COVID-19 Measures Act brought into force with amendments

UPDATE – certain sections of Schedule 2 to the COVID-19 Related Measures Act were repealed on July 30, 2020. Please see our latest article for more information.

On Friday, July 10, 2020, the Lieutenant Governor in Council issued an order bringing the COVID-19 Measures Act (the “Act”) into force. As we’ve previously reported, this legislation automatically incorporates and extends certain ministerial orders enacted under the Emergency Program Act, which would otherwise end immediately at the conclusion of the state of emergency.

As part of this order, the Lieutenant Governor in Council has simultaneously repealed a number of ministerial orders which were set out in the schedules to the Act, with effective repeal dates preceding July 10, 2020. These orders are as follows:

• Local Government Meetings and Bylaw Process (COVID19) Order Nos. 2 (repealed effective June 16, 2020)
• Limitation Periods (COVID19) Order (repealed effective April 14, 2020)
• Residential Tenancy (COVID19) Order (repealed effective June 23, 2020)
• Protection Against Liability (COVID19) Order No. 1 (repealed effective April 21, 2020)
• Encampment Health and Safety (COVID19) Order No. 1 (repealed effective May 7, 2020)

The order also declares that the following ministerial orders will be repealed immediately upon the end of the state of emergency:

• Encampment Health and Safety (COVID19) Orders (No. 2, Vancouver Enforcement Order, Victoria Enforcement Order)

The following additional ministerial orders have also been added to Schedule 2 of the Act, which signals that the orders are effective on the date they were made under the Emergency Program Act:

• Commercial Tenancy (COVID19) Order (to be repealed effective September 1, 2020);
• Residential Tenancy (COVID19) Order No. 2 (to be repealed 45 days after the last extension of the state of emergency)
• COVID-19 (Societies Act) Regulation (to be repealed one year after the Act comes into force, i.e., July 10, 2021)

After accounting for the amendments made to the Act by the Lieutenant Governor in Council’s order, as outlined above, the following orders continue to be extended by 90 days after the end of the state of emergency:

• Electronic Attendance (COVID19) Orders (Strata Property Meetings, Corporate Meetings, Credit Union Meetings, Statutory Meetings)
• Local Government Meetings and Bylaw Process (COVID19) Order No. 3
• Bylaw Enforcement Officer (COVID19) Order
• Local Authorities and Essential Goods and Supplies (COVID19) Order
• Provincial Compliance Officer (COVID19) Order
• Limitation Periods (COVID19) Order No. 2
• Health Care Labour Adjustment (COVID19) Order
• Prohibition on Unconscionable Prices for Essential Goods and Supplies (COVID19) Order
• Employment and Assistance (COVID19) Order
• Local Government Finance (COVID19) Order
• Electronic Witnessing of Enduring Powers of Attorney and Representation Agreements (COVID19) Order
• Electronic Attendance at UBCM Convention (COVID19) Order
• Protection Against Liability for Sports (COVID19) Order

Additionally, the following orders continue to be extended by 45 days after the end of the state of emergency:

• Protection Against Liability (COVID19) Order No 2
• Supreme Court Civil and Family Applications (COVID19) Order

If you have any questions about this article, please contact Sari Wiens, Ilan Burkes, Nicole Toye or Jessica Fairbairn.

Note to our Readers: Information regarding COVID-19 is rapidly evolving. We are working to bring you up-to-date articles as the legal issues develop and to keep our previous posts updated. Given that the legal issues related to COVID-19 are constantly changing, if you are looking for legal advice or are dealing with an issue in relation to COVID-19, please contact your Harris lawyer or a member of our COVID-19 response team: Sari Wiens, Ilan Burkes, Nicole Toye or Jessica Fairbairn.

To read our most recent articles and other updates on COVID-19, visit our COVID-19 Updates page.