Here are some of Ontario's new laws and regulations coming into effect in 2025
A new year means new laws and regulations in Ontario, ranging from caps on child-care fees to tougher penalties for immigration fraud.
Here are some of the rules and changes coming into effect as of Jan. 1:
CHILD CARE
The government is capping child-care fees at $22 per day for families with children in centres that are enrolled in the national $10-a-day program.
The fees have already come down about 50 per cent to an average of $23 a day. Next year, they will fall to an average of $19, and capped at $22 – a 59 per cent reduction compared to 2020 rates.
Those rates will be cut further to an average of $10 a day by March 2026, a date pushed back from an earlier pledge of September 2025.
Officials have said the new funding formula, first announced in August, will ensure no child care operators in the $10-a-day program will experience a loss. Starting in the new year, operators will get a main pool of funding based on several factors such as how many spaces they operate, how many children they serve in each age group and the region in which they're located.
ON THE ROADS
Ontario is amending a regulation under the Highway Traffic Act to raise the total threshold to report a collision that involves property damage to police from $2,000 to $5,000. The province says the move aims to reduce the “administrative burden” on drivers, commercial vehicle operators and police services.
FINANCIAL BENEFITS
Amendments to the province’s tax law will extend eligibility of the Ontario Child Benefit for six months for families who have lost a child, matching the federal government’s Canada Child Benefit eligibility extension.
HEALTH CARE
Ontario is amending regulations to enact the voluntary mergers of these nine local public health agencies into four new ones:
- Brant County Health Unit and Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit
- Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit and Peterborough County-City Health Unit
- Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit, Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Health Unit and the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit
- Porcupine Health Unit and Timiskaming Health Unit
The province says these mergers will “address long-standing issues” in its public health sector, such as capacity limitations and staffing challenges.
Also as of Jan. 1, all long-term care homes are required to have sprinklers. The province says it’s extending the compliance deadline to July 1, 2026 for some homes to allow for additional infrastructure work.
Earlier this year, at least two long-term care homes said they would be closing in part because they couldn't meet the sprinkler requirement deadline.
IMMIGRATION
Changes to the Ontario Immigration Act will “crack down” on fraudulent immigration representatives that exploit newcomers, the province says. The changes include new standards for these representatives that could include providing proof of registration or licence and having a written contract with applicants.
The changes also impose tougher penalties on those who violate these standards, including bigger fines and multi-year or lifetime bans for those convicted of serious offences.
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS AND HOUSING
New changes to the province’s planning laws remove land use planning responsibilities from Durham and Waterloo regions, which the province says will give primary land use planning responsibility to local municipalities within those regions. It says these changes are part of its effort to streamline planning approvals and build homes quicker.
Ontario has also made a new regulation under its building code law to increase harmonization with the National Construction Code, eliminating at least 1,730 technical variations between the provincial and national requirements. The new code comes into effect Jan .1, with a three-month grace period until March 31, 2025 for some designs already underway.
EDUCATION
The province will require every publicly-assisted college and university in Ontario to establish clear policies to support student mental health, as well as address and prevent racism and hate on campus.
Earlier this year, the province announced it would invest $23 million to enhance mental health supports in post-secondary schools.
ON THE JOB
The province is requiring the construction sector to provide menstrual products for on-site crews of 20 or more workers and for construction projects expected to last three months or more. The province says the changes are part of an effort to support women in the skilled trades.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 31, 2024.
Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press
