Legislation Introduction

Boards of Health and Medical Officers of Health have many legislative responsibilities. Categories of legislation affecting them include:

1. Provincial acts and regulations devoted exclusively to public health or board of health mandates and responsibilities (Health Protection and Promotion Act, Immunization of School Pupils Act);
2. Provincial acts and regulations, not exclusively public health related, where the MOH or the Board of Health has a specified public health responsibility;
3. Provincial acts and regulations where MOHs or Boards of Health are not specifically mentioned, but they have a public health function delegated to them (e.g. Tobacco Control Act);
4. Provincial acts and regulations which apply to the board of health as an employer (e.g. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Pay Equity Act);
5. Provincial acts and regulations which refer to the responsibilities and rights as medical practitioners, unrelated to their public health functions (e.g. Regulated Health Profession Act);
6. Provincial acts and regulations concerning municipalities and their local boards (e.g. Municipal Act, Municipal Affairs Act);
7. Provincial acts and regulations which are specific to certain jurisdictions (e.g. County of Oxford Act, Regional Municipality of York Act);
8. Federal acts and regulations;
9. Local by-laws.

The following information is an excerpt of a document prepared by staff of the Public Health Branch, Ministry of Health, October 1998. Relevant acts and legislation were identified by a computerized search using the Ontario Statutes and Regulations Database at Publication Ontario.
(http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/home_E.asp?lang=en)