Canadian federal and provincial laws and policies taking effect in 2024

Canadian laws and policies taking effect in 2024 you should know about

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With a new year comes new Canadian federal and provincial laws, amendments, and policy changes that will have an impact across the country in 2024 and beyond.

From labour matters to health and more, here are some new laws and changes to existing ones to be aware of this year.

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Federal laws and amendments

Remote workers

Beginning January 1, 2024, the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) will implement a new administrative policy to determine a remote employee’s province of employment for payroll reasons. This will allow the CRA to determine the correct province to file an employee’s income taxes, pension, and EI.

Work hour exemptions

The federal government passed an amending regulation to the labour code for specific classes of employees. The amendments impact workers in the banking, telecommunications, broadcasting, rail, and airline sectors for specified hours of work requirements.

The amendments pertaining to the banking, telecommunications, broadcasting, and rail sectors take effect on January 4, 2024, while the amendments for the airline industry will be implemented late in the year on June 4, 2024.

Notice of Termination

Another amendment to the Canada Labour Code implements a graduated notice of individual termination of employment for federally regulated employees as of February 1, 2024. Termination notice will range between two and eight weeks, with the period of notice determined based on the period of continuous employment.

Gig economy regulation

Federal rules will take effect on January 1, requiring digital platform operators to collect information on revenue earned from sellers offering transport, accommodation, and personal services and report the information to tax authorities.

Canada’s bail system

The federal government recently made amendments to Canada’s bail system. As of January 4, 2024, the amendments make targeted changes to the Criminal Code’s bail regime to address serious repeat violent offending with firearms, knives, bear spray, and other weapons. The changes will create a new reverse onus to target serious repeat violent offending involving weapons and expand the list of firearms offences that trigger a reverse onus, among other measures.

Anti-forced labour legislation

The new Forced and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act will take effect in the new year, requiring covered companies to release board-approved reports that detail efforts to prevent child labour in their supply chains, and adding penalties for those who fail to make reports or share misleading statements.

MAiD

Amendments to Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) law will come into effect on March 17, 2024, and will permit persons solely suffering from mental illness to be eligible for MAiD.

Provincial laws and amendments

British Columbia

Updates to BC Workers Compensation Act

Changes are coming to BC’s Workers Compensation Act are coming into effect in 2024. Starting January 1, employers and workers have a legal duty to cooperate with one another and with WorkSafeBC to ensure a worker’s timely and safe return to work following an injury.

BC’s Short-term Rental Accommodations Act

In BC, there are several pieces of proposed housing-oriented legislation worth highlighting, that if passed will have impacts in 2024.

The BC government announced in October 2023 that newly proposed legislation for BC will eliminate multi-property short-term rental businesses and preserve the ability for homeowners to lease a space within their principal residence and a secondary suite on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo.

According to the provincial government, effective May 1, 2024, protections for non-conforming use of property will no longer apply to short-term rentals. Also effective May 1, 2024, a new provincial principal residence requirement will come into effect, meaning that regardless of local zoning bylaws, the principal residence requirement will apply in designated communities across BC.

Changes to zoning barriers

In 2023, the BC government made sweeping changes to enable more low-rise, multi-family residential developments to be built. In most areas within municipalities of over 5,000 people, the changes will require bylaws to allow for three to four units permitted on lots currently zoned for single-family or duplex use, depending on lot size, and six units permitted on larger lots currently zoned for single-family or duplex use and close to transit stops with frequent service. The province will see some of these changes start to impact municipalities directly in 2024. By June 2024, local governments must update their bylaws to accommodate these new requirements.

More homes near transit hubs

The BC government also introduced new legislation that if passed would designate Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Areas near transit hubs (SkyTrain stations and bus exchanges). This designation would allow for large highrises to be built in these areas to increase the housing supply. The provincial government expects about 100 transit-oriented development areas surrounding transit hubs will be designated in about 30 cities across BC within the first year of the new legislation taking effect. Municipal governments under the legislation will be required to change their policies for such areas by no later than June 30, 2024.

Alberta

Landlords to pay interest on damage deposits

While this isn’t a new law or amendment, this change impacting Alberta landlords has to do with the Ministry of Service Alberta and Red Tape reduction.

Starting January 1, 2024, Alberta landlords will need to pay an interest rate on tenant security deposits. The provincial government will set the rate at 1.6%. It’s been at zero for the last 14 years, but a hike in provincial interest rates triggered a change.

Auto insurance reforms

The Alberta government will be bringing in price protections for drivers with good records amid ballooning automobile insurance rates. According to the province, Albertans with good driving records will experience price protection, meaning their insurance rates will not increase higher than inflation. The proposed reforms would start January 1, 2024.

Ontario

Temp agencies

As of January 1, 2024, temporary work agencies will require a license to operate under an amended Employment Standards Act. The changes also prohibit clients from using these services if not licensed.

Car insurance

Drivers in the province will be able to cut costs on auto insurance payments by opting not to buy into direct compensation property damage coverage as of January 2024. However, these savings come with a major caveat, in that drivers who opt out will not be reimbursed for damages such as repair or replacement of a vehicle.

Tow truck industry

The Province’s Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act and Regulation creates a framework to replace several municipal-level regulations for a single Ontario-wide regime governing the towing industry. It also proposed amendments to the Municipal Act and City of Toronto Act to remove municipal authority to govern towing.

Under the province’s new act, operators will have to pay certificate fees of $575 per year for a tow operator certificate, $575 per year for a vehicle storage operator certificate, and $195 for three years for a tow truck driver certificate.

Construction safety

The hundreds of cranes towering over Toronto will be subject to significant changes in provincial inspection policy starting on January 1.

Updated standards will require crane owners to implement more rigorous testing and logbooks, structural inspection, as well as operational and mechanical inspections performed under the supervision of a professional engineer.

The changes come after multiple high-profile crane accidents and incidents in Toronto over the past few years.

Quebec

Quebec Experience Program

As of November 23, 2024, the Quebec Experience Program, which is a program for temporary foreign workers or foreign students who have graduated in Quebec, will be impacted by stricter language requirements to apply for its graduate component.

Participants will be required to complete a program of study in French or complete at least three years of full-time post-secondary studies in French.

With files from Jack Landau, Kenneth Chan, and Omar Sherif

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