Stronger, Healthier Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2017 — Bill 127 (41st Parliament, 2nd Session)

Bill 127, 41-2

Ontario — Bills

2ND SESSION, 41ST LEGISLATURE, ONTARIO 66 ELIZABETH II, 2017 Bill 127

An Act to implement Budget measures and to enact, amend and repeal various statutes The Hon. C. Sousa Minister of Finance Government Bill 1st Reading April 27, 2017 2nd Reading 3rd Reading Royal Assent

EXPLANATORY NOTE The Bill implements measures contained in the 2017 Ontario Budget and enacts, amends and repeals various Acts. The major elements of the Bill are described below.

SCHEDULE 1 ALCOHOL AND GAMING REGULATION AND PUBLIC PROTECTION ACT, 1996 Currently, paragraph 3 of subsection 22 (3) of the Alcohol and Gaming Regulation and Public Protection Act, 1996 provides that brewers cannot be microbrewe rs if they enter into contra cts to produce beer for non -microbrewers. The

Schedule repeals that paragraph as of January 1, 2017. A special rule is added to

section 22 of the Act with respect to the status of certain beer manufacturers as microbrewers for the sales year beginning in March

Section 22 of the Act is also amended to provide that the basic tax rate for beer made by a microbrewer does not apply in respect of the purchase of beer the microbrewer manufactures for a beer manufacturer that is not a microbrewer.

SCHEDULE 2 ASSESSMENT ACT The Assessment Act is amended to supplement existing authority to make regulations prescribing classes and subclasses of real property by allowing for the regulations to provide that the classes or subclasses apply differently in different municipalities, or portions of municipalities, and that they may allow municipalities to create additional requirements or provide that any prescribed requirement does not apply for land to be included in a class or subclass in the municipality or some po rtion of it.

Section 8 of the Act is amended to allow the Minister to make regulations prescribing additional subclasses of real property for land located in municipalities.

SCHEDULE 3 CHARTERED PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANTS OF ONTARIO ACT, 2017 The

Schedule enacts the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario Act, 2017 in order to effect the amalgamation of The Certified General Accountants Association of Ontario, the Certified Management Accountants of Ontario and The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario into the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario. The Certified General Accountants Act, 2010 , the Certified Management Accountants Act, 2010 and the Chartered Accountants Act, 2010 are consequently repealed, and complementary amendments are made to other Acts to reflect the amalgamation.

SCHEDULE 4 CITY OF TORONTO ACT, 2006 Amendments are made to

Part X (Power to Impose Taxes) of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 to permit the City to impose a tax on the purchase of transient accommodation. A by -law that imposes the tax may require persons or entities to collect t he tax as agents for the City. Related amendments are made to the Lieutenant Governor in Council’s reg ulation-making authority in

section 272. Currently,

section 278 of the Act provides for reductions to the tax rate for municipal purposes for subclasses of land prescribed under subsection 8 (1) of the Assessment Act by percentages set out in, or prescribe d under, that

section . The

section is amended to allow the Minister of Finance to prescribe methods of determining percentages for this purpose, in addition to prescribing percentages. It is further amended to allow for certain rules that currently apply t o some subclasses prescribed under subsection 8 (1) of the Assessment Act to apply to all subclasses prescribed under that subsection. The Act is further amended to allow the Minister of Finance to make regulations respecting reductions to the tax rates fo r municipal purposes for additional subclasses. The Act is amended by adding a new

Part XII.1, which provides that the City may, by by -law, impose a tax on vacant residential units in certain circumstances. Rules respecting the contents of the by -laws are also set out and the Minister of Finance is given the authority to make regulations governing such matters as the Minister considers necessary or desirable in relation to the new Part. Currently,

section 323 of the Act allows persons to receive a cancellat ion, reduction or refund of taxes levied in respect of repairs or renovations that prevented the normal use of land for a period of at least three months during the year. An exception to this is for land that is eligible property under

section 331 of the A ct. The Act is amended to instead allow the Minister of Finance to make regulations prescribing land to which this exception applies. The Act is amended to change the reference to the Ontario Heritage Foundation in

section 334 of the Act to the Ontario Heritage Trust.

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SCHEDULE 5 COMMODITY FUTURES ACT The Commodity Futures Act is amended to make it mandatory for all clearing houses to be recognized by the Ontario Securities Commission before they carry on business in Ontario as a clearing house. The Ontario Securities Commission is given the power to make an order that a person or company cease trading permanently or for a specified period.

Finally, the Act is amended to provide that no member, employee or agent of the Ontario Securities Commission shall be required in any civil proceeding, except a proceeding under the Act or a judicial review relating to a proceeding under the Act, to give testimony or to produce any book, record, document or thing respecting information obtained in the discharge of their duties under the Act.

SCHEDULE 6 CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT, 1993 The

Schedule makes various amendments to the Crown Employees Collective Bargaining Act, 1993 relating to the composition of the Grie vance Settlement Board. The

Schedule provides that the Board shall be composed of a chair and two alternate chairs and that it shall establish a roster of mediator-arbitrators, who may be selected to determine matters before the Board. Provisions are added to address the continuation of proceedings that were assigned to the Board before the Board’s composition changes came into force. Other related amendments are made.

SCHEDULE 7 EDUCATION ACT Currently, the Education Act provides that reductions in municipal tax rates for certain subclasses of real property apply in the same way to school tax rates. The

schedule amends the Act to permit the Minister of Finance to make regulati ons providing that this rule doesn’t apply to specified tax rates or providing for a different reduction to a tax rate. The Act is further amended to allow the same rules to apply to additional subclasses that may be prescribed under the Assessment Act.

SCHEDULE 8 ELECTRICITY ACT, 1998 The Electricity Act, 1998 is amended as follows: The definition of a “municipal electricity utility” in

section 88 of the Act is expanded to include corporations established for the purpose of indirectly acquiring, holding, disposing of and otherwise dealing with shares of a corporation incorporated by a municipal corporation. The transfer tax in

section 94 of the Act is amended to apply to transfers of interests in a corporation, partnership or othe r entity that indirectly derives its value from generating, transmitting, distributing or retailing electricity. The deductions in

section 94 of the Act are expanded to allow a municipal corporation or municipal electricity utility to reduce its amount payable by deducting certain taxes that have been paid by a municipal electricity utility in which it has a direct or indirect interest in accordance with the rules set out in the section.

SCHEDULE 9 EMPLOYER HEALTH TAX ACT

Section 2.1 of the Employer Health Tax Act is amended to pro vide that, in certain circumstances, if an eligible employer would be a designated member of a partnership at any time in the year for the purposes of

section 125 of the Income Tax Act (Canada), the employer’s exemption amount is nil.

SCHEDULE 10 FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION ACT

Section 28 of the Financial Administration Act is amended to provide that the approval requirements set out in that

section apply only to public entities that are prescribed. The Minister is authorized to prescribe public entities or cl asses thereof and to impose terms and conditions on them for the purposes of the section. Complementary amendments are also made.

SCHEDULE 11 FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMISSION OF ONTARIO ACT, 1997 The Financial Services Commission of Ontario Act, 1997 is amended to provide that despite the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, the Financial Services Tribunal is authorized to combine two or more proceedings witho ut the consent of the parties. The Act is also amended to provide that the Tribunal may treat evidence that is admitted in a proceeding as if it were also admitted in another proceeding that is heard at the same time, without the consent of the parties to the second -named proceeding.

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SCHEDULE 12 FOREST FIRES PREVENTION ACT The

Schedule re-enacts

section 21.1 of the Forest Fires Prevention Act with respect to liability for costs and expenses where a fire is caused by the conduct of a person. Currently

section 21.1 provides that the person who caused the fire is liable to the Crown or to another person for costs or expenses of any action taken under the Act with respect to the fire. The new

section 21.1 ensures that the person will also be liable for any losses or damages incurred by the Crown as a direct o r indirect result of the fire. Such losses and damages may include losses of forest resources within the meaning of the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994 and the costs and expenses of renewing the forest resources. The

Schedule also provides regulation- making power to prescribe the costs, expenses, losses or damages for which a person may be liable to the Crown under this section. Finally, changes to

section 21.1 will ensure that any fire that originates within 15 meters of the centre line of a railway track is presumed to have been caused by the conduct of ra ilway operations and the railway corporation that conducted those operations is liable for any costs, expenses, loss o r damages related to the fire. The railway corporation may rebut the presumed causation of the fire by establishing on the balance of prob abilities that the fire was caused by another person or by something other than the conduct of the railway operations. The

Schedule also amends

section 35 of the Act to increase the maximum fines that may be imposed under the Act.

SCHEDULE 13 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND PROTECTION OF PRIVACY ACT The

Schedule amends the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act by adding a new

section 15.1 to provide that the head of an institution may refuse to disclose a record if disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice the conduct of relations between an Aboriginal community and the Government or an institution, or reveal information received in confidence from an Aboriginal community by an institution. “Aboriginal community” is defined for the pur poses of the section, and complementary amendments are made to other provisions of the Act, including the addition of a related regulation-making authority in clause 60 (1) (0.a.1). In addition, the Act is amended to make some minor corrections.

SCHEDULE 14 FUEL TAX ACT The

Schedule amends the Fuel Tax Act to allow for a collector who proposes to colour only biodiesel or a collector who meets the prescribed requirements to be registered as a dyer if the collector meets the eligibility requirements set out.

SCHEDULE 15 INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION OF ONTARIO ACT, 2015 The

Schedule amends the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario Act, 2015. Currently, subsection 12 (10) of the Act provides that a board member may serve for no longer than the lesse r of three terms or nine years. The

Schedule amends that provision to provide that a member of the board of directors may serve for no longer than nine years. The

Schedule amends the Act to provide the author

Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 127, 41-2
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p41 s2 bill 127 bill text 41 2 en b127 e.pdf
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	69e3d129d92fd102ee203092b1f3e150d1bc201e

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