COVID-19 has affected just about every area of peoples lives across Ontario.
Included within that unprecedented effect are some temporary changes to the province’s legal system announced by the Ontario government Saturday.
“The province is extending the suspension of limitation periods and time periods in proceedings until September 11, 2020 under Subsection 7.1 (2) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act,” an Ontario government news release states.
That means Ontarians won’t experience legal consequences if the original time requirements of their case are not met while this order is in effect.
“The province is working closely with the courts to ensure operations can resume as soon as it is safely possible,” the news release states.
“Any provision of any statute, regulation, rule, by-law or order of the Government of Ontario establishing any limitation period shall be suspended for the duration of the emergency, and the suspension shall be retroactive to Monday, March 16, 2020,” the Order reads.
In addition, the Order reads “any provision of any statute, regulation, rule, by-law or order of the Government of Ontario establishing any period of time within which any step must be taken in any proceeding in Ontario, including any intended proceeding, shall, subject to the discretion of the court, tribunal or other decision-maker responsible for the proceeding, be suspended for the duration of the emergency, and the suspension shall be retroactive to Monday, March 16, 2020.”
The Order regarding the province’s legal system falls within a larger announcement, made by the province Saturday, of an extension of all emergency orders currently in force under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act until Friday, June 19, 2020.
The provincial emergency orders were originally set to expire Tuesday, June 9.
The emergency orders include a ban on social gatherings of more than five people, bars and restaurants to be limited to take-out service only, child-care centres staying shut for now.
Extended emergency orders also include those which enable frontline care providers to redeploy staff where they are most needed, allow public health units to redeploy or hire staff if necessary and those which prohibit retirement home employees from working at more than one home or for another health service provider.
"It is critical that we keep these emergency orders in place so we can continue to reopen the province gradually and safely," stated Premier Doug Ford in Saturday’s news release.
"We are not out of the woods yet, and this deadly virus still poses a serious risk. We encourage businesses to begin preparing to reopen, so when the time comes, they will be able to protect employees, consumers and the general public."
Ford told the media he would be releasing a plan to reopen more businesses as part of the second stage of Ontario’s reopening plan “early next week.”
However, the premier emphasized the announcement of the plan doesn’t mean it will take effect immediately, the province to rely on data provided to it on the spread of COVID-19.
