Reader Q: What does Royal Assent mean for us?

As you probably know by now, the Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015 (Bill 106) received Royal Assent on December 3rd, 2015. I have had a couple of people ask me what this means for the industry. I won't go into too much detail on the process, but there are multiple stages that a bill must go through before it becomes law. The general process is:

1. First Reading - the purpose of the bill is explained.
2. Second Reading - the bill is debated.
3. Review by Committee - public hearings may be held and amendments considered.
4. Report to House - committee reports bill with any amendments.
5. Third Reading - the bill is voted on.
6. Royal Assent (if approved) - the Lieutenant Governor signs the bill and it becomes law.

For more information, visit the Ontario Legislature's website. The Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015 completed the above stages on December 3rd, 2015. This does not mean that the Act is now in force. The only provisions in force now are changes to the french language version of the Act and to other pieces of legislation like the Building Code, Land Titles Act, Planning Act, and Land Transfer Act.  Most of the remaining amendments will come into force on dates to be proclaimed by the Lieutenant Governor. Most reports indicate that this will be in 2017. This delay is necessary to allow the regulations to be prepared, set up the new organizational structure (i.e. of the Condo Authority & Tribunal), and allow those in the industry to learn the new requirements. Now that the bill has passed I'll write more on the amendments in later posts.  If you have a question about the amendments feel free to write to me and I may include it in a future post.