Srikanth Reddy K, Kumar Chattu Vijay, Wilson Kumanan
Can Public Adm. 2021 Sep;64(3):458-484. doi: 10.1111/capa.12433. Epub 2021 Sep 2.
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.
随着世界继续应对新冠疫情，各国政府应对疫情的准备工作可能会受到审视。一个关键因素是政府已具备或能够迅速出台的立法能力和权力，以应对紧急情况带来的社会、经济和健康后果。我们审视了加拿大应对突发公共卫生事件的法律准备情况以及利用联邦立法应对疫情的情况。我们概述了法律准备的概念，总结了已颁布的联邦法规和命令，并分析了联邦行动的协调性及其与各省、地区和国际卫生条例的相关性。我们确定，联邦政府依靠的是财政支出权，而非对公共卫生的宪法权力或现有立法来影响疫情的发展。
