BC bans resale of medical supplies and essential items

The Government of BC is banning the resale of food, medical supplies, personal protective equipment, cleaning and other essential supplies.

The government said it will also be restricting quantities of items purchased in stores.

The latest measures announced today are part of extraordinary powers under provincial emergency the province says it will use to maintain essential goods and services.

Under these powers, a hotel operator or commercial lodging operator must provide accommodation services for the purposes of self-isolation, supporting essential workforces or for other purposes identified by the government.

The new powers will also enable municipal bylaw officers to enforce business closures and public gatherings.

Municipal councils have also been given more powers to hold more flexible meetings to expedite decisions, and use local publicly owned facilities, like community centres, for self-isolation, testing, medical care, warehousing and distribution.

The local governments will also activate their emergency plans.

In consultation with the provincial health officer, any business or service that has not been ordered to close, and is also not identified on the essential service list, may stay open if it can adapt its services and workplace to the orders and recommendations of the PHO.

“In these new and challenging times we are facing, we’re asking British Columbians to stay strong as a community, and together we can get through this,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health.

BC declared a provincial state of emergency on March 18, 2020, after the provincial health officer declared a public health emergency on March 17.

The province previously declared states of emergency in 1998, 2003, 2017 and 2018 – all related to wildfires.