Federal regulations

This regulation amends Payments Canada's compliance by-law to introduce a faster, streamlined investigation process for simple or uncontested rule violations, and increases the maximum penalty per contravention from $250,000 to $1,000,000 for the first time since 1998.

This regulation updates the rules for who can serve as an independent director on Payments Canada's Board of Directors, expanding the eligible pool of candidates and shortening the required waiting period before former industry insiders can qualify.

This by-law amendment expands the list of counterparties that are exempt from contractual stay provisions in eligible financial contracts, adding foreign government departments and agencies, and multilateral development banks (like the World Bank) to the exemption list, while also extending the compliance deadline to October 1, 2028.

These amendments strengthen Canada's plant breeders' rights (PBR) system by narrowing the 'farmers' privilege' exemption so it no longer applies to fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, and hybrid varieties; extending PBR protection from 20 to 25 years for potatoes, asparagus, and woody plants; and reducing red tape around applications, including a discounted fee for filing online.

This Order suspends the application of federal methane regulations in Alberta for 2025–2030, recognizing that Alberta's own provincial methane rules achieve equivalent or better emission reductions for the upstream oil and gas sector, thereby eliminating duplicate regulatory requirements for Alberta operators.

These amendments eliminate the controlled migratory bird hunt program and entrance fees at the Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area (near Québec City), since biological monitoring shows the marsh the hunt was designed to protect is now healthy, and free access aligns the area with all other National Wildlife Areas across Canada.

These amendments tighten Canada's rules around chemical precursors used to make illegal drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine, requiring businesses that handle these chemicals to report suspicious transactions to Health Canada within 72 hours, screen employees for drug-related criminal records, and restricting where cold/decongestant products containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine can be sold. The changes also require importers of pill press component parts (punches, moulds, and dies) to register those parts with Health Canada before bringing them into Canada.

This order repeals the existing supplementary rules that governed the sale of natural health products containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, with the repeal taking effect at the same time as the related Regulations Amending the Precursor Control Regulations (Increased Regulatory Oversight) come into force.

This proposed order updates Schedule IX of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to expand the definition of regulated tablet press and capsule-filling equipment, including components like dies, moulds, and punches, whether assembled, partially assembled, or disassembled.

These regulations update supporting rules under the Canada Labour Code to implement three new employee leave entitlements for federally regulated workplaces: job-protected leave after a pregnancy loss (up to 3 days or 8 weeks for stillbirth), extended bereavement leave of up to 8 weeks following the death of a child, and up to 16 weeks of leave for parents adopting or welcoming a child through surrogacy.

These regulations define what counts as a 'protection order' under Canadian firearms law, making it mandatory for courts and other authorities to report such orders to Chief Firearms Officers within 24 hours, which automatically triggers firearms licence revocation and surrender of firearms. They also establish the process and factors for issuing a conditional firearms licence to people who lose their licence due to a protection order but need a rifle or shotgun for sustenance hunting or trapping.

These amendments fix testing rules for industrial boilers and heaters under the Multi-Sector Air Pollutants Regulations, giving operators more flexibility and time (until December 31, 2025) to properly test their equipment's nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions so they can be correctly classified — avoiding being automatically placed in the worst performance class and facing costly upgrade requirements.

These regulations implement equal pay rules for federally regulated workers, requiring that part-time, temporary, casual, and seasonal employees be paid the same rate as full-time or permanent employees doing substantially the same work in the same location. They also set rules for temporary help agencies, including prohibiting agencies from charging fees to workers and requiring equal pay between agency staff and the client employer's own employees doing the same job.

This regulation requires publicly traded (distributing) trust and loan companies to annually disclose diversity information about their boards of directors and senior management, covering women, Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis reported separately), persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities, using a 'comply or explain' model.

This regulation requires distributing banks and bank holding companies to publicly disclose detailed information about the diversity of their boards of directors and senior management, including representation data for designated groups such as women, Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis reported separately), persons with disabilities, and visible minorities.

This regulation requires publicly distributing insurance companies and insurance holding companies to disclose detailed diversity information about their boards of directors and senior management, including representation data for women, Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis reported separately), persons with disabilities, and visible minorities.

This regulation replaces the current sales-based annual charge for pesticide product registrations with a tiered fee structure based on the number of registrations held by each registrant, roughly doubling total annual charge revenue collected from the approximately 700 pesticide companies registered in Canada to better fund Health Canada's post-market oversight activities.

These amendments update Canada's Antarctic Environmental Protection Regulations to better align with the Madrid Protocol by clarifying three tiers of environmental evaluation requirements, modernizing the permit application process, strengthening waste management plan requirements, and updating lists of protected areas and historic sites through living references to the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat's website.

This regulation adds seven new categories of sensitive dual-use technologies to Canada's Export Control List, requiring export permits for quantum computing components, advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, metal 3D printers, and high-temperature coating technology before they can be shipped to any country except the United States.

This Order updates Canada's official list of species at risk by removing, reclassifying, or renaming nine wildlife species — including several Red Knot shorebird populations, the Aweme Borer moth, the Cobblestone Tiger Beetle, the Lakeside Daisy, and the Seaside Centipede Lichen — to reflect updated scientific assessments by COSEWIC.