Bill 106 Passes Third
Like in baseball, passing "third" in the world of legislation also means the player is well on the way to a home run, or Royal Assent, by which a statute finally comes into force. Bill 106 passed third reading in the Ontario legislature on December 2, 2015.
As readers of this blog already know, the bill brings into effect two new pieces of legislation. One, the Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015 - which is the title of the bill itself - makes major changes to many provisions of the Condominium Act, 1998, and related changes to several other statutes. The other, the Condominium Management Services Act, 2015, (created by the latter new statute) introduces a new regime of licensing and discipline to the profession of condominium managers. The impact of these new statutes is wide-ranging, affecting almost everything from the way a condominium is developed and sold to the way its meetings are held and disputes are resolved.
You can read the Ontario government's news release regarding the passage of the bill here, and continue to monitor this blog for information about how to understand and apply the law's new provisions.
What's Next?
In Ontario, when a bill passes third reading, it really is like rounding third base on a home-run hit: there is now no chance that the player can be tagged out before reaching home. "Home" is Royal Assent: a declaration by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, in the name of the Queen, that the bill has become law.
Having said that, note that the law might not come fully into force or effect on the day it receives Royal Assent. A bill may indicate that any or all of its provisions only come into force at one or more later dates, which may be triggered either by a proclamation of the parliament or by some other action (such as the coming into force of other new legislation first).
Bill 106 provides that it, generally, comes into force at the time it receives Royal Assent, with certain exceptions. Those exceptions are many and varied, usually providing that one particular section does not come into force before some other particular section, in order to help ensure that there are no inconsistencies or discrepancies in the law. This means that, for a while, even after Royal Assent is given, it will be necessary to double-check the bill to see whether the sections we want to act upon are actually in effect.
In addition, we are all still waiting for the new regulations to be published, which are expected to add many important details and substance to the new provisions of the law. Until those are available, a great many of the statements made by us and other pundits about the anticipated effects of the new legislation are merely speculative.
Further, before either the Condominium Authority (and its Tribunal) and the administrative authority that is to oversee the condominium management profession, swing into action, their respective "administrative agreements" will need to be prepared and approved by the government. (See our Condopædia entries about these authorities here and here.)
So, the process is far from over, but are well on the way to a new era of, hopefully, more positive, effective and protective condominium management and governance in Ontario; and we will continue to inform you in this blog about what that means and how it should work.