The British Columbia Government has released a Ministerial Order, listing what it deems an essential service. It is important to note that this order does not mean that non-essential businesses must close. The order provides that the essential service providers cannot be held liable for COVID-19 related damages during a state of emergency, unless the provider has practiced gross negligence.

This list can be found here: http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/mo/mo/2020_m094

We urge all clients to review the list, and any secondary materials published by your industry’s business association or similar organizations and determine whether you are an ‘essential’ business for this purpose. As you can appreciate, given our specialized area of expertise, we are not in a position to opine on any client’s inclusion or exclusion on the list at this time.