Summary#

Bill 65, the Remembrance Day Observance Act, 2025, would amend Ontario’s Remembrance Day and Veterans’ Week Act, 2024. Its stated goal is to strengthen Remembrance Day observance in schools and workplaces. The supplied material does not include the 2024 Act, so what it already requires could not be verified.

• Every school would have to hold a dedicated Remembrance Day service for students to attend on November 11, or on the Friday before if November 11 falls on a weekend. Students are not required by this bill to attend.
• A school service could include a trip to a cenotaph, a wreath laying, an assembly with guest speakers, a musical tribute, or another service that commemorates soldiers who died in war. It could not consist only of prerecorded material.
• The Ministry of Education would have to develop elementary and secondary curricula about Remembrance Day’s purpose and importance, covering historical and modern military conflicts. It would have to consult educators and unions representing educators.
• Unless regulations create exceptions, no workplace could operate from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Remembrance Day.
• The bill would come into force on June 1, 2026.

What it means for you#

• Schools and school communities: Each school would have to hold a service on the date set out in the bill. The bill does not require students to attend or specify how long the service must be.
• Ministry of Education: The Ministry would have to develop both curricula and consult educators and their unions.
• Workplaces, employers and workers: Workplaces could not operate during the four-hour period unless an exception is set by regulation. The bill does not say whether workers must be paid during that period or how their schedules would be handled.
• General public: The bill does not change who qualifies for a benefit, create a fine, or set out an enforcement process.

Money#

No cost information is in the available material.

• The Ministry and schools would have duties under the bill, but it gives no cost estimate, staffing amount or funding source.
• It does not set a fee, fine or payment for employers or workers.

What is unclear#

• The bill does not define “workplace” or explain which workplaces could be exempt. The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations setting exceptions, but the bill does not say what they would be.
• It does not set details for the curricula, such as when they must be ready or how they would be used.
• It does not set rules for how schools choose or organize services, or how the required consultation must happen.
• The supplied material does not include the 2024 Act, so it is not possible to verify how these requirements would interact with existing law.
• The bill does not explain how the workplace closure would be enforced.

Case for#

• A required school service would give students an opportunity to observe Remembrance Day, while allowing schools to choose among several formats.
• Requiring both elementary and secondary curricula could give Remembrance Day a place in classroom learning, not only in a one-day service.
• The bill requires coverage of both historical and modern military conflicts and consultation with educators and their unions.
• A four-hour workplace closure could give people time to observe the day, though the bill does not guarantee that workers would be paid or otherwise released from work.

Case against#

• The workplace rule applies broadly on its face, while the bill leaves exceptions to future regulations. Until those are set, the effect on different kinds of workplaces is unclear.
• The bill requires schools and the Ministry to do additional work but provides no funding or cost details.
• The bill leaves important choices open, including what the curricula will teach and how school services will be organized.
• The bill requires a service for students to attend but does not require attendance, so it does not ensure that students will take part.