Nova Scotia ends COVID-19 state of emergency and lifts mask mandates
CBC
Nova Scotia's state of emergency has ended after two years and the province's COVID-19 mask mandate was lifted for most indoor public places Monday.
People in stores, theatres, restaurants and other public places will no longer have to don face coverings or show proof of vaccination, but after a last-minute change, masks will still be mandatory in schools for a few more weeks.
Masks are also still required in provincial jails, hospitals and other health-care settings, long-term care homes and adult residential centres.
The province also lifted gathering limits and rules for physical distancing. Businesses and organizations across all sectors can resume full operations with no mandatory public health restrictions.
Special events such as festivals, sports, performances, meetings, training and faith ceremonies can resume in full.
The province invoked the Emergency Management Act in March 2020 to declare a state of emergency, and kept renewing it every two weeks. That allowed the government to quickly impose measures like closing the borders and keeping people from leaving home.
The Emergency Management Act was also used to ban protesters from blocking roads and highways. It was lifted at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
Wayne MacKay is a law professor at Dalhousie University.
He said the province did the right thing by using the act in early 2020, but it should have been more transparent about its need to renew the state of emergency during the past two years.
"We should ensure that the government can justify extending that time of emergency each time they have to do it," he said.
The province can still use the Health Protection Act to impose some restrictions.
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