Bill 46, Protect Ontario by Cutting Red Tape Act, 2025

Summary#

• Bill 46 is an omnibus bill that changes many Ontario laws to “cut red tape,” modernize rules, and adjust who can do what under certain programs.
• It touches consumer rights, long‑term care transparency, municipal reporting, provincial parks, forestry, funerals and burials, recycling, courts, and more.

Key changes at a glance:

• Sets clearer rules for rewards points programs, including what must be disclosed and when points can expire or be cancelled.
• Requires long‑term care inspection reports and enforcement actions to be posted for at least three years.
• Moves city and town audited financial statements from newspaper notices to posting on municipal websites (effective Jan. 1, 2026).
• Allows open alcohol in designated public areas of operating provincial parks, when posted by park staff.
• Lets the government create rules to allow tree removal in Crown forests for non‑logging projects without a permit in some cases, while considering environmental values and Indigenous rights for permits.
• Tightens funeral and burial practices: operators must get authorization from the person with legal authority over the remains; adds inspections, compliance orders, and administrative penalties.

What it means for you#

• Consumers

  • Rewards points programs must meet new disclosure rules. Programs cannot make points expire, be cancelled, or suspended unless allowed by regulation.
  • If points were wrongly expired or cancelled, you can ask to have them credited back and, if needed, take the provider to court to recover them.
  • Credit bureaus will still show who accessed your file, but will no longer give email addresses—only names and phone numbers.

• Families choosing long‑term care

  • Directions, inspection reports, orders, and some penalty and conviction information will be posted online for at least three years. This makes it easier to compare homes and see recent compliance issues.

• Families arranging funerals or burials

  • Funeral, burial, and cremation operators must get authorization from the person with legal authority over the remains (as set out in regulation) before providing prescribed services.
  • If there is a dispute about who has that authority, a court can decide. Operators acting in good faith on the authorization have some protection from lawsuits.
  • New tools (complaints, inspections, compliance orders, and fines up to $25,000) aim to improve compliance in the sector.

• Park visitors

  • You may possess and drink alcohol in clearly marked public areas of certain operating provincial parks, if posted by the park superintendent. Signs or other notices will show where this is allowed.

• City and town residents

  • Municipal and Toronto audited financial statements and related reports will be posted online within 60 days of receipt instead of printed in newspapers (starting in 2026). If a municipality has no website, the information must be made available at no cost.

• Households and municipalities (recycling)

  • The province can require the recycling authority to collect business data to assess and improve recycling programs.
  • Regulations can require some service providers tied to product brands to offer collection, processing, and education services to municipalities, which could improve local recycling services over time.

• People in or near Crown forests; Indigenous communities

  • For projects like roads, mining, or other non‑logging work, the government can set circumstances by regulation to allow tree removal without a permit. These activities are not subject to the usual forest sustainability planning.
  • When issuing permits, the Minister must consider environmental values and whether Indigenous consultation is required. Existing logging licences can be suspended or ended in areas approved for removal.

• Snowmobilers and off‑road users

  • The definition of a “motorized snow vehicle” can be expanded by regulation. New classes of vehicles could be allowed on snow trails or be regulated like snowmobiles.

• Online gamers and LCBO customers

  • iGaming Ontario and the LCBO remain subject to limits on major actions like real estate and borrowing, ensuring provincial oversight.

• People dealing with beneficiary designations

  • If an investment plan (like certain registered plans) is converted or transferred, an attorney or guardian for property can keep the same named beneficiary. Designations can be made electronically.

Expenses#

Estimated overall fiscal impact: No publicly available information.

• Moving municipal and Toronto financial postings online likely reduces printing and notice costs.
• New inspection, compliance, and penalty systems (funeral sector) may add administrative costs to set up and operate.
• Recycling data collection and offers-of-service rules shift costs to producers and service providers; impacts on municipalities could vary.

Proponents' View#

• Reduces red tape by moving notices online, streamlining courts, and clarifying agency powers.
• Strengthens consumer protection: clearer rules for rewards points, a path to get wrongly expired points back, and better transparency in long‑term care.
• Improves public safety by allowing sex offender registry information to be shared with more law‑enforcement partners under agreements.
• Modernizes funeral and burial rules to prevent unauthorized services and resolve disputes about who can authorize care of remains.
• Supports better recycling outcomes by giving the Minister data and ensuring service offers to municipalities.
• Offers more flexibility for recreation by allowing alcohol in clearly designated park areas.

Opponents' View#

• Environmental and Indigenous rights concerns: allowing tree removal in Crown forests without permits in some cases and exempting such removals from sustainability planning could harm ecosystems and affect treaty rights.
• Privacy and transparency worries: new powers to collect and share personal information for consultations, expanded sharing of sex offender registry data, and confidentiality rules that can override freedom‑of‑information laws.
• Access and equity issues: moving municipal financial notices online may disadvantage people without internet or who rely on newspapers.
• Retroactive rules: rewards‑points regulations can be applied to existing agreements and could change or extinguish rights under past contracts.
• Public order and safety concerns: open alcohol in some park areas could lead to nuisance or enforcement challenges.
• Expanded enforcement powers (funeral sector) and administrative penalties may increase compliance costs for small operators.