On Thursday, March 26, 2020, B.C. Minister of Public Safety and
Solicitor General, Mike Farnworth, announced a series of
unprecedented ministerial orders "to secure critical supply
chains and safeguard the most vulnerable" in B.C. during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 18, 2020, the Minister declared a "state of
emergency" in B.C. under the Emergency Program Act (the
"EPA"), enabling the province
to exercise sweeping emergency powers to, among other things,
prohibit travel to and from any area of the province, conscript
persons to render assistance that they are qualified to provide,
and procure, fix the prices of, or ration essential supplies such
as food, clothing, fuel, equipment and medical supplies. Our full
summary of B.C.'s emergency powers can be found here.