LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Immigration

Jun 26: The province is consolidating the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) from eight streams to four, starting with the Ontario Workforce Priority stream leading to permanent residence. The redesigned OINP will feature stronger eligibility requirements, less duplication, and clearer, more efficient pathways for applicants and employers that better align immigration with labour market needs and address critical workforce shortages across key sectors.

Action Point: Find out what companies and their HR directors need to know to navigate the immigration law maze.

Labour Relations

Jun 24: The Ontario Labour Relations Board will now follow the same Rules and processes for resolving disputes involving Board jurisdiction as it does in resolving non-construction jurisdictional disputes.  The Board has amended its Rules and processes in respect of jurisdictional and sector disputes.

Employment Benefits

Jul 1: Newly proposed amendments to pensions Regulations establish a new retirement option called Variable Life Benefits (VLB) under which retirees receive a lifetime income directly from their pension plans with the income amount to vary based on investment returns and how long the participating retiree lives. The Regulations address how plan administrators establish and design VLBs.

Employment Benefits

Jul 1: Ontario updated pension reporting requirements under the Pension Benefits Act. These changes support the recent increase to the Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund limit from $1,500 to $3,000 per month and ensure regulators have the necessary data to monitor the fund.

New Laws

August 10: August 10 is the deadline to comment on proposed amendments to Not-for-Profit Corporations Act regulations that would increase the annual revenue threshold for non-public benefit corporations to waive an audit and review engagement from $500,000 to $1 million. The amendments also allow public benefit corporations to waive an audit and instead conduct a review engagement if the annual revenue is less than $1 million and more than $100,000.

New Laws

Jul 20: Downsview Aerospace Innovation & Research (DAIR) will receive nearly $2.6 million through the Trade-Impacted Communities Program (TICP) for initiatives to support workers and industries in Ontario’s aerospace and defence sectors. Incorporated in 2020, DAIR is a not-for-profit collaborative research and innovation consortium that offers mentorship opportunities. Key programs include the DAIR Green Fund promoting aerospace research and development projects, the Supplier Development Initiative supporting SMEs, and the Defence Readiness Program supporting defence contract procurement and global supply chain security.

New Laws

Jun 22: Ontario announced that it’s investing an additional $6 million in Futurpreneur, a national not-for-profit organization that provides aspiring business owners collateral-free loans of up to $75,000. The funding will give nearly 1,000 entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 to 39 access to financing, one-on-one mentorship, networking opportunities and business planning tools. Ontario’s nearly 500,000 small businesses represent 98% of all employer businesses in the province and employ roughly 2.5 million people.

New Laws

Jun 15: The Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL) announced that it hired 80 new OHS inspectors and 29 new employment standards officers last month. The new recruits are currently engaged “in rigorous training.” They’ll begin addressing employment standards claims in fall 2026 and visiting workplaces in their full capacity in early 2027.

Action Point: Find out how to prepare for and manage OHS, employment standards, and other government inspections at your workplace.

New Laws

Jul 1: Under newly effective Highway Traffic Act regulation changes, drivers from jurisdictions that don’t have driver’s licence exchange agreements with Ontario can get credit for up to 12 months of verified foreign driving experience but must also complete the vision test, knowledge test, G2, and G road tests and wait at least 12 months after completing the G2 test before attempting the G test. These changes will ensure drivers gain Ontario road experience before earning a full G licence.

Health & Safety

Jun 22: The MOL proposed a new OHS regulation governing use of rope access at all workplaces the OHS Act covers. Rope access, which current OHS regulations don’t expressly address, enables workers to work from heights using ropes as the primary means of support, work positioning, and fall prevention. Deadline to comment: August 21.

Health & Safety

Jul 1: New OHS regulations took effect making compliance with CSA Z94.4.1, Performance of filtering respirators and the CSA Certification Program, an acceptable alternative to NIOSH approval for respirators in Ontario. Previous OHS regulations required 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.

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.

Drugs & Alcohol

Jul 1: Ontario amended the Highway Traffic Act to require anyone convicted of impaired driving to install an ignition interlock device for a set amount of time. Once the ignition interlock period ends, these drivers will also be subject to a new six-month zero-tolerance condition, prohibiting them from driving with any alcohol and/or drugs present in their body.

CASES

Termination: “Everybody Does It” Is Valid Defence Against Time Theft Termination

A night shift supervisor fired for time theft after 17 years of employment admitted to occasionally “topping up” employees’ hours, including giving full hours to workers who left before their shift ended when all work had been completed. His defence: This was the same “clock out/top up” practice used by all night shift supervisors for at least 19 years, which started before I got here and is continuing even now. The Ontario court concluded that the supervisor was wrongfully dismissed.  “The evidence establishes that ‘topping up’ employees’ hours was an ingrained institutional practice that existed at [the company] for a lengthy period and was applied consistently and uniformly by all Night Shift Supervisors.” The price tag: 19 months of pay in lieu of notice plus 14 months in Wallace damages for bad faith in carrying out the termination [Wilsher v. Olympic Wholesale, 2026 ONSC 3620 (CanLII), June 26, 2026].

Action Point: Find out about the 6 steps you should take to prevent your employees from committing time theft. But also remember what happened in Wilsher. The moral: Employers are on shaky ground when seeking to discipline employees for violating policies that have been inconsistently or not enforced in the past. This is true not just of time theft but any HR policy.

Workplace Harassment: Ontario Settles Training School Abuse Victims Class Action for $60 Million

An Ontario court approved the $60 million settlement of the class action lawsuit against the province filed by thousands of individuals for the physical, sexual, and psychological abuse they suffered while placed in provincially operated juvenile detention and reform facilities, aka “Training Schools”, between 1953 and 1984. The Ontario government issued a public acknowledgment and expression of regret. Eligible class members will receive compensation ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, depending on the severity of the harm they suffered [Brown v. His Majesty the King in Right of the Province of Ontario, 2026 ONSC 2880, May 21, 2026].

Action Point: Don’t assume workers will tell you if they’re being harassed, bullied, or threatened at work. Many victims are too afraid to come forward, especially if they don’t think the company will take their complaint seriously. That’s why you should use pulse surveys to smoke out signs of a toxic workplace.

Drugs & Alcohol: Second Failed Drug Test Is Just Cause to Fire Safety-Sensitive Truck Driver

A truck driver who was put on unpaid leave after failing a drug test was allowed to return to work with a written warning after completing education and submitting to six random drug tests over the next 12 months, all of which he passed. Two years later, he tested positive for marijuana again. The driver admitted to casual marijuana use but insisted that it was a one-time incident that would never happen again. But having already given him one second chance, the company decided to cut ties with the driver. The Ontario court found just cause for termination citing the driver’s safety-sensitive job, his signed acknowledgment of receiving training on the company’s drugs policies, and his previous transgression. Nor was disability discrimination an issue since the driver didn’t claim to have an addiction or dependency. Last but not least, random testing was reasonable given that the driver’s route took him into the U.S. and that mandatory drug testing for international drivers was mandatory under U.S. law [McCarthy v. Bison Transport Inc., 2026 ONSC 3729 (CanLII), June 26, 2026].

Action Point: Under a 2013 Supreme Court case called Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 30 v. Irving Pulp & Paper, Ltd., random drug testing is allowed only when workers are safety-sensitive and there’s a documented drug use problem at the particular workplace. But Irving didn’t apply in this case because the driver regularly crossed into the U.S. and random drug testing is required by U.S. law. Find out how to create and implement a legally sound Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy at your workplace.

Health & Safety: Recycler, Employment Agency Fined $265,000 for Worker’s Machine Death  

An employment agency worker using a rake to remove debris from between the rollers and belt of an unguarded conveyor system on a cardboard baling line at a recycling facility got pulled into the machine and suffered fatal injuries. The recycling facility was fined $250,000 after pleading guilty of one OHS violation—failure to ensure that the conveyor was stopped and blocked during maintenance work; the employment agency was also fined $15,000 for failing to ensure the work area was free of debris [Nexcycle Industries Inc., and Connect Place Inc., MOL Press Release, July 6, 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 and 6-figure fines at your company.