Parses captions for PM Trudeau's daily speeches and presents them in a more human readable format
Won’t happen in time for the long weekend. Let me bring in My colleagues, the host of “power & politics”, Vassy kapelos and Catherine Cullen in Ottawa. Vassy, I’ll start with you. Just on what you might know on the announcements.
Vassy:
What I know so far is they’re not hugely substantial, but little bits and pieces and I depends on what your interests are. I think definitely when it comes to parks, that is something – and historically, that is something that joins? with so much of what we’ve been talking about over the past four or five day and that is the re-opening of various provinces, the relaxing of certain physical distancing restrictions. This is one of the only area that the federal government has jurisdiction over. So, My understanding is it will be, again, like so much else that we’ve heard about, a phased-out approach. and you’re right. Probably not in time for the long weekend. But as the warm weather does warm up across the country over the next few weeks, there will be at least some more places that you can access to get outside. I think from My perspective, some of the things that I’m interested to hear about from the Prime Minister include an update on two programs that we are waiting details for and you spoke to Minister morneau about both of them last night on a special, rosie. The first is the wage subsidy program. We’re supposed to get details about whether or not it will re-open and the second is the commercial rent program. We’re very quickly inching towards June 1. a lot of provinces have not put a moratorium on commercial evictions. I AM hearing daily from people about that reality, who run a business and worried about that reality and depends on landlords taking part in the program and everybody right now is just short on details. So, there isn’t a huge uptake or we have formal numbers but anecdotely I’m hearing land lords saying I’m probablying not going to do this because I don’t have the details. So, we are waiting for details on that program as well. and to wrap all of that together, I think there’s been some really interesting commentary over the past few days around the level of testing. and what, if any, role the federal government has in ensuring that this country tests a whole lot more. There are examples in other jurisdictions of the world, even in the epicenter of this pandemic, in wuhan, where over the next 10 days, they’re going test 11 million people. We have nowhere near the goals that even individual provinces have set. In some instances in the worst cases in Ontario and Quebec, they’re far short, even halfway there, in Quebec, for example, to the goals that they have set themselves. and everybody, including the business community, including epidemiologists are saying that we have to be far ahead of where we are right now to start relaxing physical distancing measures or re-opening economies. a process which I should mention is under way in most provinces already at this point. So I think there is sort of some questions for the federal government, for the Prime Minister about is there a specific role for the federal government here. is there a guideline that should be set by the federal government? I know the feds are helping increase capacity. I know that they are procuring those tests for provinces or helping to. But do they have a role to play in ensuring the level of testing that needs to be done in order to re-open economies is actually being done. Not just pledging to be.
Rosemary:
Right. To go back to the commercial rent situation. and in case other people weren’t watching it last night, Minister morneau seemed to suggest that he had some numbers. I’m not sure if those were concrete numbers or anecdotetal numbers about uptake on the commercial rent. So I would be interested to know more about that, because you’re right, I think everyone has been hearing quite the opposite, that landlords aren’t interested in it. He also made the point, which I hadn’t really thought about before, is because the federal government only has control over sort of mortgages, that is why it is limited in terms of how it provides the help from the federal level and if more has to be done, then it has to come from the provincial jurisdiction and the suggestion was that landlords should do this because it at least guarantees them some money. But I think what I’ve been hearing and I’m sure you, too, Vassy, is that some landlords are saying no, I want all the money. So, if you don’t take this program, then you just go and find – you just go and find me the money if you are the renter and that is the disconnect there, that I’m not sure they have addressed yet and I’m not sure that I understood whether that was coming either from the Minister.
Vassy:
Yeah. Neither did I. For some landlords, it is not a case – for some it is for sure I don’t want to take less money. But for others it’s I can’t. I haven’t been able to secure a mortgage deferral and it is confusion as well because there is a tweet from Minister morneau, I think last week, saying we’re going figure out a way to do this even for people without mortgages. I’m paraphrasing here. So, that also contributes – I don’t know how they have numbers because every landlord I talk to antenanl – and tenant I talk to is confused about those details. There is a huge amount of provincial jurisdiction here and a lot of pressure, particularly on the Ontario government, to put a moratorium on evictions right now. They’re saying we’re waiting for the details and see how this program works out before we make a decision on that.
Rosemary:
I’ll turn to Catherine now for your thoughts. But tell people that the governor of the bank of Canada was out this morning, Stephen poloz, still the governor for a couple more months and it was not a super optimistic viewpoint on how things were going in the economy. Certainly suggesting that we’re not out of the woods and pointing to potential bankruptcies, frankly, for many companies down the road.
Reporter:
Yeah. You saw starting out by trying to offer that reassurance that we often hear from Stephen pol oz that ultimately the structure of the Canadian economy is able to withstand this. He said, you know, we were in economic shape going into this situation and there is reassurance to be had there. He did note that this is probably the greatest financial challenge that most of us will see in our lifetimes and there are challenges still to come. He was asked, for instance, how the bank of Canada – what they think about the possibility of. We talked so much about a second wave of the pandemic in terms of the effects that it might have on all of us in terms of our health. But he was asked what about the second wave of pandemic in terms of the impact on the economy. and essentially said yes, we will have to adapt our forecasts if, indeed, that does happen. But, again, this sense of the unknown, rosemary that we’re all dealing with in so many different ways and shapes and forms, what the ultimate impact of all of this might be. It’s certainly not going to be good. You heard Stephen pol oz talking about, for instance – pardon me, I lost My train of thought there. Talking about debt, I was going to say.
Rosemary:
Yes.
Reporter:
and the input that that is going to have in all of this. But the exact shape is still to come.
Rosemary:
I’m going leave you both as we await the Prime Minister to emerge to turn to another issue we’re expecting the Prime Minister to announce today and the Minister of indigenous services who will be at the briefing at noon and they have fl aged this obviously before that indigenous communities in this country face a potentially more severe outcome when I comes to the pandemic. This past week, in fact, Minister Marc miller, the indigenous services Minister, did say that Canada must improve its data collection efforts for first nations, Inuit and mÉtis community and for more on this, I’m joined by Janet smiley, and she is in Toronto. Good to see you, doctor. Thank you for making the time.
Hello. Thank you for the invitation.
Rosemary:
So how concerned are you about the lack of data around indigenous people right now? because it does seem as though we have one set of data for on reserve indigenous people and then sort of a vague notion of what might be happening in the population writ large.
Yes. So I’m very concerned right now and, in fact, I’ve been very concerned in working with others to try to address this complicated problem since the onset of the pandemic here in Canada.
Rosemary:
and why is this so hard to get? why is it so complicated to try and collect this data and how would it help?
We are dealing with historic and current policy legacies. So, in order for first nations, Inuit and mÉtis peoples to be identified in the existing COVID-19 datasets, what needs to happen is they need to be in a context where they could be accurately identified as first nations Inuit and mÉtis at testing or in testing follow-up. So, in order to do that, in a why that is respectful and safe, then we need to have an infrastructure and processes and partnerships. Unfortunately, that doesn’t exist for most first nation, inuit and mÉtis people where they live. There has been investment over time for first nations people living on reserve and in the north and for inuit communities in the north, partnerships between the federal government and inuit and first nations leadership to set a kind of platform. Of course, they’re shared health services, first nations and inuit leadership and the delivery of health services. These are contexts where indigenous people are in the majority so they may feel comfortable identifying and they will be able to be identified. Unfortunately, because of things like the indian act, people who are living outside of first nations communities, people who may not be recognized as status first nations people, mÉtis people and inuit living in the south, live in a very different context. and the infrastructure there is very underdeveloped. So that is the complex problem.
Rosemary:
and the Minister, back on Saturday, was very frank about it, that there was a data gap and I was concerning and that they did need to find a way to fix it. Give us a sense, though, in what way sort of the social determinants of health that we measure in first nations, mÉtis and Inuit communities are already sort of working against many of those communities when it comes to the pandemics.
Yes. It’s a tricky virus and we’re going to learn lots of less – lessons and sometimes it magnifies things that are existing social challenges. So, of course, we know from h1n1 that first nations, inuit and mÉtis people have existing conditions. Again, kind of linked to existing inequities and of distribution of health and social resources, like higher rates of chronic disease and overcrowded housing and that happens in the cities as well. So, a city like toronto where I live in where there’s 70, 000 first nations, inuit and mÉtis people often only about one out of five of those people is participating in the census and about one out of three of that population of 70, 000 which has been the largest indigenous population the country is experiencing housing shortage. We have a lot of strengths, though, too, as first nations and inuit and mÉtis people. We’ve had to live through many challenges. So we’re incredibly adaptable and we have very strong social networks. Those social networks actually, I think, are adaptability and the existing goodwill and ability to work in partnership across jurisdiction are going to get us through this.
Rosemary:
I AM going to talk to someone from la louche a little bit later in the program, hopefully. But how concerned are you about that outbreak in la louche and in the first nation right beside it?
Of course, anytime – like as a mÉtis Cree person with family ties to Saskatchewan, yeah, this is – it strikes us as very concerning. But I do know those communities and I know that there is a lot of strength, there’s a lot of very strong first nations and mÉtis leaders. and a lot of goodwill. So I understand that everybody is working together. That is what’s going get us through, right? strategic alliances, working together for the good of the people, and then actually kind of wise science or wise practices. So, yeah. My heart goes out to those communities, but I feel confident because we’ve made it through many difficulties in the past so there’s that resilience and adaptability and history of communities coming together.
Rosemary:
Let me ask one more question before the Prime Minister comes out the front door here. If we talk about fixing things that aren’t working throughout this pandemic, if one of those things that was fixed was the federal government able to provide a different role in gathering information, how much – how much would that help, I guess, keep people healthy and safer?
It would be wonderful for first nations, Inuit and mÉtis people to be counted in to our public health systems, regardless of where they choose to live. Or where they need to live. So currently, we’re kind of faced with a federal jurisdictional hot potato and unfortunately it’s not only in the delivery of health services but in our health information system. So, I actually see an tounls bridge that gap and recognize that we’re all related and it’s very important to have this intelligence and information and it should be led by indigenous first nations Inuit mÉtis leaders and indigenous health agencies and that is going to help us moving forward and avoid situations like we have right now.
Rosemary:
Doctor, really good of you to national convention time and talk to us about this sh yaoufm I appreciate it.
Thank you.
Rosemary:
That is Dr. Janet smylie. She is in Toronto. Yesterday t Minister of crown and indigenous relations announced $2.3 million for that area of northern Saskatchewan, la loesh – lob er because of the cases that have happened on the reserve or in the community of la louche and have touched other people, mÉtis and other den who live off reserve. We’ll expect to hear more about that from the Prime Minister and the Minister at the noon briefing. I’ll bring back Vassy kapelos and Catherine Cullen as we wait for the Prime Minister, knowing probably cut you off. I’ll try to get to this anyway. Catherine, I wanted to ask about your story around the CERB fraud and it’s something that you were talking to Minister qualtrough yesterday and you had details yesterday, too.
Reporter:
We heard from the Prime Minister himself that when it comes to catching people who may have been committing fraud by applying for the Canada emergency response benefit, even if they haven’t lost their job and don’t meet the criteria but just going ahead and saying that they do, officials have said, listen, the cleanup is really going to be on the backend. and so we learned from the C.R.A. Yesterday that they’re going to be introducing new measures, rosemary, a notable one, certainly is that they’ll be asking for more information from employers about when specifically Canadians were working this year. Normally employers hand out the information in your t-4, a summary of the money that made this year. No, this time around they will be asking employers for a month by month accounting of what people were making over the course of pandemic. They will compare that information to people who applied for the emergency response benefit and try to catch them in inaccuracies there. One thing that officials said and this also came up in Vassy’s interview with Minister qualtrough, if you’ve been accessing the the benefit and you shouldn’t be, the idea is they want the money back. Will there be additional penalties for people willfully dishonest in all of. That? that is not where the focus s. and we heard from the government time and time again, their real focus right now is about geting the money out the door to a lot of are in need. This concern that some people are abusing the program does seem to be a more minor one in the grand scheme of things.
Rosemary:
Excellent timing. The Prime Minister has emerged from his front door. We’ll talk to you both about this after. Here’s the Prime Minister on this the Thursday.