Government Notices — Other

Order in Council

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, by and with the advice and concurrence of the Executive Council of Ontario, orders that:

O.C. 1348/2020

Whereas subsection 2(2) of the Executive Council Act provides that the Lieutenant Governor may by order in council prescribe the duties of the ministers of the Crown and the duties of any ministries over which they preside;

And whereas subsection 5(1) of the Executive Council Act provides that any of the powers and duties that have been assigned by law to any minister of the Crown may from time to time by order in council be assigned and transferred for a limited period or otherwise to any other minister by name or otherwise;

And whereas subsection 8(1) of the Executive Council Act provides that the authority of the Lieutenant Governor under this Act to prescribe duties of a minister of the Crown or to assign and transfer powers and duties that have been assigned by law to a minister of the Crown to any other minister includes authority, by order in council, to assign responsibility for the administration of an Act or a part of an Act to a minister of the Crown;

Therefore, pursuant to subsections 2(2), 5(1) and 8(1) of the Executive Council Act, despite any provision of a statute or Order in Council:

The administration of each statute listed in Column 2 of Schedule 1 to this Order is hereby assigned to the Minister listed opposite that statute in Column 3 of the Schedule;

And that the appendix to each Order in Council cited in Column 4 of Schedule 1 is hereby revised by adding to it the statute listed opposite the cited Order in Column 2 of the Schedule;

Recommended

Doug Ford
Premier and President of the Council

Concurred

Victor Fedeli
Chair of Cabinet

Approved and Ordered September 24, 2020.

Elizabeth Dowdeswell
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

Schedule 1

(153-G325E)

Guideline on Public Hospitals and Determination of Catastrophic Impairment

Interpretation

Effective Date: October 17, 2020

Identifier: No. AU0134INT (previously listed as AU0037ORG)

Name: Guideline on Public Hospitals and Determination of Catastrophic Impairment

[remove after 90 days] This Guidance is effective as of October 17, 2020. Please direct any feedback to contactcentre@fsrao.ca.

Purpose

This Interpretation Guidance replaces Superintendent’s Guideline No. 01/16 and names public hospitals for the purposes of s.3.1 (1) 5 (i) of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule – Effective September 1, 2010 (“SABS”).^{footnote 1[1]}

Rationale and Background

Subsection 3.1 (1) 5 of the SABS sets out the requirements for determining whether an insured person, under 18 years of age (minor), at the time of an automobile accident has a traumatic brain injury that is a catastrophic impairment. Clause 5 (i) of subsection 3.1 (1) states:

The insured person is accepted for admission, on an in-patient basis, to a public hospital named in a Guideline with positive findings on a computerized axial tomography scan, a magnetic resonance imaging or any other medically recognized brain diagnostic technology indicating intracranial pathology that is a result of the accident”, including, but not limited to, intracranial contusions or haemorrhages, diffuse axonal injury, cerebral edema, midline shift or pneumocephaly”.

If a minor does not meet the requirements of s. 3.1(1) 5 (i) they may still apply for catastrophic designation under other criteria of the SABS.

Interpretation

This Guidance interprets clause 5 (i) of subsection 3.1 (1) as it applies to “a public hospital named in a Guideline” issued by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) under subsection 268.3 (1) of the Insurance Act.^{footnote 2[2]}

FSRA is interpreting the requirements of section 3.1(1) 5 of the SABS, which allows FSRA to name a public hospital in a Guideline ^{footnote 3[3]}, as being satisfied through the issuance of this Interpretation Guidance which hereby deems any public hospital designated by the Critical Care Services Ontario, in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Health, as Lead Trauma Hospitals for the purposes of clause 5(i) of subsection 3.1(1) of the SABS. FSRA’s approach with respect to the requirements of clause 5(i) of subsection 3.1(1) of the SABS is to designate those public hospitals already identified by Critical Care Services Ontario, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, rather than listing the specific names of any Lead Trauma Hospitals, in order to maintain consistency and continuity where there has been an administrative change with respect to a designated public hospital.

Compliance Expectations

Compliance with this Guidance is expected by FSRA and is subject to supervisory activities related to auto insurance.

Effective Date and Future Review

This Guidance is effective on October 17, 2020 and remains in effect until it is withdrawn by FSRA. This Guidance will be reviewed by FSRA on or before October 17, 2025.

About this Guidance

This document is consistent with FSRA’s Guidance Framework. As Interpretation Guidance, it describes FSRA’s view of requirements under its legislative mandate (i.e. legislation, regulations and rules) so that non-compliance can lead to enforcement or supervisory action.

(153-G326E)