Summary#

Bill 13, the Supporting People and Businesses Act, 2021, is an omnibus law that amends 25 Ontario Acts; it does not create one new public program. It changes rules for areas including cannabis sales, mining, public lands, electricity payments and workplace safety. Its title presents a goal of supporting people and businesses, but the changes do not guarantee particular results.

• Cannabis: Retail-store authorization holders must ensure cannabis is sold through recorded sales and distributed in person at or next to the store, or by delivery. The Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation keeps the exclusive right to sell cannabis online outside retail stores and to supply stores for resale, subject to regulatory exceptions. The law also adds powers to search certain vehicles and other conveyances without a warrant when an investigator reasonably believes they contain evidence of a contravention.
• Forests and mining: The Minister may authorize personal-use harvesting in Crown forests, or regulations may allow it without an authorization; prices and charges may apply, and Part IV requirements do not apply to this harvesting. New mining recovery permits allow minerals to be recovered from mine waste, but require a plan to improve land conditions for public health and safety, the environment, or both.
• Electricity: A two-year limit, or another period set by regulation, may restrict when people and electricity-sector entities can seek, receive or be required to make certain payments or adjustments involving the IESO. The limit applies to prescribed entitlements or charges and has exceptions. The law also allows administrative penalties of up to $10,000 for prescribed contraventions.
• Public lands: People cannot acquire rights or title to public lands, or certain provincial park and conservation-reserve lands, through use or occupation from the law’s assent date, subject to an exception for claims already time-barred under the former rule. The Minister may order certain related title records deleted and may set fees or charges for public-land services, approvals, permissions and decisions.
• Mining and municipal rules: Municipal councils may delegate authority over minor zoning by-laws if their official plan allows it. The law also changes how development-charge estimates for the Yonge North subway extension are calculated.
• Other changes: The law removes volunteer fees for specified police record checks; allows regulations to govern extensions or other physical changes to licensed liquor premises; changes workplace-safety rules and reporting powers; and makes changes to education boards, professional titles and other agencies and statutes.

What it means for you#

• Cannabis customers and retailers: Customers may receive cannabis by delivery, but must buy from an authorized cannabis retailer. Retailers must buy cannabis for resale from the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, keep it in its original packaging, record sales and follow the distribution rules. Regulations may create a process to restrict or prohibit delivery to a reserve after a prescribed request in a band council resolution.
• Businesses and electricity customers: Some people and businesses may lose the ability to pursue a covered electricity payment or adjustment after the applicable time limit, even if the amount was not discoverable during that period. The bill does not make every electricity claim subject to the same limit.
• Crown-forest users and mining permit holders: Personal-use harvesting may require an authorization or compliance with regulations and payment of prices and charges. A mining recovery permit holder must follow its permit and remediation plan; the Director may require financial assurance.
• People using public or protected lands: The bill prevents new claims to rights or title through occupation for the lands it covers. It does not remove the exception for rights already time-barred before Royal Assent.
• Volunteers: Police record-check providers cannot charge for specified checks, disclosure of results, or up to five copies when the check is for becoming or continuing as a volunteer. The bill defines who counts as a volunteer and allows regulations to set limits on how long checks may be relied on.
• Municipalities and licensed premises: Councils may delegate certain minor zoning decisions only if their official plan identifies the types of by-laws that may be delegated. Regulations may let the Registrar, a municipality or another prescribed body approve physical changes to licensed premises.
• Workers and others: The law expands some workplace-safety reporting and information-sharing rules. It also bars non-members from using specified Ontario Certified Teacher titles or claiming to be members of the College of Teachers, with fines for violations.

Money#

No publicly available information on an overall cost estimate.

• The Minister may set prices and charges for personal-use Crown-forest harvesting. The bill gives no amounts.
• A mining recovery permit may require financial assurance; the Director sets its form and amount.
• Public-land fees or charges may be set or changed by the Minister.
• Volunteer record checks are free for the specified checks and copies.
• Electricity-sector administrative penalties can be up to $10,000. The bill does not set a specific penalty amount for each contravention.

What is unclear#

• Several provisions depend on regulations, including electricity time limits, Crown-forest harvesting rules, cannabis delivery restrictions to reserves and volunteer check requirements.
• The supplied material does not give proclamation dates for provisions that start only by proclamation, or explain their present status.
• The bill does not specify the prices for personal-use forest harvesting or the fees for public-land services.
• It does not explain how band councils would be consulted or involved beyond the resolution process that regulations may set.
• The supplied material does not include the full parent Acts, so I could not verify how every amendment fits with current law beyond the amendment text and explanatory note.

Case for#

• The bill creates a legal route for cannabis delivery while keeping sales tied to authorized retailers and the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation.
• A recovery permit could allow minerals to be recovered from mine waste while requiring a plan to improve land conditions and allowing financial assurance.
• Time limits on specified electricity payments and adjustments could provide a defined period for resolving them, though the bill leaves key details to regulations.
• Free police checks for specified volunteers could reduce the cost of checks for people providing unpaid services.

Case against#

• A two-year limit could prevent someone from pursuing a covered payment or adjustment even when the amount was not discoverable within that period; regulations and exceptions will shape how far this goes.
• The bill grants significant discretion to ministers and officials, including powers to set fees, require mining financial assurance and order title records deleted.
• Important practical rules are left to future regulations, so the effects on forest users, electricity claims, cannabis delivery and volunteers are not fully set out in the Act.
• Warrantless searches of conveyances raise privacy concerns, even though the power requires a reasonable belief that the conveyance contains evidence of a contravention.