Bill 97 explained in plain English

The Act is amended to create a transition framework for amalgamating 35 existing conservation authorities into 8 new regional conservation authorities. Part I.1 is added to govern the transition process, which includes establishing transition committees, developing transition plans, and appointing project executives. The definition of 'authority' is changed, and rules for appointing members are revised to allow the method to be prescribed by regulation. The Act also requires new conservation authorities to establish watershed councils.

Multiple amendments are made including: defining 'business days' as any day that is not a Saturday or holiday; allowing institutions to propose staged access to records in certain circumstances; permitting an additional extension of time limits under certain conditions; expanding privacy impact assessment requirements; introducing personal information breach reporting requirements when there is a real risk of significant harm; changing data standards governance away from Commissioner approval toward Chief Digital and Data Officer establishment; allowing personal information disclosure between Ontario ministry employees when accessing email accounts; and excluding certain records prepared under the Enhancing Digital Security and Trust Act, 2024 from the Act's application.

Similar amendments are made as to the provincial Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, including: requiring business days for time limit calculations; allowing staged access in certain circumstances; permitting additional time extensions; requiring privacy impact assessments before collecting personal information; introducing breach reporting obligations; and requiring annual reports to include information about personal information breaches.

Tax rates for beer, wine, and spirits are changed effective April 1, 2026. Beer tax increases to 90 cents per litre for non-draft and $1.18 per litre basis. Wine and wine cooler tax rates are revised to 54 cents per litre and 72 cents per litre respectively. Spirits tax rates are changed to 20%, 25%, or 30.75% depending on alcohol content. Sections regarding definitions and certain transitional provisions are repealed. Transitional rules provide that tax paid before Royal Assent between April 1 and Royal Assent date will be credited back to purchasers.

The definition of 'foreign national' is amended to exclude persons registered as Indians under the Indian Act (Canada), effective retroactively to March 26, 2026.

Section 97 is amended to prohibit by-laws from requiring the closing of business establishments on Family Day or Victoria Day.

Section 148 is amended to prohibit by-laws from requiring the closing of retail business establishments on Family Day or Victoria Day and to reference the definition of 'holiday' in the Retail Business Holidays Act.

The definition of 'holiday' is amended to remove Victoria Day as a mandatory business closure holiday.

The Act is amended to introduce 'variable life benefits' as a new category of pension benefit with characteristics including adjustable payment amounts based on investment returns and mortality rates. New sections establish the rules for variable life benefit funds, elections to transfer amounts into such funds, partial wind-ups of variable life benefit plans, and death benefits for designated beneficiaries. The Act also introduces a mechanism for extinguishing rights and benefits of persons over 100 years old who cannot be located. The guaranteed benefit limit under the Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund is increased to $3,000 for wind-ups occurring on or after March 26, 2026.

Multiple amendments are made to regulate secondary ticket markets including: repealing the definition of 'face value'; adding definitions for 'secondary market' and 'contact information'; creating rules deeming tickets obtained without payment to have an imputed value equal to equivalent tickets; prohibiting secondary market sales above original purchase price plus applicable fees and taxes; requiring disclosure of original prices on secondary sales; requiring secondary ticketing platform operators to maintain records of tickets for three years; restricting secondary sellers from charging fees if the platform operator already charges fees; and adding regulation-making powers to govern fees, service charges, and other secondary market matters.

Multiple tax provisions are amended including: changing the Ontario dividend tax credit to 15.2283% for taxation years ending after December 31, 2026 (down from 22.895% for years before 2027); changing the small business deduction rate to 9.3% for days after June 30, 2026 (from 8.3%); modifying the Ontario Trillium Benefit payment arrangements for base taxation years after December 31, 2024; adjusting the regional opportunities investment tax credit eligibility to require expenditures before January 1, 2027; and modifying the small beer manufacturers' tax credit formulas.

The Act is amended to establish a 'Protect Ontario Account Investment Fund' as a designated purpose account through which the Minister of Finance may make investments to promote innovation, infrastructure development, long-term economic growth, and other strategic priorities. The Minister may authorize funding and may direct that proceeds from investments be held either in the Fund or in the Consolidated Revenue Fund. Previous requirements in section 28 regarding financial obligations are repealed, though the continued application of subsection 28(2) is preserved for transactions entered into before the repeal.

A new statute is enacted authorizing the Crown to borrow up to $35 billion in aggregate. Orders in council authorizing borrowing must be made by December 31, 2028, and the Crown must not borrow money after December 31, 2029 unless an agreement to borrow or a borrowing program agreement was entered into on or before that date.

The appointment process for members of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board board of directors is changed. The minimum and maximum number of members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council is changed to 7 to 9 members. At least 50% plus one of these members must be individuals proposed by the Minister from recommendations made by an advisory committee. An advisory committee is established to recommend candidates, composed of 5 to 7 members selected by the Minister using an open and competitive process and including individuals appointed under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Section 74.2 is amended to allow funded benefit plans to elect to have their tax calculated as if they were unfunded benefit plans. The Minister may make regulations with retroactive effect respecting the determination of tax payable in circumstances where such elections are made or revoked. A related regulation (Ontario Regulation 219/17) is revoked.

The requirement for a debt burden reduction strategy in annual budgets is modified to require a progress update with metrics respecting the debt burden reduction strategy from the previous budget.

The entire Act is repealed. A related statute called the Bremner Boulevard Act, 2026 is enacted, which specifies that section 10(4) of City of Toronto By-law No. 1994-0806 does not apply to block 18C and provides protections against causes of action arising from the repeal and related matters.

Subsection 14(1) and subsection 27.17(1) are amended to remove conditional language, and subsections 14(2) and 27.17(2) are repealed.

Section 51 and subsection 122(3) are repealed.

Section 4 is repealed.