An Order under the Emergency Program Act

On June 1, 2020, Minister of Finance Carole James announced that the Government of British Columbia issued an order under the Emergency Program Act (British Columbia) (“EPA“) to prohibit landlords eligible for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (“CECRA”) program from evicting eligible tenants.

Ministerial Order No. M179 (“Order”) was made by the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Mike Farnworth, pursuant to section 10(a) of the EPA, which permits the minister to ‘do all acts and implement all procedures that the minister considers necessary to prevent, respond to or alleviate the effects of an emergency or disaster.

The Order:

• will apply until the earlier of:
  • the day after the state of emergency in BC is lifted; and
  • the day after CECRA ceases providing assistance.
• -prohibits eviction, re-entry, distraining of tenant property and taking steps to rent out the premises to third-parties on the tenant’s behalf (“Prohibited Actions”) as a result of non-payment of rent of a commercial tenant that would be eligible for CECRA but for failure of their landlord to enter into a Rent Reduction Agreement with the tenant;*
• does not apply to Indigenous governments or entities;
• does not apply to abandoned or deserted premises;
• does not apply to expired leases; and
• permits taking the Prohibited Actions with the applicable tenant’s consent.

*Eviction for defaults other than non-payment of rent are not prohibited by the Order.

Want More?

We continue to monitor updates regarding the CECRA. Please check back with us for further information regarding the program and related matters. If you have further questions about the CECRA or other commercial property related matters, feel free to contact James Struthers, Peter Eirikson or Navnit Duhra.