Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2015, S.O. 2015, c. 15 - Bill 6

JurisdictionOntario
Bill Number6
Date04 June 2015

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 6 and does not form part of the law. Bill 6 has been enacted as Chapter 15 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2015.

The Bill enacts the Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2015. Highlights of the Act include the following:

1. The Government, and every broader public sector entity (as defined in section 2), must consider a specified list of infrastructure planning principles when making decisions respecting infrastructure. (Section 3.)

2. The Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure must periodically develop a long-term infrastructure plan setting out, among other things, a description of the current state of wholly or partly Government-owned infrastructure assets, a description of the Government’s anticipated infrastructure needs for at least the next 10 years, and a strategy to meet those needs. Each long-term infrastructure plan must be made public. (Sections 4 and 5.)

3. Certain broader public sector entities must prepare infrastructure asset management plans. Details of the requirements of the plans are to be set out by regulation. The regulations may also require that additional, specified infrastructure asset management planning information must be prepared. In some cases, plans and information must be provided to a specified Minister, in which case the Minister may require that supplemental information also be provided. A plan or information may be required to be made available to the public. (Section 6.)

4. The Government must consider a specified list of criteria when evaluating and prioritizing proposed projects for the construction of infrastructure assets. (Section 7.)

5. The Government must in certain circumstances require that either architects and persons with demonstrable expertise in and experience with design relating to infrastructure assets, professional engineers, or all three be involved in the design of certain infrastructure assets. The Minister retains a power, subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, to require that one or more of those persons be involved in the design of certain infrastructure assets where such a requirement would not otherwise apply. (Section 8.)

6. Certain bidders involved in the procurement process for the construction or maintenance by the Government of an infrastructure asset must provide to the Government a commitment respecting the intended use of apprentices in the construction or maintenance, a plan for the intended use of apprentices in the construction or maintenance, or both. The requirements for commitments are to be set out by regulation. Some requirements for plans are specified, but are otherwise to be set out by regulation. A commitment or plan may be required to be made available to the public. (Section 9.)

7. The Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure must consult with potentially affected persons or bodies before a regulation may be made under the Act. (Subsection 12 (2).)

chapter 15

An Act to enact the Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2015

Assented to June 4, 2015

______________

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Purpose and Interpretation

Purpose

1. The purpose of this Act is to establish mechanisms to encourage principled, evidence-based and strategic long-term infrastructure planning that supports job creation and training opportunities, economic growth and protection of the environment, and incorporate design excellence into infrastructure planning.

Definitions

2. In this Act,

“broader public sector entity” means,

(a) a municipality as defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Municipal Act, 2001,

(b) a local board as defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Municipal Act, 2001,

(c) a board as defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Education Act,

(d) any post-secondary educational institution in Ontario that receives regular operating funding from the Government,

(e) a hospital within the meaning of the Public Hospitals Act,

(f) a board of health as defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Health Protection and Promotion Act, and

(g) any other persons or entities prescribed for the purposes of this definition; (“entité du secteur parapublic”)

“construction” includes reconstruction, improvement, extension, alteration, replacement and repairs; (“construction”)

“Government” means,

(a) the Government of Ontario and the Crown in right of Ontario,

(b) a ministry of the Government of Ontario,

(c) a Crown agency, other than a college of applied arts and technology established under the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act, 2002, and

(d) any board, commission, authority or unincorporated body of the Crown; (“gouvernement”)

“infrastructure” means the physical structures and associated facilities that form the foundation of development, and by or through which a public service is provided to Ontarians, such as highways, bridges, bicycle paths, drinking water systems, hospitals, social housing, courthouses and schools, as well as any other thing by or through which a public service is provided to Ontarians that may be prescribed, but does not include,

(a) infrastructure relating to the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity, including generation facilities, transmission systems, distribution systems, and structures, equipment and other things connected to the IESO-controlled grid, as these terms are defined in subsection 2 (1) of the Electricity Act, 1998,

(b) any other thing wholly or partly owned or leased by Hydro One Inc., Ontario Power Generation Inc., or a subsidiary of either of them, and

(c) any prescribed physical structures or facilities; (“infrastructure”)

“infrastructure asset” means all or part of any single physical structure, facility, or other thing that falls within the definition of “infrastructure” in this section; (“bien d’infrastructure”)

“Minister” means the Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure or such other member of the Executive Council to whom responsibility for the administration of this Act may be assigned or transferred under the Executive Council Act; (“ministre”)

“prescribed” means prescribed by the regulations; (“prescrit”)

“regulations” means the regulations made under this Act. (“règlements”)

Infrastructure Planning Principles

Principles

3. The Government, and every broader public sector entity, shall consider the following principles when making decisions respecting infrastructure:

1. Infrastructure planning and investment should take a long-term view, and decision-makers should take into account the needs of Ontarians by being mindful of, among other things, demographic and economic trends in Ontario.

2. Infrastructure planning and investment should take into account any applicable budgets or fiscal plans, such as fiscal plans released under the Fiscal Transparency and Accountability Act, 2004 and budgets adopted under Part VII of the Municipal Act, 2001 or Part VII of the City of Toronto Act, 2006.

3. Infrastructure priorities should be clearly identified in order to better inform investment decisions respecting infrastructure.

4. Infrastructure planning and investment should ensure the continued provision of core public services, such as health care and education.

5. Infrastructure planning and investment should promote economic competitiveness, productivity, job creation and training opportunities.

6. Infrastructure planning and investment should ensure that the health and safety of workers involved in the construction and maintenance of infrastructure assets is protected.

7. Infrastructure planning and investment should foster innovation by creating opportunities to make use of innovative technologies, services and practices, particularly where doing so would utilize technology, techniques and practices developed in Ontario.

8. Infrastructure planning and investment should be evidence based and transparent, and, subject to any restrictions or prohibitions under an Act or otherwise by law on the collection, use or disclosure of information,

i. investment decisions respecting infrastructure should be made on the basis of information that is either publicly available or is made available to the public, and

ii. information with implications for infrastructure planning should be shared between the Government and broader public sector entities, and should factor into investment decisions respecting infrastructure.

9. Where provincial or municipal plans or strategies have been established in Ontario, under an Act or otherwise, but do not bind or apply to the Government or the broader public sector entity, as the case may be, the Government or broader public sector entity should nevertheless be mindful of those plans and strategies and make investment decisions respecting infrastructure that support them, to the extent that they are relevant. Examples of plans and strategies to which this paragraph may apply include,

i. policy statements issued under section 3 of the Planning Act, and provincial plans as defined by that Act,

ii. municipal water sustainability plans submitted under the Water Opportunities Act, 2010,

iii. the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan established under the Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008, and

iv. transportation plans adopted under the Metrolinx Act, 2006.

10. Infrastructure planning and investment should promote accessibility for persons with disabilities.

11. Infrastructure planning and investment should minimize the impact of infrastructure on the environment and respect and help maintain ecological and biological diversity, and infrastructure should be designed to be resilient to the effects of climate change.

12. Infrastructure planning and investment should endeavour to make use of...

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