Section 2: Orders intended to support the continuity of critical services
O. Reg. 76/20 (Electronic Service)
Description:
- The emergency order required service of legal documents on the Crown and related entities to be effected electronically.
- This order came into effect on March 23, 2020 under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) and continued under Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19covid 19) Act, 2020 (ROA) from July 24, 2020.
Why the emergency order was needed:
- Service is when a copy of legal documents in a case is given to the other party. Documents must be served on the other party because that person has a right to know about a case that has been started against them.
- Several Ontario statutes, regulations and rules require or permit documents to be served personally on the Crown and related entities. Accordingly, staff had to report physically to work to accept personal service of documents. Individuals would also need to travel in person to properly serve documents on the Crown or related entities.
- The order required service to be delivered electronically instead of through personal attendance.
- The order was needed to provide continued access to justice during the first declared provincial emergency in response to COVID-19covid 19 and after this emergency terminated by allowing litigation involving the Crown, ministers of the Crown including the Attorney General, Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee, Office of the Children's Lawyer or the Director of the Family Responsibility Office to be commenced or continued effectively, while maximizing the ability of staff to work remotely and practice physical distancing, and to minimize the need for members of the public to travel in order to effect personal service.
- The order was a reasonable measure relative to others because it provided the timeliest response and most consistent approach. The existing governing frameworks did not allow for this ability. It would not have been timely or feasible to make individual amendments temporarily overriding each of the numerous statutes, and regulations governing service, and particularly court rules which are not within the government’s control.
Amendments to the Order under ROA during the Reporting Period (July 24, 2021 – December 1, 2021):
- No amendments were made to the order.
Revocation/Continuation under ROA during the Reporting Period (July 24, 2021 – December 1, 2021):
- The order remained in effect as of December 1, 2021 as the circumstances required its extension.
O. Reg. 192/20 (Certain Persons Enabled to Issue Medical Certificates of Death)
Description:
- This emergency order allowed registered nurses and nurse practitioners who are active members of the College of Nurses of Ontario, appointed as of May 1, 2020 under s.16.1(1) of the Coroners Act, to exercise the investigative powers and duties of a coroner to complete and sign a Medical Certificate of Death (MCOD). The emergency order also clarified that these individuals were authorized to copy or duplicate MCODs, enabling electronic copies to be sent to funeral directors.
- This order came into effect on May 1, 2020 under the EMCPA and continued under ROA from July 24, 2020.
Why the emergency order was needed:
- Provincial coroners were having difficulty managing the significant caseloads resulting from the continued increase of deaths as a result of COVID-19covid 19.
- The order was needed to increase the number of persons available to ensure timely completion of MCODs by extending the authority to registered nurses and nurse practitioners appointed as coroner investigators. This was also intended to increase the capacity for frontline clinicians to focus on patient care and for coroners to focus on cases that require an investigation by a coroner. Timely completion of MCODs was necessary to allow the final disposition of the deceased to proceed, and to understand the extent of COVID-19covid 19 in the community and pandemic mortality.
- The order was a reasonable measure relative to others because it provided the timeliest response. It would not have been feasible at the time to make regulatory changes to the Vital Statistics Act to enable registered nurses and nurse practitioners appointed as coroner investigators to complete, sign and copy MCODs.
Amendments to the Order under ROA during the Reporting Period (July 24, 2021 – December 1, 2021):
- No amendments were made to the order.
Revocation/Continuation under ROA during the Reporting Period (July 24, 2021 – December 1, 2021):
- The order was revoked on August 18, 2021 as the regulation R.R.O. 1990, Reg.1094 (General) under the Vital Statistics Act was amended to include these authorities.
O. Reg. 195/20 (Treatment of Temporary COVID-19covid 19 Related Payments to Employees)
Description:
- This emergency order suspended certain provisions under the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019 (PSPSFGA) and replaced them with other provisions to clear barriers for employers to provide eligible frontline workers with time-limited payments in response to COVID-19covid 19 (e.g. temporary pandemic pay).
- This order came into effect on May 1, 2020 retroactive to April 24, 2020 under the EMCPA and continued under ROA from July 24, 2020.
Why the emergency order was needed:
- The emergency order was needed to address COVID-19covid 19 related staffing shortages, support implementation of temporary pandemic pay and minimize the risk that temporary pandemic pay and other temporary COVID-19covid 19 related payments made during a moderation period could be perceived as non-compliant with the PSPSFGA at a later date.
Amendments to the Order under ROA during the Reporting Period (July 24, 2021 – December 1, 2021):
- No amendments were made to the order
Revocation/Continuation under ROA during the Reporting Period (July 24, 2021 – December 1, 2021):
- The order remained in effect as of December 1, 2021 as the circumstances required its extension.
O. Reg. 132/20 (Use of Force and Firearms in Policing Services)
Description:
- This emergency order allowed for chiefs of police to authorize certain members of a police service to perform duties involving the use of force and to carry a firearm if the member had successfully completed the prescribed training within the previous 24 months from the date of the authorization. The authorization could last as long as the order is in effect.
- This order came into effect on April 8, 2020 under the EMCPA and continued under ROA from July 24, 2020.
Why the emergency order was needed:
- Police services and the Ontario Police College delayed or adjusted training to stop the spread of COVID-19covid 19 and comply with public health guidance at police training facilities.
- The order was needed to ensure the continued delivery of public safety services by enabling police services to deploy enough personnel to frontline duties despite COVID-19covid 19-related constraints and training capacity issues.
- The order was a reasonable measure relative to others because it provided the timeliest response and most consistent approach. The Equipment and Use of Force Regulation under the Police Services Act does not allow officers to defer annual prescribed use of force and firearm training, resulting in many officers potentially being unable to fulfil frontline duties. However, it would not have been timely or feasible to make regulatory changes without understanding the potential length of the emergency period and the resulting transition period required to address the expected training backlog.
- The order had the effect of allowing the reappointment of recently retired specified members of a police service who received use of force and firearms training within the past 24 months to support police service delivery during the COVID-19covid 19 pandemic.
Amendments to the Order under ROA during the Reporting Period (July 24, 2021 – December 1, 2021):
- No amendments were made to the order.
Revocation/Continuation under ROA during the Reporting Period (July 24, 2021 – December 1, 2021):
- The regulation was revoked on November 16, 2021. Despite delays in annual training delivery due to the COVID-19covid 19 pandemic, the ministry was advised by municipal police services and the Ontario Provincial Police that all members would be in compliance with the prescribed training requirements by November 16, 2021. As a result, a further extension of the order was not sought.
O. Reg. 95/20 (Streamlining Requirements for Long-Term Care Homes)
Description:
- This emergency order provided increased flexibility and reduced administrative requirements for licensees of long-term care homes in a range of areas (e.g., staffing), allowing them to respond nimbly and effectively to meet the care and safety requirements of residents during the COVID-19covid 19 pandemic.
- This order came into effect on March 27, 2020 under the EMCPA and continued under ROA from July 24, 2020.
Why the emergency order was needed:
- In March 2020, there was a growing concern from stakeholders and the Ministry of Long-Term Care that frontline workers in long-term care homes would become ill with COVID-19covid 19 and be unable to work, creating staffing shortages and leading to further spread of COVID-19covid 19 amongst residents.
- There was also growing concern from stakeholders and the ministry that outbreaks of COVID-19covid 19 in long-term care homes would have a severe impact on the level of care required by residents due to potential staffing shortages.
- The intent of the streamlined requirements in O. Reg. 95/20, including streamlined staff qualification requirements, was to support the homes’ efforts to address staffing challenges.
- The order was the most responsive approach to providing the needed authority to implement these measures within a timely and consistent manner compared to other statutory amendments. The existing governing frameworks did not provide the greatest flexibility and nimbleness in responding to a rapidly evolving landscape and shifting on-the-ground priorities. There was an urgency to address potentially significant staffing shortages, administrative matters, and their potential impacts on the level of care provided to residents.
Amendments to the Order under ROA during the Reporting Period (July 24, 2021 – December 1, 2021):
- No amendments were made to the order.
Revocation/Continuation under ROA during the Reporting Period (July 24, 2021 – December 1, 2021):
- The order remained in effect as of December 1, 2021 as the circumstances required its extension
Updated: July 18, 2022
Published: March 31, 2022