Legislation & Standards of Practice
for Recreation, Parks and Culture in Ontario

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There are over 100 legislative acts governing the delivery of parks, recreation, sport and cultural programs and services in Ontario.  Everything from operating a pool or an arena, maintaining a park, organizing a tournament or delivering a fitness class is covered by presiding legislation.

To state the obvious, it is incumbent upon practitioners, leaders and departments to be aware of and compliant with all of these requirements.  However, reviews of several municipal and non profit operations have revealed that very few individuals or organizations fully appreciate what is required of them.  And, without a comprehensive understanding of the governing legislation, it is impossible to establish appropriate procedures and protocols to ensure compliance. 

 In recognition of this situation and with the support of the Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport, Parks and Recreation Ontario (PRO) and the Lifestyle Information Network (LIN) have researched and summarized legislation that pertains to the parks, recreation, sport, cultural and leisure industry.  Additionally, PRO and LIN have developed an audit tool to assist individuals and departments better understand their obligations with a view to establishing strategies for improved legislative compliance.  

About The Audit Tools 

These simple tools hve been developed to help parks and recreation organizations understand their legislative requirements and to assist in plotting a course to enhanced compliance.  It provides a platform to test where the organization currently stands and assists in identifying opportunities to introduce new procedures or programs that will lead to performance improvements.  It establishes a baseline so your organization can measure its progress against predetermined criteria. 

 LIN and PRO recommend that your organization strive to be fully compliant to reduce risk to patrons and staff.  Complete the audit on a regularly scheduled basis or when your organization goes through a significant transformation such as taking on new staff or when policies or physical environments substantially change. 

This audit tool should help your organization become aware of areas where changes or additional procedures could lead to superior results and, as importantly, create a cycle of continuous improvement.    We recommend that organizations:

• Use the Audit Tools to conduct a gap analysis – at least on an annual basis
• Prioritize the areas that need improvement
• Track progress in moving along the continuum of implementation 
• Subscribe to the new Legislative Audit Listserv which will notify subscribers of changes to the legislative requirements and updates to the Audit Tool.