Under A State Of Emergency, What Orders Can The Ontario Government Enact?

Summary

The Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (the "Act") gives the provincial government broad-ranging powers to act in the public interest by declaring a state of emergency.

The current version of the Act was developed following a review of Ontario's response to the March 2003 SARS outbreak and the August 2003 power outage, which revealed deficiencies in Ontario's ability to respond to emergency situations.

Yesterday, in response to the spread of COVID-19, the Government of Ontario declared a State of Emergency under the Act.

By declaring a State of Emergency, the Act gives the provincial cabinet the ability to make orders in respect of:

1. Implementing any emergency plans formulated under section municipalities or the province;