Prime Minister Justin trudeau’s daily pandemic address. He is expected to speak more about emergency for for small businesses and potentially expanding eligibility for the government relief and the loan program that had been put on the table for small business owners. We can expect that the crisis incanada’s long-term care homes will also be on the agenda. The Prime Minister is expected to speak with provincial and territorial leaders later tonight at 6:00 p. M. eastern. He said he wants to talk about those issues as well. a couple of other things to remember today and this will be of vital importance for you. The CERB, the Canada emergency response benefit, that many of you have tapped into already andthat the government expanded as of yesterday, you have maybe already applied. That was for the period from March 15 to April 11. You can now apply for the next four-week period from April 12 to May 9. If you are counting on that, it’s important to re-enroll for the benefit each month and that is possible for the next segmentof payments that are going to last to the next month. I wanted to make sure I mentioned that because I know many of you are reliant on that benefit. Let me bring in My colleagues, Catharine cullen and the host of”power & politics,” Vassy kapelos. April 16 also is a glum marker. I know we will be asking about this in the press conference. When we initially got the modelling projections last week, the short-term trajectory that we were given for April 16 modelled about 500 to 700 deathsand now we are over 1, 000 deaths. We have not met what that projection was. Modelling has a lot of flaws andit’s not a perfect science. It will be interesting to see what the explanation is for why those numbers are higher. It may have something to do withthe long-term care spikes. Vassy, I’ll go to you about whatwe are expecting from the Prime Minister today.

Vassy:

As you signalled there, Rosie, look for information for businesses. April 16 you mentioned, as far as projections, is a date to watch. It’s also a date to watch, for example, for business owners whocouldn’t pay their April rent Ina province like Ontario, where landlords have the ability as of today to kick them out because of that. We have heard from a number of them. The announcement today is geared to that commercial rent issue. The government has heard from people about it. and specifically the Cebu loan that the government proposed that would be $40, 000 interest-free for a year and then $10, 000 can be forgiven if you pay it back by a certain date. It’s restricted to those with a payroll between $50, 000 and $1 million. That excluded some smaller businesses who, for example, paythemselves through other means, sometimes dividends or sometimesjust take a small salary the twoof them, if it’s a couple. Again, that’s from people we have heard from. I’m watching to see whether or not those restrictions are relaxed and to what degree. The other caveat I would add is given that the wage subsidy is still two to three weeks off from being accessible or available for an application, there is still a lot of concern from businesses about, a, the fact that to access any money they’ll have to take on more debt. But b, is that enough money. Think about a restaurant in toronto, that $40, 000 may get one month’s rent maybe two or three, but it might not sustain them for the duration of howeverlong this takes. I’m curious to see from the Prime Minister what else the government has for small businesses and how they might relax the conditions or prerequisites of accessing this emergency loan money and how many more people might be able to access it.

Rosemary:

Some of the micro businesses. We talked to a tattoo store owner and he only had one employee. Would it help him. I was reminded that this business account was only launched last Thursday. That’s how quickly time goes andit’s already being tweaked to deal with other concerns. Catharine, I’ll go to you about the g7 leaders’ meeting. It already happened at 8:30 thismorning. Do we know how that went?

Catherine:

We have a lot of information from the Prime Minister’s office. They were saying the emphasis was on global cooperation, on health and coming together around the science, rebuilding the global economy, help for vulnerable populations. I did ask that question about global cooperation, does that mean that the Prime Minister raised the question of funding to the W.H.O.? people will know that donald trump said he was putting his country’s contribution to the W.H.O. On pause. That is a major source of funding for the world health organization, somewhere in the neighbourhood of $560 million canadian that is being put on pause while the americans reviewtheir work with the W.H.O. Donald trump raising a lot of questions about whether or not the W.H.O. Was too susceptible to pressure from china. He is being criticized in his own country about some of the decisions he’s made. I was told by the Prime Minister’s office when I asked whether Canada raised the W.H.O., that it was more broad of a discussion. There are reports coming out saying the german chancellor, angela merkel, stood up for the W.H.O. We will hear how that all playedout.

Rosemary:

Vassy, I’ll go to you before I go to My guest. This is a delicate balance, asking questions about the W.H.O. and asking questions object china and sharing of information makes a lot of sense. But is it the right time in the midst of a pandemic and what happens moving forward to the W.H.O. If people are not contributing to the same amount.

Vassy:

That’s a great question. I think in Canada’s case there is no desire or pressure being applied to withdraw funding. There are other allied countries that don’t feel like withdrawing funding from the W.H.O. At this point is the right move. That leads to a follow-up question. If not that then what and should there be a greater amount of skepticism towards the W.H.O. The criticism has been on data and information coming out of china. There are liberals who say certain chinese officials shouldbe sanctioned or former ambassadors who say there’s too much at play right now to go in strong on china, but afterwards there should be a full investigation. There can be additional questions towards the governmentabout that and scrutiny on what actions they’re prepared to take. But agree, it’s a delicate balance considering so much of the personal protective equipment our healthcare workersneed is dependant on supply chains based in china.

Rosemary:

I’m going to put you two on hold and turn to another issue. That is the outbreak in long-term care homes. They have become the focus of the epicentre of this pandemic. Nearly half of the deaths have happened in those facilities. Edenville care home has had 30 residents die. Jacquelyn mitchell’s mother is in edenville and she joins me from toronto. How are you doing?

Interview:

I’m doing okay.

Rosemary:

Tell me how your mom is doing? her name is Lina.

Interview:

I inquired about her last night and she at that time was doing well. She has not had any of the covidsymptoms, the coughing or the breathing or the high temperatures. So she’s doing well. That’s good.

Rosemary:

She’s 94 is she?

Interview:

Yes, she is.

Rosemary:

She’s 94. So there is obviously an outbreak in the home and 30 people have died. How concerned are you or what are people in the home telling you about how they’re protecting your mom?

Interview:

Well, initially they told us that all the residents were kept in their beds, that they were no longer allowed into the dining room and the open facilities. There is a curtain that separates My mom from her roommate and that’s about it. She’s still in a semi-private accommodation, separated by a curtain.

Rosemary:

Does that feel adequate to you?

Interview:

No, it does not. Because I know that the distance between the two beds is not 6’. so it’s a curtain.

Rosemary:

She has to be moved, if I understand, from bed to wheelchair. So is anyone getting her out of bed in order to make sure she doesn’t get bed sores or become sick in the bed. Do you know if that’s happening?

Interview:

I don’t know for afact. As you mention bed sores, she has had that in the recent past. I know that they were managing it appropriately. So I’m not specifically worried about it because it’s something we try and keep on top of in terms of that.

Rosemary:

Has she been – as you know, the Ontario government is changing a lot of the things that are happening inside these care homes and one of them is testing. Has she been tested for COVID-19or has her roommate?

Interview:

Well, I don’t know anything about her roommate because they would not – I have asked the question is if you can tell me that person is among the53, whatever the numbers are because they keep changing, whether that person was infected or deceased. My mom was tested yesterday and I can expect results in 48 hours to 70.

Rosemary:

That’s good I guess. Your mom has alzheimer’s. Have you had any communication with her?

Interview:

No. I last saw My mom on March 9. No, I have not been able to communicate with her. The home did offer us sky ping orfacetime option, but because of the nature of alzheimer’s, that is not practical because she is sometimes non-responsive. She is more responsive to touch or closeness. She can’t relate with a phone.

Rosemary:

Sure. Do you think that she is getting the care that she needs right now in order to protect her from the virus if, indeed, her test comes back negative?

Interview:

I don’t want to bash the home. I think they’re doing their best in a bad situation. But personally I – no, I don’t think so. I think the nurses, they’re giving her the best attention that they can, but I think it’s almost I would call palliative in the sense that there’s nothing they can do. They try their best. My mother takes about an hour to have breakfast or to eat. She tends to pocket her food. We had a private person in the redoing that for us and we were paying that person privately. There is one p. S.w. That I guessmight be assigned to I don’t know what number of residents for feeding. My mother cannot feed herself, so I have to trust – and they have told me they would say if she ate well or didn’t. I don’t think they have the ability to sit with her for an hour to make sure she finishes her meals. That’s why I say, no, I don’t think – I’m concerned about herpersonal well-being and whether she’s eating well and whether ornot or her not eating well is because they don’t have the timeto feed her. We understand they don’t becausethey have a number of people to feed. It’s hard.

Rosemary:

Yeah, it is hard. How – when you hear about the number of deaths inside this home and in other homes, how worried are you about your mom? did you think about pulling her out of the home? is that even an option for you?

Interview:

Well, they did – back around April the 2nd, they did say to us if we wanted to bring her home, we could. But we had to demonstrate to them that we could take care of her at home, which we could not. It’s a false choice. We can’t bring her home and theycan’t take care of her – like, they can’t protect her from COVID-19. So what are we to do? we just sit here and wring our hands. It’s hopeless. It’s offensive hopelessness because there’s nothing we can do but sit and wait for a COVID-19 diagnosis. If she comes back negative tomorrow, that’s because she was negative two days ago. I don’t know – so it’s this sense of dread.

Rosemary:

Well, I’m really sorry you’re going through this. This is unimaginable and I know so many Canadians are experiencing this right now. If you can say something to the Ontario government and the Prime Minister who is going to come out of his house in a few minutes about what older Canadians need for help, what would you say?

Interview:

I would say older Canadians need to hear from the government that there is a long-term strategy. For COVID-19, the damage is alreadydone. We’re in the middle of it. The disease has gone through thelong-term care facilities. Stopping the p. S.w. S from working does not mitigate the existing risk. It is so great already for people like My mother. I don’t know how that removes the fact that it’s everywhere. So we really have to look at howto continue to mitigate the existing risk, but long term what are we going to do to protect people like My mother? like, the whole industry, starting with the home care before My parents were moved into a home, they have the red cross and other coming into homes daily to assist people. That whole system to me is broken. I think we need to deconstruct the thing and rebuild it in a way that –

Rosemary:

Jacquelyn, I’m going to go to the Prime Minister. I’m wishing you and your family the best. I hope your mom does okay. Thank you for speaking with us. Let’s go to Canada’s Prime Minister.