Understanding Your Legal Accountabilities: A Guide for Ontario Hospitals

​Public hospitals in Ontario are operating in a complex and highly regulated environment. They have become increasingly subject to a growing number of legal requirements through changes at the health system level ,and though evolving legislative, policy and regulatory developments.

Recognizing the need to support members in the complex task of legal and regulatory compliance, over the last number of years, the OHA has produced numerous tools and resources around legislative, legal and regulatory issues, including backgrounders and supporting materials as new health care legislation is introduced. Given the growing complexity of the health care environment, the OHA has also sought to support members with broader and more comprehensive legal resources. One of these resources is the OHA's toolkit, Understanding Your Legal Accountabilities: A Guide for Ontario Hospitals.

About the Toolkit

This resource was originally published as a short checklist, outlining legislative expectations of hospitals respecting annual and periodic reporting requirements.. In response to member feedback, and in consultation with a member working group, the OHA expanded this resource into two comprehensive pieces:

  • Part 1: Director Liability, which presents an overview of key statutory obligations for directors of Ontario public hospitals. It is intended to assist hospitals in addressing the numerous areas in which statutory liability can be imposed on directors; and
  • Part 2: Periodic Reporting Compliance, which gives a summary of major legislation and regulations with periodic reporting requirements (annual or otherwise). It is intended to assist hospitals in managing these reporting requirements, to ensure they meet their obligations towards internal and external stakeholders.

The toolkit is now in its fourth edition (2022). The use of the term "accountability" is deliberate as it is intended to help hospitals understand their various legal obligations under statute and regulation, rather than representing an exhaustive summary of all laws with which hospitals must comply. The toolkit is designed to assist hospitals in their risk management and compliance functions, serving as a resource in developing appropriate processes and meeting mandated deadlines. It is published in a soft copy (Microsoft Word) format, as well as PDF format, to allow hospitals to easily adapt this resource to suit their respective internal environments and manage unique legal considerations.

The fourth edition incorporates a variety of legislative and regulatory changes, particularly in response to the evolving environment around health system transformation in Ontario. Among a number of revisions, the fourth edition (2022) include updates to the sections on health sector procurement, quality improvement plan submission requirements under the Excellent Care for All Act, 2010, and corporate governance responsibilities to reflect the proclamation of the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010. 

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