Seniors' Protection Act, 2002 Colle, Mike — Bill 244 (37th Parliament, 3rd Session)

Bill 244, 37-3

Ontario — Bills

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

Bill 244, Seniors' Protection Act, 2002

Colle, Mike

Please select

View bill

Status

Debates

Original

[37] Bill 244 Original (PDF)

Bill 244 2002

An Act to protect

people over the age of 65

from discrimination

by amending the

Human Rights Code

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 "age" in subsection

10 (1) of the Human Rights Code is amended by striking out "except

in subsection 5 (1) where "age" means an age that is eighteen years or more

and less than sixty-five years".

(2) The Code is amended by adding the following

section:

Review of Employment Standards Act, 2000

25.1

(1) Within 180 days after the

day this

section comes into force, the Minister of Labour shall review the

Employment Standards Act, 2000 and the regulations made under it to

ensure that there are no provisions that permit discrimination on the basis

of age in an employee superannuation or pension plan or fund or a contract of

group insurance between an insurer and an employer.

Deemed amendment

(2) If, after 180 days after the day this

section comes into

force, there remain provisions in the Employment Standards Act, 2000

or the regulations made under it that permit discrimination on the basis of

age in an employee superannuation or pension plan or fund or a contract of

group insurance between an insurer and an employer, such provisions shall be

deemed to be amended to prohibit such discrimination.

(3) The Code is amended by adding the following

section:

Appointment of the Seniors' Ombudsman

28.1

(1) The chair of the

Commission shall appoint an employee of the Commission as the Seniors'

Ombudsman.

Duties

(2) The Seniors' Ombudsman shall,

(

a) act as an advocate on behalf of the elderly who are residents of

long-term care facilities and similar medical facilities;

(

b) investigate complaints of abuse and neglect in the facilities

mentioned in clause (a); and

(

c) report to the chair of the Commission on the results of his or her

investigations.

Publication of reports

(3) Reports of investigations into complaints by the Seniors'

Ombudsman shall be made available to the public.

Protection of personal information

(4) Nothing in subsection (3) permits the release of personal

information without the prior approval of the person to whom the information

relates.

Definitions

(5) In this section,

"long-term care facility" means a nursing home under the Nursing Homes

Act ; ("établissement de soins de longue durée")

"personal information" means personal information as defined in the

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act .

("renseignements personnels")

Commencement

2. This Act comes into force on the day it receives

Royal Assent.

Short title

3. The

short title of this Act is the Seniors'

Protection Act, 2002 .

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill amends the Human Rights Code to require the appointment

of a Seniors' Ombudsman. The Ombudsman reports to the chair of the Human

Rights Commission. The Seniors' Ombudsman acts as an advocate for the elderly

and attempts to resolve complaints of abuse and neglect of the elderly in

long-term care and medical facilities.

The Code is also amended to remove the reference to 65 years. This results

in it being contrary to the Code to discriminate in employment on the basis

of age because a person is 65 years of age or older.

The Bill also prevents employers from changing the access to benefits or

rights to benefits for workers who are 65 years of age or older.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

December 12, 2002

First Reading

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

December

12, 2002

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent :

Coming into force :Royal Assent.

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

Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 244, 37-3
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p37 s3 bill 244 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	5ed917a8d60620aba8648564317dff670af5bd56

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (html).