Page - 39 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

39Have the Post-SARS Reforms Prepared Us for COVID-19? emergency preparedness and response was a major aspect of the new agency’s directive. This focused on the integration of federal and provincial public health actors, including “a mechanism for dealing with health emergencies which would be activated in lockstep with provincial emergency acts in the event of a pan-Canadian health emergency.”22 Also important was the development of a common set of principles, the clarification of roles and responsibilities, the devel- opment of protocols for major disease outbreaks, the designation of lead F/P/T public health officials for crisis management (including local roles and responsibilities), the assessment of surge capacity in hospitals and laboratories, the assessment of the National Emergency Stockpile System, the creation of national epidemic response teams, and the clarification of the legal and regulatory context underlying public health management (especially pandemic response) in Canada. When SARS struck, the federal government was already in the midst of reviewing its public health laws, most importantly the Quarantine Act.23 This legislation was amended in June 2003 to add SARS to the list of contagious diseases to which the Act applied, although limited use was made of these legislative powers during the SARS outbreak. Although no federal quarantine officer issued a quarantine order against an individual, they detained one flight at the Vancouver International airport for decontamination.24 In 2006, signifi- cant amendments to the Quarantine Act, which was largely unchanged since 1872, came into force. The legislation was modernized by, for example, focusing on air travel and authorizing the use of screening technology. The amendments also broadened the powers of quaran- tine officers to conduct medical assessments and detain travellers, and authorized the Governor in Council to make orders excluding classes of travellers who had been in foreign countries where there were communicable diseases. The federal government has made extensive use of the power to exclude travellers during COVID-19. To facili- tate coordination, these amendments required quarantine officers to provide information to a province’s public health authority regarding matters such as travellers being required to undergo medical exami- nations, detention orders, or flights diverted due to communicable 22. Naylor, supra note 16 at 216. 23. Quarantine Act, SC 2005, c 20. 24. Nola M Ries, “Quarantine and the Law: The 2003 SARS Experience in Canada (A New Disease Calls on Old Public Health Tools)” (2005) 43:2 Alta L Rev 529 at 534.