Section 3: Orders intended to support businesses and provide cost relief to Ontarians

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This order prohibited retailers and persons who did not normally engage in the sale of necessary goods before March 17, 2020 from selling or offering to sell necessary goods for “unconscionable prices”. An unconscionable price was defined as a price that grossly exceeds the price at which similar goods are available to like consumers, which is consistent with well-established principles from the Consumer Protection Act, 2020 (CPA).
This order came into effect on March 27, 2020 under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) and continued under Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19covid 19) Act, 2020 (ROA) from July 24, 2020.

As confirmed cases of COVID-19covid 19 in Ontario rose, necessary goods, including protective supplies such as masks and hand sanitizer, were in short supply and high demand. Some retailers and individuals were capitalizing on demand for products by selling goods at prices significantly higher than fair market values.
This order was reasonable relative to other measures that could have been taken because it provided the timeliest response and approach in the initial days of the first declared provincial emergency in response to COVID-19covid 19. The existing CPA legislative and regulatory provisions address unconscionable pricing in the context of individual consumer transactions but did not address the type of behavior exhibited in the period leading up to that declared provincial emergency. Given the need to ensure consumer access to reasonably priced necessary goods and address marketplace failures, no other feasible and timely measure was identified. This ensured that consumers had the necessary goods required to protect the health and safety of themselves and their families.

The order remained in effect as of July 24, 2021 as the circumstances required its extension.

This order allowed municipalities to permit the temporary establishment and expansion of patios for restaurants and bars in an expedited manner to meet public health physical distancing requirements.
This order came into effect on July 2, 2020 under the EMCPA and continued under ROA from July 24, 2020.

The order was needed by restaurants and bars to optimize the time-limited and critical summer patio season, support small businesses across the province and help maintain and create hospitality sector jobs.
Restaurants and bars could temporarily create or extend outdoor patio spaces prior to this order under the Liquor Licence Act to safely accommodate patrons and staff once licensed establishments were permitted to reopen for business. However, due to land use planning legislative requirements for temporary use by-laws, in some instances it was not possible for municipalities to permit restaurants and bars to quickly establish or expand patios. Especially where businesses wanted to create or expand patios on private property.
This order was a reasonable measure relative to others because it provided the timeliest response and enabled municipalities to expedite passing temporary use by-laws for restaurant and bar patios that addressed local circumstances and needs. The existing requirements for public notice, consultation and rights of appeal under the Planning Act did not provide certainty that municipalities would be able to have the temporary use by-laws needed to establish and expand patios for restaurants and bars in time for patio season.

The order remained in effect as of July 24, 2021 as the circumstances required its extension.

This emergency order temporarily enabled a 24-hour off-peak price period for electricity consumers. The order applied the off-peak Time-of-Use (TOU) electricity rate of 10.1¢/kilowatt hour (kWh) to all periods of the day for RPP customers paying TOU rates until May 31, 2020.
An amendment was made to this order under the EMCPA to, effective June 1, 2020, establish a COVID-19covid 19 Recovery Rate of 12.8¢/kilowatt hour for all periods of the day for RPP customers, including families, small businesses and farms until October 31, 2020.
This order came into effect on March 24, 2020 under the EMCPA and continued under ROA from July 24, 2020.

The RPP TOU pricing plan has three pricing periods during the day (on-, mid- and off-peak) which are set to reflect the cost of producing power in those periods.
The order enabled the government to deliver two pricing changes for RPP customers to provide immediate rate relief, predictability and stability as quickly as possible when customers needed support the most. These pricing changes were applied automatically to electricity bills without the need for customers to fill out an application form.
This order was a reasonable measure relative to others because it provided the timeliest response and most consistent approach as it could easily be applied to all eligible customers. The existing governing frameworks did not support rate relief for residential customers who were asked to stay home and businesses that may have closed or saw significantly fewer customers while still incurring electricity costs. It would not have been timely or feasible to make legislative or regulatory amendments as an immediate response was required to provide emergency electricity rate relief for Ontarians staying at home, as a result of school and non-essential business closures or work from home policies.

In August 2020, regulatory changes were made to enable most RPP customers to choose a rate plan that best suited their lifestyle or business, with the choice of TOU and tiered pricing starting November 1, 2020. As such, this order was not extended and was revoked November 1, 2020.

Updated: January 16, 2024

Published: November 03, 2021