Latest News

April 7, 2020

The Ontario government has recently expanded the list of non-essential workplaces with the introduction of Ontario Regulation 119/20: Order under Subsection 7.0.2(4) - Closure of Places of Non-Essential Businesses which was declared into law at 3 pm on April 3, 2020. 

It is important to note that construction projects and services are still considered essential if they are required to ensure safe and reliable operations of, or to provide new capacity in, critical provincial infrastructure, including transit, transportation, energy and justice sectors beyond the day-to-day maintenance.

Some of our members have inquired as to the intreperation of the preceding paragraph.   

The MEA recently hosted a conference call with our colleagues at Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA), Ontario Road Builders Association (ORBA) and Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association (OSWCA) to discuss the interpreation of the regulation.

Recently, OGRA posted a Heads Up Alert to its members as to its intrepratation of the Regulation - the MEA supports the view of the OGRA.  You can view this by clicking HERE.

OSWCA has received a legal interpretation of the regulation through the firm of Norton Rose Fullbright.  It is quite a detailed explanation of about what each construction sector can/cannot do.  They have authorized the MEA to share this document with you. You can view it by clicking HERE.  

If a municipality has declared an emergency it would increase the flexibility of their interpretation. The regulation essentially puts the onus on a municipality to determine the criticality of an exisitng or proposed construction project during the pandemic.