transparent, and, subject to any restrictions or prohibitions under an Act or otherwise by law on the collection, use or disclosure of information,

i. investment decisions respecting infrastructure should be made on the basis of information that is either publicly available or is made available to the public, and

ii. information with implications for infrastructure planning should be shared between the Government and broader public sector entities, and should factor into investment decisions respecting infrastructure.

8. Where provincial or municipal plans or strategies have been established in Ontario, under an Act or otherwise, but do not bind or apply to the Government or the broader public sector entity, as the case may be, the Government or broader public sector entity should nevertheless be mindful of those plans and strategies and make investment decisions respecting infrastructure that support them, to the extent that they are relevant. Examples of plans and strategies to which this paragraph may apply include,

i. policy statements issued under section 3 of the Planning Act, and provincial plans as defined by that Act,

ii. municipal water sustainability plans submitted under the Water Opportunities Act, 2010,

iii. the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan established under the Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008, and

iv. transportation plans adopted under the Metrolinx Act, 2006.

9. Infrastructure planning and investment should minimize the impact of infrastructure on the environment and respect and help maintain ecological and biological diversity, and infrastructure should be designed to be resilient to the effects of climate change.

10. Any other principles that may be prescribed for the Government or the broader public sector entity, as the case may be.

Long-Term Infrastructure Plans

Long-term infrastructure plans

4. (1) The Minister shall, in accordance with the timing requirements set out in subsection (2),

(a) develop long-term infrastructure plans containing the information set out in subsection (3); and

(b) table the long-term infrastructure plans in the Assembly or, if the Assembly is not sitting, deposit them with the Clerk of the Assembly.

Timing requirements

(2) Long-term infrastructure plans shall be developed and tabled or deposited in accordance with the following timing requirements:

1. The first long-term infrastructure plan shall be developed and tabled or deposited no later than three years after the day this section comes into force.

2. Thereafter, each subsequent long-term infrastructure plan shall be developed and tabled or deposited no later than five years after the day the previous plan was tabled or deposited.

Contents

(3) Each long-term infrastructure plan shall include the following information:

1. A description of the state, as of the date or during the period specified in the plan, of the infrastructure wholly or partly owned by the Government, including,

i. an inventory of the infrastructure,

ii. a valuation of the infrastructure,

iii. the age of infrastructure assets, and

iv. the condition of infrastructure assets.

2. A description of the Government's anticipated infrastructure requirements, including improvements to existing infrastructure assets and the acquisition of new infrastructure assets, for at least the 10 years following the development of the plan.

3. A strategy to meet the infrastructure requirements identified under paragraph 2.

4. Any other information that the Minister determines should be included in the plan.

Application of principles

(4) For greater certainty, the Minister shall consider the principles set out in section 3 in developing strategies for the purposes of paragraph 3 of subsection (3).

Publication

5. (1) The Minister shall publish each long-term infrastructure plan tabled or deposited under section 4 on a Government of Ontario website.