Summary#

Bill 81, the Supply Act, 2019, authorized Ontario to pay or recognize specified amounts for the fiscal year from April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019. It is a standalone law, not an amendment to another Act; its stated purpose was to fund public-service expenses and investments in line with the estimates. The Act was deemed to start on April 1, 2018, and was repealed on April 1, 2020.

• It authorized up to $140.67 billion for public-service expenses.
• It authorized up to $5.10 billion for public-service investments in capital assets, loans and other investments.
• It authorized up to $294.25 million for the expenses of the Legislative Offices.
• The money had to be applied according to the votes and items in the estimates. A ministry could incur or recognize an expenditure if it had responsibility for the related program or activity during that fiscal year.
• It repealed two earlier Acts providing interim appropriations for 2018–19.

What it means for you#

• Ontario ministries: The Act gave legal authority to pay or recognize the listed expenses and investments during 2018–19, subject to the estimates.
• Legislative Offices: The Act authorized spending for the Office of the Assembly, Auditor General, Chief Electoral Officer and Ombudsman Ontario.
• Taxpayers and the public: The Act authorized public spending, but did not itself promise a particular service or outcome. It does not set out a tax, fee, fine or individual benefit change.
• Today: The spending authority was for a past fiscal year. The Act was repealed in 2020 and does not provide ongoing authority under its own terms.

Money#

The Act authorized up to $146.07 billion in expenses and investments combined; that is a spending limit, not a statement of how much was actually spent.

• The authorized amounts were $140.67 billion for public-service expenses, $5.10 billion for public-service investments, and $294.25 million for Legislative Office expenses.
• The supplied schedules list no supplementary-estimate amounts.
• No cost figure for actual spending under the Act is provided. No publicly available information.

What is unclear#

• The supplied material does not show how much of each authorized amount was actually paid or recognized.
• The Act refers to votes and items in the estimates, but the supplied material does not give the underlying detail for each program or activity.
• The material does not explain the results achieved with the authorized spending or investments.

Case for#

• The bill appears intended to provide legal authority for Ontario to fund public services and investments during the 2018–19 fiscal year.
• A possible argument for the approach is that it tied the authorized money to the estimates and let the Crown incur an expenditure through the ministry responsible for the program or activity.
• It separately identified operating and capital estimates, investments, and expenses of Legislative Offices.

Case against#

• The Act authorized a very large total, while the supplied schedules do not show the underlying program-level detail needed to assess each allocation.
• The Act sets maximum authorized amounts, but the supplied material does not show actual spending or what it achieved.
• The authority covered a past fiscal year and has been repealed, so it does not by itself establish what funding or services continue today.