Canada’s legal preparedness against the COVID‐19 Pandemic: A scoping review of federal laws and regulations

Abstract

As the world continues to grapple with the COVID‐19 pandemic, the preparedness of governments to respond to it will likely undergo review. A key component is the legislative capacity and authority that governments had in place or could rapidly introduce to address the social, economic and health consequences of the emergency. We review Canada’s legal preparedness for public health emergencies and the use of federal legislation to address the pandemic. We provide an overview of the concept of legal preparedness, summarize the federal statutes, regulations and orders enacted, and analyze the coherence of federal activity and its relevance to provinces, territories and international health regulations. We determine that the federal government has relied on spending power rather than constitutional authority over public health or existing legislation on influencing the course of the pandemic.

A Look at COVID-19 Global Health Situation, 1-Year Post Declaration of the Pandemic

“… 12 It was noted that a country’s legislative capacity and government authority had control in addressing the social, economic, and health consequences related to the COVID-19 outbreak, as seen in the response to the pandemic. 28 …”

“…12 It was noted that a country's legislative capacity and government authority had control in addressing the social, economic, and health consequences related to the COVID-19 outbreak, as seen in the response to the pandemic. 28 The challenges faced by sub-Saharan African countries (SSA) to control the spread of COVID-19 waves of infection include the lack of adequate resources and technology to effectively follow contact tracing, the dilemma of implementing lockdowns, and the impact of fake news. Other challenges are technical and capacity elements of testing, treatment, and the development and access to vaccines.…”