On November 4, 2010, the Ontario government passed a special time allocation motion setting out an accelerated timetable for the full consideration and debate of Bill 122, the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, 2010, by December 1, 2010.

In accordance with the terms of the motion, Bill 122 passed at Second Reading on November 16, 2010 without further debate and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy that date. The Committee is authorized to meet briefly for two days of public hearings on November 22 and 23, 2010. The Committee will then undertake a clause-by-clause review of the Bill on November 29, 2010.

The terms of the motion require the Committee to report the Bill to the House as amended no later than November 30, 2010. On that date, the Bill may be ordered for Third Reading, with no more than one (1) hour of debate. It is therefore likely to pass in early December.

As previously reported, Bill 122 would impose new rules and higher accountability standards for the broader public sector around the use of external lobbyists, consultants and expenses.

For more detailed information about the Bill, please read our FTR Now of November 5, 2010, "Government Introduces Public Sector Accountability Legislation".