Bill 47 Receives Royal Assent

On October 23, 2018 the Ontario government introduced Bill 47, the Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018. Bill 47, which repeals and replaces numerous provisions and amendments introduced to labour and employment standards legislation by Bill 148, received Royal Assent on November 21, 2018.

The resulting amendments to the Labour Relations Act, 1995 came into effect immediately upon Royal Assent. Amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000, will, apart from one minor change, come into force on January 1, 2019.

Bill 47 was passed with only minor amendments to what was originally tabled by the Ontario government at the First Reading of the Bill on October 23, 2018. The most significant amendment, made before the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, is the complete repeal of section 15.1 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995, which gave parties the right to apply to the Ontario Labour Relations Board for review of the structure of bargaining units where a newly certified union already represents employees of the employer in another bargaining unit.

For more information about the Bill 47 amendments and their impact, download our revised Bill 148 Repeal Report and Chart.

If you have any questions about the impact of Bill 47 on your workplace, please contact the firm.