The bill amends six Ontario statutes to broaden the statutory definition of “newspaper” so that a printed paper published at regular intervals of a month or less (rather than a week or less) qualifies to receive or carry legal and statutory notices. The new definition also retains the requirements that the document be printed in sheet form, circulated to the general public, and consist primarily of news of current events.
The change is targeted: it restores access to legal-notice revenue for community, rural and agricultural papers that have moved to bi‑weekly or monthly schedules. It affects how municipalities and provincial regulators satisfy statutory notice requirements and creates implementation issues—verification of circulation, the interaction with notice timelines, and the exclusion of digital‑only outlets—that municipal clerks, publishers, and counsel will need to resolve operationally.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill inserts a consistent definition of “newspaper” across the City of Toronto Act, Development Charges Act, Environmental Assessment Act, Municipal Act, Ontario Heritage Act and Planning Act to include printed publications issued at intervals of a month or less. The definition requires sheet printing, public circulation and a primary focus on current-news content.
Who It Affects
Community, rural and agricultural newspapers that publish bi‑weekly or monthly, municipal governments and clerks who place statutory notices, provincial regulators that prescribe publication requirements, and local advertisers that rely on classified and legal-ad display revenue.
Why It Matters
This creates a narrow statutory fix allowing local papers with reduced frequency to receive notice business again, preserving a revenue source and local information flow. It also shifts operational burdens onto municipalities and publishers to verify eligibility and reconcile notice timing with lower publication frequency.
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What This Bill Actually Does
At base, the bill changes the mechanics of who can print legal and statutory notices by altering what counts as a “newspaper” for specific Ontario statutes. Where those Acts or their regulations currently require publication in a newspaper having general circulation, the bill says that a qualifying newspaper can be one published at regular intervals of a month or less rather than the tighter, older “week or less” standard.
The textual definition it inserts repeats three core elements: printed in sheet form, published at regular intervals of a month or less, and consisting primarily of news of current events.
The drafters apply that definition in two ways. For some statutes (Municipal Act and Ontario Heritage Act) the definition is added directly into the Act; for others (Development Charges Act, Environmental Assessment Act and Planning Act) the bill adds the definition language into the body of the Act but frames it as the meaning in “the regulations.” That distinction matters practically: where the definition lives affects whether regulators or municipalities must revise existing regulations, and it can create short‑term inconsistencies while those changes are made.Operationally, the immediate effect will be that more small, locally owned papers become eligible to carry municipal and regulatory notices, restoring a revenue line many publishers lost after cutting frequency.
Municipal clerks and regulators will need to update their lists of eligible publications, confirm circulation and publication schedules, and consider whether single monthly insertions satisfy statutory timing requirements for things like objection periods or meeting notices. The bill does not change how long public comment periods run or how notice content must look; it only changes which printed outlets meet the statutory threshold for publication.The bill also leaves some things untouched that matter in practice.
It keeps the “printed in sheet form” requirement, so purely digital or online‑only community news outlets remain excluded. It does not establish a new centralized verification system or template for proving circulation; those administrative details will fall to ministries, municipalities and potentially to local courts if the sufficiency of notice is litigated.
The Act comes into force on Royal Assent, so implementing actors should be ready to reconcile lists and procedures immediately when the law is enacted.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill amends six Ontario statutes: City of Toronto Act, Development Charges Act, Environmental Assessment Act, Municipal Act, Ontario Heritage Act and Planning Act.
Each amended definition requires a qualifying newspaper to be printed in sheet form, circulated to the general public and published at regular intervals of a month or less.
In some statutes the definition is added directly into the Act (e.g.
Municipal Act, Ontario Heritage Act); in others the definition is specified for use ‘in the regulations’ (e.g.
Development Charges Act, Environmental Assessment Act, Planning Act).
The bill does not change notice content or statutory timelines; it only expands which printed publications count as valid venues for publication.
Digital‑only publications remain excluded because the bill requires the qualifying newspaper to be printed in sheet form.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Adds a month‑or‑less definition of 'newspaper' for Toronto notices
This provision inserts a local definition of “newspaper” into the City of Toronto Act so that Toronto’s statutory notice obligations referencing a newspaper with general circulation can be satisfied by publications issued monthly or more frequently. Practically, the city clerk will be able to accept notices in eligible community papers that publish less often than weekly, but will need to confirm that those papers meet the printed, circulation and content tests.
Lets councils publish development‑charge meeting notices in monthlies
By adding the definition in the body of the Act (as a meaning for the regulations), the bill allows municipal councils to fulfill development‑charge notice requirements using papers that publish at intervals of a month or less. Municipalities that schedule public meetings or statutory notices around weekly newspaper cycles may need to reassess timing to ensure required advance notice is effective when using papers with lower frequency.
Expands eligible newspapers for EA notices in regulations
The Environmental Assessment Act amendment places the definition into the Act as a meaning for use in regulations, which gives regulators discretion to reference the new standard when prescribing notice procedures. Agencies carrying out mandatory EA notices should review how monthly publication cycles affect statutory notice windows and whether supplementary notice methods are advisable to meet prompt disclosure goals.
Creates a general municipal definition usable across local notice obligations
Adding the definition directly into the Municipal Act creates a province‑wide baseline for what counts as a newspaper for municipal purposes. That reduces patchwork inconsistency for many municipal powers that reference the Act’s definitions, but it also makes municipal clerks’ verification obligations more visible: towns must document that a paper is printed, circulated and primarily news‑focused to accept it for legal postings.
Allows heritage notices to appear in monthly community papers
Heritage designation and demolition‑related notices that mandate publication in a newspaper with general circulation can now be placed in monthly community papers where those publications meet the statutory tests. Practitioners in heritage and planning will need to watch timing implications, since heritage consultation and objection windows are often time‑sensitive.
Permits planning notices to be published in monthlies (via regulations)
The Planning Act change inserts the new definition for use in regulations, which means municipalities and approval authorities may begin accepting monthly papers for notices required under planning statutes. Given the short statutory appeal and notice periods that attach to many planning decisions, municipal planning departments should adopt clear protocols to ensure monthly publication still delivers timely public notice or is supplemented by other means.
Immediate effect on Royal Assent; short title established
The Act comes into force the day it receives Royal Assent and is titled the Supporting Ontario’s Community, Rural and Agricultural Newspapers Act, 2023. That immediate commencement means affected ministries and municipal clerks should prepare to apply the new definition without a transition window.
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Explore this topic in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Community, rural and agricultural newspapers — Restores eligibility to print statutory and municipal notices for papers that moved to bi‑weekly or monthly schedules, bringing back a key revenue source.
- Local businesses and advertisers — Increased circulation of legal and community notices in local papers creates ad and classified opportunities and directs local customers to local vendors.
- Municipal governments and clerks in rural areas — Gain more local publication options to reach residents who rely on community papers rather than regional or online sources.
- Rural and remote residents — Improved local access to statutory notices in a familiar, locally distributed printed format where internet access is limited.
Who Bears the Cost
- Municipal clerks and administrative staff — Must update eligible‑publication lists, verify circulation and publication frequency, and adapt notice schedules to lower‑frequency publications.
- Publishers and advertisers of metropolitan papers — Could lose some notice and classified business to local monthlies in small markets.
- Residents in rapidly developing jurisdictions or time‑sensitive matters — May experience slower receipt of notice if municipalities rely solely on monthly publications without supplemental methods.
- Provincial ministries and regulators — Face administrative work to align regulations and guidance with the new definitions and may need to resolve disputes about sufficiency of notice.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is preserving local journalism by restoring notice revenue to slow‑frequency community papers versus maintaining timely, predictable public notice and legal certainty: enabling monthly publications helps fragile local media, but lower publication frequency can delay public awareness and complicate statutory timing that assumes more frequent circulation.
The bill is a narrow, operational fix that expands eligibility for printed publications but leaves many implementation questions unanswered. First, the law mandates a printed, sheet‑form newspaper published monthly or more often, so any community outlet that has moved to digital‑only publication receives no relief.
Second, several amendments frame the new definition as the meaning “in the regulations,” which obliges regulators and municipalities to update regulatory lists and practices; that staged approach risks temporary inconsistencies across statutory regimes.
A second unresolved issue is verification and timing. The bill does not create a standardized process for proving a paper’s circulation or publication schedule, nor does it adjust statutory notice windows that assume weekly publication.
Municipal clerks must decide whether a single monthly insertion satisfies legal notice requirements for time‑sensitive processes (planning appeals, heritage objections, development‑charge meetings), or whether to require additional notice (website postings, signage) to avoid procedural challenges. Those choices create the possibility of litigation over sufficiency of notice and open municipalities to appeals or delays if notice is deemed ineffective.
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