July 1st = A Number of Provincial Regulatory Changes

July 1st of any given year is not only Canada’s birthday, but a milestone of sorts for regulations.  Being the midpoint of the year, it’s also the day some new regulations come into effect.  2017 is no different.

Broadly speaking, 16 ministries brought in new regulations on July 1st. These include measures such as updating the knowledge and road tests for commercial licences, new rules around registration and inspection of mobile cranes, simplifying the rule for small game hunting in central and northern Ontario, adding close to 10,000 hectares of land to the Greenbelt Area, establishing separate requirements for constructing retirement homes and making it easier for Ontarians to build secondary suites.

There is also a regulation to create a new VQA wine category for wines made from white or pink-skinned grapes, closure of the Used Tires Program and the Ontario Tire Stewardship as the province transitions to the new waste-free Ontario framework, refinancing the Global Adjustment to provide rate relief, and enabling pairing of renewable energy systems with energy storage systems.

The notice of regulations also includes a recap of business burden reduction measures to date and proposed measures for the future including offsetting every $1 of new administrative costs to business by removing $1.25 of old and unnecessary costs.

Read the full list

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