Sam Tecle
Associate
Article
4
On March 18, 2020, B.C.'s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Mike Farnworth, declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Farnworth's announcement comes after the B.C. Government declared a public health emergency earlier this week. The BC Government most recently declared a state of emergency during B.C.'s wildfires in August 2018 in order to ensure that citizens did not return to areas under a mandatory evacuation order.
The B.C. Government's authority to declare a state of emergency is granted by the Emergency Program Act, which provides a minister or the Lieutenant Governor in Council with the power to require local governments, provincial ministries, crown corporations, and other government agencies to develop emergency management plans and programs to respond to disasters, emergencies, and catastrophes.
During a state of emergency, the minister or Lieutenant Governor in Council has the power to enact certain measures, which include:
The Emergency Program Act provides that a state of emergency lasts for 14 days, but can be extended for further periods of not more than 14 days each.
If there is a conflict between the Emergency Program Act and any provision under the OHSR, the Emergency Program Act prevails for the period that a state of emergency is in effect. However, to the extent that orders under the Emergency Program Act do not impact an employer's responsibilities under the OHSR, the employer must take every precaution to ensure the safety of its employees.
No. On March 17, 2020, B.C. Premier, John Horgan, announced that the B.C. Government plans to amend the Employment Standards Act to ensure job security for employees who have self-isolated as a means of preventing further spread of COVID-19. Premier Horgan's announcement follows on the heels of recent announcements by the Alberta and Ontario Governments that they will amend their respective employment standards legislation to allow employees to take protected leave for the purpose of self-isolating. The proposed amendments to employment standards legislation in these provinces intend to solve the dilemma that many employees currently face of either working on site or self-isolating in order to protect public health.
To learn more about workplace strategies for communicable illnesses and handling COVID-19 in your workplace, please contact a member of Gowling WLG's Employment, Labour & Equalities Group.
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