role="main" class="main-container container js-quickedit-main-content" id="main-content">

Bill 101, End the Public Funding of Partisan Government Advertising Act, 2019

Natyshak, Taras

Please select

View bill

Status

Debates

Acts affected

Original

Bill 101 Original (PDF)

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Building Ontario Up Act (Budget Measures), 2015

made numerous amendments to the Government Advertising

Act, 2004 . Among the amendments made were changes to the rules that

apply when the Auditor General reviews government advertising. The Bill amends

the Act to reverse those amendments so that the Act reads substantially as it

did prior to the 2015 amendments.

Bill 101 2019

Act to amend the Government Advertising Act, 2004

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

(1) The definition of “item” in subsection 1 (1) of the Government Advertising Act, 2004 is repealed and the

following substituted:

“item”

means a reviewable advertisement, reviewable

printed matter or a reviewable message, as the case may be ;

(“document”)

(2) The

definition of “standards” in subsection 1 (1) of the Act is repealed.

Section 1.1 of the Act is repealed.

(1) Subsection 2 (2) of the Act is amended by striking out

“preliminary”.

(2) Section

2 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsections:

Prohibition

on use pending review

(3) The

government office shall not publish, display or broadcast the advertisement

before the head of the office receives notice, or is deemed to have received

notice, of the results of the review.

Prohibition

(4) The

government office shall not publish, display or broadcast the advertisement if

the head of the office receives notice that, in the Auditor General’s opinion,

the advertisement does not meet the standards required by this Act.

(1) Subsection 3 (2) of the Act is amended by striking out

“preliminary”.

(2) Section

3 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsections:

Prohibition

on use pending review

(3) The

government office shall not distribute the printed matter before the head of

the office receives notice, or is deemed to have received notice, of the

results of the review.

Prohibition

(4) The

government office shall not distribute the printed matter if the head of the

office receives notice that, in the Auditor General’s opinion, it does not meet

the standards required by this Act.

(1) Subsection 4 (2) of the Act is amended by striking out

“preliminary”.

(2) Section

4 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsections:

Prohibition

on use pending review

(3) The

government office shall not convey the message before the head of the office

receives notice, or is deemed to have received notice, of the results of the

review.

Prohibition

(4) The

government office shall not convey the message if the head of the office

receives notice that, in the Auditor General’s opinion, the message does not

meet the standards required by this Act.

Section 4.1 of the Act is repealed.

Subsection 5 (1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Review

by Auditor General

(1) When

an item is given to the Office of the Auditor General for review, the Auditor

General shall review it to determine whether, in his or her opinion, it meets

the standards required by this Act.

Sections 6, 7 and 8 of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:

Required

standards

(1) The following are the standards that an item

is required to meet:

1. It

must be a reasonable means of achieving one or more of the following purposes:

i. To

inform the public of current or proposed government policies, programs or

services available to them.

ii. To

inform the public of their rights and responsibilities under the law.

iii. To

encourage or discourage specific social behaviour, in the public interest.

iv. To

promote Ontario or any part of Ontario as a good place to live, work, invest,

study or visit or to promote any economic activity or sector of Ontario’s

economy.

2. It

must include a statement that the item is paid for by the Government of

Ontario.

3. It

must not include the name, voice or image of a member of the Executive Council

or a member of the Assembly.

4. It

must not be partisan.

5. It

must not be a primary objective of the item to foster a positive impression of

the governing party or a negative impression of a person or entity who is

critical of the government.

6. It

must meet such additional standards as may be prescribed.

Advertising

outside Ontario

(2) Paragraph

3 of subsection (1) does not apply with respect to an item for which the

primary target audience is located outside of Ontario.

Partisan

advertising

(3) An

item is partisan if, in the opinion of the Auditor General, a primary objective

of the item is to promote the partisan political interests of the governing

party.

Same

(4) The

Auditor General shall consider such factors as may be prescribed, and may

consider such additional factors as he or she considers appropriate, in

deciding whether a primary objective of an item is to promote the partisan

political interests of the governing party.

Notice

of results of review

(1) The Office of the Auditor General shall

notify the head of the government office of the results of the review within

the prescribed number of days after receiving an item for review.

Deemed

notice

(2) If

the notice is not given within that period, the head shall be deemed to have

received notice that the item meets the standards required by this Act.

Submission

of revised version

(1) If the head of a government office is

notified that an item does not meet the standards required by this Act and if

the government office proposes to use a revised version of it, the head shall

give the revised version to the Office of the Auditor General for a further

review.

Prohibition

on use pending review

(2) The

government office shall not use the revised version before the head of the

office receives notice, or is deemed to have received notice, of the results of

the review.

Prohibition

(3) The

government office shall not use the revised version if the head of the office

receives notice that, in the Auditor General’s opinion, the revised version

does not meet the standards required by this Act.

Review

of revised version

(4) Sections

5 and 6 apply with respect to the review.

Notice

of results of review, revised version

(5) The

Office of the Auditor General shall notify the head of the results of the

further review within the prescribed number of days after receiving the revised

version.

Deemed

notice

(6) If

the notice is not given within that period, the head shall be deemed to have

received notice that the revised version meets the standards required by this

Act.

use during election periods

8.1

(1) Despite notice or deemed notice

that an item or a revised version of an item meets the standards required by

this Act, a government office shall not publish, display, broadcast, distribute

or convey the item, unless permitted under subsection (2), during the following

periods:

1. The

period beginning on the day of the issue of a writ under the Election Act for a general election and ending on polling

day, in the case of any general election.

2. The

additional period of 60 consecutive days ending on the day of the issue of a

writ under the Election Act , in the case of a

general election held in accordance with subsection 9 (2) of the Election Act .

Exceptions

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the

item,

(

a) relates

to a revenue-generating activity;

(

b) is

time sensitive; or

(

c) meets

any other criteria that may be prescribed.

Pre-existing

publication, etc.

(3) Subsection (1) requires a government

office to cease any ongoing or continued publication, display, broadcasting,

distribution or conveying of an item that began before the beginning of the

period referred to in that subsection, unless, in the opinion of the head of

the office, it is not practicable to do so.

Subsection 9 (2) of the Act is amended by striking out “4.1”.

Section 10 of the Act is amended by striking out “4.1”.

(1) Clauses 12 (1) (a.1), (a.2) and (a.3) of the Act are repealed.

(2) Clause

12 (1) (

c) of the Act is amended by striking out “paragraph 3” and substituting

“paragraph 6”.

(3) Clauses

12 (1) (d), (

e) and (

f) of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:

(

d) prescribing

additional factors for the purposes of subsection 6 (4);

(

e) prescribing

numbers of days for the purposes of subsection 7 (1) and for the purposes of

subsection 8 (5);

(

f) prescribing

criteria for the purposes of clause 8.1 (2) (c).

(4) Subsection

12 (2) of the Act is repealed.

Commencement

This Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the

Lieutenant Governor.

Short

title

The

short title of this Act is the End the Public Funding

of Partisan Government Advertising Act, 2019 .

Date Bill stage Event Outcome Committee

May 9, 2019

Second Reading

Ordered referred to Standing Committee

Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs

May 9, 2019

Second Reading

Vote

Carried

May 9, 2019

Second Reading

Debated

April 17, 2019

First Reading

Vote

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

April 17, 2019

Committee

Second Reading

May 9, 2019

Mr. Taras Natyshak, Mr. Stan Cho, Mr. John Vanthof, Mr. Mike Schreiner, Ms. Marit Stiles, Mr. Terence Kernaghan, Mr. Peter Tabuns

May 9, 2019

Declared carried. Referred to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs.

Committee

Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs

Third Reading

Royal Assent

Acts affected - Bill 101

Most Ontario public acts are available electronically; to view copies of the Acts to be amended by this bill visit e-laws

Government Advertising Act, 2004

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Was this page helpful? Yes , I found this page helpful. An optional survey will open in a new tab. No , I didn’t find this page helpful. An optional survey will open in a new tab.

Back to top