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 Capital, and EarlyON Child and Family Centres Capital programs. Previously, the regulation pointed to the June 30, 2025 version of that list. This updated reference applies across all four funding streams — school construction, land purchases, child care capital, and EarlyON centres — and affects how funding caps are calculated for each approved project. School boards with active or pending capital projects should confirm their project details against the updated January 2026 list to ensure their reported costs align with the amounts now specified for funding eligibility.

Ontario school zone speed sign specifications consolidated and simplified into fewer sections

The regulation governing the physical specifications for school zone speed limit signs near designated highway portions has been restructured. Previously spread across five separate sections (5.0.0.1 through 5.0.0.5 and 5.0.1.1 through 5.0.1.3), the requirements are now consolidated into fewer, reorganized sections with illustrated figures directly embedded in the text. The core sign requirements remain the same — fluorescent yellow-green children-crossing symbol, maximum speed legend, km/h panel, and optional 'SCHOOL ZONE' or bilingual tab — but sign dimensions are now presented by reference to named figures (A through G) rather than as itemized lists. A new rule explicitly states sign dimensions cannot be proportionately increased. Municipalities and road authorities responsible for erecting or replacing school zone signs should review the updated section numbering and figure references to ensure compliance. The heading for the relevant community safety zone section was also corrected from 'Schools Signs' to 'School Signs'.

Two new Community Safety Zones added on Ontario highways in Dryden and McMurrich/Monteith

Two new community safety zones have been added to the provincial highway network. A stretch of Highway 601 in the City of Dryden — from its eastern junction with Highway 17 north to Ryczko Road — is now designated a community safety zone at all times, year-round. A section of Highway 518 in the Township of McMurrich/Monteith (Parry Sound District) — between points 20 metres east of West Bear Lake Road and 20 metres west of East Bear Lake Road — has also received the same around-the-clock designation. In community safety zones, fines for traffic violations (such as speeding) are doubled. Drivers regularly using these highway segments should be aware that increased penalties now apply at all times.

Ontario adds a new retail-sales-tax rebate program for residential property purchases, capped at $50,000

The Act now includes a new rebate stream (section 51.2) that lets the Minister create regulations providing credits or payments to buyers in respect of the federal component of HST paid on residential property. Each rebate is capped at $50,000 per transaction, and any eligibility condition tied to a purchase-and-sale agreement date cannot extend beyond March 31, 2027. Rebates may be paid directly by the province, credited by a supplier on behalf of Ontario, or assigned by the recipient to another person—though the assignor and assignee become jointly and severally liable if the rebate was received without entitlement. Enforcement rules that previously applied only to First Nations rebates (assessments, penalties for false reporting, and fraud offences) now apply equally to this residential-property rebate program. A companion interpretation section (51.0.1) and general rules section (51.3) consolidate shared definitions and repayment obligations across both rebate streams.

Ontario pharmacists and pharmacy technicians gain expanded vaccine and minor-ailment prescribing authority

The regulation adds tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis vaccines to the list of vaccines that eligible pharmacy members are authorized to administer by injection. Separately, a future change (taking effect mid-2026) will expand pharmacy technicians' injection authority beyond influenza, RSV, and COVID-19 vaccines to cover all Schedule 3 vaccines, and will remove the requirement to follow Ontario's Universal Influenza Immunization Program when giving flu shots. The minor ailment schedule is also significantly expanded (effective mid-2026) to let pharmacists independently manage additional conditions, including calluses and corns, mild tension headaches, head lice, seborrheic dermatitis, body and groin ringworm, warts, viral rhinitis/rhinosinusitis, and dry eye disease, using specified drug classes. Pharmacy operators, pharmacists, intern pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians should review which new vaccines and conditions now fall within their scope and ensure their staff training and protocols reflect these changes.

Out-of-province health professionals now explicitly covered as dispensers and prescribers of monitored drugs

The regulation now formally defines "out of province health professional" — a person from outside Ontario who is exempt from certain title-use and practice restrictions under Ontario's health profession laws. The definitions of "dispenser" and "prescriber" have been updated to specifically reference this new category, replacing broader language about persons exempt under particular sections of the Controlled Acts regulation. In practical terms, out-of-province health professionals who are permitted under Ontario law to dispense or prescribe monitored drugs (such as non-listed opioids) are now clearly captured within the narcotics monitoring framework. Pharmacies, dispensing organizations, and out-of-province practitioners operating in Ontario should ensure their reporting and compliance practices treat these individuals as dispensers or prescribers for monitored drug purposes.

Out-of-province pharmacy technicians added to Ontario's controlled-acts exemption framework

The regulation now formally defines "out of province pharmacy technician" as a person exempted from Ontario registration requirements under the Pharmacy Act, 1991 who holds the equivalent of an Ontario pharmacy technician class certificate. A new entry in the exemptions table assigns oversight of these individuals to the Ontario College of Pharmacists under the same Pharmacy Act provision that governs out-of-province pharmacists. This means qualifying pharmacy technicians licensed in other Canadian jurisdictions can now perform controlled acts in Ontario under the out-of-province practitioner framework. Pharmacy businesses and staffing agencies that source pharmacy technicians from outside Ontario should verify that those individuals meet the equivalency requirements and are subject to the applicable College of Pharmacists oversight before allowing them to perform controlled acts.