DDO Health Law Update
April 18, 2019: A weekly scan of new legislation and regulations important to the Ontario health sector, as well as articles of interest.
Bills
Bill 74
The Bill received royal assent on Friday, April 18.
More Information: Bill 74
Bill 100, Protecting What Matters Most Act (Budget Measures), 2019
This Bill was introduced by Hon. Victor Fedeli, Minister of Finance and is currently in second reading.
The Bill includes 61 schedules, each relating to amendments to a different existing statute. The following schedules might be of interest to the health care community:
| Schedule 31 | Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act | Amendments include data integration, provision for the designation of units within ministries that may collect personal information in order to compile information for among other things the planning for the delivery of programs and services provided, provides for rules governing the collection, use and disclosure of this personal information and the Information and Privacy Commissioner is given the authority to conduct reviews of the units’ practices and procedures. The grounds on which personal information can be disclosed under Part III of the Act are also amended. | ||
| Schedule 53 | Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act, 1997 | Section 8 of the Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act, 1997 is repealed and replaced. The new section 8 provides that the Act applies when two or more health service providers are amalgamated or when all, or substantially all, of the assets of one health service provider are transferred to another health service provider. Rules respecting the application of the Act in those circumstances are also set out. The Lieutenant Governor in Council is given the power to make regulations that provide for transitional matters in connection with the implementation of these amendments, and complementary and consequential amendments are also made. | ||
| Schedule 61 | Vital Statistics Act | The Schedule amends the Vital Statistics Act. Instead of tabling in the Assembly the annual report of registrations under the Act that subsection 3 (5) requires the Registrar General to prepare, the Registrar General is required to publish it in a manner that the Registrar General considers appropriate. In deciding under subsection 34 (1) to correct an error made in a registration, the Registrar General no longer requires a statutory declaration to supplement evidence of the error. The Schedule adds powers for the Registrar General to make regulations governing the correction of errors in a registration. It also transfers some of the present regulation-making powers of the Lieutenant Governor in Council to the Registrar General. | ||
More Information: Bill 100
Regulations
No new and approved regulations of interest.
DDO Training, Blogs and Articles
Sign up for Privacy Officer Training!
Cyber Breach Planning: Lessons from the Equifax Breach
Government Newsroom
Ontario Health Team Webinar on Patient Partnership (April 25, 2019 @ 12 pm). Registration: vvcnetwork.ca/OHTwebcastApril25
Government investing $27 Billion to help end hallway health care
Articles of Interest
Cannabis
City pushing for closure of 21 illegal cannabis shops but still faces uphill battle
Health Care System
SCC says it will not hear appeal from doctors who want to keep names of top OHIP billers secret
Ontario government may let pharmacists prescribe treatments for minor issues like sore throat
Opinion: Published doctor billings must be put in context
Doctors sound alarm after SickKids shuts down Motherrisk program
Things to do this Weekend