Budget Measures Act (Fall), 2004, S.O. 2004, c. 31 - Bill 149

• Jurisdiction: Ontario
• Date: 16 December 2004
• Bill Number: 149

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 149 and does not form part of the law. Bill 149 has been enacted as Chapter 31 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2004.

The Bill implements measures contained in the 2004 Budget and amends various Acts. The major elements of the Bill are described below.

SCHEDULE 1
AMENDMENTS TO THE
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ACT

Schedule 1 amends the Administration of Justice Act to provide a mechanism for fee waivers, so that individuals who might otherwise be denied access to justice because of their financial circumstances can be excused from paying fees.

The Act is also amended to expand and clarify regulation-making powers.

schedule 2
amendment to the Agricultural and Horticultural Organizations act

The enactment of subsection 25 (4) of the Agricultural and Horticultural Organizations Act provides that the local organizing committee for the annual International Plowing Match shall be deemed to be an agricultural society for the purposes of the application of subsection 9 (2) of the Retail Sales Tax Act to the International Plowing Match. This amendment is effective from January 1, 2004.

schedule 3
amendments to the Assessment act

The Assessment Act currently provides an exemption from taxation for large non‑profit theatres. The re-enactment of paragraph 27 of subsection 3 (1) of the Act provides that the exemption also applies during the period when such a theatre is being built, retroactive to the beginning of 2003.

Section 3.1 of the Act is repealed. The section currently provides a 10-year exemption from municipal and school taxes for eligible new electricity generating facilities and additions to electricity generating facilities that commence generating electricity from an alternative or renewable source of energy after November 25, 2002 and before January 1, 2008.

Currently, subsection 14 (1) of the Act specifies the information that must be included on the assessment roll for each municipality. An amendment to that subsection provides that the assessment roll must include such additional information as may be prescribed by the Minister of Finance by regulation.

The enactment of subsection 19 (2.1.1) of the Act allows the Minister of Finance to prescribe by regulation the assessed value or the manner of determining the assessed value of an electricity generating station that is not an electricity generating station on land owned by a designated electricity utility or municipal electricity utility.

Subsection 19.0.1 (1) of the Act governs the determination of the assessed value of electricity generating station buildings and structures and transformer station buildings and structures and certain other buildings and structures on land owned by a designated electricity utility or municipal electricity utility. The enactment of clause 19.0.1 (1) (c) of the Act provides that the Minister of Finance may, by regulation, specify the assessed value or the manner of determining the assessed value of particular buildings and structures on the land. The repeal of clause 19.0.1 (4) (c) of the Act will permit a former generating station building that is used for any purpose other than generating electricity to be valued at its current value instead of in the manner specified in section 19.0.1 of the Act.

Section 19.3 of the Act provides the day as of which land shall be classified for a taxation year. The amendment changes that day from October 31 of the previous year to June 30 of the previous year.

Currently, subsection 25 (2) of the Act provides that on or before October 1 of every year a pipe line company shall provide the assessment corporation with information on pipelines owned by it on September 1 of that year. The re-enactment of this subsection changes the first date to March 1 or such other day as the Minister of Finance may prescribe and the second date to January 1.

Currently, subsection 30 (1) of the Act provides that on or before July 1 of every year a railway company shall provide the assessment corporation with information on land owned by it. The amendment changes the reporting date to March 1 or such other date as the Minister of Finance may prescribe.

Currently, subsection 32 (2) of the Act provides that a notice of assessment shall be issued by the assessor when a change in the regulation defining the property classes results in a change in a property’s classification for the current year or the preceding three years and an overpayment of tax. The subsection is amended so that only changes for the current or preceding year require a new assessment notice. The enactment of subsection 32 (3) of the Act requires the assessor to issue a notice of assessment and the municipality to refund overpaid taxes if the property becomes exempt from taxation as a result of an amendment to the Act or regulations for the current year or for the preceding year. The enactment of subsection 32 (4) of the Act requires the assessor to issue a notice of assessment and the municipality to refund or levy the appropriate amount of taxes if the methodology for assessing a property is changed as a result of an amendment to the Act or the regulations for the current year or for the preceding year.

Currently, subsection 34 (2) of the Act provides that a supplementary assessment of a property shall be made when a “change event”, within the meaning of subsection 34 (2.2) of the Act, occurs during a year or the preceding November or December, after the classification date for the year, and the “change event” would result in the property’s classification changing. The subsection is amended to reflect the new classification date of June 30 so that change events occurring after the preceding July 1 may give rise to a supplementary assessment.

schedule 4
amendment to the
Business corporations act

Subsection 241 (1) of the Business Corporations Act authorizes the Director to dissolve a corporation that is in default of its obligations under the Corporations Tax Act in the circumstances described in that subsection. An amendment provides that a corporation can also be dissolved if it is in default of its obligations under other specified tax statutes.

schedule 5
amendment to the
Capital investment plan act, 1993

The re-enactment of subsection 64 (1) of the Capital Investment Plan Act, 1993 expands the authority of the Minister of Finance to delegate his or her powers and duties under any Act. Currently, the Minister may delegate powers and duties to the Deputy Minister of Finance and to other persons employed in the Ministry of Finance. The amendment permits the Minister to make delegations to any public servant who is employed in or provides services to the Ministry of Finance.

schedule 6
amendments to the
Commodity Futures act

Currently, section 59.2 of the Commodity Futures Act prohibits the making of misleading or untrue statements that significantly affect or would reasonably be expected to have a significant effect on the market price or value of a commodity or contract. The section is amended so that it only prohibits the making of misleading or untrue statements that would reasonably be expected to have a significant effect on the market price or value of a commodity or contract.

Subsection 60 (2.1) of the Act provides that, in specified circumstances, a person is not entitled to participate in a proceeding in which an order may be made under paragraph 10 of subsection 60 (1) against another person to disgorge amounts obtained as a result of non-compliance. An amendment provides that, in the specified circumstances, a person is also not entitled to participate in a proceeding in which an order may be made under paragraph 9 of subsection 60 (1) against another person to pay an administrative penalty.

Section 76 of the Act requires the Minister to appoint an advisory committee every five years to review the legislation, regulations and rules relating to commodity futures and make a report to the Minister to be tabled in the Legislature and reviewed by a Select or Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly. The amendments to the section set a May 31, 2005 deadline for appointing the first advisory committee under that section and provide for a review every four years after the appointment of the previous advisory committee.

schedule 7
amendments to the Community small business investment funds act

The re-enactment of the definition of “eligible business activity” in subsection 1 (1) of the Community Small Business Investment Funds Act limits the application of the definition to Parts I and II of the Act.

Amendments are made to subsections 6 (4) and (6) and subclause 26 (1) (c) (ii) of the Act to reflect the new name of the Minister of Economic Development and Trade.

The amendments to section 12 of the Act clarify the rules regarding direct and indirect investments in eligible investments by labour sponsored investment funds.

The amendments to section 15 of the Act authorize the Minister to impose a moratorium on the registration of new labour sponsored investment funds, effective May 18, 2004.

The amendments to section 16.1 of the Act enable research-oriented investment funds to determine their annual investment requirements as of either August 31 or December 31.

The amendment to the investment requirements in subsection 17 (1) of the Act changes the treatment of realized gains and losses in determining if a labour sponsored investment fund has satisfied the required investment levels.

The definition of “eligible investment” in subsection 18 (1) of the Act is amended to facilitate the application of the material change provisions in section 21 of the Act.

Further amendments to subsection 18 (1) of the Act and the repeal of subsections 18 (5), (6), (7) and (9) of the Act remove the restriction on labour sponsored investment funds controlling eligible businesses in which they have...