eHealth Ontario Spending Accountability Act, 2010 Chudleigh, Ted — Bill 30 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session)

Bill 30, 39-2

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Bill 30, eHealth Ontario Spending Accountability Act, 2010

Chudleigh, Ted

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[39] Bill 30 Original (PDF)

Bill 30 2010

An Act to provide for a public inquiry to

discover the truth about

Preamble

2009, a series of freedom of information requests brought to light the

excessive spending of taxpayer dollars relating to Ontario's Electronic Health

Records Initiative. The one billion dollars of misspent taxpayer dollars have

raised concerns among all parties in the Legislature and for many Ontarians.

Therefore,

Her 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,

"Commission" means the Commission established under subsection 2 (1).

Appointment of Commission

(1) Not

later than 60 days after this Act receives Royal Assent, the Lieutenant

Governor in Council shall, by order, appoint one or more persons as a

Commission to conduct an inquiry in accordance with this Act.

Term of office

(2) Persons appointed to the Commission shall hold office

until three months after the Commission's final report is submitted to the

Lieutenant Governor in Council under subsection 9 (3).

Replacement

(3) If a person appointed to the Commission dies, resigns

or is unable or neglects to perform the functions of office, the Lieutenant

Governor in Council may appoint another person to the Commission in the place

of the first person.

Removal for cause

(4) A

person appointed to the Commission is removable at any time for cause by the

Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Nature of employment

(1) Persons

appointed to the Commission shall work exclusively for the Commission and shall

not hold any other office under the Crown or engage in any other employment.

Remuneration and benefits

(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall determine the

remuneration and benefits payable to persons appointed to the Commission.

Staff

4. Subject

to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the Commission may

employ the employees that the Commission considers necessary to carry out its

duties under this Act and may determine their remuneration and benefits, which

shall be comparable to the remuneration and benefits for similar positions or

classifications in the public service of Ontario.

Premises and supplies

5. Subject

to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the Commission may lease

premises and acquire the equipment and supplies that the Commission considers

necessary to carry out its duties under this Act.

Duties

(1) Within

60 days after the day this Act receives Royal Assent, the Commission shall

commence an inquiry into the events surrounding the spending related to

Ontario's Electronic Health Records Initiative.

Recommendations

(2) For the purposes of the Commission's final report to

the Lieutenant Governor in Council under subsection 9 (3), the Commission shall

make recommendations directed to the avoidance of unaccountable spending in

other government agencies and in similar circumstances related to Ontario's

Electronic Health Records Initiative.

Disclosure of evidence

(3) The Commission shall ensure that the disclosure of

evidence and other materials balances the public interest, the principle of

open hearings, and the privacy interests of persons affected, taking into

account any legal requirements.

Civil and criminal liability

(4) The Commission shall perform its duties without

expressing any conclusion or recommendation regarding the civil or criminal

liability of any person or organization.

Ongoing legal proceedings

(5) The Commission, in the conduct of its inquiry,

including its recommendations, shall ensure that it does not interfere with any

ongoing legal proceedings relating to these matters.

Powers of the Commission

(1) The

Commission has the powers conferred on a commission under Parts II and III of

the Public Inquiries Act

and those Parts apply to an inquiry held under this Act.

Procedure on inquiry

(2) The Commission has the power to determine the conduct

of and the procedure to be followed on the inquiry described in subsection 6

(1).

Website

(1) Within

30 days after the Commission has been established, the Commission shall have a

publicly available website.

Same

(2) Subject to subsection 6 (3), the website referred to

in subsection (1) shall include,

(

a) a

history of the Commission;

(

b) rulings

and orders made by, and testimony and submissions made to, the Commission;

(

c) witnesses

and parties with standing before the Commission;

(

d) legal

documents made in relation to the Commission;

(

e) statements

by persons appointed to the Commission;

(

f) the

reports referred to in

section 9;

(

g) the

audit referred to in

section 10;

(

h) a

live webcast of the inquiry when the Commission is in session;

(

i) all

notices and reasons received by the Commission under subsection 11 (2); and

(

j) any

other information the Commission considers to be in the public interest.

(3) The Commission shall maintain its website referred to

in subsection (1) for at least four years from the time it becomes publicly

available.

Link to website

(4) Within 12 months of the Commission's website referred

to in subsection (1) becoming publicly available, the Ministry of Health and

Long-Term Care shall provide a reasonably accessible link on the Ministry's

website to the Commission's website.

Report

(1) The

Commission shall submit an interim report to the Lieutenant Governor in Council

within six months after the inquiry begins.

Interim report to be made public

(2) Within 10 days after submitting the interim report to

the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the Commission shall put the interim report

on its website under

section 8.

Final report

(3) The Commission shall submit a final report to the

Lieutenant Governor in Council within 12 months after the inquiry begins.

Tabling

(4) The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall, within 10

days after receiving the final report,

(

a) table

the final report with the Assembly if it is in session; or

(

b) deposit

the final report with the Clerk of the Assembly if the Assembly is not in

session.

Final report to be made public

(5) Within 10 days after submitting the final report to

the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the Commission shall put the final report

on its website under

section 8 and make it publicly available in hardcopy

format.

Audit

(1) The

Auditor General shall prepare an audit of the Commission on its affairs and

submit it to the Assembly and the Commission three months after the

Commission's final report is submitted to the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Audit to be made public

(2) The Auditor General shall make the audit referred to

in subsection (1) publicly available in both electronic and hardcopy formats.

Timing for Commission

(3) The Commission shall put the audit on its website

under

section 8 within 10 days after receiving it from the Auditor General.

Extensions

(1) The

Lieutenant Governor in Council may extend the time limits for submitting the

interim and final reports, and may extend the term of office of the Commission.

Notice to Commission

(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall notify the

Commission of an extension granted under subsection (1), including the reasons

for the extension.

Public Inquiries Act, 2009

12. On the later of the day subsection 7

(1) of this Act comes into force and the day

Schedule 6 ( Public Inquiries Act, 2009 ) to the Good Government Act, 2009

comes into force, subsection 7 (1) of this Act is repealed and the following

substituted:

Powers of the Commission

(1) The Commission has the powers conferred on a

commission under sections 8 to 30 of the Public Inquiries Act, 2009 and those

sections apply to an inquiry held under this Act.

Commencement

13. This Act comes into force on the day it

receives Royal Assent.

Short title

14. The

short title of this Act is the eHealth Ontario Spending

Accountability Act, 2010 .

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The

Bill requires the Lieutenant Governor in Council to establish a Commission to

inquire into and report on the spending relating to Ontario's Electronic Health

Records Initiative and to make recommendations directed to the avoidance of

unaccountable spending in other agencies and similar circumstances relating to

Ontario's Electronic Health Records Initiative. The Commission has the powers

of a commission under a public inquiry. Once the inquiry begins, the

Commission must make an interim report in six months, and a final report in 12

months.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

April 12, 2010

First Reading

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

April 12, 2010

Committee

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent

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Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 30, 39-2
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p39 s2 bill 30 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	0627f0e8a25a5da3fc37371303c043eea0d638f4

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