Ontario Bill 41, Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Helmet Exemption for Sikh Motorcyclists), 2018
On October 3, 2018, Ontario Bill 41, Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Helmet Exemption for Sikh motorcyclists), 2018 (“Bill 41”) was introduced at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and referred to the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly on October 18, 2018. If passed, Bill 41 would provide an exemption with respect to section 104(1) of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, which requires that any person who rides or operates a motorcycle or motor assisted bicycle wear a helmet that complies with the regulations. Specifically, Bill 41 would exempt any person who is a member of the Sikh religion, has unshorn hair, and habitually wears turbans composed of five or more square meters of cloth. The Ontario Court of Justice decision in R v Badesha (2008 ONCJ 94), discussed in the January 2009 Church Law Bulletin No. 24, and affirmed on appeal, previously dismissed an application for a helmet exemption for members of the Sikh faith.
Ontario Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015 and Regulations Coming into Force
On November 1, 2018, the Ontario Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015 (“PRCRA”) and its Regulations will come into force. As discussed in the January 2016 Charity & NFP Law Update and the April 2018 Charity & NFP Law Update, the PRCRA implements a new standardized regime governing police record checks across Ontario, including vulnerable sector checks, which are used to determine an individual’s suitability to work or volunteer in a position of trust or authority over vulnerable persons.
BC’s Information Collection Regulation Now in Effect
On September 17, 2018, British Columbia’s Information Collection Regulation, BC Reg 166/2018 (“ICR”), under British Columbia’s Property Transfer Tax Act (“PTTA”) came into force. The ICR requires the submission of prescribed information when filing a property transfer tax return where the transferee of land is a “relevant trust”, defined as an express trust or a legal relationship similar to that of an express trust created in another jurisdiction. Notably, charitable trusts are expressly excluded from the definition of “relevant trust”, and therefore exempt from these filing rules.