Advocacy BC: BC Government Extends COVID-19 Related Measures Act and various regulations and orders to December 31, 2021

Author: Tracey Young. (July 15, 2021). BC Government Extends COVID-19 Related Measures Act and various orders to December 31, 2021. Advocacy BC. Retrieved from: https://advocacybc.blogspot.com/2021/07/bc-government-extends-covid-19-related.html

Disclaimer and Introduction

I am not a lawyer. I write this article from the perspective of a public interest advocate who believes the citizens and taxpayers of British Columbia have a right to accountable, open, and transparent governance, information, updates and changes that the BCNDP government has carried out under the guise of "managing" SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19.

This article contains analysis and links to B.C. government orders, regulations and laws that give the BCNDP unrestrained governmental, state, and institutional power and control over the lives of the people of B.C. I would argue that the legislative and regulatory powers that the BCNDP have brought in are draconian and totalitarian in nature. The usual checks and balances that occur in a system of parliamentary democracy -- the voices and advocacy of our elected officials, Members of the Legislature (MLA), have been entirely silenced, undermined, and rendered obsolete in B.C., regarding any measures taken under the guise of COVID-19, and the legislative scheme the BCNDP have brought in and maintained.

It is my personal opinion and belief that the BCNDP government has catastrophically failed the public interest in B.C. through their actions since SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 were identified in B.C. It is also my personal belief and perspective that the BCNDP are continuing to fail the citizens of B.C. by continuing the undemocratic, draconian, and totalitarian manner of governing B.C. under the CRMA and through their actions, which have led to many harms to the people of our province.

BCNDP Government Updates to Existing COVID-19 Legal and Regulations

The B.C. government has quietly been updating and ending some COVID-19-related orders in the last few weeks. I wrote an article that provided an overview of some of these previous orders and updates that can be seen here:

BC Update: COVID-19-related Orders have ended: Masks, Restrictions and Workplace Safety Plans – July 9, 2021.

Source: https://advocacybc.blogspot.com/2021/07/bc-update-covid-19-related-orders-have.html

COVID-19 Related Measures Act (CRMA)

In June 2020 I wrote an article about the dangers and the draconian and undemocratic nature, and risks of Bill 19, which would become the CRMA, when David Eby, Attorney General of B.C. introduced Bill 19 into the B.C. Legislature for first reading on June 22nd, 2020. While the citizens of B.C. were reeling from all of the draconian, harmful, and destructive measures the BCNDP government brought in to the "manage" COVID-19, Bill 19 was rammed through the legislature from June 22nd to July 8th, 2020 when it received Royal Assent. This is how the COVID-19 Related Measures Act (CRMA) became a law in B.C. that has been used to control, limit, restrain, and restrict the lives of the citizens of B.C. for over a year now. There is no end in site for this now that the BCNDP gave themselves this authoritarian legislative power and control.

See the COVID-19 Related Measures Act (CRMA) (2020) here:

https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/20008

The key problems with CRMA include the following:

It transformed BC from a parliamentary democracy to a one-party totalitarian state. It gave the BCNDP unchecked power to do anything they want -- as long as they say their orders and amendments are done under the CRMA.

It sidelined parliamentary democratic process and left elected Members of the Legislature (MLA's) with no input, or voice into how the BCNDP government runs government, including the draconian measures to "manage" COVID-19 which have led to substantive harm and damages for many individuals and groups in B.C.

It gave the BCNDP government the ability to make unilateral changes to regulations and laws without bringing them to the Legislature for debate, amendments, or voting by our elected representatives, MLA's.

CRMA gives the BCNDP government completely unrestrained legislative control and dominance of BC under the guise of COVID-19. This is why B.C. has to be considered a one-party totalitarian state in which democracy has failed.

CRMA gives the BCNP government sweeping, unchallenged and unchecked powers to enact other authoritarian orders and measures. The BCNDP have used this power to control, limit, restrict and restrain the lives of the citizens of B.C. since March 18th, 2020. Many of the measures they have carried out have violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms of citizens.

Read my first article about this here:

#Bill19: COVID-19 Related Measures Act in BC (June 27, 2020).

Source: https://advocacybc.blogspot.com/2020/06/bill19-covid-19-related-measures-act.html

BC Government Ended Longest State of Emergency in BC History

On June 30th, 2021, the BCNDP government ended the State of Emergency (SOE) they had issued under the Emergency Program Act (EPA) on March 18th, 2020. This was the longest SOE in B.C. history. It was carried out under the guise of "managing" COVID-19.

Here are the different orders the BCNDP government made under the EPA:

Declaration of Provincial State of Emergency – March 18, 2020

Source: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/mo/mo/m0073_2020

Protection Against Liability (COVID-19) Order – April 2, 2020

Source: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/mo/mo/m0094_2020

MO 275 – Cancellation of State of Emergency under EPA. – June 30, 2021

Source: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/mo/mo/m0275_2021

BC Government Extends CRMA to December 31, 2021

On June 29th, 2021, in a series of secretive and unaccountable actions that have not been widely reported, the BCNDP government amended the CRMA in the following ways:

➤ Extended the CRMA to December 31st, 2021. They changed the 1 year "sunset clause" that was contained in this legislation to bring an end to this draconian and undemocratic legislation. They have now extended their undemocratic legislative power under the CRMA to the end of the year – IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY MATERIAL EVIDENCE THIS IS NECESSARY. (See below for the most up-to-date statistics on COVID-19 in B.C.).

➤ Issued Ministerial Order MO. 273 (June 28, 2021), which states:

I, Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, order that, effective June 30, 2021,

(a) the Protective Measures (COVID-19) Order made by Ministerial Order 13/2021 is repealed, and

(b) the attached Protective Measures (COVID-19) Order No. 2 is made.

Source: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/mo/mo/m0273_2021

Note: The "Protective Measures (COVID-19) Order 2" amendments allow the BCNDP government to continue to control, limit, constrain, restrict and fine citizens and business owners in B.C. regarding gatherings, events, and continue to limit and impact businesses that serve food and liquor, including limitations on the numbers of people who can enter businesses. The economic and financial destruction, hardship, and devastation the BCNDP government has caused through their use of these orders and the CRMA, leading to many businesses in B.C. going bankrupt, cannot be over-stated.

➤ Amended the regulation as follows:

Regulation 165/2021 (O.I.C) 372/2021) amends Schedule 2 of CRMA by adding the M273/2021 – Protective Measures (COVID-19) Order No. 2 made under the Emergency Program Act on June 28, 2021 as Item 23.8, which is effective until December 31, 2021.

➤ Has extended protection from damages for civil liability under the CRMA for various businesses and organizations, including long-term care (LTC) operators. It is important to note they are not protected from damages when gross negligence can be proven.

➤ Has kept in place draconian legislation while failing to recognize that COVID-19 does not have any epidemiological significance in B.C. at this time, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control's reports (see below).

➤ Appears to be positioning itself to be able to continue to use the CRMA to indefinitely control, constrain, limit and restrict the lives of the citizens, business owners, and taxpayers of B.C. – IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY MATERIAL EVIDENCE THIS IS NECESSARY.

The BCNDP government has NOT:

➤ Updated Schedule 2 of the CRMA to include Item 23.8.

➤ Made Item 23.8 available, or easily accessible to the public.

➤ Has not updated the BC government webpage where these regulatory amendments, changes, and updates should appear so that citizens and others in B.C. have openness and transparency about their legal actions and planning.

➤ Demonstrated any accountability, openness, or transparency about extending the CRMA to December 31st, 2021, or any of the other regulatory changes and updates they have added to it.

See this under 'Emergency Orders' and 'Attorney General reports to the speaker under the CRMA': https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/covid-19

See the Report to the Speaker of the B.C. Legislature by David Eby, Attorney General of B.C. (July 7, 2021) here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/law-crime-and-justice/covid-19-assets/oic-372-2021.pdf

Special Note: This appears to be the only BC government document that is publicly available that identifies the extension of the CRMA to December 31st, 2021.

BC Government Legal Orders related to COVID-19

COVID-19 information related to laws and regulations, courts, justice services, emergency orders, tribunals, boards, commissions and Attorney General reports to the speaker under the CRMA.

Source: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/covid-19

BC COVID-19 Epidemiological Statistics, July 15, 2021