The following legislation, regulation and fee changes listed by responsible ministry will take effect January 1, 2026.
Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
A first-in-Canada approach, Ontario’s new “As of Right” framework under the Ontario Labour Mobility Act (OLMA) allows certified professionals from other Canadian jurisdictions to start working within 10 business days for up to six months by having their certification recognized faster with the Ontario regulatory authority while completing their full registration. This reduces barriers to help unify Canada’s economy and contributes to national labour mobility efforts to strengthen workforces across the country. These “As of Right” rules apply across professions regulated by more than 50 non-health regulatory authorities and 300 certifications.
To ensure certified professionals from other Canadian jurisdictions have access to labour mobility requirements and timelines for certification recognition in Ontario, new regulation under the OLMA will require Ontario regulatory authorities to publish these requirements on their public-facing website. These measures will help increase transparency and prevent missed employment opportunities. In addition, regulatory authorities will be required to report to government on the success of labour mobility applicants and on registration service standards to provide a clearer picture of the regulatory landscape in Ontario.
To encourage compliance, a new regulation will enable monitor ministries to issue administrative penalties on regulatory authorities for failing to comply with the OLMA. In addition, it will be an offence for an individual to knowingly provide false information for the purpose of meeting requirements for deemed certification, “As of Right”, under the OLMA.
To protect the health and safety of workers on job sites, and as part of our commitment under the recently passed Working for Workers Seven Act, a regulatory amendment has been made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) requiring defibrillators on construction sites with 20 or more regularly employed workers on a project that will be at least three months long. A worker trained in CPR and defibrillator operation must also be present when work is in progress. To help businesses with these costs, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board will be offering reimbursement to eligible employers of up to $2,500 per device (average cost is approximately $2,300 per device) per eligible construction project.
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