Bill 75 explained in plain English

Bill 75 reforms Ontario's bail system, strengthens penalties for dangerous driving, establishes a scholarship fund for families of public safety officers who died in the line of duty, and makes various amendments to animal welfare and research laws.

Bill 75, called the Keeping Criminals Behind Bars Act, 2026, is an Ontario law that came into effect on June 2, 2026. It makes changes to several Ontario laws to address public safety, support for families of fallen public safety officers, and animal welfare. The bill has seven main parts (called schedules): **Schedule 1 - Animals for Research**: This restricts the use of cats, dogs, and other animals in medical research. Invasive medical research on these animals is now banned unless it meets strict conditions, including approval by an animal care committee. Operators of animal supply facilities can no longer breed cats or dogs for research. The law increases penalties for violations, with fines up to $260,000 and imprisonment up to two years for individuals and up to $1 million for corporations. **Schedule 2 - Bail System**: This changes how Ontario tracks and enforces bail conditions. When someone promises to pay money as a bail condition (called a surety), the Crown Attorney can now register a lien (a legal claim) against their land in a land registry office. If the surety does not pay, the Crown can force the sale of that land to collect the debt. The law also allows the Minister of Finance to use other collection methods and requires immediate payment of bail deposit amounts set by the court. **Schedule 3 - Scholarship Fund**: This continues an existing fund that provides scholarships to surviving spouses and children of public safety officers (police, firefighters, correctional officers, and others) who died in the line of duty. The law sets up rules for how scholarships are granted and manages the fund, which started with $5 million. **Schedule 4 - Coroner Inquests**: This adds rules about photography and recording at inquests (court hearings about unexplained deaths). People are generally prohibited from taking photos, videos, or audio recordings at inquests or publishing them, with limited exceptions. Violations can result in fines up to $25,000 or six months imprisonment. **Schedule 5 - Dangerous Driving**: This makes changes to driver's licence suspensions and vehicle impoundment for dangerous driving offences. A person convicted of dangerous operation causing death faces an indefinite licence suspension. Police can suspend a driver's licence for 90 days and impound a vehicle for 7 days if they believe someone is driving dangerously. The law also increases fines for various driving offences, including texting while driving and using hand-held devices in commercial vehicles. **Schedule 6 - Police Record Checks**: This clarifies rules about criminal record disclosures. Summary conviction offences (less serious crimes) are not disclosed if the request for a record check is made more than five years after conviction. The law also requires police record check providers to meet service standards set by regulation. **Schedule 7 - Animal Welfare**: This increases penalties for harming animals that work with police or service animals. The minimum fine is now $50,000 (up from $25,000) and the maximum is $260,000 for individuals and $1 million for corporations, regardless of whether it is a first or subsequent offence. Most of the law came into effect on June 2, 2026, when it received Royal Assent. However, Schedules 1, 2, and 3 will come into force on dates to be announced by order of the provincial government.