Continuity of Constitutional Government during a Pandemic: Considering the Concept in Canada's Emergency Management Act

Abstract

This research note examines the undefined meaning of the government's obligations to ensure “continuity of constitutional government” (CCG) as provided for in section 4(l) of the Emergency Management Act, S.C. 2007, c. 15 (Canada, 2007). Specifically, that section gives the minister of public safety and emergency preparedness the responsibility for “establishing the necessary arrangements for the continuity of constitutional government in the event of an emergency,” but the term is itself undefined. The article will canvass the origin of the term and its relationship to other so-called continuity of government (COG) concepts, along with some legal written opinion on what the term might in practice mean, should the minister ever be charged with discharging this responsibility. It will conclude with some final thoughts on the relevance of the CCG concept to the current pandemic. Given that the COVID-19 virus has infected Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, the prime minister's wife, forced a drastically reduced and possibly “virtual” federal Parliament, placed the British prime minister in intensive care and led to the self-isolation of many world leaders, the topic is relevant to Canada in 2020.