Workers' Protections and Faster Project Approvals

Summary#

Bill 105 is an omnibus bill that changes several Ontario laws. Its goals are to boost worker protections, speed up project approvals, support the health workforce, and align some safety rules across provinces.

Key changes include:

• Bans most charges to workers for required uniforms or their cleaning. Workers get paid first in wage recovery cases.
• Speeds up environmental approvals by removing a formal ministry review step and some appeal routes, and letting the Minister decide more files.
• Tightens timelines in construction-sector labour relations for switching or removing unions.
• Lets Ontario prioritize residency spots for doctors trained outside Canada who have a link to Ontario.
• Creates a worker exposure registry, recognizes other provinces’ safety standards, and allows reimbursement for certain protective headwear.
• Requires the Ombudsman to be bilingual (English and French) and chosen by an all‑party panel.
• Gives the Minister more say over the Retirement Homes regulator’s board appointments.
• Regulates talent agencies: bans upfront fees to entertainment workers, caps commissions, requires quick payment, and sets strong enforcement.
• Increases WSIB loss‑of‑earnings and survivor benefits to 90% and allows some benefits past age 65 when the worker would likely have kept working.

What it means for you#

• Workers

  • You cannot be charged for required uniforms or standard cleaning. You can still be charged if you lose or badly damage items, or fail to return them as agreed. Starts Jan 1, 2027.
  • If your employer owes you money in an enforcement case, you are paid first.
  • If you’re injured at work, future WSIB payments will move to 90% of your net lost earnings (from 85%) on a date set by regulation. Some workers can receive benefits past 65 if WSIB finds they would have kept working.
  • A new registry may track your exposure to hazards (chemicals, biological or physical agents). Your personal exposure info collected directly from you cannot be shared without your consent unless required by law.

• Entertainment workers (actors, background performers, etc.)

  • Talent agencies cannot charge you upfront fees. They can only take a prescribed commission and any other allowed fee set by regulation.
  • Agencies must keep your money in a separate account and pay you within 10 business days after they get paid, minus any allowed commission.
  • There are clear complaint, inspection, penalty, and collection tools if an agency breaks the rules. Directors of agencies can be held personally liable in some cases.

• Employers and constructors

  • You generally must cover uniforms and normal laundering when required for work. Plan for those costs starting Jan 1, 2027.
  • In ESA collections, any remaining funds after workers are paid can be shared among the collector, the Director, and the Minister of Finance.
  • You may be reimbursed for certain protective headwear you buy for projects (details to be set by regulation).
  • Some safety training and equipment standards from other provinces may be recognized in Ontario, which can reduce duplicate costs.

• Construction industry (unions and workers)

  • The window to apply to certify a different union or to decertify in construction is shortened from two months to one month (timing varies based on when the Schedule is brought into force).

• International medical graduates (IMGs)

  • The Minister of Health can set rules to prioritize Ontario‑connected IMGs for Ontario residency programs (details to come by regulation).

• Communities and project proponents

  • Environmental assessment (EA) steps are streamlined. The formal ministry review is removed, the right for anyone to request a Tribunal referral is removed, and the Minister can decide files without automatic cabinet approval (but may refer to cabinet). For projects with multiple proponents, one can apply or satisfy start‑up requirements for all.
  • New deadlines and notification rules aim to speed decisions, with some flexibility for the Minister to set different deadlines and to reconsider approvals if circumstances change.

• Seniors and families in retirement homes

  • The Minister, not cabinet, appoints some directors to the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority board and can set terms. Minister‑appointed directors cannot form a majority.

• Francophone and bilingual communities

  • The Ombudsman must be proficient in English and French and be selected by a unanimous, all‑party panel chaired by the Speaker.

Expenses#

Estimated fiscal impact: mixed; several items likely raise costs for the province or employer-funded systems, while others reduce processing costs.

• Worker uniforms: shifts costs from employees to employers.
• Environmental assessments: likely reduces government processing time and costs; may lower costs for project proponents through faster decisions.
• Talent agency regulation: requires provincial administration and enforcement; penalties may offset a small part of costs.
• Occupational health and safety: exposure registry and interprovincial recognition add administrative work; protective headwear reimbursements create a provincial cost (amounts to be set by regulation).
• WSIB changes: higher benefit rates and potential payments past 65 likely increase WSIB payouts; WSIB is funded by employer premiums, not general taxes.
• No clear public cost estimates are provided in the bill text.

Proponents' View#

• Strengthens worker protections by ending uniform deductions, speeding wage recovery, and expanding WSIB benefits, including for older workers and survivors.
• Cracks down on predatory fees in the entertainment industry and ensures workers get paid quickly.
• Speeds up infrastructure by cutting red tape in environmental approvals while keeping ministerial oversight and the option to refer major files to cabinet or the Tribunal.
• Helps address doctor shortages by prioritizing Ontario‑connected international medical graduates for residencies.
• Improves safety outcomes and mobility of workers across Canada by recognizing other provinces’ training and equipment standards.
• Ensures top-quality French and English service from the Ombudsman and more responsive oversight of retirement homes.

Opponents' View#

• EA streamlining reduces public oversight by removing the formal ministry review and a broad right to request Tribunal referrals; concentrates power in the Minister; could risk environmental harms or weaker conditions.
• Shorter union “open periods” in construction may limit worker choice to switch unions or decertify and benefit incumbent unions.
• New uniform rules and talent‑agency restrictions add costs and paperwork for small businesses and agencies, possibly reducing available opportunities.
• The exposure registry raises privacy concerns if sensitive health data are mishandled.
• WSIB benefit increases and payments past 65 may raise employer premiums; expanded review powers could reduce certainty for injured workers about long‑term benefits.
• Making the Ombudsman bilingual and requiring unanimous all‑party selection could shrink the candidate pool and politicize appointments.
• Greater ministerial control over the Retirement Homes regulator’s board may weaken the regulator’s independence.