Summary#

Bill 43, the Build Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2021, is an omnibus law: it amends many existing Ontario laws and enacts two interim appropriation laws. Its stated goal is to implement budget measures; that is a purpose, not a guarantee of results. It received Royal Assent and is law, although some changes were set to start later or require a proclamation.

• Taxes, credits and wages: It creates a refundable 2022 Ontario staycation tax credit, extends two other tax credits, sets a $15 general minimum wage from January 1, 2022, and provides for annual inflation adjustments starting October 1, 2022. It also changes tax rules for universities, municipalities and employers.
• Corporate records: Starting January 1, 2023, many private corporations must keep a register identifying people with significant control, update it at least once each financial year, and provide it to specified law-enforcement, tax and regulatory authorities on request. Some public and related corporations are exempt.
• French-language services: It changes the French Language Services Act, including requiring agencies to draw attention to available French services where a person has a right to them. It replaces the Office of Francophone Affairs with a Ministry of Francophone Affairs and requires ministers to report on their ministries’ implementation and service quality.
• Northern land planning: It removes the Far North Act’s objective of designating 225,000 square kilometres as an interconnected network of protected areas. It requires traditional knowledge and perspectives contributed by First Nations to be considered in planning, and changes how a joint advisory body can be set up: at least seven eligible First Nations must start the discussions.
• Other regulatory and governance changes: It adds whistle-blower protections in regulated financial sectors, changes credit-union rules, and updates the governance and reporting rules for the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission. It also changes election-advertising rules and certain insurance, municipal tax and assessment rules.
• Interim spending authority: It authorizes spending or non-cash expenses and investments up to specified limits while the Legislature’s full supply votes are pending. The money must later be charged to the proper appropriation.

What it means for you#

• Workers: The general minimum wage became $15 an hour on January 1, 2022, with separate rates for some workers, including students under 18 who meet the stated conditions, homeworkers, and hunting and fishing guides. The separate rate for employees who serve liquor was removed.
• Ontario residents taking trips: A qualifying resident could claim 20% of eligible Ontario short-term accommodation or camping costs for 2022, after reimbursements. The maximum was $1,000 for an individual or $2,000 where the qualifying family rules applied. The claim required a detailed receipt and applied only to leisure use.
• Older adults and people paying for job training: The seniors’ home safety tax credit and Ontario jobs training tax credit were extended to cover eligible expenses in 2022. The bill does not set out their full eligibility rules here.
• Private corporations and their owners: Covered corporations must identify people who meet the bill’s tests for significant control, including certain holders of 25% or more of shares or voting rights and some people with control in fact. A corporation that fails to comply without reasonable cause can face a fine of up to $5,000; knowing offences by directors, officers or shareholders can carry higher fines and possible jail.
• People reporting misconduct in regulated financial sectors: The protection applies only if a person or entity reports an alleged or intended contravention in good faith to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority’s CEO, asks for confidentiality, and receives an assurance of confidentiality. Reprisals are prohibited, with possible court remedies and fines.
• Francophone service users, universities and First Nations: French-service rights can apply to offices designated by regulation, but this bill does not itself name those offices. A qualifying non-profit university may receive a property-tax exemption for leased land on its main campus used for specified purposes. First Nations’ contributions must be considered in Far North planning, but the bill does not give them a general veto over plans.

Money#

The bill authorizes interim public spending, but the material gives no overall estimate of the bill’s net cost.

• For 2022–23, it authorized up to $164.9 billion for public-service expenses, $5.6 billion for investments, and $284.4 million for Legislative Office expenses, pending supply votes.
• For 2021–22, it authorized up to $6.7 billion in additional public-service expenses and $155.5 million in additional investments, also pending supply votes.
• The staycation credit and extended tax credits can reduce tax revenue; no total cost estimate is provided. The bill also requires corporations to keep and update registers, but gives no cost estimate for that work or for government administration.

What is unclear#

• The supplied material does not give an overall cost estimate or say how many people or corporations will qualify for the tax measures or be covered by the new register rules.
• Regulations and rules are left to set important details, including French-service office designations, some university exemption conditions, and register requirements.
• The Far North joint body’s membership, procedures and resources are to be worked out in terms of reference. Its functions depend on what those terms say.
• Some measures start only on a date set by proclamation. The supplied material does not establish the start date for every such measure.

Case for#

• A public register of significant control could give law-enforcement, tax and regulatory authorities information about who controls covered corporations.
• A staycation credit and extended credits could reduce eligible households’ costs for Ontario tourism, home safety work and job training.
• Requiring agencies to bring French services to people’s attention could make an existing service right more visible.
• Requiring First Nations’ traditional knowledge and perspectives to be considered could make them part of land-use planning, while the joint body provides a route for advice and coordination.

Case against#

• The bill removes the 225,000-square-kilometre protected-area objective and does not require an equivalent target; this could weaken a clear province-wide protection goal.
• The corporate register imposes record-keeping duties and allows disclosure to several authorities, while the bill leaves some practical details to regulations.
• Important parts of the French-language and Far North changes depend on later designations, directives or negotiated terms, so the bill alone does not settle how they will work.
• Large interim spending limits authorize public funds before supply votes, but the bill does not identify the specific programs or explain the overall fiscal effect of the budget measures.