LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Employment Benefits

Nov 1: Ontario wants to change the regulations governing when sponsors of defined benefit single employer pension plans (DB SEPPs) that transfer their assets and liabilities into a jointly sponsored pension plan (JSPP) are relieved of their duty to pay Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund (PBGF) premiums. Under the proposal, PBGF assessments would end after plan beneficiaries consent to transfer rather than after the DB SEPP actually merges into a JSPP, effective January 1, 2027.

Action Point: Find out about the perils of poor pension plan governance and how to avoid them.

New Laws

Sep 24: In response to the new U.S. tariffs, Ontario announced that it’s earmarking a record $49 million to the Ontario Small Business Advisory Centres (OSBAC) over the next three years. Formerly known as Small Business Enterprise Centres, OSBAC is a network of 51 business centres that offers support services to entrepreneurs across the province. Under the new system, each centre will use the OSBAC name, logo, and brand so that businesses recognize them as part of a coordinated province-wide network.

Action Point: The U.S.-Canadian trade war is escalating. Find out about the 8 things HR directors can do to help their companies survive the impact of tariffs.

New Laws

Sep 29: Ontario broadened eligibility for Protect Ontario Financing Program (POFP) loans to businesses facing tariff-related working capital challenges, including payroll, lease payments, and utility payments. The POFP is part of Ontario’s broader tariff relief plan, which includes the Ontario Together Trade Fund for small and medium-sized enterprises, Trade-Impacted Communities Program, and Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit.

New Laws

Oct 13: In response to Manitoba’s switch to permanent Daylight Saving Time, Ontario announced that it will do likewise in Kenora and the northwestern regions of the province that have historically been aligned with neighbouring Manitoba. The change takes effect November 1, 2026, to prevent disruption for businesses, families, and Indigenous communities in Ontario’s central time zone.

New Laws

Oct 8: The government’s Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) is investing more than $6.1 million to support 14 agriculture projects across northern Ontario. Farm businesses and organizations will use the NOHFC money to develop the infrastructure they need to improve productivity, extend growing seasons, and increase crop yields.

New Laws

Oct 1: The Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario (FedNor) is investing more than $20.5 million to support 22 projects led by Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs). The FedNor funding will be used to strengthen communities, support businesses and start-ups, create local jobs, and promote economic growth across Northern Ontario. The Community Futures Program supported 1,092 businesses and over 1,100 jobs across the region last year alone.

New Laws

Sep 14: Ontario announced that it’s investing more than $20 million to upgrade the Vedette and Socket Lake Forward Attack Bases. Construction is underway to rebuild and modernize the bases, both of which are critical wildland fire management facilities strategically located to deploy fire crews, equipment, and aircraft in Northwestern Ontario.

New Laws

Sep 25: Ontario announced that it will invest $30 million in the Vector Institute, a globally recognized non‑profit AI research organization. The money will be used to advance responsible adoption of AI across the province’s leading industries and create a pipeline of homegrown STEM and AI talent.

Action Point: Find out how to implement an effective Artificial Intelligence Use Policy to ensure that deploying AI-based technologies for HR functions doesn’t get you into trouble under privacy, discrimination, and other employment laws.

Training

Sep 21: Ontario is developing a new standardized entry-level truck driver training curriculum for commercial drivers seeking Class A licences. All truck driver training organizations in the province will have to follow the new 103-plus hours curriculum. Additional training subjects being considered include fatigue management, northern, rural, and remote driving, human trafficking awareness, and mandatory air brake training.

Action Point: Find out about the rules governing whether employees are entitled to be paid for training time.

CASES

Workplace Harassment: Workers’ Comp Bars Union Employee’s Harassment Grievance

A union filed a grievance on behalf of a municipal employee who claimed she was harassed by her supervisor. The employer moved to dismiss the grievance, noting that the employee was also seeking workers’ comp benefits for the chronic mental stress she allegedly suffered as a result of the supervisor’s behaviour. Workers’ comp was her sole recourse for harassment-related mental stress, it argued while also noting that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) had denied the claim. The Ontario arbitrator agreed that the workers’ comp bar against suing employers for work injuries applied. And since it had no jurisdiction over the case, it didn’t have to address the issue of whether the WSIB denial had any bearing on the labour grievance [London (City) v. CUPE, Local 107, 2026 CanLII 105194 (ON LA), October 5, 2026].

Action Point: Courts are split on whether the historical workers’ comp bar on employee workplace injury lawsuits against employers for money damages applies to workplace violence and harassment claims. In this case, the court held that the bar did apply. The key, of course, is to prevent such claims in the first place by implementing a legally sound and effective Workplace Violence & Harassment Prevention and Compliance Game Plan at your site.

Employment Standards: Temp Agency Fined $125,000 for Defying Order to Produce Payroll Records

An Ontario Employment Standards inspector ordered a temporary help agency to produce payroll, employment, and other business records. The agency neither produced the records nor requested an extension, making it impossible for the officer to complete the inspection. Result: The agency and its corporate director were fined $125,000 for failing to comply with an Employment Standards Officer’s demands and obstructing an inspection [1000523220 Ontario Inc. and Du Duc Do, MOL Press Release, October 1, 2026].

Action Point: Find out about the Payroll Record Keeping Requirements in each part of Canada.

Health & Safety: Cement Hopper Fatality Results in $475,000 OHS Fine

A cement plant shutting down for the season turned off electrical power causing a gate of an overburden hopper used for moving quarry material to close while a young millwright apprentice hired by a subcontractor was doing maintenance work inside. Sadly, the worker didn’t survive the experience. The plant pleaded guilty to failure, as a constructor, to ensure blocking was installed to prevent the movement of equipment during repair work and was hit with a $475,000 fine, the second highest OHS fine reported in Ontario this year [St. Marys Cement Inc. (Canada), MOL Press Release, September 28, 2026].

Action Point: Don’t let this happen to you!! Find out how to create a vibrant workplace health and safety culture to prevent injuries, prosecution, and OHS fines and penalties at your workplace.