There will be major changes to Ontario law on job posting on January 1

The Ontario government is introducing new rules for publicly advertised job postings in the new year, but the question is whether the changes will have any tangible benefits for job seekers.

The changes under the Employment Standards Act will come into effect on January 1, 2026 and will apply to employers with more than 25 workers.

Among the changes, employers will have to post information about compensation for any advertised position. If a salary range is posted, it must be $50,000 per year or less.

Employers must disclose whether artificial intelligence is used during the recruitment process.

They will also be prohibited from asking for Canadian work experience in any job posting and must notify applicants whether an appointment decision has been made within 45 days of the final interview.

Catherine Tremblay is the owner of Altice Recruitment, a staffing firm operating across Canada. He commended the Ontario government for seeking to increase transparency and equity in the recruitment process, but questioned whether the changes would have the desired effect.

British Columbia began requiring salary details to be included on all public job advertisements in 2023 with a view to improving pay equity.

Since then, B.C. has recorded “modest” success in closing the gender pay gap, a report this year shows two percent decrease In pay inequality between men and women.

“So there has been a slight benefit, but we haven’t really seen the pay gap narrow down there,” said Tremblay, who predicted a similar “modest benefit” from Ontario’s new rule on posting expected compensation.

“I’m really happy that the government is trying to bring in more pay transparency. I don’t know if it will have the desired effect or not,” he said.

In particular, allowing a band of up to $50,000 may reduce the information value of posted salaries. “It concerns me that it’s such a broad scope,” she said.

Similarly, he doubted whether the notification regarding the use of artificial intelligence in recruitment would address concerns over whether the new technology could bring hidden bias into the recruitment process.

“The problem is that all employers are going to say the same thing: ‘We’re using AI in some format to screen select candidates and a human will call you for an interview,'” she explained.

with Unemployment is rising in OntarioTremblay worries that the new rules could be difficult for employers.

“I see all employers struggling to implement this,” she said. “I think it would have been great if it had been implemented a few years ago, but right now, at a time when we all need to focus on growing revenues and maximizing our high performance and getting our candidates and our employees skilled on AI… the timing is not great.”

More information about the changes is available Here,