Apology Act, 2009
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| Apology Act, 2009 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Legislative Assembly of Ontario | |
| |
| Citation | S.O. 2009, c. 3 |
| Royal assent | 23 April 2009 |
| Legislative history | |
| Bill citation | Bill 108 |
| Introduced by | Chris Bentley MPP, Attorney General |
| First reading | October 7, 2008 |
| Second reading | October 23, 2008 |
| Third reading | March 11, 2009 |
| Status: Current legislation | |
The Apology Act, 2009 (Bill 108; French: Loi concernant la présentation d’excuses) is a law in the province of Ontario that provides that an apology made by a person does not necessarily constitute an admission of guilt.[1][2]
The law contains several exceptions, including apologies made while testifying at a civil proceeding and to allow some apologies to be used as admission of guilt under the Provincial Offences Act.[3]
Legislative history
The bill was originally introduced in April 2008 as a private member's bill by David Orazietti, Liberal backbench MPP for Sault Ste. Marie. The bill was re-introduced in October that year by Attorney General Chris Bentley, stating that "we see fewer and fewer acknowledgments, demonstrations of regret, demonstrations of remorse, until the lawsuit."[4]
The passage of the bill was supported by the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, despite some original opposition from critic Christine Elliott, but opposed by the Ontario NDP.[5][6]