LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

New Laws

Aug 24: Ontario broadened eligibility for Protect Ontario Financing Program (POFP) loans to businesses facing tariff-related working capital challenges, including payroll, lease payments, and utility payments. The POFP is part of Ontario’s broader tariff relief plan, which includes the Ontario Together Trade Fund for small and medium-sized enterprises, Trade-Impacted Communities Program, and Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit.

Action Point: Find out about how tariffs affect your OHS program.

Emergency Response

Aug 19: Ontario launched the fourth round of the Community Emergency Preparedness Grant (CEPG) offering communities across the province $5 million in funding to purchase essential equipment. CEPG funding can also be used for modernizing emergency operations centres, delivering emergency response training, conducting exercises, and coordinating awareness initiatives. Deadline to apply: October 7.

Training

Aug 12: The Ontario Skills Development Fund (SDF) Training Stream will provide more than $10.9 million to 10 projects to prepare workers for careers in health care. The sixth round of SDF funding will enable nearly 2,000 workers and jobseekers gain the skills necessary to pursue careers as nurses, personal support workers, medical laboratory technologists, and other critical occupations in the healthcare sector.

New Laws

Aug 18: The federal government will deliver $932 million to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), the City of Toronto, and the Government of Ontario in fiscal year 2026-2027 to support infrastructure investment. AMO will receive $746 million, Toronto will receive $183 million, and Ontario's Ministry of Transportation will receive $2.2 million.

New Laws

Aug 24: The federal government’s Universal Broadband Fund announced that it will invest over $8.3 million in two projects that will ensure access to reliable high-speed Internet to up to 822 households in five Indigenous and remote communities across Ontario. The Universal Broadband Fund is a $3.225 billion program with the objective of helping provide high-speed Internet access to 98% of Canadian households by the end of 2026 and 100% access by 2030.

Industry Challenges

Sep 1: Ontario is investing nearly $1.9 million to strengthen its nuclear supply chain. Led by the led by the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries (OCNI), the two-year “nuclear build-out” will support up to 150,000 workers and generate more than $800 billion in additional gross domestic product. It will unfold in three phases: Phase 1: Develop a comprehensive inventory of Ontario's nuclear supply chain, workforce capacity and adjacent industries; Phase 2: Identify critical workforce, manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain gaps; Phase 3: Make recommendations to strengthen Ontario’s nuclear supplier base, increase Ontario content in nuclear projects, and expand workforce and training pathways.

New Laws

Aug 13: The province implemented new regulations barring people living in Canada illegally to receive financial assistance from Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program. Individuals with student visas, work permits, visitors, and others authorized to remain in Canada temporarily will also no longer be eligible for assistance from those programs.

Workers’ Compensation

Sep 21: The Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) began implementing revised rules governing workers’ compensation coverage of costs incurred by injured workers for independent living. The new rules affect nine WSIB policies—17-06-01 to 17-06-09.

Environmental

Sep 12: Comments closed on proposed new Conservation Authorities Act regulations establishing a method for determining how many members participating municipalities appoint to regional conservation authorities and establish additional ineligibility criteria for appointments to the board of the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency.

Environmental

Aug 24: The federal Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources announced that it’s investing nearly $19 million in support for StormFisher Environmental Ltd., a subsidiary of Generate Upcycle, to expand its facility in London, Ontario. The London Digester, the largest food waste anaerobic digestion facility in Canada, produces renewable natural gas (RNG) from municipal source-separated organics and industrial, commercial, institutional food, and beverage waste.

CASES

Airborne Contaminants: Carbon Dioxide Spill Results in Ontario Year-High $500,000 OHS Fine

Ontario dished out its largest OHS fine of the year against a poultry processing plant after a worker suffered injuries as a result of being exposed to carbon dioxide (CO2). The victim was in the deli area when a hose carrying CO2 used to cool products during processing ruptured releasing approximately 16,072 pounds of CO2 into the area. The company was fined $500,000 after pleading guilty to failing to have a carbon dioxide sensor and alarm system in place [Maple Lodge Farms Ltd., MOL Press Release,  August 27, 2026].

Action Point: Don’t let this happen to you! Find out how to implement a legally sound Airborne Contaminant Exposure Control Plan at your workplace.

OHS Enforcement: Union Can’t Grieve Safety Issue that Final OHS Order Has Already Resolved

A probation officer was in the meeting room where a parole offender who was about to be arrested suddenly pulled out a gun and committed suicide. As required by OHS law, the employer immediately notified the Ministry of Labour (MOL) which investigated the incident and issued a final order requiring the facility to redo its workplace violence assessment. After the reassessment was completed, the union filed a grievance against the employer for violating its collective agreement duty to protect the officer against workplace violence. The employer claimed that the final OHS order resolved all of the issues involved in the grievance, noting that in issuing the order the MOL ruled out any OHS violations that would have run afoul of the employer’s safety duties under the collective agreement. The Ontario arbitrator agreed and dismissed the grievance on the basis of “issue estoppel,” a rule that bans a party from arguing an issue that’s already been decided in a previous case. The appeals court found the arbitrator’s ruling reasonable and refused to overturn it [OPSEU v. The Crown, 2026 ONSC 3926 (CanLII), August 13, 2026].

Action Point: This is a significant case that illustrates the interplay between OHS orders and union safety grievances addressing the same issue. Find out about the factors you should consider in deciding whether to appeal an OHS order.

Privacy: Using Third Party Videos for Discipline Doesn’t Violate Employee Privacy Rights

The City of Hamilton’s sometimes relies on videos provided by third parties, such as security footage from a restaurant, to discipline paramedics for misconduct. Upon receiving such videos, City typically interviews the suspected paramedics about the misconduct without revealing that they have a video. The union claimed that these practices violated the collective agreement and paramedics’ privacy rights. While finding no violation of the collective agreement, the Ontario arbitrator acknowledged that using third party videos taken without employees’ consent for disciplinary purposes could run afoul of the Charter and PIPEDA under certain conditions. The problem is that the union didn’t offer enough facts to support its assertion that the third-party videos violated paramedics’ “reasonable expectations” of privacy. And without that proof of Charter or PIPEDA violations, the arbitrator said it couldn’t grant the union’s request to order the City to stop these investigative and disciplinary practices [OPSEU, Local 256 v Hamilton (City), 2026 CanLII 72986 (ON LA), July 20, 2026].

Action Point: This case is a reminder of how use of cameras and other recording and monitoring equipment for safety functions can lead to worker privacy complaints and union grievances. The best solution, especially for Ontario companies: Implement an Electronic Monitoring Policy that meets the province’s special electronic monitoring rules.