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Release date: November 3, 2020
As the COVID-19 infection rate remains at high levels in large parts of Ontario, the provincial government has taken steps to (re-)introduce restrictions and legislation in response. Below is an overview, but for more detail, be sure to contact legal counsel and/or public health authorities.
New Proposed Legislation:
Bill 218: Supporting Ontario's Recovery and Municipal Elections Act, 2020
The provincial government is proposing a new piece of legislation that aims to provide liability protection to workers, businesses, and non-profits against COVID-19 exposure-related lawsuits. A brief overview of this legislation is as follows:
- The legislation, if passed, would protect those who make an honest/good faith effort to follow public health guidelines from liability in civil proceedings.
- Those who are found to be grossly negligent or those who do not make an honest/good faith effort to follow public health guidelines would not be afforded liability protection under this legislation.
- While it is anticipated that this legislation will apply to condominium corporations, we cannot be sure until the legislation is passed. We will provide our CCI-T members with an update, if and when the legislation passes.
Updated Requirements and the Modified Stage 2
Effective October 19, 2020, York Region joins Peel and Toronto regions in a modified Stage 2. What does this mean for condominiums in these areas?
- The gathering limits for events are limited to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors. Indoor and outdoor gatherings cannot be combined. Exceeding those limits could result in fines, starting at $10,000 for the organizer and $750 for each guest. These gathering limits apply to condominiums (i.e. for organized gatherings within condominiums, such as AGMs).
As a reminder, while the provincial government did extend the right of condominiums to hold virtual meetings, among other things, without a by-law, the deadline by which condominiums are required to hold their AGMs was not extended (this applies to all condominiums throughout Ontario). See our previous newsflashes on this here and here.
- It is mandatory for everyone to wear a face mask which covers the mouth, nose, and chin, in all indoor common areas, unless one or more exceptions apply (this also applies to all condominiums throughout Ontario).
- Indoor gyms and fitness centres are required to be closed, except if condominiums comply with very strict requirements. Notwithstanding the potential option to have these areas open, the general consensus among condominium industry professionals is that all indoor gyms and fitness centres in condominiums should be closed. If there are condominiums considering opening their indoor gyms and/or fitness centres, then legal counsel should be contacted to ensure that all requirements are being met.
- Steam rooms, saunas, whirlpools, hot tubs, and bathhouses must remain closed.
- The question of whether or not pools can remain open is open to interpretation (based on the Regulations for areas in Stage 2). If there are condominiums considering opening their pools, then legal counsel should be contacted to ensure that they are in compliance with the Regulations.
We understand that further updates to the above will be coming shortly, and we will keep our members apprised once those updates are available.
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