Chamber
ontario
Stage
Introduced
Ontario's Buy Ontario Act requires public sector organizations to prefer Ontario and Canadian goods and services when making purchases.
Key Changes
- Creates the Buy Ontario Act (Public Sector Procurement), 2025, requiring public sector entities to follow procurement directives that favour Ontario and Canadian goods and services
- Gives the Management Board of Cabinet power to issue binding procurement directives to government agencies, hospitals, school boards, and other broader public sector organizations
- Allows the government to withhold funding from organizations that do not comply with procurement directives, and permanently forfeit withheld funds if non-compliance continues past March 31
- Repeals the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act, 2022, replacing it with this stronger framework
- Allows the provincial Minister to order municipalities to install safety signs near schools in community safety zones, and to install them directly if municipalities do not comply
- Prevents certain unenacted provisions of the Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015 from being automatically repealed on December 31, 2025
Gotchas
- The bill includes broad liability protections: businesses or individuals cannot sue the government for lost profits or contracts resulting from these procurement rules, though judicial review and constitutional challenges are still permitted.
- Procurement directives issued under this Act are not subject to the standard regulation-making process under the Legislation Act, 2006, meaning they do not go through the same public consultation or legislative scrutiny as formal regulations.
- Actions taken by public sector entities to comply with directives are explicitly deemed not to be 'discriminatory business practices' under Ontario law, shielding the government from challenges under the Discriminatory Business Practices Act.
- The province can override municipal authority and install road signs on municipal highways without needing local permits, by-laws, or approvals if a municipality does not comply with a directive.
- The scope of 'public sector entity' can be expanded by regulation without returning to the legislature, giving the government flexibility to extend the law's reach over time.
Who's Affected
- Ontario government ministries and agencies
- Hospitals, school boards, universities, and other broader public sector organizations
- Ontario and Canadian businesses that supply goods or services to the public sector
- Foreign or out-of-province suppliers who may face reduced access to Ontario public contracts
- Municipalities (regarding school zone sign installation requirements)
- Third-party supply chain managers contracted by public sector entities
- Condominium owners and condo corporations (indirectly, through the Protecting Condominium Owners Act delay)
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- The bill includes broad liability protections: businesses or individuals cannot sue the government for lost profits or contracts resulting from these procurement rules, though judicial review and constitutional challenges are still permitted.
- Procurement directives issued under this Act are not subject to the standard regulation-making process under the Legislation Act, 2006, meaning they do not go through the same public consultation or legislative scrutiny as formal regulations.
- Actions taken by public sector entities to comply with directives are explicitly deemed not to be 'discriminatory business practices' under Ontario law, shielding the government from challenges under the Discriminatory Business Practices Act.
- The province can override municipal authority and install road signs on municipal highways without needing local permits, by-laws, or approvals if a municipality does not comply with a directive.
- The scope of 'public sector entity' can be expanded by regulation without returning to the legislature, giving the government flexibility to extend the law's reach over time.
Summary
Bill 72, the Buy Ontario Act, 2025, creates a new law requiring Ontario government agencies, hospitals, school boards, and other publicly funded organizations to follow procurement rules that favour Ontario and Canadian-made goods and services. The Management Board of Cabinet can issue directives telling these organizations what to buy and from whom, with the goal of supporting Ontario businesses and making the province's supply chains more self-reliant. The bill was introduced in the context of economic pressures, including trade tensions with the United States, and replaces the earlier Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act, 2022. The bill also makes two other changes: it allows the provincial Minister to order municipalities to install safety signs near schools in community safety zones, and if a municipality refuses, the province can install the signs itself. Additionally, it temporarily prevents certain unenacted sections of the Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015 from being automatically repealed at the end of 2025, giving the government more time to bring those provisions into force.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses