In a Lawyer's Daily article, Professor Jasminka Kalajdzic comments on Ontario’s proposed legislation to immunize itself and businesses against Covid-related negligence lawsuits. According to the article, Bill 218, the Supporting Ontario’s Recovery and Municipal Elections Act, 2020, makes an exception for legal actions that allege gross negligence. Those charging simple negligence, however, will likely be dismissed because provisions in the bill would raise the evidentiary burden in liability lawsuits and class actions from negligence to gross negligence
“If the plaintiffs have alleged gross negligence and can prove bad faith and gross negligence, then their cases may survive,” says Professor Kalajdzic. "[The bill] indicates that no legal proceeding directly or indirectly related to the COVID-19 pandemic may be brought or maintained against a person, and that proceedings commenced before the act comes into force are deemed to have been dismissed."
“The question is, where is the accountability?” she adds. “I mean, we can’t have it both ways. The government doesn’t want to exercise proper oversight of the industry. Recall that this is a government that favours deregulation. But they also don’t want to allow the private sector to exercise oversight by way of litigation. So who is going to ensure that, among other industries, long-term care facilities are properly run?"