Bill 89 explained in plain English
Newcomers Employment Opportunities Act, 2010
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill amends various Ontario acts to improve employment opportunities for newcomers, including changes to professional registration, the Provincial Nominee Program, and the introduction of an employer tax credit.
Bill 89, the Newcomers Employment Opportunities Act, 2010, aims to help newcomers find employment in Ontario. It does this by amending several existing laws to: * Make it easier for internationally trained individuals to get their credentials recognized in Ontario. * Improve fairness in the registration processes for regulated professions. * Introduce a tax credit for employers who hire and train newcomers in English or French. * Update Ontario's Provincial Nominee Program to attract immigrant investors to businesses outside of the Greater Toronto Area. The bill also requires certain organizations to publish more information about their registration processes and respond to recommendations from the Fairness Commissioner.
- Amends the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006 to enhance fairness in professional registration processes for newcomers.
- Amends the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture Act to modify Ontario's Provincial Nominee Program for immigrant investors.
- Amends the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 to align health profession registration practices with broader fairness improvements.
- Amends the Taxation Act, 2007 to introduce a tax credit for employers who provide language training to eligible newcomers.
- Requires regulated professions to publish training materials and responses to the Fairness Commissioner's recommendations online.
- Requires the Access Centre for Internationally Trained Individuals to provide more information on registration requirements.
- Requires Colleges (under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991) to publish training materials and responses to the Fairness Commissioner's recommendations online.
- Establishes specific requirements for immigrant investor applicants outside the Greater Toronto Area in the Provincial Nominee Program.
- Introduces a tax credit for eligible employers who hire and train qualifying employees in English or French as a second language.
- Defines 'eligible employer,' 'qualifying employee,' and 'qualifying language training program' for the new tax credit.
- Internationally trained individuals seeking registration in regulated professions in Ontario.
- Regulated professions (e.g., colleges, associations) in Ontario.
- The Fairness Commissioner.
- The Access Centre for Internationally Trained Individuals.
- Immigrant investors seeking nomination through Ontario's Provincial Nominee Program.
- Employers in Ontario who hire newcomers.
- Newcomers (permanent residents or Canadian citizens who have resided in Canada for no more than two years) employed by eligible employers.
- The Ministry of Citizenship and Culture.
- The Minister of Finance.
- Regulated professions must publish training materials and responses to the Fairness Commissioner's recommendations on their websites.
- The Access Centre for Internationally Trained Individuals can provide information and assistance to applicants regarding registration requirements.
- Colleges (health professions) must publish training materials and responses to the Fairness Commissioner's recommendations on their websites.
- Regulated professions and Colleges must provide specific data in their fair registration practices reports concerning internationally trained individuals.
- Regulated professions and Colleges must respond in writing within 120 days to recommendations from the Fairness Commissioner.
- Employers may be eligible for a tax credit for providing language training to qualifying employees.
- Investor category applicants for the Provincial Nominee Program must meet specific investment, business, and performance agreement criteria.
- The Fairness Commissioner's functions are expanded to include comparing registration requirements to other jurisdictions.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent, except for Section 4 (Taxation Act amendments), which comes into force on a day named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- The tax credit applies to taxation years ending after the section comes into force.
- Introduces a new non-refundable tax credit for eligible employers providing language training to qualifying newcomers, calculated as 10% of wages paid during the training period.
- Investor category applicants for the Provincial Nominee Program may need to make a deposit of $125,000 if seeking expedited nomination.
- The bill does not explicitly detail specific penalties for non-compliance with the new requirements, but rather outlines procedural changes and obligations.
- The specific 'qualifying educational costs' and other conditions for the tax credit are to be prescribed by regulations made by the Minister of Finance.
- The commencement date for Section 4 of the Act (Taxation Act amendments) is dependent on a proclamation by the Lieutenant Governor.
- The application of Section 4 of the Act (tax credit) is contingent on an agreement with the federal government for the Canada Revenue Agency to administer the credit.
- The bill does not specify what happens if a regulated profession or college fails to publish its training materials or responses, or fails to respond to the Fairness Commissioner's recommendations within the stipulated timeframe.
Requires regulated professions to publish their training materials on their websites. Expands the Fairness Commissioner's functions to compare registration requirements with other jurisdictions. Mandates that the Access Centre for Internationally Trained Individuals provide information on registration requirements and procedures, including fact sheets. Requires regulated professions to review the reasonableness of fees for access to registration records. Requires regulated professions to report on the number of internationally trained individuals applying, reasons for registration denial, average processing times, and appeals. Requires regulated professions to respond in writing within 120 days to recommendations from the Fairness Commissioner and publish these responses online.
Source: Sections 1, 13, 17, 19, 20, and 26 of the Act
Amends Ontario's Provincial Nominee Program established under the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement. It introduces specific requirements for investor category applicants planning to operate businesses outside the Greater Toronto Area, including investment amounts, job creation, equity ownership, business operational plans, and performance agreements.
Source: Section 2 of the Act
Requires Colleges (health regulatory bodies) to publish their training materials on their websites. Expands the Fairness Commissioner's functions to compare registration requirements of Colleges with those in other jurisdictions. Requires Colleges to include specific information in their fair registration practices reports regarding internationally trained individuals. Mandates that Colleges respond in writing within 120 days to recommendations from the Fairness Commissioner and publish these responses online.
Source: Section 3 of the Act
Introduces a new non-refundable tax credit for eligible employers who provide language training (English or French as a second language) to qualifying employees. The credit is 10% of the wages paid to the employee during the training period. Eligibility criteria for employers and employees are defined, including residency status, length of time in Canada, and the nature of the training.
Source: Section 4 of the Act
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
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