Parliamentary Committee Notes: Declaration of Emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protections Act
Issue:
On February 12, 2022 the Government of Ontario made Ontario Regulation 71/22 under the Emergency Management and Civil Protect Act.
Response:
- On February 11, 2022, the Premier of Ontario declared a province wide emergency as a result of interference with transportation infrastructure and other critical infrastructure that was occurring across the province, and prevented the movement of people and the delivery of essential goods and services.
- On February 12, 2022 the Government of Ontario made Ontario Regulation 71/22 under the Emergency Management and Civil Protect Act.
- The Emergency Order prohibited the interference with Critical Infrastructure, which included, among others:
- 400-series highways,
- airports,
- hospitals,
- infrastructure for the supply of utilities such as water, gas, sanitation and telecommunications,
- international and interprovincial bridges and crossings,
- locations where COVID-19 vaccines are administered,
- This order prohibited, among other things:
- Preventing someone from travelling to or from critical infrastructure;
- Preventing the ordinary use of critical infrastructure;
- Assisting an individual to knowingly help them do anything above, including providing supplies, fuel, or other materials; or
- Preventing someone from travelling to or from walkways, bridges, and highways or prevent the ordinary use of them, if doing so would:
- Prevent the delivery of essential goods or services,
- Severely disrupt ordinary economic activity,
- Seriously interfere with the safety, health, or well-being of members of the public.
- The order gave the police officers and other provincial offences officers the powers to:
- Order an individual to stop contravening the emergency order;
- If there was more than one individual ,order the individuals to disperse;
- Order an individual to remove any object the individual used to contravene the order (e.g., a motor vehicle), whether the object was put there before or after this emergency order came into effect;
- Remove the object if the individual refuses to remove the object
- In accordance with the Emergency Order, the following permissions could have been suspended or cancelled by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation:
- Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration Certification
- Drivers Licenses (Ontario or out of province)
- Commercial and Passenger vehicle plates
- The Emergency Order did not create an arrest authority.
- For offences under the Emergency Management and Civil Protect Act, under which the emergency order was made, individuals can be:
- Issued a ticket for a set amount
- Be served with a summons under Part 1 of the Provincial Offense Act
- Have an information laid under part three of the Provincial Offense Act – subject to the maximum penalty of a fine of not more that 100,00, and not more than one year.
- Fines included:
- Fail to comply with order: $750
- Obstruct any person exercising a power in accordance with an order: $1000
- Obstruct any person performing a duty in accordance with an order: $1000
- The Emergency Order was revoked on April 15, 2022.
Background:
On February 11, 2022, the Premier of Ontario declared a province wide emergency as a result of interference with transportation infrastructure and other critical infrastructure that was occurring across the province, and prevented the movement of people and the delivery of essential goods and services. On February 12, 2022 the Government of Ontario made Ontario Regulation 71/22 under the Emergency Management and Civil Protect Act.
The Emergency Order prohibited the interference with Critical Infrastructure, which was defined as:
- 400-series highways,
- airports,
- canals,
- hospitals,
- infrastructure for the supply of utilities such as water, gas, sanitation and telecommunications,
- international and interprovincial bridges and crossings,
- locations where COVID-19 vaccines are administered,
- ports,
- power generation and transmission facilities, and
- railways; (“infrastructures essentielles”)
This order prohibited, among other things:
- Preventing someone from travelling to or from critical infrastructure;
- Preventing the ordinary use of critical infrastructure;
- Assisting an individual to knowingly help them do anything above, including providing supplies, fuel, or other materials; or
- Preventing someone from travelling to or from walkways, bridges, and highways (other than 400-series highways, which are already captured as “critical infrastructure”), or prevent the ordinary use of them, if doing so would:
- Prevent the delivery of essential goods or services,
- Severely disrupt ordinary economic activity, or
- Seriously interfere with the safety, health, or well-being of members of the public
Enforcement of Order
The order gave the police officers and other provincial offences officers the power to do the following when they had reasonable grounds to believe that an individual was not complying with the requirements listed above:
- Order the individual to stop contravening the emergency order;
- If there was more than one individual, order the individuals to disperse;
- Order the individual to remove any object the individual used to contravene the order (e.g., a motor vehicle), whether the object was put there before or after this emergency order came into effect; or
- Remove the object if the induvial refuses to remove the object
For offences under the Emergency Management and Civil Protect Act, under which the emergency order was made, individuals can be:
- Issued a ticket for a set amount
- Be served with a summons under Part 1 of the Provincial Offense Act
- Have an information laid under part three of the Provincial Offense Act – subject to the maximum penalty of a fine of not more that 100,00, and not more than one year.
Fines included:
- Fail to comply with order: $750
- Obstruct any person exercising a power in accordance with an order: $1000
- Obstruct any person performing a duty in accordance with an order: $1000
- Date modified: