Emergency Management Statute Law Amendment Act, 2004 — Bill 138 (38th Parliament, 2nd Session)

Bill 138, 38-2

Ontario — Bills

role="main" class="main-container container js-quickedit-main-content" id="main-content">

Bill 138, Emergency Management Statute Law Amendment Act, 2004

Please select

View bill

Status

Debates

Acts affected

Original

[38] Bill 138 Original (PDF)

Bill 138 2004

An Act to amend the

Emergency Management Act

and the Employment

Standards Act, 2000

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Emergency Management Act

1. The title of the Emergency Management Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Emergency Management

and Civil Protection Act

2. The definition of "emergency" in

section 1 of the Act, as amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 1999,

chapter 12,

Schedule P,

section 3, is repealed and the following substituted:

"emergency" means a situation or an impending situation that constitutes a danger of major proportions that could result in serious harm to persons or substantial damage to property and that is caused by the forces of nature, a disease or other

health risk, an accident or

an act whether intentional or otherwise; ("situation d'urgence")

3. The Act is amended by adding the following section:

Cabinet advisory committee

2.0.1 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint, from among the members of the Executive Council, a committee to advise the Lieutenant Governor in Council on matters relating to emergencies.

Section 7 of the Act, as amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 1999,

chapter 12,

Schedule P,

section 5, is repealed and the following substituted:

Definitions

7. In sections 7.0.1 to 7.0.12,

"Commissioner of Emergency Management" means the person appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council as the Chief, Emergency Management Ontario pursuant to

section 6.1; ("commissaire à la gestion des situations d'urgence")

"municipality" includes a local board of a municipality and a local services board; ("municipalité")

"necessary goods, services and resources" includes food, water, electricity, fossil fuels, clothing, equipment, transportation and medical services and supplies. ("denrées, services et ressources nécessaires")

Declaration of emergency

7.0.1

(1) Subject to subsection (3), the Lieutenant Governor in Council or the Premier, if in the Premier's opinion the urgency of the situation requires that an order be made immediately, may by order

declare that an emergency exists throughout Ontario or in any part of Ontario.

Confirmation of urgent declaration

(2) An order of the Premier, that declares an emergency, is terminated after 72 hours unless the order is confirmed by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council before it terminates.

Criteria for declaration

(3) An order declaring that an emergency exists throughout Ontario or any part of it may be made under this

section if there is an emergency that is such that,

(

a) it requires immediate action to prevent, reduce or mitigate a danger of major proportions that could result in serious harm to persons or substantial damage to property; and

(

b) the action cannot be undertaken using the resources normally available to a ministry of the Government of Ontario or an agency, board or commission or other branch of the government.

Emergency powers and orders

Purpose

7.0.2

(1) The purpose of making orders under this

section is to promote the public good by protecting the health, safety and welfare of the people of Ontario in times of declared emergencies and to do so

in a manner that respects the rights of individuals.

Criteria for emergency orders

(2) If an emergency is declared under

section 7.0.1, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make such orders as the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary and essential in the circumstances to prevent, reduce or mitigate

serious harm to persons or substantial damage to property,

(

a) if the harm or damage will be alleviated by the order; and

(

b) if there is no reasonable alternative to the order.

Limitations on emergency order

(3) Orders made under this

section are subject to the following limitations:

1. The actions authorized by an order shall be exercised in a manner which limits their intrusiveness.

2. An order shall only apply to the areas of the Province where it is necessary.

3. Subject to

section 7.0.9, an order shall be effective only for as long as is necessary.

Emergency orders

(4) In accordance with subsection (2) and subject to the limitations in subsection (3), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make orders in respect of the following:

1. The implementation of any emergency plans formulated under

section 3, 6, 8 or 8.1.

2. The regulation or prohibition of travel to, from or within any specified area.

3. The evacuation of individuals and the removal of personal property from any specified area and the making of arrangements for the adequate care and protection of individuals and property.

4. The establishment of facilities for the care, welfare, safety and shelter of individuals, including emergency shelters and hospitals.

5. The closure of any place, whether public or private, including any business, office, school, hospital or other establishment or institution.

6. To prevent, respond to or alleviate the effects of the emergency, the construction of works, the restoration of necessary facilities and the requisition, use, destruction, removal or disposition of property.

7. The use of any necessary goods, services and resources within any part of Ontario.

8. The procurement of necessary goods, services and resources, the distribution, availability and use of necessary goods, services and resources and the establishment of centres for their distribution.

9. The fixing of prices for necessary goods, services and resources and the prohibition against charging higher prices in respect of necessary goods, services and resources than the fair market value of the necessary goods, services or

resources immediately before the emergency.

10. The authorization of any person, or any person of a class of persons, to render services of a type that that person, or a person of that class, is reasonably qualified to provide.

11. Subject to subsection (9), the requirement that any person disclose information that in the opinion of the Lieutenant Governor in Council may be necessary in order to prevent, respond to or alleviate the effects of the emergency.

12. Consistent with the powers authorized in this subsection, the taking of such other actions or implementing such other measures as the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary in order to prevent, respond to or alleviate the

effects of the emergency.

Powers of the Premier

(5) If an order is made under

section 7.0.1,

(

a) the Premier may exercise any power or perform any duty conferred upon a minister of the Crown or a Crown employee by or under

an Act of the Legislature;

(

b) if the emergency area or any part of it is within the jurisdiction of a municipality, the Premier may, where he or she considers it necessary, direct and control the administration, facilities and equipment of the municipality in the

emergency area, and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, the exercise by the municipality of its powers and duties in the emergency area, whether under an emergency plan or otherwise, is subject to the direction and control of the

Premier; and

(

c) the Premier may require any municipality to provide such assistance as he or she considers necessary to an emergency area or any part of the emergency area that is not within the jurisdiction of the municipality, and may direct and control

the provision of such assistance.

By-law not necessary

(6) Despite subsection 5 (3) of the Municipal Act, 2001 , a municipality is authorized to exercise a municipal power in response to a direction or requirement of the Premier or his or her delegate issued under subsection

(5) without a by-law.

services.

Employment protected

(8) The employment of a person providing services under paragraph 10 of subsection (4) to render services shall not be terminated by reason only that the person is required to provide those services.

Disclosure of information

(9) The following rules apply with respect to an order under paragraph 11 of subsection (4):

1. An order prevails over any other Act or regulation.

2. Information that is subject to the order must be used to prevent, respond to or alleviate the effects of the emergency and for no other purpose.

3. Information that is subject to the order that is personal information within the meaning of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act shall be destroyed as soon as is practicable after the emergency is terminated.

Exception

(10) Paragraph 3 of subsection (9) does not prohibit the use of data that is collected as a result of an order to disclose information under paragraph 11 of subsection (4) for research purposes if,

(

a) information that could be used to identify a specific individual is removed from the data; or

(

b) the individual to whom the information relates consents to its use.

Delegation of powers

7.0.3

(1) After an order has been made under

section 7.0.1, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may delegate to a minister of the Crown or to the Commissioner of Emergency Management any of the powers of

the Lieutenant Governor in Council under subsection 7.0.2 (4) and the Premier may delegate to a minister of the Crown or to the Commissioner of Emergency Management any of the Premier's powers under subsection 7.0.2 (5).

Same

(2) A minister to whom powers have been delegated under subsection (1) may delegate any of his or her powers under subsections 7.0.2 (4) and (5) to the Commissioner of Emergency Management.

When orders take effect

7.0.4

(1) Orders under sections 7.0.1 and 7.0.2 take effect immediately upon their making.

Retroactive effect

(2) Despite subsection (1),

(

a) an order made under paragraph 5 of subsection 7.0.2 (4) may have retroactive effect to a date no earlier than the day the emergency to which the order relates is declared; and

(

b) an order made under paragraph 6 of subsection 7.0.2 (4) may have retroactive effect to the beginning of the emergency to which the order relates.

Publication of orders

(3) The Lieutenant Governor in Council, the Premier, the minister or the Commissioner of Emergency Management, as the case may be, shall take all steps reasonably possible to bring orders under sections 7.0.1 and 7.0.2 to the

attention of affected persons as soon as possible pending their publication under the Regulations Act .

Orders effective before publication

(4) Despite subsection 5 (3) of the Regulations Act , orders under sections 7.0.1 and 7.0.2 are effective against any person even though they have not been published in The Ontario Gazette .

General or specific

7.0.5 An order under

section 7.0.1 or 7.0.2 may be general or specific in its application.

Conflict with legislative instruments

7.0.6

(1) In the event of a conflict between an order made under

section 7.0.2 and any statute, regulation, rule, by-law or order, the order under

section 7.0.2 prevails.

Limitation

(2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed or applied so as to confer any power to make orders altering the provisions of this Act.

Same

(3) Nothing in this Act affects the rights of a person to bring an application for the judicial review of any act or failure to act under this Act.

Preservation of duties and rights

(4) Despite subsection (1), nothing in this Act or in an order made under it abrogates any duties that are imposed and rights that are provided under the Occupational Health and Safety Act .

Reports during an emergency

7.0.7 During an emergency, the Premier, or a Minister to whom the Premier delegates the responsibility, shall regularly report to the public with respect to the emergency.

Termination of emergency

7.0.8

(1) Subject to this section, an emerge

Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 138, 38-2
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p38 s2 bill 138 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	89ccb0d8b91e74c38de0fa469747d6072b4db7ec

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (html).