CVOR certificate rules updated with French-language term labels and future amendments flagged for mid-2026

This amendment adds official French-language equivalents (in parentheses) to key defined terms in the CVOR certificate regulation, such as "véhicule utilitaire" for commercial motor vehicle and "vérificateur" for audi…

New Highway Traffic Act offences added for CVOR certificate holders and motor vehicle registrar non-compliance

This amendment adds two sets of new ticketable offences to the certificate-of-offence proceedings regulation. A new Schedule 44.1 lists three offences under Ontario Regulation 424/97 for CVOR (Commercial Vehicle Opera…

Ontario seizes control of Billy Bishop Airport lands from City of Toronto and bans further city dealings

Ontario has enacted a new law that allows the provincial Crown to take ownership of specified Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport lands and all buildings, structures, fixtures and improvements on those lands currently o…

Ontario creates new provincial rules requiring transit systems in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area to align fares, payment, and accessibility services

A new Ontario law establishes provincial authority over local transit systems operating in Toronto, Hamilton, and the four surrounding regional municipalities (Durham, Halton, Peel, York). The Minister of Transportati…

Metrolinx can request voluntary Building Code assessments and inspections for provincial transit projects

A new section (not yet in force) allows Metrolinx (the Corporation) to voluntarily notify a municipality's chief building official when it plans to construct or demolish a building as part of a provincial transit proj…

Ontario adds roadside licence suspensions and vehicle impoundments for dangerous driving, careless driving, and distracted driving by commercial vehicles

A package of pending amendments to the Highway Traffic Act introduces several new enforcement tools, all awaiting proclamation. Police will gain authority to immediately suspend a driver's licence for 90 days and impo…

Small pension payout threshold to double from $1,500 to $3,000 under Ontario pension rules

Ontario's General Regulation under the Pension Benefits Act is being amended to double the dollar threshold used wherever the $1,500 figure appears, replacing it with $3,000. This threshold typically governs when a pe…

Chiefs of police can now formally request temporary help from RCMP, other Canadian police services, Coast Guard, or Armed Forces

A new provision specifies which outside bodies an Ontario police chief may formally request temporary assistance from under the Community Safety and Policing Act. The approved sources are the Royal Canadian Mounted Po…

Ontario police chiefs can now request out-of-province backup under defined conditions

The regulation now formally defines two terms used elsewhere in policing rules — 'active attacker' and 'extreme incident' — and spells out when and how a police chief may ask for temporary assistance from a police ser…

Public Inquiries Act updated to flag two pending expansions of inquiry scope for Toronto and Ontario municipalities

Two future amendments have been flagged in the consolidated text of the Public Inquiries Act, 2009, though neither is yet in force. When proclaimed, the first change will add a new City of Toronto Act provision (s. 16…

Ontario trapping rules updated: new beaver damage authorization, gender-neutral language, and firearm clarifications

Several changes are being made to Ontario's trapping regulation in two stages. First, the Minister will gain authority to issue special authorizations allowing licensed trappers to harass, capture, or kill beaver outs…

Upcoming rules lock water and wastewater public corporations to public ownership and protect employees during asset transfers

A set of amendments — not yet in force — will tighten the rules governing water and wastewater public corporations (WWPCs) in Ontario once activated by order. When the changes take effect, WWPCs may only be designated…

Wildlife possession and fur-trade rules updated: Registry replaced, records expanded, and beaver castoreum trade permitted

A set of staged amendments updates Ontario's rules on possessing, buying and selling wildlife carcasses, pelts, hides, and cast antlers. The online Ministry Registry system for submitting notices of possession will be…

Effective date for two hunting tag rule changes pushed back to January 1, 2027

Two upcoming changes to how hunters must handle invalidated tags — covering possession of untagged animals and the rules for keeping a tag on a carcass until processing — have had their effective dates shifted from Ju…

Ontario puts scholarship fund for public-safety officers' survivors on a statutory footing

Ontario has enacted a stand-alone law to continue and govern the Constable Joe MacDonald Public Safety Officers' Survivors Scholarship Fund, which previously existed only by Order in Council. The fund provides scholar…

Police record check providers must now meet prescribed service standards, with liability shields for non-compliance

The Act now requires police record check providers to comply with any service standards set by regulation, including potential timeframes for completing checks. A new section explicitly blocks most legal claims — incl…

Coroner's inquests now ban unauthorized photos, recordings and dissemination — with fines up to $25,000

A new section of the Coroners Act prohibits anyone from taking photos, audio or video recordings at a coroner's inquest, of people entering or leaving the inquest room, or of people in the building who appear to be at…

Bail Act certificate-of-lien references in the Execution Act will be updated when a future order is made

Two provisions in the Execution Act that refer to a 'certificate of lien under the Bail Act' are set to be amended to say 'continued under section 8.4 of the Bail Act' instead. This is a technical cross-reference corr…

Ontario Bail Act updated: new security deposit rules, lien changes, and debt collection powers added (pending proclamation)

A set of amendments to Ontario's Bail Act has been consolidated into the legislation, though most new provisions are not yet in force and will take effect on a date set by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. When proc…

Toronto's code-of-conduct and accountability rules for councillors overhauled, green-roof and zoning provisions repealed

Several significant changes have been made to the City of Toronto Act. The City's power to require buildings to meet environmental or green-roof construction standards under its own by-laws (section 108.1) has been re…

Ontario Planning Act overhauled: standardized official plan structure, new EV and parking rules, expanded County of Simcoe planning changes

Ontario's Planning Act has been significantly amended by the Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act, 2026. The most sweeping change (not yet in force) requires all Ontario municipalities and pl…

Ontario drinking water law updated to recognize new water and wastewater public corporations and streamline consent rules

Ontario has amended the Safe Drinking Water Act to expand the definition of 'municipal drinking water system' to include systems owned by corporations designated as water and wastewater public corporations under the n…

Ontario bans breeding cats and dogs for research, tightens rules on invasive animal research and sharply raises penalties

A set of amendments (not yet in force) makes several significant changes to how animal research and supply facilities operate in Ontario. Supply facility operators will be prohibited from breeding cats or dogs for res…

Non-profit retirement homes are now exempt from municipal development charges in Ontario

A new exemption removes development charges for retirement home projects developed by provincially or federally incorporated non-profit corporations in good standing. Any development charge that became payable before…

Ontario removes two regulation-making powers under Building Code Act and clarifies that municipal environmental bylaws can coexist with the Building Code

Two previously existing regulation-making powers have been repealed: the authority to prescribe specific building code provisions and conditions/limits for the purposes of related municipal-act sections no longer exis…

Upcoming wording fix to how Bail Act liens bind registered land — not yet in force

A future amendment (not yet active) will update the language describing when a certificate of lien under the Bail Act can bind registered land. The current text refers broadly to 'any certificate of lien under the Bai…