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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

As we know, there is a worldwide demand for personal protective equipment and ventilators that is through the roof. We, therefore, both reached out to suppliers of medical products that Canada has long worked with around the world, as well as seen unprecedented efforts by Canadian industry to deliver ventilators that would be made in Canada. I can assure people that the approach is working. We are seeing production of ventilators in Canada begin. It will be still a few weeks before they’re able to arrive. In the meantime, we continue to work to procure them from around the world.

Mr. Speaker, on March 25 the finance Minister told the senate that help for the energy sector was coming within “hours or day sand not weeks.” it has now been two and a half weeks since that date with no announcement. Reports are circulating that a proposal did, in fact, go to cabinet but that it was rejected. So is it the Prime Minister’s position that there will, in fact, be no help for Canada’s energy sector and the tens and thousands of Canadians that it employs?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

We recognize the triple challenges faced by workers in the energy sector right now that has been extraordinarily difficult for people in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The low oil prices have long been a challenge. On top of that, the COVID-19 crisis in economic terms has led to a lowering of demand for oil, as people don’t travel nearly as much as normal. At the same time, the health crisis has let people into isolation and remaining to stay home. Families across the country are suffering from this, but particularly those in Alberta in the oil sector. That is why we moved quickly on two measures to help as many people as we could across the country, the Canada emergency response benefit and the wage subsidy at 75%. there will be more coming for the oil sector as we develop sect oral solutions.

That was the quadruple challenge and the cancelling of projects, it was his promise of the help coming in days and not weeks. The people suffering from this crisis are suffering in real time. Mr. Speaker, documents reveal in early January military intelligence began producing detailed technical reports about the outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan, china. Yes or no question, did the Prime Minister see these reports, yes or no.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

Mr. Speaker, as members of the five eyes we were privy to significant military and intelligence reports on the status of things happening around the world. There were enough flags for us to convene an incident response group at the end of January. We also began increasing screening at major airports and limiting flights from Wuhan.

Mr. Speaker, these are very simple yes-or-no questions. Was this information from the military intelligence report shared with the public health agency of Canada, yes or no?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

From the beginning, Mr. Speaker, we worked with all agencies to ensure that the relevant information was shared across departments. We need to make the best-possible decisions based onrecommendations from scientists, from health researchers, from international allies, and that’swhat we did.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister’s wage subsidy that we will be debating throughout the day today is a lifeline to those companies who can still afford to pay any wages at all. There remains a significant number of businesses across the country who are receiving no revenue, who aren’t able to pay any wages at all because they’vehad their doors closed for almost a month now. The conservatives have put forward the idea of rebating theg. S.t. To allow small businesseswho have no revenue at all to pay some of their bills and to pay their rent so they can stay open when this crisis is over, so they can re-open when this crisis is over. Will the Prime Minister considerthis proposal to ensure there are jobs for Canadians to go back to at the end of this pandemic.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

a number of people in this house, we are extremely pleased with the level of collaboration, with input from all parliamentarians and all parties as we look to ensure that we’re helping Canadians as much as possible in this situation. We’ve moved forward on a wage subsidy, we’ve moved forward on a Canada emergency response benefit, we’ve moved forward on low-interest loans, of which 25%, $10, 000, will be forgivablefor small businesses. We recognize there’s more to do and we look forward to continue to work with all parliamentarians to make sure we’re helping Canadians in all ways.

[voice of interpreter] thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. In keeping with what I said before, we do have some concerns about health and safety and the arrival of people who are very welcome in Canada, in quÉbec. They are temporary foreign workers, but we’re concerned about their safety. My question to the Prime Minister is in the next few hours before more temporary foreign workers arrive at dorvalairport in Montreal, can steps be taken so that these people are quarantined at customs before they’re released to go elsewhere in the country, and this in the interest of all Canadians?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

We recognize that our top obligation is to provide forcanadians’ safety and security. So when people arrive at our borders, that’s essential. We know how important it is to ensure food security as well. The food supply chain is very important to maintain in this country. Temporary foreign workers play an important role in that food supply. We have strict rules around quarantine and foreign workers arriving in Canada have to be isolated for 14 days in an adequate manner to ensure that they do not spread the COVID-19 virus. We will continue to work with all our partners and all the authorities to make sure all those rules are followed.

Mr. Speaker, it’s possible that the rules are inadequate. It’s possible that farms are no tin a position to ensure the type of quarantine that’s needed. It’s possible that symptoms are not being identified as effectively on the farm as they could be if those tests were conducted by health authorities. These people have been released by customs Canada and the responsibility to look after these people has been – basically the buck has been passed to farm owners to do the government’s job. So I repeat My question. Will steps be taken in the next few hours to see to this situation?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

Yes, Mr. Speaker. I share many of the concerns listed opposite. We will work together to make sure while meeting the needs of our farmers and our food supply chain, we do have the capacity and the certainty that canadiansare kept safe and that the possible spread of COVID-19 is limited. I intend to continue to work with not just the provinces and the farm sector, but also with My partners in the opposition.

Mr. Speaker, on a completely different note, some may be surprised to hear me say this. I do believe that the government of Canada has to contribute to re-establishing jobs in the oil patch in western Canada. I don’t think those people should be expected to completelysacrifice their economic model. But when it comes to any furtherexpansion of the energy sector, that should involve financial resources that are transferred toward the renewal energy sector. Again, in western Canada where there are specific needs. Can this situation be taken as an opportunity? the status quo ante should be established for workers in the oil patch, but should those jobsbe shifted to renewal entities?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

I would like to thank the member for his perspective. It’s important to support workers and families going through a tough time in all industries all across the country, including the oil patch. But we recognize that we’re also engaged in a battle against climate change and we need to find ways to create good jobs for people in Alberta and elsewhere what want to have jobs that will last for years and generations. That’s why we’ve been thinking, together with the government of Alberta and other countries, about ways to ensure that canadaand Alberta are part of that shift, that transition to a better future for our country.

[end of translation].

Mr. Speaker, I wanted to raise again the concern. We’ve heard stories that represent some of the millions of Canadians that are right now falling through the cracks that cannot access the CERB. We’ve heard of people with multiple jobs who have lost lots of that work, but still get someincome, freelance workers, self-employed, artists. While the government is committed to fixing those gaps, will the Prime Minister today stand up and say if anyone needshelp, they should apply while the government is fixing the gaps in the system, but people should apply who need help rightnow.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

The immediate urgency in this situation was making sure that people across the country who were reliant on pay cheques to be able to pay their groceries and pay their rent, pay cheques that suddenly disappeared because of COVID-19 get Manitoba quickly. That’s what we did with the Canada emergency response benefit. I want to take a moment to thank the extraordinary public servants at revenue Canada, but also across ministries and departments who worked incredibly hard to create a model that would get money out quickly to millions of Canadians. We of course recognize there are gaps and are working with all parliamentarians to fill those gaps because people who need help should be getting it.

Will the Prime Minister just say today really clearly that if you need help, you can apply right now for the CERB while the government fixes the gaps, but will the Prime Minister say clearly to all Canadians, if you need help, apply now while the government fixes the problems.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

Mr. Speaker, we created program that is helping millions upon millions of Canadians who have lost their paycheque because of COVID-19. We’ve moved forward with another program we’re debating here today on wage subsidies for people so they can keep their jobs, keep their pay cheques at 75% subsidy from the government. That will keep people linked to their employment. But we recognize there are other people in different situations who also need help, students, seniors, part-time workers, essential workers who need extrahelp to keep their jobs. That is what we’re focused on right now with tremendous collaboration from all parliamentarians.

Mr. Speaker, credit unions, some of them have recently waived interest rates entirely. 0% is what they’re charging on their credit cards, while banks are still charging astronomical interest rates. The big six banks in Canada reported more than $46.5 billion in profits last year. Will the government, will the Prime Minister, use the federal powers to force those banks to waive interest rates entirely during this crisis?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

The Minister of finance has been closely engaged with the banks over these past weeks. We’ve seen strong movement by the banks in terms of helping people hard hit financially because of COVID-19. They’ve agreed to help us administer the small business loan. We know that there are more that the banks can do and we’ve been working with banks and credit unions to make sure they do more to recognize that the way we support Canadians through this situation will ensure that we come out of this situation in the best-possible shape, all of us.

Mr. Speaker, during the 2008 financial crisis we saw bailouts that effectively bailed out corporations who took the money, left Canada, and left workers high and Dr.. Workers lost their jobs while those companies and corporations took billions of dollars from Canada. Will the government ensure that we’re going to prohibit any c. E.o. Bonuses and stock buy-backs in the companies that receive subsidies and bailouts, that that money goes towards workers and keeping people employed, not enriching the corporation or the executives, but it goes with strings attached to workers directly.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

Mr. Speaker, we recognize the challenges in crises past that had some of the impacts that the member opposite has talked about. That is why we made sure that the big measures we put forward are entirely focused on Canadians, on workers. The Canada emergency response benefit helps people who’ve lost their job because of COVID-19. The wage subsidy makes sure that people stay connected to their jobs even though they can’t get paid by their employer anymore because the government will pay them up to 75% of their salary, so that when this is through, Canadians will still have connection to those jobs and our economy can get going again. Everything we’ve done has been focused first and foremost on Canadians and not on corporations as a nebulous entity.

a yes-or-no question. Military intelligence warned of the deadly coronavirus in a briefing to the government in early January –

Rosemary:

Okay. We are going to pull away now from this question-and-answer question between the M.P.s and parliamentarians. If you want to continue watchingyou can do so at cbc. Ca. This is the beginning of the debate about the wage subsidy legislation that has been agreedupon and will be passed by the at the end of the day. This is an opportunity for opposition parties to ask questions, rather detailed questions, to the government in regards to their response to thepandemic. Let me bring in Catharine cullenwho has been watching with me. I don’t know where you want to start and the kinds of questions. I think it is important to see the kinds of questions and answers and we will continue to monitor them.

Catherine:

An important moment for the opposition party to essentially show their value in this whole process right now as we talk about the value of parliament and holding the government to account. I thought there were a few interesting points there, particularly when Andrew Scheer pressed the Prime Minister about what was happening about aid to the oil patch. At one point the Prime Minister said there will be aid coming as we look for sect oral solutions. Mr. Scheer raised the point that this is aid to the oil patch that would be coming in some time and it was said to be coming in hours or days and now it’s been weeks. There was lots of questions about the oil patch specifically because of course they’re also dealing with on top of everything else the impact of historically low oil prices. More and more we hear the government talking not only about the oil and gas sector, but also airlines, the hospitality industry. So we’re waiting to see precisely what form that would take in addition to the kinds of measures we’re seeing today and talk about the wage subsidy. It was also interesting to see the Prime Minister pressed on reporting by the cbc’s own Murray Brewster about these intelligence reports that came from a little-known portion of the military that looks at intelligence that has to do withhealth issues. The Prime Minister was asked again and again and we heard pierre poiliÈvre asking, when did you get the information? when did you know about the threat posed by the coronavirus specifically from this intelligence unit? the Prime Minister not really being specific about that. He said, of course we have access to intelligence sharing from our partners, but didn’t say specifically whether he personally saw those reports because murray brewster’s reporting says it would have been in national defence, but it’s not clear whether that would be passed along to public health. Also interesting jagmeet singh trying to push the n. D.p.’s point of view that the emergency response benefit should be open to all Canadians. He tried to pin the Prime Minister down, saying why don’t you say anyone who needs this help can access it. The Prime Minister pivoted and said they’re looking for ways to help Canadians further. Not the answer Mr. Singh was looking for.

Rosemary:

Right now 5.6 million Canadians have applied for the CERB, which is 30% of the workforce. It is probably getting to the people pro ems who don’t have a job and the government has been reticent to go down the path of a payment to everybody because not everybody needs it. Thank you for all your help, Catharine. Let’s go someone directly waiting for this wage subsidy to be passed. Michael Carmichael owns car auto and has had to lay off four of his staff. He joins us from Toronto.

Interview:

Good afternoon.

Rosemary:

Michael, you’ve laid off half your staff. Have you informed yourself about the wage subsidy program? is it something you might be interested in using?

Interview:

100% and I’ll tellyou, it’s something that when we heard about it, we were very interested to learn more about it. As I sit here and watch them bandy about in the house of commons, they need to move along because we need it.

Rosemary:

How many people have you laid off?

Interview:

26 people out of 50.

Rosemary:

Has business shut down entirely?

Interview:

We’re deemed an essential service in Ontario. There’s some real confusion around whether we can – with selling of cars and test drives and signing paperwork. There’s some grey area there, but we are open for service and parts because people have flat tires and dead batteries and we’re there to do that. But it is not business as normal.

Rosemary:

So if – presumably this is going to get passed and get royal assent today. Today the finance Minister suggested it might be more like two to five weeks now, so shorter than they initially shot. Would you be willing to hire back all those people you laid off?

Interview:

Well, the challenge we’ve got right now is just making sure that we’ve got a line of sight to getting through this. Liquidity and cash flow is critical right now. So how we’re looking at it is we’ve brought back two people, knowing that that wage subsidy is in process. We are not laying off anybody else right now, but we’re trying to get an idea if we’re in this for 18 months, as the Prime Minister indicated as we look at the other side of this with or without a vaccine or some sort of measures to address the virusitself, it’s a long time to lookforward. As we’re managing our cash flow, we’re not making any moves right now other than the first immediate ones we’ve made. We’re not laying any more off. We brought two that are mission critical. The wage subsidy made a difference in those rehires.

Rosemary:

If you got up to 75% for the rest of your employees and you could bring them back, do you see the benefit the government is talking about when they say it’simportant to maintain that connection between employee and employer?

Interview:

100% it’s critically important and we’ve undertaken measures already with the team that has been laid off. We’re communicating with them frequently, keeping them up-to-date with the various employment subsidies, the CERB, and making sure everyone understands how that works. Maintaining momentum in our teamis of the utmost importance. The challenge and the balance as a business owner is looking forward at saying, okay, if we’re in this for 18 months withour revenues down over 60% in the last two weeks of March, howmuch cash can we burn for how long? so it’s a balancing act right now. As the other side of this becomes clear and we start to see consumer confidence, absolutely we will be bringing people back as quickly as possible. Right now trying to understand, if we’re in this for 18 months, trying to make some decisions oncash flow and how much we can afford to be investing in that other 25% that we would be putting forward to bring people back.

Rosemary:

Michael, I know you represent a lot of voices right now. Let’s hope they get this done today so they can start to tap into this for you and your employees.

Interview:

Absolutely appreciate that.

Rosemary:

Michael Carmichael president and c. E.o. Of upauto.

we are expecting the financeminister, bill morneau, to appear in front of the senate later answering questions from senators. If all goes according to plan, this legislation should receive royal assent tonight and the finance Minister suggested today it could be available to employers in two to five weeks. As that was happening and we will bring you up-to-date on this after a short commercial, but quÉbec’s premier did appear at a press conference where he confirmed 31 people have died inthat one long-term care home, five of them because of COVID-19, but the police have been called in to look into what happened inthat long-term care home, the premier calling it a case of gross negligence. Now 40 long-term care centres inthe province will now be looked at by public health officials, as of course the elderly and theolder people in our population continue to be the most vulnerable in this pandemic. The Prime Minister is taking tomorrow off for his briefing and Monday to spend some time with his family. He will be back again on Tuesday, so so will I. Michael serapio will pick up your coverage for the rest of the day.