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

Bill 10, Publication of Mandate Letters Act, 2022

Shamji, Adil

Please select

View bill

Status

Debates

Acts affected

Original

Bill 10 Original (PDF)

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Bill amends the Executive Council Act and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act .

The

Executive Council Act is amended to include a new

section 2.1, which requires that the Premier publish mandate letters, as

defined in subsection (1) of the new section.

Section

12 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy

Act , which provides an exemption to the disclosure of records under that

Act where the disclosure would reveal the substance of deliberations of the

Executive Council or its committees, is amended to provide that a head may not

refuse to disclose a mandate letter under that section, even where its disclosure

would reveal such deliberations.

Bill 10 2022

Act to amend the Executive Council Act and the Freedom of Information and

Protection of Privacy Act with respect to the publication and treatment of

mandate letters

Her

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

Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

The Executive Council Act is amended by adding the

following section:

Mandate

letters

Definition

2.1

(1) In this section,

“mandate

letter” means a written communication, in any form, that meets the following

criteria:

1. It

is issued by the Premier to another member of the Executive Council or to a

Parliamentary Assistant after any of the following:

i. A

general election or a throne speech.

ii. In

the case of a communication issued to a member of the Executive Council, a

change to the composition of the Executive Council that affects the member.

iii. In

the case of a communication issued to a Parliamentary Assistant, the

Parliamentary Assistant’s appointment.

2. It

sets out expectations of the work the member or Parliamentary Assistant is to

carry out to advance the government’s agenda, such as the key policy objectives

with which the member or Parliamentary Assistant is tasked and the anticipated

challenges or barriers to achieving those objectives.

Publication

(2) The

Premier shall ensure that the content of each mandate letter is published on a

website of the Government of Ontario as soon as possible and, in any event, no

later than one week after the letter is issued.

Previous

mandate letters

(3) The

Premier shall ensure that any mandate letters that were issued on or after June

7, 2018 are published on a website of the Government of Ontario within 60 days

after the day on which

section 1 of the Publication of

Mandate Letters Act, 2022 comes into force.

Section 12 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of

Privacy Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Same,

mandate letters

(3) Despite

subsection (1), a head shall not refuse under subsection (1) to disclose a

mandate letter within the meaning of subsection 2.1 (1) of the Executive Council Act , even where its disclosure would

reveal the substance of deliberations of Cabinet or its committees.

Commencement

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

Short

title

The

short title of this Act is the Publication of Mandate

Letters Act, 2022 .

Date Bill stage Event Outcome Committee

August 22, 2022

First Reading

Ordered for Second Reading

August 22, 2022

First Reading

Vote

Carried

First Reading

August 22, 2022

Carried