Business Regulations Guide

Table of Contents

Introduction
Accessibility
Consumer Products: Labelling and Safety
Food: Labelling and Safety
Workplace Health and Safety
Health Regulations
Tobacco Regulations
Trade Certification
Media Usage
Financial Transactions and Loans
Environmental Regulations and Inspections
Firearms, Fireworks and Explosives
Privacy and Protection of Personal Information
Next Steps

Introduction

Whether you are starting or growing your business, you need to be aware of business regulations. Regulations set the standards and rules that ensure the Canadian marketplace is safe, consistent and fair to everyone.

Depending on the product or service you are offering, or where your business is located, you may need to meet regulation standards from any or all of the following:

• Federal government
• Provincial governments
• Municipal governments
• Industry associations
• Regulatory bodies (colleges, government approved organizations)

In addition to the information you will find in this guide, you can use BizPaL—an online search tool—to find licences and regulations that may affect your business. You can also contact us at the Business Info Line to speak to someone about starting your business.

Use online:
BizPaL

Contact the Business Info Line:
1-888-745-8888

Legal Questions

If you have legal questions, contact a lawyer who deals with business regulations. The Law Society of Upper Canada's Lawyer Referral Service may be able to assist you in finding a lawyer, based on your needs.

Contact the Law Society of Upper Canada:
1-800-268-8326
Law Society of Upper Canada's Lawyer Referral Service

Accessibility

You are responsible for ensuring that your business is accessible to people with disabilities. To learn more about making your business accessible to staff and customers, consult the following:

Consumer Products: Labelling and Safety

The label you put on your product is an important way of communicating the value of that product to potential customers. You can use your labels to sell the benefits of your product to your clients, but you must follow labelling rules and standards.

The rules can be more restrictive for some types of products than for others. You should research the regulations and standards for your product before selling them.

Read Online:
Marketing, Advertising and Sales Regulations

Consumer Products Labelling (Non-Food)

There are labelling standards for everyday consumer products (like t-shirts, office supplies, and pet food) that you need to know about before you begin selling products.

The Competition Bureau regulates labelling for most “non-food” consumer products. To learn more about the rules for packaging, labelling and advertising your products, contact the Competition Bureau directly or refer to the following link: 

Contact the Competition Bureau:
1-800-348-5358
Labelling Corner

The Competition Bureau also publishes individual guides on labelling requirements for certain business activities and consumer products. Refer to the following guides if you need more information on a specific aspect of labelling:

Product Safety

It is important that your products and services meet the standards for safety set by the provincial and federal governments.

If you manufacture, import, distribute or sell products in Canada, you must ensure that they are safe for use. Health Canada provides information on the regulations for clothing, accessories, hazardous materials, household products, and children’s products.

Read Online:
Consumer Product Safety

Food: Labelling and Safety

Food safety and proper labelling is an important concern for Canadians. Labelling standards for food products help make sure that consumers have the information they need about the food they are purchasing. If you plan on packaging, distributing, or selling food products in Canada, you must make sure they meet labelling standards.

Food Safety

Your local health unit is the main contact for information on food safety. Local health authorities are responsible for carrying out food service inspections.

You should contact your local health authority and arrange an inspection of the premises/equipment/and processes to make sure your business is complying with provincial and federal legislation.

The following link provides a list of contact information for local health authorities that perform inspections on restaurants and food businesses in Ontario.

Read online:
Local Public Health Contacts

Food Labelling

In addition to contacting your local health unit, if you are involved in the production, service or processing of food products, you will need to comply with safety standards and labelling regulations from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).

Contact CFIA:
1-800-442-2342
Regulated products and sectors

Contact OMAFRA:
1-877-424-1300
Regulations for the food industry

Municipal Regulations

Many municipalities have licences specific to food handling or food preparation. To determine what municipality your business falls under, you can contact the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO).

Contact AMO:
1-877-426-6527 
Association of Municipalities of Ontario

The following government guides provide additional information on rules and regulations related to food safety:

• Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) - Government Roles and Responsibilities for Food Safety in Ontario
• Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) – Food Safety
• Health Canada – Food & Nutrition

Workplace Health and Safety

As a business owner, you are responsible for ensuring that your products and services are safe and your employees work in a healthy, safe environment.

Most employees, employers and workplaces in Ontario are covered by occupational health and safety regulations. As an employer in Ontario, your obligations include a duty to instruct, inform and supervise your workers in order to protect their health and safety.

Read Online:
Guide to the Occupational Health and Safety Act 
Workplace Health and Safety

To learn more about regulations for hiring employees, read our guide:
Employment Regulations Guide: Hiring

Health Regulations

If your business produces or sells health products or cosmetics, you are required to know what licences, permits, and tests are needed before you produce and sell your product. Health Canada regulates health products, and medical devices in Canada. To learn about the requirements for health products and medical devices, refer to the information below:

Tobacco Regulations

Tobacco regulations affect almost every business. Rules apply if you are importing, selling, or marketing tobacco products, as well as for your staff or customers who want to smoke.

In addition to the federal and provincial information listed below, contact the municipality where you will be operating for information on local tobacco laws.

Trade Certification

In Ontario, you need to be certified to work in certain trades. If you or your employees will be working in the trades, you must ensure that you meet any mandatory certification requirements. Industries that require training or certification include:

• Automotive Electronic Accessory Technician
• Electrician: Domestic & Rural
• Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Systems Mechanic
• Crane Operators
• Sheet Metal Workers
• Plumber
• Hairstylist

You can often become certified in your trade, even if certification is not mandatory. More information about mandatory and voluntary trade certification is available from Employment Ontario.

Contact Employment Ontario:
1-800-387-5514 
Trade Certification   

Media Usage

Media related industries, like music, movies, television broadcasts, phone services and internet services, are regulated in Canada. If your business will be offering, using or working with these types of media, it is important to be aware of the following:

Music Licence

When your business uses recorded music, you are responsible for obtaining the right licence(s) for that use. The Copyright Board of Canada works with individual copyright collective societies who provide music licensing. Contact the following two organizations for more information.

Financial Transactions and Loans

Many types of financial transactions are regulated in Canada. If your business offers financial services or works with businesses that do (e.g. accounting or legal services), you should consult the following:

Environmental Regulations and Inspections

You may need to follow environmental regulations and meet certain environmental standards depending on your business activities.

Common environmental regulations that apply to businesses in Ontario include:

Firearms, Fireworks and Explosives

The use of firearms and explosives is regulated in Canada. Additional regulations will apply to your business if you buy or sell firearms, fireworks or explosives.

Privacy and Protection of Personal Information

There are rules that you must follow if you collect, use, store and protect client information. These rules cover information like contact information, medical records, and correspondence (email, fax, letters).

Read online:
Privacy and your Business

You can learn more about privacy and your business from the following resources: 

Next Steps

The information and resources provided in this guide are a first step towards learning about the regulations that can affect your business. You may want to consult the following resources for additional information:

Provincial Laws, Regulations, Consultations, and Announcements

• Service Ontario e-Laws
  Search government of Ontario laws and regulations by keyword.
   
• Ontario Gazette
  Learn about a variety of Ontario announcements, including provincial laws and regulations. 
   
• ServiceOntario - Regulatory Registry
  Get information about Ontario regulatory proposals and recently approved regulations.

Federal Laws, Regulations, Consultations, and Announcements

• Justice Laws Web Site
  Search federal laws by keyword. 
   
• Canada Gazette
  Find announcements about new and upcoming laws and regulations.
   
• Consulting with Canadians
  Learn about new and upcoming proposals and participate in the consultation process.

You can also find books, magazines and other relevant print material at business service organizations in your community. To locate a Canada Business Ontario (CBO) community partner, contact us through the Business Info Line at 1-888-745-8888.

Need more information?

Click: Canada Business
Call: The Business Info Line, a collaboration between ServiceOntario and Industry Canada, at 1-888-745-8888
Visit: Find a Community Partner Location near you

Disclaimers

Information contained in this document is of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute advice for any specific situation. Users concerned about the reliability of the information should consult directly with the source, or seek legal counsel.

Some of the organizations listed above are not subject to the federal Official Languages Act or the French Language Services Act of Ontario. Their services may not be available in both official languages.