On July 7, 2020, the Ontario government introduced the proposed Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, which, if passed into law, would allow the government to lift the province’s declaration of emergency while maintaining certain existing emergency health measures.
Currently, the provincial government can only issue emergency orders while a declaration of emergency is in place. Under the proposed legislation, the provincial government would be able to extend, amend, and rescind existing emergency orders, but would not be able to create new ones. Specifically, under the new law, existing emergency orders under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) would continue for an initial 30 days, and the government would then be able to further extend these orders for up to 30 days at a time, as needed. The government would also be allowed to make any amendments to emergency orders relating to:
- labour redeployment or workplace and management rules;
- the closure of spaces or regulation of how businesses and establishments can be open to safely provide goods or services;
- compliance with public health advice; and
- rules related to gatherings and public events.
The ability to extend and amend orders would come with monthly reporting requirements and be limited to a one-year period, which could be extended by the Ontario legislature.
The proposed legislation would not prevent municipalities from declaring or continuing a local state of emergency.
The province’s Solicitor General, Sylvia Jones, has stated that the purpose of the legislation is to “bridge the gap” between emergency measures needed during the initial response to COVID-19 and the public health measures that will continue to be necessary as the province recovers and reopens.
Ontario’s declaration of emergency was set to expire on July 15, 2020, but the provincial government has announced that it will introduce a motion to extend it until July 24, 2020, to avoid a gap between the declaration expiring and the new legislation coming into effect.
This blog is provided as an information service and summary of workplace legal issues. This information is not intended as legal advice.