Appendix D: Relevant legislation and authorities

D.1 Federal

D.1.1. Constitution Act, 1867

The Province has exclusive jurisdiction for matters of property and civil rights in the province and for all matters that affect the public health, safety and environment of the province, under the Constitution Act, 1867.

D.1.2. Emergency Management Act, 2007

The federal government, through Public Safety Canada (PS), is responsible for the National Emergency Response System. This system provides a framework for joint federal, provincial and territorial response to emergencies.

In the event of a national emergency, the federal government will implement its emergency response plans and may consult with the Province of Ontario to support federal response to an emergency under federal jurisdiction.

To help ensure the safety and security of the individual and preservation of the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of the nation, the Government of Canada has established the Emergency Management Actand the Emergencies Act. These acts are intended to complement all other federal legislation.

The Emergency Management Act sets out clear roles and responsibilities for all federal ministers across the full spectrum of emergency management. This includes prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, and responsibilities for critical infrastructure.

The Emergency Management Act:

• Gives responsibility to the Minister of Public Safety to provide national leadership and set a clear direction for emergency management and critical infrastructure protection for the Government of Canada.
• Clearly establishes the roles and responsibilities of federal Ministers and enhances the Government of Canada's readiness to respond to all types of emergencies.
• Enhances collaborative emergency management and improves information sharing with other levels of government as well as the private sector.
• Gives authority to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, in consultation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to coordinate Canada's response to an emergency in the United States.
• Ensures the federal government will not respond to a provincial emergency without a formal request for assistance by the provincial government or if there is an agreement with the province that requires or permits the assistance.

Under the Emergency Management Act, the federal Governor in Council has the authority to declare a public welfare emergency. In order to do so, the Governor in Council must confirm with the Ontario Lieutenant Governor in Council (LGIC) that the emergency exceeds the response capacity of the province. Furthermore, the federal Governor in Council confirms with the LGIC that by issuing a public welfare emergency, it would not unduly impair the ability of the province to take measures to respond to that emergency.

D.1.3. Emergencies Act, 1985

The Emergencies Act authorizes the Government of Canada to take special temporary measures to ensure safety and security during national emergencies. It officially replaced the War Measures Act in 1988. As per the Emergencies Act:

a national emergency is an urgent and critical situation of a temporary nature that

1. seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians and is of such proportions or nature as to exceed the capacity or authority of a province to deal with it, or
2. seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada

and that cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada.

There are four types of emergencies that are covered under the Act:

• Public Welfare Emergencies: An emergency caused by real or imminent severe natural disasters, diseases, or major accidents that result in a danger to life or property, social disruption or a breakdown in the flow of essential goods, services or resources, so serious as to be a national emergency. The Governor in Council may not issue a declaration of a public welfare emergency where the direct effects of the emergency are confined to, or occur principally in, one province unless the lieutenant governor in council of the province has indicated to the Governor in Council that the emergency exceeds the capacity or authority of the province to deal with it.
• Public Order Emergencies: An emergency that arises from threats to the security of Canada and that is so serious as to be a national emergency. The Governor in Council may not issue a declaration of a public order emergency where the effects of the emergency are confined to one province, unless the lieutenant governor in council of the province has indicated to the Governor in Council that the emergency exceeds the capacity or authority of the province to deal with it.
• International Emergencies: An emergency involving Canada and one or more other countries that arises from acts of intimidation or coercion or the real or imminent use of serious force or violence and that is so serious as to be a national emergency.
• War Emergencies: A war or other armed conflict, real or imminent, involving Canada or any of its allies that is so serious as to be a national emergency.

The Emergencies Act guarantees Parliament's right to review and, if necessary, revoke emergency powers. It ensures that the Government is accountable to Parliament for its use of such powers. It also offers full protection for the fundamental rights and freedoms of Canadians during national emergencies.

D.1.4. National Defence Act, 1985

Canadian Armed Forces service may be provided in accordance with the National Defence Act for situations "in which a riot or disturbance of the peace, beyond the powers of the civil authorities to suppress, prevent or deal with and requiring that service, occurs or is, in the opinion of an attorney general, considered as likely to occur." The Attorney General of Ontario is empowered to make a requisition to the Chief of the Defence Staff for this assistance.

D.1.5. First Nations Emergency Assistance Agreement

The Government of Canada has made an agreement with the Government of Ontario under which Ontario provides emergency preparedness assistance and emergency response services to First Nations reserves.

Additionally, Ontario has, in consultation with Indigenous Services Canada and First Nations in Ontario, compiled the Joint Emergency Management Steering Committee (JEMS) 2018 Service Level Evacuation Standards. These standards describe the requirements for evacuating First Nations communities in Ontario.

Indigenous Services Canada Emergency Management Assistance Program

Indigenous Services Canada's Emergency Management Assistance Program (EMAP) was created in collaboration with First Nation communities, provincial and territorial government and non-government organizations. The EMAP is aimed to help on-reserve First Nation communities access emergency assistance services. It provides funds to those communities so they can build their resiliency, prepare for natural or human-caused hazards and respond appropriately. The EMAP is designed to be flexible, culturally sensitive, responsive to the unique strengths and customs of the First Nation communities and adaptive to the evolving challenges of emergency events. The program also enables ISC to provide funding to provinces, territories and non-governmental organizations in order for them to support emergency management for on-reserve First Nation communities.

D.2. Provincial

The Ontario government is responsible for protecting public health and safety, property and the environment within its borders. The following sections outline the legislative and regulatory framework associated with this responsibility.

D.2.1. Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, 1990

The legal basis for emergency management in Ontario is the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act R.S.O. 1990, Chapter E.9 , (referred to as the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, or the EMCPA).

For full details of the requirements under the EMCPA, the full text should be referred to. Those requirements that are most relevant to the PERP are:

• Pursuant to section 6 of the EMCPA, ministers of the crown presiding over a ministry of the Government of Ontario and agencies, boards, commissions or other branches of government designated by the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council shall formulate emergency plans for the type of emergency assigned by the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council^{footnote 19[19]}.
• Section 7.0.1 of the EMCPA confers powers to declare an emergency upon the Lieutenant Governor in Council and the Premier of Ontario. Pursuant to this section, the LGIC may make a provincial declaration of emergency if the resources normally available to the government are considered insufficient to respond adequately to the crisis (for more details on declarations of emergency, see section 6.5).
• A provincial declaration of emergency may also be made by the Premier of Ontario, if the urgency of the situation requires that such a declaration be made immediately. Such an emergency declaration is subject to the criteria set out in the EMCPA (for more details on declarations of emergency, see section 6.5).
• Pursuant to section 7.0.2 of the EMCPA, the LGIC has the power to make emergency orders to promote the public good by protecting the health, safety and welfare of the People of Ontario in times of declared emergencies in a manner that is subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These orders may only be made once a provincial declaration of emergency has been made.
• Pursuant to section 7.0.4(1) of the EMCPA, the LGIC may delegate the emergency order making powers to a Minister or to the Commissioner of Emergency Management. Further, a Minister to whom these powers have been delegated may delegate them to the Commissioner of Emergency Management.
• Ministers' emergency plans shall authorize Crown employees to take action under the emergency plans where an emergency exists but has not yet been declared to exist (section 9(a) of the EMCPA).
• Ministers of the Crown and Crown employees, or member of council or an employee of a municipality, are protected from personal liability for doing any act or neglecting to do any act in good faith in the implementation or intended implementation of emergency plans such as the PERP (subsection 11 (1) of the EMCPA).
• Pursuant to section 14 of the EMCPA, ministry emergency plans shall conform to the standards set out in regulations under the EMCPA.

D.2.2. Ontario Regulation 380/04

Ontario Regulation 380/04, which came into effect December 31, 2004, sets out the municipal and ministry standards for emergency management programs, which include ministry emergency response plans as well as continuity of operations plans.

D.2.3. Order in Council assignments of types of emergency

Pursuant to section 6(1) of the EMCPA, the LGIC may assign to a minister, the responsibility for the formulation of an emergency response plan to address a specific type of emergency. The current Order in Council (OIC 1157/2009) assigning responsibilities to ministers is included as Appendix C.

D.2.4. Order in Council establishing the Cabinet Committee on Emergency Management

Pursuant to section 2.0.1 of the EMCPA, the LGIC may appoint, from among the members of the Executive Council, a committee to advise the Lieutenant Governor in Council on matters relating to emergencies. This committee was established as the Cabinet Committee on Emergency Management through Order in Council 601/2019.

D.3. Municipal

Ontario municipalities possess legislated and regulatory responsibilities to establish emergency management programs under the EMCPA. The EMCPA also defines the relationship between the Province and municipalities during actual emergencies. Some of the key provisions of the EMCPA for municipalities are listed below:

• Adoption by By-Law. Pursuant to section 3 of the EMCPA, municipalities shall formulate plans to respond to emergencies and adopt these plans by by-law.
• Services. Municipal plans should reflect the coordination of services provided by all levels of local government in a given community. Services provided by both upper and lower tiers, as well as municipal boards, should be included.
• Conformity with upper-tier plan. Pursuant to section 5 of the EMCPA, the plans of lower-tier municipalities that are part of an upper-tier municipality shall conform to the plan of their upper-tier municipality.
• Authority to act prior to declaration. Municipal emergency plans shall authorize municipal employees to take action under emergency plans where an emergency exists but has not yet been declared to exist (subsection 9. (a) of the EMCPA).
• Designating specific emergencies. Pursuant to subsection 3.(4) of the EMCPA, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may designate a municipality to address a specific type of emergency in its emergency plans.
• Emergency powers of the Premier. Pursuant to subsection 7.0.3(2) (a) of the EMCPA, during a declared emergency, the Premier may direct and control the administration, facilities and equipment of the affected municipality.
• Assistance by municipalities. Pursuant to subsection 7. 0.3(2) (b) of the EMCPA, during a provincial declaration of emergency the Premier, by order, may require any municipality to provide necessary assistance to an emergency area outside the jurisdiction of said municipality, and may also direct and control the provision of such assistance.
• County coordination. Counties, with the consent of their municipalities, may coordinate the emergency plans for their municipalities under subsection 3.(3) of the EMCPA.
• Conformity to standards. Pursuant to section 14 of the EMCPA, municipal emergency response plans shall conform to the standards set out in regulations by the Solicitor General. These standards are set out in Ontario Regulation 380/04.

D.4. Application of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act

D.4.1. Ontario ministers

Under the EMCPA and its regulation O. Reg. 380/04, all Ontario Ministers are responsible for:

• Developing and maintaining emergency response plans for any assigned type(s) of emergency as part of their overall ministry emergency plans.
• Developing and maintaining continuity of operations plans as part of their overall ministry emergency plans.
• Providing a copy of their most current ministry emergency plans to the Chief, EMO under subsection 6.2 of the EMCPA.
• Responding directly to their assigned emergencies in accordance with the ministry emergency response plan.
• Supporting a coordinated provincial emergency response in accordance with this plan and the ministry emergency response plan for the types of emergencies assigned to other ministers.

D.4.2. Chief, Emergency Management Ontario

Under the EMCPA, and OIC 1157/2009, the Chief, EMO is responsible for:

• Coordinating assistance when municipalities/communities request provincial resources or when the emergency is beyond the capability of the municipal authority.
• Implementing plans for a coordinated provincial response to emergencies, including mutual aid and mutual assistance arrangements.
• Coordinating the emergency response when the LGIC or the Premier has declared that an emergency exists throughout Ontario or in any part thereof under section 7 of the EMCPA.
• Coordinating the province's emergency management programs and plans with those of the Government of Canada and its agencies.

D.4.3. Municipal authorities (council)

Under the EMCPA, municipalities are responsible for:

• Developing and maintaining municipal emergency response plans that are in compliance with the EMCPA and its regulations.
• Providing a copy of their most current emergency plans to the Chief, EMO under subsection 6.2 of the EMCPA.
• Establishing a procedure in their plans for informing the Solicitor General through the PEOC of a declared emergency.
• Directing the municipality's response to an emergency, including the implementation of the municipality's emergency response plans.
• Making use of all available municipal, mutual aid, and mutual assistance resources.
• If the situation warrants, declaring that a municipal emergency exists under section 4 of the EMCPA.
• Requesting assistance if necessary, in accordance with this PERP and established guidelines.