LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

New Laws

May 26: Ontario plans to invest over $14 million to modernize the Forest Resources Inventory (FRI) Information Management System. The upgrade will enable secure storage and analysis of more than 3,700 terabytes of lidar data on a cloud-based, secure data platform. That’s more than eight times the amount of data stored in NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope data archive.

Privacy

Jul 1: New Digital Security regulations take effect requiring Ontario public hospitals, schools, and other public sector entities to implement cyber security programs that include: i. appointment of employee primary points of contact; ii. annual cyber security maturity assessments; iii. submission of cyber security maturity assessment summaries; and iv. “critical cyber security incident” reporting.

Action Point: Find out how to implement a Data Breach Response & Damage Control Game Plan to safeguard your company against cyberattack.

Privacy

Jun 2: Newly tabled Bill 137, the Keeping Our Kids Safe Online Act, 2026, requires the Ontario Minister of Education to establish an Online Safety Advisory Committee within 60 days after the Act takes effect. The Committee would have to submit a report making recommendations on online safety issues to the Minister, who would then have to notify the Assembly of the measures it intends to take to implement the recommendations.

Action Point: Use the HR Insider template to create a legally sound and effective social media use policy for your own employees.

Privacy

Jun 2: First Reading for the Social Media Age Restriction Plan Act, 2026 (Bill 138) requiring the Ontario Minister of Health to develop and implement a plan respecting social media use for people under the age of 16.

Training

Jun 4: The Skills Development Fund Training Stream is investing nearly $8 million to support training projects for in-demand jobs in critical sectors like mining and the skilled trades in Northern Ontario. This Round 6 SDF funding is expected to benefit more than 7,700 workers in the region.

New Laws

May 27: The Ontario Assembly defeated the Fair Prices and Tax-Free Groceries Act, 2026 (Bill 113) requiring the government to create a plan to address the affordability of all food products and non-alcoholic beverages and ensure residents have access to food at fair, stable, and transparent prices. As part of the plan, the Minister of Finance would have had to take all necessary steps to remove the HST on food products and non-alcoholic beverages.

New Laws

Jun 10: Ontario is earmarking $1.6 million to Bernie McGlynn Lumber Ltd. to support a major expansion and modernization project at the company’s sawmill in Mildmay. The investment will more than double the company’s production space, increase output by 47%, create five new good-paying jobs, and support 13 existing positions.

Workplace Violence

Jun 2: Debate continues on Bill 119 extending Ontario’s Sex Offender Registry to persons who are subject to an order or obligation that requires them to comply with the Sex Offender Information Registration Act (Canada). Related amendments are made to the definitions of “sex offence” and “offender” and new definitions of “obligation” and “order” are added.

Action Point: Are you doing enough to protect your employees against violence at work? Find out about the 10 things you must do to prevent workplace violence.

Workplace Violence

May 28: The Ontario Assembly voted down Bill 112, the Accountability and Transparency in the Handling of Sexual Assault Cases). Section 5 of the Act, aka Lydia’s Law, requires police services that receive a sexual assault complaint from persons who are 16 years of age or older to tell the complainant about the Independent Legal Advice Program.

Action Point: Domestic and sexual violence becomes an OHS issue and liability risk for employers when it happens at the victim’s workplace. Find out how to protect your employees from the risk of workplace domestic violence.

Workplace Harassment

Jun 2: Proposed anti-crime legislation (Bill 119) extends the part of the Ontario Victims’ Bill of Rights protecting mental distress sufferers to victims of criminal harassment. It also allows victims to sue for money damages even if the alleged harasser hasn’t actually been charged or convicted of a harassment crime.

Action Point: Find out how to implement a legally sound and effective Workplace Harassment Prevention and Compliance Game Plan at your workplace.

Health & Safety

Jun 22: Updates to First Aid Regulations took effect, including the requirement that first aid training meet CSA Z1210:24 standards. Training courses and certificates will also have new names: Emergency First Aid will be called Basic First Aid, and Standard First Aid will be called Intermediate First Aid. The WSIB will continue to accept all workplace first aid certificates from anywhere in Canada, as long as they meet CSA Z1210. All first aid certificates issued up until June 21, 2026, by current WSIB-approved providers will remain valid until they expire.

Health & Safety

May 9: The MOL published new OHS regulations that make compliance with CSA Z94.4.1, Performance of filtering respirators and the CSA Certification Program, an acceptable alternative to NIOSH approval for respirators. Current OHS regulations require that respirators be approved by NIOSH or certified by a qualified individual as providing workers protection that’s at least equivalent to a NIOSH-approved respirator. Effective date: July 1, 2026.

Action Point: Some version of CSA Z94 is the standard for respirators compliance in most parts of the country. So, making CSA Z94 the standard in Ontario as well should make life easier, especially for Ontario companies that also operate in other provinces and territories.

CASES

Privacy: OK to Use Workplace Surveillance Camera Footage to Prove Time Theft

While investigating a lift-truck operator for safety infractions, management reviewed video surveillance footage showing that the operator took longer than authorized breaks. Based solely on this evidence, they terminated him for time theft. The union cried foul, accusing the company of violating the collective agreement provision limiting its disciplinary use of workplace camera footage to safety purposes and expressly barring its use for enforcing productivity standards. The company insisted that it did review the footage for safety purposes. The Ontario arbitrator agreed and admitted the tape into evidence. The collective agreement expressly allowed for use of video footage for safety purposes, the arbitrator reasoned, and included no language “requiring a triggering event [or] limiting the employer to only reviewing circumstances surrounding a triggering event” [Autoliv Canada Inc. v Unifor Local 1941, 2026 CanLII 52472 (ON LA), May 13, 2026].

Action Point: The Autoliv case illustrates the importance of ensuring that digital solutions used to monitor employees remain within personal privacy boundaries and why you should implement a legally sound electronic monitoring policy. The general rule of thumb is that electronic surveillance is much easier to justify when it’s used to enforce safety rather than productivity standards.

Payroll: Temp Agency, Director Fined $150,000 for Failure to Pay Wages

Ministry of Labour (MOL) responding to complaints found evidence that a temporary employment agency violated its minimum wage and other Employment Standards Act (ESA) obligations. The officer then conducted an audit of the firm’s 2022 records for 2022 and found that hundreds of employees were owed wages, including regular wages, public holiday pay, and vacation pay. Total wages owed: $234,212.47. The MOL ordered the firm to repay the money to employees plus administrative costs. The firm neither obeyed nor appealed the order. So, the MOL fined the firm and a director $150,000 [12066424 Canada Inc., MOL Press Release, June 3, 2026].

Health & Safety: Mining Companies Fined $210,000 for Fatal Helicopter Fall

A foreperson at a mining exploration site got entangled in the fiber ropes being used to secure cargo to a helicopter. Although eventually freed from the ropes, the foreperson fell from the helicopter and suffered fatal injuries. The company in charge of the work was fined $110,000 for failing to conduct a risk assessment for drilling operations involving helicopter use. The drilling contractor and one of its officers were also fined $100,000 for failing to provide effective radio communication equipment to workers [Angus Gold Inc., and G4 Drilling Ltd., MOL Press Release, May 21, 2026].

Action Point: Don’t let this happen to you!! Find out how to create a vibrant workplace health and safety culture to prevent tragic injuries and the massive OHS fines they can lead to at your company.