EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill enacts the Advisory Committee to Protect Ontario’s People and Economy from Airborne Pandemics Act, 2023. The Act provides that the Standing Committee on Social Policy shall establish an Advisory Committee to Protect Ontario’s People and Economy from Airborne Pandemics. The Advisory Committee shall make recommendations to the Minister of Health and the Standing Committee on Social Policy to improve Ontario’s infrastructure, regulations and standards relating to indoor air quality in non-residential workplaces and public settings.

Bill 86 2023

An Act to establish an Advisory Committee to Protect Ontario’s People and Economy from Airborne Pandemics

His 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,

“Airborne disease transmission” means the spread of diseases through the inhalation of infectious respiratory aerosols that remain suspended in the air after being transmitted from an infected person.

Advisory Committee

2 (1)  The Standing Committee on Social Policy shall, no more than 60 days after the day this section comes into force, establish an Advisory Committee to Protect Ontario’s People and Economy from Airborne Pandemics.

Composition

(2)  The Advisory Committee to Protect Ontario’s People and Economy from Airborne Pandemics shall be composed of members appointed by the Standing Committee on Social Policy.

Same

(3)  The Standing Committee on Social Policy shall ensure that the Advisory Committee to Protect Ontario’s People and Economy from Airborne Pandemics includes members of the following groups:

   1.  Individuals who have professional expertise and experience working in epidemiology.

   2.  Health care providers with demonstrated experience working with members of marginalized communities.

   3.  Frontline unionized public education workers.

   4.  Occupational hygienists.

   5.  Small business owners.

   6.  Frontline service-sector workers from public and private unions.

   7.  Engineers, architects, building ventilation specialists and building energy efficiency specialists.

   8.  Indoor air quality researchers and aerosol scientists.

   9.  Medical professionals specializing in infectious diseases, medical microbiology and infection prevention and control.

10.  Nurses.

11.  Health care workers, including personal support workers and developmental services workers.

12.  Disabled people and their human rights representatives.

13.  Communications professionals with experience in public health communications, behaviour change and harm reduction.

14.  Other individuals who the Standing Committee believes will make useful contributions to the Advisory Committee’s work.

Same

(4)  The Standing Committee on Social Policy shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the composition of the Advisory Committee to Protect Ontario’s People and Economy from Airborne Pandemics reflects the diversity of Ontarians who are exposed to the hazard of airborne diseases by including members of the following groups:

   1.  Immuno-compromised persons.

   2.  Seniors.

   3.  Indigenous persons.

   4.  Black persons.

   5.  Other racialized communities.

   6.  Disabled persons.

   7.  Persons living with, or who have experienced, homelessness.

   8.  Persons who work in industries that require close physical contact with other people.

   9.  Persons living in rural and remote areas.

10.  Persons who live in long-term care or supportive living facilities.

11.  Persons who work in long-term care facilities, residential care facilities, youth and correctional services facilities, supportive living facilities, homeless shelters or similar congregate settings.

12.  Essential workers.

13.  Migrant workers or their legal representatives.

Remuneration and expenses

(5)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council may determine the remuneration and expenses of any person appointed under subsection (2).

Appropriation required

(6)  Subsection (5) does not apply unless money has been appropriated by the Legislature for the purpose of that subsection.

Functions

3 (1)  The Advisory Committee to Protect Ontario’s People and Economy from Airborne Pandemics shall make recommendations to the Standing Committee on Social Policy to improve Ontario’s infrastructure, regulations and standards relating to indoor air quality in non-residential workplaces and public settings.

Same

(2)  Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the Advisory Committee to Protect Ontario’s People and Economy from Airborne Pandemics shall inquire into the following matters and make relevant recommendations to the Minister of Health and the Standing Committee on Social Policy:

   1.  How to modify maintenance standards, public health recommendations, the Building Code Act, 1992 and regulations made under that Act to ensure that public settings have an appropriate combination of ventilation, filtration and other air cleaning methods to reduce the transmission of airborne diseases.

   2.  How to educate the public about indoor air quality in public settings.

   3.  How to ensure that the Province has adequate incentives and subsidies in place to mitigate, reduce or cover the costs of measures to improve indoor air quality incurred by small businesses and other private institutions with public spaces.

   4.  How to ensure equitable protection from respiratory illness for Ontarians facing axes of marginalization, including being low-income, disabled, Indigenous, homeless, a sex worker, racialized, immunocompromised or a front-line worker.

   5.  How to expand workplace insurance coverage to reflect the hazard of frontline workers being exposed to airborne diseases.

   6.  How to ensure, guided by the precautionary principle, that personal protective equipment, high-quality respiratory protection, such as N95 respirators, and layered prevention controls are available to workers, students, patients and customers exposed to airborne disease transmission during future pandemics.

   7.  How to ensure that regulations addressing airborne disease transmission are in place for hazard assessments, infection transmission and control measures, investigations and contact tracing.

   8.  How to ensure that public and workplace airborne disease transmission data is collected, transparent and communicated regularly to the public to inform workplace transmission prevention and public health measures.

   9.  How to ensure that joint health and safety committees comprehensively review how to mitigate airborne disease spread during a public health emergency.

Stakeholder consultation

(3)  In performing its functions under this section, the Advisory Committee to Protect Ontario’s People and Economy from Airborne Pandemics shall consult with the following stakeholders:

   1.  Health care providers, including,

           i.  community health centres,

          ii.  Aboriginal Health Access Centres,

         iii.  nurse practitioner-led clinics, and

         iv.  family health teams.

   2.  The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.

   3.  The Canadian Aerosol Transmission Coalition.

   4.  The Ontario Federation of Labour.

   5.  The Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario and other unions.

   6.  The Ontario Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association.

   7.  Public education workers in primary, secondary and post-secondary educational institutions.

   8.  Child care and day care administrators and workers.

   9.  Small business associations.

10.  The Canadian Committee on Indoor Air Quality.

11.  Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers.

12.  Any other stakeholders with whom the Advisory Committee determines it is appropriate to consult.

Report

(4)  On or before the day that is six months after the day the Advisory Committee to Protect Ontario’s People and Economy from Airborne Pandemics is established, the Advisory Committee shall report its recommendations to the Minister of Health and the Standing Committee on Social Policy.

Implementation of recommendations

(5)  On or before the day that is 90 days after the day the Advisory Committee to Protect Ontario’s People and Economy from Airborne Pandemics reports its recommendations to the Minister of Health under subsection (4), the Minister of Health shall inform the Assembly of the recommendations of the Advisory Committee that the Minister of Health and the Standing Committee on Social Policy recommend the Government of Ontario implement.

Same

(6)  On or before the day that is one year after the day the Minister of Health informs the Assembly of the recommendations under subsection (5), the Minister of Health shall report to the Assembly on the progress the Government of Ontario has made in implementing their recommendations.

Commencement

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

Short title

5 The short title of this Act is the Advisory Committee to Protect Ontario’s People and Economy from Airborne Pandemics Act, 2023.