Bill 218 explained in plain English
Honouring Veterans Act, 2024
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 43rd Parliament, 1st 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
Bill 218 amends four Ontario laws to support military veterans through skilled trades credential recognition, adjusted professional licensing timelines, expanded recognition during Remembrance Day and Veterans' Week, and increased promotion of veterans' financial assistance programs.
The Honouring Veterans Act, 2024 makes changes to four existing Ontario laws to better support military veterans. First, it changes the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021 so that members and veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces can receive a certificate of qualification in a trade if they hold a credential prescribed by regulation, in addition to the existing requirements. Second, it amends the Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act, 2006 to allow regulations to set different timelines for professional licensing decisions. Previously, all domestic labour mobility applicants had a fixed 30 business day timeline. The law now allows this timeline to be adjusted by regulation for different classes of applicants. Third, it renames and significantly updates the Remembrance Week Act, 2016 to the Remembrance Day and Veterans' Week Act, 2024. The observance period expands from one week to a seven-day period beginning November 5 and ending November 11. The updated law includes a new preamble recognizing veterans' sacrifices, provides suggestions for honouring veterans during this week, and gives the responsible Minister power to recognize veterans through awards and other recognition efforts. Fourth, it amends the Soldiers' Aid Commission Act, 2020 to add a new responsibility: the Commission will help promote its financial assistance program to increase awareness among veterans and their family members. All these changes came into force on November 19, 2024, when the bill received Royal Assent.
- Amends the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021 to allow Canadian Armed Forces members and veterans with prescribed credentials to receive a certificate of qualification in a trade
- Allows regulations to establish different professional licensing timelines for different classes of applicants under the Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act, 2006, rather than applying a single 30 business day deadline to all domestic labour mobility applicants
- Renames the Remembrance Week Act, 2016 to the Remembrance Day and Veterans' Week Act, 2024
- Expands the observance period to a seven-day period from November 5 through November 11 each year
- Replaces the preamble to the Remembrance Act to emphasize veterans' courage, sacrifice, and the importance of respect and condemnation of stolen valour
- Provides seven suggestions for ways to honour veterans during Remembrance Day and Veterans' Week, including attending events, visiting memorials, learning about veterans' contributions, inviting veterans as speakers, performing acts of appreciation, supporting campaigns, and maintaining memorials
- Grants the responsible Minister power to honour veterans through various recognition efforts, including bestowing awards
- Amends the Soldiers' Aid Commission Act, 2020 to add a new object: assisting the Minister in promoting the Commission's financial assistance program to increase awareness among veterans and their families
- Members and veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces seeking to obtain a certificate of qualification in skilled trades
- People applying for professional registration or licensing in Ontario in regulated professions and compulsory trades
- Residents of Ontario during Remembrance Day and Veterans' Week (November 5-11)
- Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces and their family members who may benefit from the Soldiers' Aid Commission's financial assistance program
- The Minister responsible for the Remembrance Day and Veterans' Week Act
- The Soldiers' Aid Commission
- Canadian Armed Forces members and veterans with prescribed credentials have the right to apply for a certificate of qualification in a skilled trade under the modified Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021
- Regulated professions must make professional licensing decisions within 30 business days for domestic labour mobility applicants, or within a prescribed time for prescribed classes of applicants
- The Soldiers' Aid Commission is obligated to help promote its financial assistance program to increase awareness among veterans and their families
- The responsible Minister has the authority (not obligation) to honour veterans through various recognition efforts, including bestowing awards
- Royal Assent received: November 19, 2024
- All provisions of the Honouring Veterans Act, 2024 came into force on November 19, 2024
- Remembrance Day and Veterans' Week observance period: November 5 through November 11 of each year
- The bill text does not specify financial costs, budget allocations, or tax impacts associated with these amendments
- The bill text does not specify penalties or enforcement mechanisms for non-compliance with the amended acts
- The bill does not specify which credentials will be prescribed as qualifying military credentials for skilled trades certificate eligibility; this will be determined by future regulation
- The bill does not specify which classes of applicants will receive different professional licensing timelines or what those timelines will be; these details will be determined by future regulation
- The bill does not detail how the Soldiers' Aid Commission will promote its financial assistance program or what resources will be allocated to this promotion
- The bill text does not specify what types of awards or recognition efforts the Minister may use beyond the general authority granted
- The suggestions for honouring veterans in section 5 of the Remembrance Day and Veterans' Week Act are non-binding suggestions, not requirements
Canadian Armed Forces members and veterans who hold a prescribed credential can now qualify for a certificate of qualification in a trade, alongside those with apprenticeship certificates or equivalent experience
Source: Schedule 1, clauses 10(2)(a) and 65(1)(i.1)
Regulations can now set different timelines for professional licensing decisions for different classes of applicants, rather than applying a single 30 business day standard to all domestic labour mobility applicants. Regulations can also establish exemption processes from time limits.
Source: Schedule 2, subsection 9.1(4) and clause 34(1)(c)
The Act is renamed to the Remembrance Day and Veterans' Week Act, 2024. The preamble is replaced to emphasize veterans' sacrifice and condemn stolen valour. The observance period becomes a seven-day window from November 5 to November 11. The law now includes seven suggestions for honouring veterans and authorizes the Minister to honour veterans through awards and other recognition efforts.
Source: Schedule 3, sections 1 through 6
The Commission gains a new responsibility to help promote its financial assistance program in order to increase awareness among veterans and their family members
Source: Schedule 4, section 3.1.1
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
This bill does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
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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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