New Federal Act to Permit Extensions to Time Limits in Federal Legislation as a Result of COVID-19

Bill C-20, An Act respecting further COVID-19 measures, which passed on July 27, 2020, has enacted new legislation that permits the temporary suspension or extension of time limits or other periods specified in federal legislation or in court proceedings governed by federal legislation that are difficult or impossible to meet in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Comprehensive Overview of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy – July 2020 Update

On July 27, 2020, the federal government passed Bill C-20, An Act respecting further COVID-19 measures (Bill C-20), which amends the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) first enacted in April 2020 with Bill C-14, the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, No. 2 (Bill C-14). Since April, there have been a number of changes to the CEWS. Bill C-20 implements the modified rules for the CEWS program that apply from June onward.

In this FTR Now we provide a comprehensive summary of the CEWS, including the new details of the CEWS extension to December 19, 2020, and we incorporate content from our previous firm communications dated March 30, 2020, April 2, 2020, April 9, 2020, April 13, 2020, and April 20, 2020.

Bill 195 Passes: Declared Emergency Will End But Emergency Orders Will Continue

On July 21, 2020, Bill 195, Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 received Royal Assent. The Ontario government has announced that the new Act will be proclaimed in force on July 24, 2020. As set out in greater detail in our FTR Now of July 15, 2020, this means that the COVID-19 declared emergency will come to an end on July 24, 2020.

Ontario Extends Declared Emergency to July 24, 2020

Further to our FTR Now of July 15, 2020 in which we outlined the changes proposed by Bill 195, Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2000, it has come to our attention that by motion in the Legislature on July 13, 2020, the Ontario government extended the declared emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) to July 24, 2020.

Ontario Introduces Bill to Continue Emergency Orders After the Declared Emergency Ends

Premier Ford recently signaled that he is hopeful another extension of the declared emergency made under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) will not be needed. Presumably to this end, on July 7, 2020, the government introduced Bill 195, Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2000 (Bill 195) which, if passed, will enable it to continue Orders made under sections 7.0.2 or 7.1 of the EMCPA even after the declared emergency comes to an end.

Ontario Issues Orders Relating to Stage 3 Reopening: What You Need to Know

On July 13, 2020, the Ontario government filed two Orders made under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act regarding Stage 3 of the reopening of the province. The first Order, Stages of Reopening, is a new regulation that identifies which regions of the province are at Stage 1, 2 or 3 of the reopening plan.

Ontario Announces Stage 3 Reopening for Certain Regions

On Monday, July 13, the Ontario government announced that 24 regions in Ontario are moving to the Stage 3 of the provincial re-opening plans effective Friday, July 17, 2020. The Orders made under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act giving effect to this announcement have not yet been published and we will provide further updates on the Stage 3 reopening as may be necessary. In order that you may continue your Return to Work planning, however, here is what we know as of today.