Key child welfare provisions of the Supporting Children's Futures Act take effect July 2026

Sections 27, 28, and 33 of the Supporting Children's Futures Act, 2024 have been proclaimed into force, meaning they now carry the full weight of law rather than sitting dormant on the books. These three provisions am…

Part of Ontario's Putting Student Achievement First Act now has legal effect, amending the Education Act

A specific provision of the Putting Student Achievement First Act, 2026 (Schedule 2, section 25) has been formally proclaimed into force by Ontario Cabinet order, meaning it now carries full legal weight. Proclamation…

Pending-amendment notice removed as new child welfare privacy rules take effect

A notice that had flagged upcoming privacy restrictions as 'not yet in force' has been removed from the regulation, meaning the underlying rules are now active consolidated text rather than prospective changes. The ne…

Future-amendment notes removed as provisions now in force for child and family services providers

Two 'Note' markers that flagged upcoming changes scheduled for July 1, 2026 have been removed from the regulation text. This means the provisions they referenced — requirements for societies and licensees to display i…

Child care centre rules updated: inspectors added to reporting chain, medication rules expanded, and sexual abuse explicitly prohibited

Several practical changes have been made to the rules governing licensed child care centres and home child care agencies. Licensees must now send copies of health or fire authority directions and serious occurrence re…

Privacy protections for children's care records get a firm effective date under Ontario's child welfare law

Three provisions that were previously passed but held pending proclamation now have a confirmed effective date. The changes restrict how child welfare societies and other prescribed entities may use or disclose person…

Ontario sets new mandatory qualifications for school board Directors of Education and Chief Education Officers

This new regulation establishes the qualifications that English-language district school boards must meet when appointing or hiring a Director of Education or a Chief Education Officer. A Director of Education must ha…

Ontario child care centres face new safety rules on supervision, physical hazards, missing-child drills and staff training

A package of amendments tightens safety requirements for licensed child care centres and home child care agencies in Ontario. New sections require centres to have written child-supervision policies (including counting…

Ontario tightens animal research rules: new permit criteria, invasive research definitions, and coming changes to exemptions

A set of future amendments — all taking effect at the same time in early 2027 — will significantly update the rules governing research facilities that use animals in Ontario. The changes introduce a formal definition…

Directors of education at English-language district school boards are formally excluded from board membership rules

A new regulation clarifies that the director of education of an English-language district school board is deemed not to be a member of the board for a specific purpose under the Education Act. In practical terms, this…

Ontario teacher education programs to shift to a three-semester, 45-credit model with new transitional rules for existing accredited programs

A set of changes scheduled to take effect in May 2027 will alter the structure and accreditation requirements for Ontario teacher education programs. The core program length requirement for professional education prog…

New rules govern how English-language school boards prepare, adopt, and get approval for annual budget estimates

A new regulation sets out a structured process that English-language district school boards must follow when preparing and adopting their annual revenue and expense estimates. The chief executive officer (CEO) is resp…

School boards must allow local police to access campuses and school resource officer programs for nine prescribed activities

A new regulation under the Education Act sets out the specific circumstances in which school boards must permit local police services to access school premises and participate in school programs. Nine categories of ac…

Ontario Place zoning order updated: Block 3 expanded with new Theatre Parcel and East Plaza zones, bridges and uses added

The zoning order for Ontario Place has been significantly amended to expand and redefine Block 3, splitting it into two distinct sub-areas: the Theatre Parcel (where a building footprint of up to 15,250 sq m and a max…

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…

New rules set out how Ontario's CODE bargaining committee is structured, governed, and how it ratifies collective agreements

A new regulation establishes the formal structure of the CODE Bargaining Committee, which represents school boards as employers during central collective bargaining under the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act. T…

Six union central bargaining tables formally established for Ontario school board negotiations

The regulation now designates six employee bargaining agencies — CUPE, ETFO, OSSTF, OPSEU, EWAO-ATEO, and OCEW — as the official representatives for central bargaining covering all school board employees in their resp…

School board central bargaining fees: 'trustees' associations' renamed to 'employers' associations,' English-public boards to pay CODE

This amendment makes two main changes to the central bargaining fee rules for Ontario school boards. First, all references to 'trustees' association' have been replaced with 'employers' association' throughout the reg…

Employer bargaining agency for designated school boards renamed from OPSBA to CODE

The regulation has been updated to replace the name of the designated employer bargaining agency for four small northern and separate school boards. Where the Ontario Public School Boards' Association (OPSBA) was prev…

Ontario school boards' capital funding eligibility list updated to January 2026 version

The regulation now references a January 31, 2026 version of the eligibility list that determines which school board capital projects qualify for funding under the Capital Priorities, Land Priorities, Child Care Capita…

Minister gains new power to support child care operators; parents can now request Ontario education numbers for their children

Two practical changes were made to Ontario's child care law. First, the Minister is now explicitly authorized to provide services that support child care operators and service system managers in carrying out their res…

Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE) replaces OPSBA and OCSTA as central bargaining employer agency for English-language school boards

The CODE (Council of Ontario Directors of Education) is now designated as the employer bargaining agency for all English-language public district school boards, English-language separate district school boards, and bo…

Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario is being wound down and will be dissolved

The legislation governing the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) has been amended to put the organization on a path to dissolution. The board size minimum has been cut from five to one member, appoint…

Ontario College of Teachers gains stronger regulatory control over professional teacher education program design at universities

The regulation-making authority for teacher education has been split into two streams: professional teacher education programs at post-secondary institutions are now governed under a separate provision, distinct from…

School board salary-disclosure rule updated to cover 'employers' associations' instead of 'trustees' associations'

The Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act now refers to 'employers' associations' as defined in the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014, replacing the previous term 'trustees' associations.' This means the org…

Definition of 'Commission' in Ottawa-Carleton French-Language School Board Act flagged for future repeal

A note has been added to the Act signalling that the definition of 'Commission' — which refers to the Languages of Instruction Commission of Ontario — is scheduled to be repealed on a date yet to be set by the Lieuten…

Ontario's Education Act substantially amended: board governance, property oversight, liability shields, and structural changes

A large set of amendments to Ontario's Education Act reshapes how school boards are governed and overseen. The Minister and Lieutenant Governor in Council gain broader direct authority over key regulatory matters — in…

B.C. sets detailed rules for when firearms are permitted on schools, hospitals, child-care and other protected sites

British Columbia has created a new regulation under the Firearm Violence Prevention Act that spells out exactly who may bring a firearm or imitation firearm onto "designated properties" — schools, hospitals, child-car…

Engineering licence experience requirements will shift to a 24-month post-degree minimum plus competency assessment

The regulation sets out two staged changes to the experience requirements for obtaining a professional engineering licence in Ontario. Under the current rules, applicants must show 48 months of engineering experience…

'Health occupation' definition added to B.C. private training rules, replacing vague 'health field' language

The Private Training Regulation has been updated to introduce a precise definition of 'health occupation,' replacing the broader phrase 'in the health field' used in two existing definitions. 'Health occupation' is no…

Canada overhauls Human Pathogens and Toxins Act: new registry, tougher penalties, and stricter security rules for labs

The federal Human Pathogens and Toxins Act has been significantly restructured. The previous system of static numbered schedules listing regulated pathogens and toxins is replaced by a new Minister-maintained online r…

Canada's National School Food Program gets its own stand-alone law, locking in federal funding and reporting duties

A new federal Act formally establishes the National School Food Program in statute, setting out the government's long-term vision that all children and youth in Canada have access to nutritious food at school. The law…

Federal student aid blocked for private, for-profit foreign schools — with a phase-out window for current students

A new rule (s. 6.31) prohibits the federal government from providing Canada Student Financial Assistance to students enrolled at private, for-profit designated educational institutions located outside Canada. A delaye…

B.C. child care licensing rules updated: new work-experience paths, competency standards, and approved-institution list revised

The Child Care Licensing Regulation has been amended in several practical ways. First, the name reference to the governing child care statute has been updated to reflect its new title. Second, applicants seeking early…

BC Provincial Immigration Program fee threshold raised from $1,475 to $1,750

A specific dollar threshold in the Provincial Immigration Programs Regulation has been increased from $1,475 to $1,750. This change applies to the condition set out in section 3(a)(iii) of that regulation. Individuals…