Ontario Just Got A Bunch Of New Regulations & Here Are 6 You Should Know About

There are a ton of new laws and regulation changes that the Ontario government introduced at the start of July.

From introducing a tax to cut gas prices to extending its electricity rate relief program, here are six different regulation changes, extensions, and rules the province put in place that might affect you.

Gas and fuel should be a bit cheaper until the end of the year

Ontario made amendments to their Gasoline Tax Act and a Fuel Tax Act that will hopefully make you cry less the next time you go to the pumps to fill up your car.

Under them, the Ontario government said it will reduce the province's gas tax rate by 5.7 cents per litre. It also impacts drivers who use diesel, though at a slightly lower rate with a cut of 5.3 cents per litre.

These tax cuts will be around up until the end of the year, on December 31, 2022. So, enjoy it while it lasts.

A little bit more money will be given to families with kids who have severe disabilities

The provincial government made some changes to the Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities Regulation which bumped up the amount of money that eligible families can receive each month.

Now, families with children who have severe disabilities will get $50 more than what they were given before, as the rate jumped from $500 to $550 per month.

According to Ontario, the money can be used for covering the costs of the increased hourly wages for personal support workers, which went up by $3 an hour.

You can still apply for the Ontario Electricity Rebate program

If your electrical bill is too high for your liking, you can still apply for some rate relief through the province's rebate program — and they even expanded their eligibility for who can apply.

Buildings that have a ton of units (with at least half of them leased out as residential spaces) can now apply for the program.

"Electricity customers will be able to enter into Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with third-party service providers," the Ontario news release reads.

"These regulatory amendments provide increased customer choice and additional options for customers to leverage Ontario's net metering framework to manage their electricity costs without having to finance the full upfront capital investment in the generation equipment themselves."

There are harsher fines for businesses with unsafe workplaces

Some changes have been made to Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act, which bumped up the max fines that CEOs and directors of companies might have to cough up if their work environment isn't found safe, like when a worker gets severely injured or dies on the job.

"The new maximum fine will stand at $1.5 million if convicted, while fines for other individuals in such a case will rise to a maximum of $500,000," the news release reads.

Fewer barriers for internationally-trained workers in getting a job in trades

The Ontario government built on its Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act last year so that it could break down the barriers that prevented internationally-trained workers from getting their licence in "non-health regulated professions and trades."

According to the provincial government, this new regulation will help ease the registration process to get their license by cutting duplicative measures like having to take language proficiency testing again.

Ontario is creating new regulations for community housing

According to the provincial government, they have introduced "a new regulatory framework" that can make sure that community and supportive housing is there for people who need it.

So, the government is making it mandatory for service managers to "set local income and asset limit rules" to determine their Rent-Geared-To-Income (RGI) eligibility.

There will also be some measures to "encourage housing providers at the end of their mortgages and operating agreements to stay in the system by setting out principles for operational rules including rental subsidies and minimum requirements for RGI assistance, as well as funding repair."

Ontario also said it will broaden the kind of assistance that service managers can give their tenants so there's more that they can offer to help address their needs.