Enactment of Stay-At-Home Order and Extension for Virtual Meetings

In what has been a busy 24 hours for the condominium world, below we summarize the two major developments that were just announced by Government of Ontario which will impact condominium corporations.

New Emergency and Stay-at-Home Orders

Today, the Government of Ontario declared a third provincial emergency under s 7.0.1 (1) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMPCA). The Government has advised that these measures are being taken in response to the rapid increase in COVID-19 transmission, the threat on the province's hospital system capacity, and the increasing risks posed to the public by COVID-19 variants.

Effective Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 12:01 a.m., the Government is issuing a province-wide Stay-at-Home order requiring everyone to remain at home except for essential purposes, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services (including getting vaccinated), for outdoor exercise, or for work that cannot be done remotely.

As part of the Government's actions, a moratorium on residential evictions will also be in effect until further notice.

The Government's press release can be read here.

Extension of Virtual Meetings

The Government made regulatory amendments under the Condominium Act, 1998 that extends the effective period of temporary legislative provisions permitting condominium corporations to call and hold meetings virtually from May 31, 2021 to December 31, 2021, notwithstanding they may not have passed a by-law. The extension also applies to the ability of condominiums to provide Notice of Meeting packages (and other related documents) to their owners electronically.

You can read the new regulation extending the temporary provisions here.