WWeekly digest · 2026-W22
What changed in Canadian law, May 25, 2026 to May 31, 2026
41 changes took effect this week across 11 sectors. Every summary links the exact diff and the official source.
Employment & Workplace (3)
Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program rules consolidated: old applicant categories removed, broader eligibility language now in force
Ontario has updated the procedural regulation governing its Immigrant Nominee Program by removing several sections that listed specific applicant categories (foreign worker, international student with a job offer, in-…
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…
New rules for PAVA projectile launchers: training required before issuance and tighter use restrictions
The regulation replaces all references to 'PepperBall launcher' with the broader term 'PAVA projectile launcher,' defined as a PepperBall launcher or closely similar device that fires projectiles containing PAVA or a…
Energy & Environment (3)
Offshore energy regulators renamed in federal impact assessment law's list of federal authorities
The federal Impact Assessment Act has been updated to replace the term 'Board' with 'Regulator' for the two offshore energy bodies — the ones operating under the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada–Nova Scotia…
Federal aquatic invasive species rules updated: new substance class added, minister powers expanded, provincial contacts revised
Several practical changes have been made to the federal rules governing aquatic invasive species. First, the list of authorized deleterious substances (used in control and eradication work) now includes a third catego…
General Export Permit No. 38 for CWC Toxic Chemical and Precursor Mixtures has been repealed
General Export Permit No. 38, which allowed Canadian residents to export certain mixtures of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) toxic chemicals and precursors without an individual export licence, has been fully repeal…
Health Care (4)
Military pension rate table updated: new 2026 annual amount added
The pension rate table under the Pension Act has been updated to include a new annual figure for 2026, set at $3,513.48. This follows the existing series of annual rate adjustments and extends the schedule by one year…
Ontario bans cat declawing, dog devocalization, and ear cropping except for medical necessity
A new regulation under Ontario's Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act formally prohibits three surgical procedures on companion animals: declawing (onychectomy) on cats, devocalization on dogs, and ear cropping on d…
Homeless shelters, retirement homes, and long-term care homes are exempt from the illegal drug activity landlord rules
A new regulation carves out three categories of premises from the definition of
Ontario coroner rules updated: mandatory tissue collection for genetic conditions, new 50-year retention, and family genetic testing requests
Amendments taking effect in early 2027 make significant changes to how pathologists and coroners handle tissue samples when a genetic condition is believed to have contributed to a death. Pathologists and coroners wil…
Food & Agriculture (11)
Duty remission window for Ukrainian goods extended by one year to June 2027
The tariff remission program covering a broad range of Ukrainian food and agricultural products has been extended. Importers who bring eligible goods into Canada under the general remission (subsection 1(1)) now have…
Allocation Method Order for Softwood Lumber Products export quotas has been repealed in full
The entire Allocation Method Order – Softwood Lumber Products, which governed how monthly export quota quantities were distributed among primary producers and remanufacturers shipping softwood lumber from Ontario, Que…
Allocation Method Order (2008) – Softwood Lumber Products has been repealed in its entirety
The Allocation Method Order (2008) – Softwood Lumber Products, which set out how monthly export allocations for softwood lumber were divided among primary producers and remanufacturers in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, an…
The 2009 Softwood Lumber Export Allocation Method Order has been fully repealed
The entire Allocation Method Order (2009) – Softwood Lumber Products has been repealed and its substantive content removed. This order previously set out the formulas and rules for dividing monthly softwood lumber exp…
Allocation Method Order (2010) for Softwood Lumber Products has been repealed
The Allocation Method Order (2010) — Softwood Lumber Products, which governed how export quotas for softwood lumber were distributed among primary producers and remanufacturers in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskat…
Softwood Lumber Allocation Method Order (2011) has been repealed in its entirety
The Allocation Method Order (2011) — Softwood Lumber Products, which governed how monthly export quantities for softwood lumber were divided among producers and remanufacturers in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskat…
Softwood lumber export allocation rules for Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have been repealed
The full text of the Allocation Method Order (2013) — Softwood Lumber Products, which set out how monthly export quotas for softwood lumber were divided among producers and remanufacturers in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba…
Allocation Method Order (2014) for Softwood Lumber Export Quotas Has Been Repealed
The entire Allocation Method Order (2014) — Softwood Lumber Products, which governed how monthly export quotas for softwood lumber were distributed among producers and remanufacturers in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, and…
Softwood lumber export allocation rules for Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have been repealed
The Allocation Method Order (2015) — Softwood Lumber Products, which set out the formulas and procedures for distributing monthly softwood lumber export quotas among primary producers and remanufacturers in Ontario, Q…
General Import Permit No. 193 for Roses from Israel has been repealed
General Import Permit No. 193 — Roses, which allowed Canadian residents to import cut roses and rose buds from Israel and other CIFTA beneficiaries under a defined annual quota, has been fully repealed. The entire ope…
General Import Permit No. 6 — Roses for Personal Use has been repealed
This general import permit, which allowed Canadian residents to import up to two dozen cut roses or rose buds per importation from Israel or other CIFTA beneficiary countries for personal use, has been fully repealed.…
Construction & Real Estate (4)
New GST/HST provincial rebate rules added for student residences in participating provinces
Builders of residential complexes or additions that qualify as student residences can now claim a rebate of the provincial component of HST (Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland…
Protection corridor maps updated for SickKids and St. Michael's Hospital heliport flight paths
The zoning order that restricts building heights near two Toronto hospital heliports has been updated to reference new official corridor maps. The map numbers defining the protected air corridors for The Hospital for…
Allocation Method Order (2012) — Softwood Lumber Products has been fully repealed
The entire Allocation Method Order (2012) — Softwood Lumber Products has been repealed. All of its provisions — including the formulas and rules governing how monthly export quantities were allocated to primary produc…
New regulation names specific federal drug offence as trigger for Ontario's illegal drug premises law
A new Ontario regulation identifies one specific federal offence — contravening the provision of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that relates to certain drug-related activity — as a "prescribed offence" under…
Tax & Revenue (1)
Transportation (2)
General Export Permit No. Ex. 3 (consumable stores for vessels and aircraft) has been repealed
The General Export Permit No. Ex. 3, which previously allowed any person to export usual and reasonable quantities of consumable stores (fuel oils, lubricants, provisions, medical supplies, etc.) to vessels and aircra…
Transit special constables given enforcement powers under Ontario's illegal-substance consumption ban
A new regulation under Ontario's law restricting public consumption of illegal substances designates certain special constables as "officers" with enforcement authority under that Act. Specifically, this applies to sp…
Government Operations (7)
Cross-references in Canada's cryptography export permit tightened to narrow which goods fall outside its coverage
General Export Permit No. 45, which allows eligible Canadian residents to export cryptographic goods and technology used to develop or produce other products, has been amended to revise the internal cross-references t…
Cryptography export permit tightens exclusion scope by updating cross-reference wording
Canada's General Export Permit No. 46, which allows certain exporters to ship cryptography goods and technology to approved consignees without an individual export licence, has been updated to revise how its exclusion…
General Export Permit No. 41 updates cross-references for certain dual-use goods covered under the permit
Three cross-references to items in the Export Control List Guide have been updated within General Export Permit No. 41, which allows Canadian exporters to ship specified dual-use goods and technology to eligible desti…
Indonesia and Malaysia added to eTA-eligible countries; Provincial Nominee Class rules tightened
Two significant changes have been made to Canada's immigration regulations. First, Indonesia and Malaysia have been added to the list of countries whose nationals may qualify for an Electronic Travel Authorization (eT…
Use-of-force training rules split for police officers and Niagara Parks constables; 'PepperBalls' replaced with 'PAVA projectile launchers'; board member training clock clarified
The regulation separates what were combined training requirements for police officers and Niagara Parks constables into two distinct subsections. For police officers, the exemption from non-firearm weapon training now…
Police service board member conduct rules updated: criminal charge disclosure and membership language clarified
Two practical changes have been made to the code of conduct for police service board members. First, the trigger for the criminal-offence conduct rule and the criminal-charge disclosure obligation has been reworded fr…
Ontario's Extreme Incident Response Plan reference updated to September 2025 edition
The regulation's definition of "Extreme Incident Response Plan" has been updated to reference the September 2025 version of that document, replacing the previous November 2023 version. Police services across Ontario a…
Education & Child Care (3)
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…
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…
Courts & Justice (2)
Police can now share photos of charged or convicted individuals when keeping the public informed
The regulation governing what personal information police may disclose to the public has been expanded to explicitly permit chiefs of police or their designates to release images of individuals who have been charged w…
Major case management rules updated: file co-ordinator data-entry duty narrowed, new manager review duty added for non-threshold investigations
Two substantive changes affect how police services manage major case investigations. First, the file co-ordinator's information management duties have been narrowed: the requirement to ensure all investigative informa…