Statement by Mayor Fred Eisenberger on Declaration of Emergency for the City of Hamilton

HAMILTON, ON – The Provincial Government declared a State of Emergency on March 17, 2020, to stop the spread of COVID-19. By virtue of the provincial order, the City of Hamilton was also in a State of Emergency.

On April 16, the province issued an emergency order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) to provide municipalities with the flexibility to deploy certain staff to where they are needed most. Provincial Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, has informed all heads of council of this order and has requested all municipalities to sign a Declaration of Emergency. See attached for the Minister’s letter.

This order is a temporary measure and provides municipalities the authority to take any reasonable measure necessary to respond to COVID-19 with respect to internal work deployment. 

City council met March 20, 2020, and provided delegated authority to staff in order to manage the COVID-19 emergency situation and to maintain vital city services that keep our community healthy and safe.

To exercise this authority as requested by the province, I am declaring an emergency in the City of Hamilton under section 4 of the EMCPA concurrent with this order.

The declaration of an emergency by the City is a technical matter solely for the purpose of allowing us to redeploy staff and to use volunteers, if needed. There is no additional cause for concern by the people of Hamilton.

The action we are taking today is purely technical in response to a request by the province that aligns us with a recent emergency order concerning emergency work.

We will continue to monitor and respond to this rapidly evolving situation to ensure we are providing the best support possible to the community as we work together to find our way through this challenging time.

Please continue to follow the advice of our public health teams to prevent the spread of the virus. For City of Hamilton COVID-19 updates, please visit www.hamilton.ca/coronavirus and www.hamilton.ca/covidclosures or call Public Health Services’ COVID-19 Hotline at 905-974-9848 or email [email protected].

Visit www.ontario.ca/coronavirus to learn more about how the province continues to protect Ontarians from COVID-19.

CONTACT:

Michelle Shantz
Communications and Media Relations
Office of Mayor Fred Eisenberger
905-546-4225
[email protected]