What to know
- Ontario students will receive a larger share of OSAP funding through loans rather than grants, while the province’s seven-year tuition freeze has ended.
- More sections of provincial highways will permanently increase to 110 km/h later this month, with new limits taking effect Aug. 21 and Aug. 31.
- Aug. 21 is the deadline for candidates to file nomination papers ahead of Ontario’s Oct. 26 municipal elections, while several senior benefit income thresholds also increase this month.
August has brought several important changes for Ontarians, including new OSAP funding rules, higher speed limits on more highways and key municipal election deadlines.
Speed limits
More Ontario roads will see a higher speed limit this month, as Ontario expands its higher speed limit program.
Speed limits on sections of provincial highways will permanently increase from 100 km/h to 110 km/h throughout the summer, including in August.
Drivers can expect new speed cap to come on:
August 21:
- Highway 7 from Appleton Side Road/County Road 17 to Highway 417
- Highway 115 from Highway 35 to the Parkway Interchange
- Highway 400 from Highway 401 to Lake Joseph Road
- Highway 416 from 1.5 kilometres south of the Highway 416/417 interchange to Fallowfield Road/County Road 12
- Highway 417 from Leitrim Road to Ottawa Regional Road 174
- Highway 417 from the Highway 416/417 interchange to Highway 7
August 31:
- Highway 401 from Merlin Road to Highway 427
- Highway 401 from Highway 404 to Highway 35/115
- Highway 401 from Cobourg to Colborne
- Highway 401 from Sidney Street to the CNR overhead bridge in Belleville
- Highway 401 from County Road 38 to Highway 15
- Highway 403 from Highway 401 to Middletown Line
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Changes are already in effect on Highway 402 from Highway 401 to White Oak Drive and Highway 402 from Waterworks Road to 350 metres east of Colborne Drive as of Friday, July 31.
Drivers can also expect more speed change limits to come in September.
OSAP changes
The Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) changes announced by Ford in February will be taking effect next month for programs starting on or after Aug. 1.
Students will not be eligible to receive more of their funding in loans rather than grants. The amount of eligible funding grants will now be capped at 25 per cent, as opposed to the previous 85 per cent. The remaining 75 per cent will be received in loans.
Meanwhile, students attending private career colleges will no longer be eligible to receive OSAP grants, receiving all of the funding in loans.
In addition, the province is also ending a seven-year tuition freeze to allow colleges and universities to raise their fees by up to two per cent per year starting this fall.
The OSAP changes have been heavily criticised by students, opposition politicians, and advocates since they were announced by the province in February, prompting petitions and protests at Queen’s Park.
However, at the time, Premier Doug Ford responded to the critics affirming the changes were necessary to keep post-secondary institutions afloat.
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Students can find an estimate of how much funding they will receive at the province’s website.
Municipal election candidate deadline
An important deadline is also approaching for those looking to run for public office this year, as nominations to become mayor, city council, or school board trustee will close on Aug. 21.
Those looking to become a candidate must file their nomination paper with the City Clerk by the deadline, and can only raise and spend money on campaigns after the paperwork has been filed.
Municipal elections will be happening on Oct. 26.
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Cigarette packaging
Also this month, Health Canada is mandating a new set of warnings for tobacco packaging across the country.
Starting Aug. 1, packaging of tobacco products in the country will include new graphic images including visible tongue cancer, bloody urine, and gangrene.
This is the fourth set of smoking warnings to be established by the agency since 2000, as part of a strategy to reduce smoking rates.
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Although this change comes from a federal agency instead of the Ontario government, it affects tobacco products across the country, including in the province.
Senior Benefits Reset
Senior’s Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) will also go through its annual reset this August, with deductible payments and new requirements coming up.
With the reset coming up, most Ontario seniors might be required to pay $100 out-of-pocket for their medications to meet the annual deductible before the ODB coverage starts kicking in for the rest of the year.
To qualify, seniors must be 65 years of age or older, or fit into any of the other eligibility criteria for those under 64.
This year, Ontario is also introducing higher income limits for the Seniors Co-Payment Program (SCP), allowing more to qualify as eligible for the program.
Starting Aug. 1, single seniors or those not living with their spouse with an annual income of $25,480 or married seniors with a combined household income of $42,290 may now qualify for the program.
Those who qualify, may get their ODB deductible waived and might reduce prescription co-payments in up to $2 per drug.
A similar change will also come into effect for the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program (OSDCP), with eligibility limits also raising to $25,480 and $42,290.
