COVID-19 efforts shift to the protection of seniors and vulnerable persons
Although the community spread of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have peaked in the province according to public health officials in Ontario, concern about the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care, retirement and congregate care settings has significantly increased. COVID-19...
Hospital considerations for professional staff privileging amid COVID-19
Following a March 21, 2020 Order made pursuant to Ontario’s Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, which applies to health service providers (including hospitals and psychiatric facilities), hospitals are now required and authorized to take any reasonably necessary measures with...
Ontario issues emergency order to enable flexibility in Board and Members meetings during COVID-19 Pandemic
On March 25, 2020 Miller Thomson held a special edition Coffee Talk Directors Series titled Governance in COVID-19: Key Actions for Health Provider Boards of Directors. In that session, we discussed duties and responsibilities of Boards for continuing conduct for...
Public Hospital Advisory: Ministry of Health relaxes approval process to enable hospitals to build COVID-19 capacity
Public hospitals across the province are working with their system partners and communities to build capacity to manage patients suffering from COVID-19 and to create flexible space to minimize the risk of exposure to other patients and staff. This includes...
Provincial economic and fiscal update: Significant health sector funding
Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19 (March 2020 Economic and Fiscal Update) (the “Action Plan”) was released yesterday and is intended to provide “a prudent one‐year outlook based on current economic projections”. The Action Plan has been released instead of...
Privacy and cybersecurity during COVID-19 – Tips for Canadian organizations
With the emergence of COVID-19 in Canada, organizations are faced with many additional concerns and considerations in their daily operations and strategic planning. Remote work has become the norm, and the health of employees, customers and suppliers is a key...
Courts suspended, limitation periods extended amid COVID-19
The COVID-19 virus has led to changes and challenges across sectors, and the civil litigation space is no different. On March 15, 2020, the Honourable Geoffrey Morawetz, Chief Justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, issued a Notice to...
COVID-19: The power of the government in a public health emergency
Governments across Canada are responding to the COVID-19 crisis by invoking powers available to them under public health and emergency management legislation. The Governments of B.C. and Alberta have declared states of public health emergency under their respective public health...
COVID-19 Pandemic Update: Can my organization be shut down and other questions about public health events and emergency management powers
Since the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus, referred to as COVID-19, was originally identified on December 31, 2019 by Chinese health authorities, it has been closely followed internationally by all levels of government, as well as by global, national and...
Hospital Naming Directive revoked
In 2017, the then Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care issued a Hospital Naming Directive (“Naming Directive”) setting out naming criteria and approval processes that all Ontario Hospitals were required to follow to change their corporate name or obtain...
