Ontario Extends Declaration of Emergency

Ontario is extending its Declaration of Emergency until June 2, 2020.  The order passed yesterday during a special sitting of the provincial legislature.

“We are making steady progress to flatten the curve and get more people back to work safely, including our legislators, but we still have far to go in defeating COVID-19,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said.  All emergency orders announced to-date will remain place until June 2.

The extension is designed to help the province slowly reopen itself.  Members of Provincial Parliament (MPP’s) also passed a bill that will help conduct business will social-distancing.  COVID-19 Response and Reforms to Modernize Ontario Act, 2020 includes the following measures:

• Providing authority to address in-person attendance rules for school board trustees’ meetings in regulation. This would provide the flexibility in certain emergency situations to allow trustees to meet virtually during school closures;
• Enabling corporations to call and hold meetings virtually, as applicable, and extending the time period in which annual meetings must be held in specific circumstances;
• Allowing designations of a beneficiary to be provided electronically for Retirement Savings Plans, Retirement Income Funds, Locked-in Retirement Accounts, Life Income Funds and Tax-Free Savings Accounts;
• Allowing electronic filing of business registration documents, and the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services to accept copies of business registration documents and e-signatures;
• Allowing for regulations to set out the parameters for remotely commissioning or notarizing a document;
• Extending, on a one-time basis for 2020, the legisl ated four-year period during which a Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) election is mandated to be held to give more time to support remote voting.

“We are all eager to reopen the economy and return to work, while physical distancing remains an important reality. Today’s legislation helps to modernize some of our economic and community activity and make many necessary interactions that much easier and safer,” Government House Leader Paul Calandra said.