There have been a number of notable developments in recent days as the Country continues to gradually reopen.

The Ontario government has announced that it will once again be extending all emergency orders that have been put in place to-date under section 7.0.2(4) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act – this time until July 22, 2020. A full list of those orders can be found here. The Province has tabled legislation to enable the extension of select emergency orders for the next year.

Ontario has also announced that 24 regions of the Province will be approved to enter Stage Three of its reopening strategy as of July 17, 2020. Toronto, York, Peel, Durham, Niagara, Windsor-Essex, Haldimand-Norfolk, Halton, Hamilton and Lambton will remain in Stage Two. Stage Three will allow nearly all business to reopen so long as appropriate health and safety measures are maintained.

In more good news for employers, the Federal government has announced that it will extend the CEWS, a wage subsidy of up to 75% for qualifying businesses, backdated to March 15, 2020, through December 2020. See our previous blog on the CEWS here. The CEWS had previously been set to expire at the end of August.

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