Covid-19 Special Legislation

 

Legislation

 

Charter Statements

Many Canadians may not know that since December 13, 2019, a Charter Statement is tabled in Parliament for all Government legislation. These are tabled in Parliament by the Minister of Justice once legislation is introduced.

Charter Statements are a transparency measure intended to inform parliamentary and public debate on a bill and help increase awareness and understanding of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter).

The following list provides links to the Charter Statements related to federal legislation enacted to date in response to the COVID-19 pandemic:

 

Orders and Regulations

Along with legislation, the Government of Canada also has the authority, under existing laws, such as the Quarantine Act and the Aeronautics Act, to issue orders and regulations to address COVID-19 to ensure the public safety of Canadians.

Order or RegulationResponsible Department or AgencyDescriptionDate order madeEffective dateEffective until
Interim Order Respecting Passenger Vessel Restrictions Due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Transport Canada This interim order outlines restrictions for ferries and commercial passenger vessels. April 4, 2020 April 6, 2020 October 31, 2020, in the case of vessels in arctic waters, and June 30, 2020, in the case of vessels in any other Canadian waters.
Order pursuant to Section 32.1 of the Railway Safety Act Due to COVID-19 Transport Canada This Ministerial Order requires intercity passenger rail carriers outlined in this order to implement mandatory health checks for COVID-19 and to refuse boarding of symptomatic passengers. March 27, 2020

March 30, 2020

(at noon Eastern Daylight Time)

April 30, 2020
Interim Order to Prevent Certain Persons from Boarding Flights in Canada due to COVID-19 Transport Canada This order establishes the requirement for mandatory health checks and refusal of boarding for all domestic and outbound travel in Canada. March 27, 2020

March 30, 2020

(at noon Eastern Daylight Time)

April 9, 2020
Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada from the United States) Health Canada / Public Health Agency of Canada This order was made to broaden the scope of persons who are not prohibited from entering Canada while supporting Canada's continued focus on reducing the introduction and further spread of COVID-19. March 26, 2020 March 26, 2020 April 21, 2020
Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada from any country other than the United States) Health Canada / Public Health Agency of Canada This order was made to broaden the list of foreign nationals who are permitted entry to Canada by any mode of travel by supporting Canada's continued focus on reducing the introduction and further spread of COVID-19. March 26, 2020 March 26, 2020 June 30, 2020
Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Mandatory Isolation) Health Canada / Public Health Agency of Canada This order was made to manage all persons who enter Canada whether by air, land rail and sea, to minimize the travel related risk of introduction and spread of COVID-19 coronavirus disease by requiring all persons who enter Canada to isolate for 14 days from the day upon which they entered Canada. March 24, 2020 March 25, 2020 June 30, 2020
Interim Order to Prevent Certain Persons from Boarding Flights to Canada due to COVID-19, No. 3 Transport Canada This order was made to deal with a significant risk, direct or indirect, to aviation safety or the safety of the public. March 24, 2020

March 24, 2020

(at noon Eastern Daylight Time, with the exception of sections 6 to 8 which come into force on March 27, 2020, at noon Eastern Daylight Time)

April 6, 2020
Regulations Maintaining the Safety of Persons in Ports and the Seaway Transport Canada These Regulations temporarily restrict the number of persons arriving by cruise ship at ports managed by port authorities, at public ports, at public port facilities and in the Seaway to reduce the risk of persons in those areas contracting infectious diseases, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, also known as SARS-CoV-2. March 18, 2020 March 18, 2020 June 30, 2020
Interim Order Respecting the Importation and Sale of Medical Devices for Use in Relation to COVID-19 Health Canada This order was made to allow expedited access to COVID-19-related medical devices for use by healthcare providers, including diagnostic test kits. March 18, 2020 March 18, 2020 March 18, 2021
Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease in Canada Order (Persons Not on Government Flight) Health Canada / Public Health Agency of Canada This order was made to protect the health of travellers who have or may have been exposed to the COVID-19 coronavirus disease outbreak, as well as the health and safety of the general public through heightened oversight of all individuals arriving in Canada from an outbreak area (i.e. high contagion risk), but who have either declined the Government of Canada's express action to bring Canadians home or are foreign nationals not eligible for the repatriation effort. February 19, 2020 February 19, 2020 April 30, 2020
Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease in Canada Order Health Canada / Public Health Agency of Canada This order was made to protect the health of exposed travellers as well as the health and safety of the general public from the COVID-19 coronavirus disease outbreak through heightened oversight of all individuals arriving to Canada from areas with a high contagion risk, as part of the Government of Canada's action to bring Canadians home. February 17, 2020 February 17, 2020 April 30, 2020
Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to 2019-nCoV Acute Respiratory Disease in Canada Order Health Canada / Public Health Agency of Canada This order was made to protect the health of exposed travellers as well as the health and safety of the general public from the 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease outbreak through heightened oversight of all individuals arriving to Canada from Hubei Province, China as part of the Government of Canada's action to bring Canadians home. February 3, 2020 February 3, 2020 March 31, 2020
Measures no longer in effect
Order or RegulationResponsible Department or AgencyDescriptionDate order madeEffective dateEffective until
Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada from any country other than the United States) Health Canada / Public Health Agency of Canada This order was made to enhance recent border measures to minimize the risk of exposure to COVID-19 coronavirus disease from being transmitted by travellers entering Canada from foreign countries. March 22, 2020 March 22, 2020 Replaced by Emergency Order of the same name
Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada from the United States) Health Canada / Public Health Agency of Canada This order was made to protect the health of the public from the introduction or spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease transmitted via travellers from foreign countries by prohibiting entry into Canada by foreign nationals for optional or discretionary purposes. March 20, 2020 March 21, 2020 Replaced by Emergency Order of the same name
Interim Order to Prevent Certain Persons from Boarding Flights to Canada due to COVID-19, No. 2 Transport Canada This order was made to deal with a significant risk, direct or indirect, to aviation safety or the safety of the public. March 20, 2020

March 21, 2020

(at noon, with the exception of section 6 which comes into force on March 27, 2020)

Replaced by Interim Order No.3 of the same name
Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada) Health Canada / Public Health Agency of Canada This order was made to protect the health and safety of the public from the COVID-19 coronavirus disease outbreak by banning entry of certain foreign nationals travelling to Canada by air from all countries with the exception of persons travelling from the United States. March 18, 2020

March 18, 2020

(at noon Eastern Daylight Time)

Replaced by Emergency Order of the same name
Interim Order to Prevent Certain Persons from Boarding Flights to Canada due to COVID-19 Transport Canada This order was made to deal with a significant risk, direct or indirect, to aviation safety or the safety of the public. March 17, 2020

March 18, 2020

(at noon Eastern Daylight Time, except Sections 6 to 10 which come into force on March 19, 2020)

Replaced by interim Order No. 2 of the same name
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