Parses captions for PM Trudeau's daily speeches and presents them in a more human readable format
Operator:
Thank you, Merci. The first question is from appn, line open.
Question:
Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. This question – I know I talked about this yesterday, about indigenous communities protecting their members and specifically in Manitoba’s kioskdam, you have fox lake creating blockade and I’m wondering do you think, specifically foxlake, do they have a right to protect their community members like this?
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Think every community needs to make decisions to protect their members and there are many ways to go about it. We need to make sure all orders of government, including indigenous governments are working together with the samegoal, which we all share, which is keeping Canadians as safe aspossible, recognising that certain communities and certain individuals are more vulnerable and I certainly know that across the country, there have been excellent and constructive conversations between indigenous and non indigenous leadership in areas of overlap so that we can move forward in a way that protects Canadians but also allows for progressive return tonormality.
[translator speaking]
Question:
I think it’si know across the country there are indigenous communities andnonindigenous communities that are close by or adjacent and they are talking about the best way to protect their citizens, particularly there is time of reopening the economy, but we all share the same desire, which is to mitigate the expansion and the spread of COVID-19 and to keep our citizens particularly the most vulnerable safe. and I know that that’s what we will continue to do.
Question:
I know I spoke to you about this yesterday, but my next question is concerning early release of prisoners and more specifically. Ppn, we’ve been asking billblair about the inmates release dearly from federal prison andi’m wondering, do you have –can you confirm that inmates are being released early and do you know when we’ll get thesenumbers?
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Co every beginning, taken extremely seriously the responsibility of keeping both inmates and staff safe in their institutions during this pandemic. Now we have taken a number –they have taken a number of steps in terms of reducing mobility between prisons, increasing the access for protective measures and in certain cases looking at releaseconditions. Minister Blair will have more to answer on that.
Operator:
Next question. Next question from the nationalpost, line open.
Question:
Hi, Prime Minister, thanks for taking thequestion. I was hoping to get a sense of your government’s thinking about potential second wave of infection in the fall. I know there is concern thatcanadians may not take to second lock down or even a third or fourth, if it comes to that. Could be for mental health reasons or economic security reasons or just kind of anexhaustion. is this something you’re alsoworried?
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Think one of the things we know is that in pandemics, there are usually second waves. The question that we’re very much focused on is as that second wave begins or as we start to see resurgences in are opened economy, how quickly are we able to contain them and to control them? and that comes down to the scale of testing, the scale of contact tracing we’re able to have right across the country. That’s why the federal government stepped up in its offer to provinces to support them in massively scaling up testing capacity and contact tracing capacity. We know particularly in those areas that are still working to get the spread of the virus under control that it will be important to increase testing now as we’re seeing in thoseareas, but also making sure that as we move forward through the summer and, obviously, into thefall, that we are ready to act extremely quickly so that the population at large won’t be in situations of having to go back into confinement, but that depends on citizens doing their part and having that testing capacity and that’s what we’removing forward on.
Operator:
Follow-up?
Question:
Yes, there have been some countries even this the first wave have managed to fend off a large amount of infections without a lockdownand I’m thinking of Hong kongwhere we’ve had barely anydeaths, mainly because of mask wearing and a really robust centralized quarantine. I’m curious in your government has been exploring these otherjurisdictions.
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Frebeen looking carefully at what other countries have done and drawing from them on elements that we can put forward in our response that would help here incanada. Obviously, there are many lessons and many, many countries around the world got serious in their situations before we did, so we were able to make some very smart choices early on that has largely kept the pandemic within controllable levels incanada. Although, there have still been far too many deaths and we certainly grieve and mourn all of those. We know that there is more to do and as we reopen, we know that citizens will continue to be extremely vigilant and careful about how they act because that is going to be a key part of keeping us safe moving forward. So government will do its part, citizens, employers, employee swill be doing their part. We head to continue to do everything we can to prevent the need for any further lockdownsthe way we’ve had up until now.
[translator speaking]
Right from the outset, we’vebeen looking at other countries have been doing to help us incanada and we did take inspiration from some of those measures while adapting them to our own reality. As we move towards more and mo reopen and active community, we will need to continue to remain vigilant as a government and to have an increased capacity to test and to do contact tracing. But at the same time, we expectcanadian citizens to do theirpart, as well. I know they don’t want to end up in isolation once again. and whether people are wearing masks or keeping their distance from others or washing their hand regularly or being careful and employers doing their part, all of those things will be very important in terms of our ability to manage a further wave of infection and going through what we’ve been through in the last few months.
Question:
Good morning. I’d like you to comment on private day camps. We’re hearing that 71% of them believe that without financial assistance from the federalgovernment, they will have to shut down. Now, the economy is starting toreopen. Do you have any intention of helping these day camps?
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Wed other organizations will have to make their own decisions in order to keep Canadians safe. That’s their top priority, but there are many industries and many sectors of the economy that will have trouble this summer. Because of the lack of tourism, because of the lack of travel and because of COVID-19 and the federal government and provisional government will have to reflect on how we can ensure that we don’t damage the economy too much because we need to ensure there can be a strong recovery once this is over.
Question:
At the same time, to what extent do you feel with the reopening of the economy those camps are important not only for the children and teenagers that work there, but also for the parents? now, if the wage subsidy criteria were relaxed, that would help those people to hire more monitors. Are you prepared to take thatstep?
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Wee to happen and from the verybeginning, we’ve seen thatcovid-19 spreads more readily in camps or in institutions where people spend the entire day working close by other workers. and, of course, I think the owners of these day camps will have to reflect on this and to remain very diligent in theirthinking. I’m not sure what those decisions will be, but I think that people are under a lot of pressure from parents, ofcourse, who would like to send their children to these camps, but they’re concerned about the safety of their children. and these are all things we’llhave to think about in the coming weeks.
Operator:
Last question.
Question:
I would like to come back to the issue of airline companies. We recently heard air canadalost $2.6 billion in tickets that were bought that were notrefunded. The same with air transat. So when will your government provide some conditional support to those airlines as long they refund travelers?
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Know that there are manycanadians out there who are concerned about the moniesthey’ve already spent on airline tickets and that they’re not, obviously, going to be able touse. and we also realize that the airline sector is vulnerable and that it’s facing majorchallenges. We also know that Canadians have economic concerns, so we will be working with the sector and airlines and Canadians who are worried to try to find somesolutions. I think we recognise how impacted air travel and airlines are by this COVID-19 pandemic and we also recognise that manycanadians are out of pocket for tickets that they have obviously not going to be using. I think that we need to have some very careful discussions with airlines, with the air travel sector and, indeed, withcanadians who are concerned to try to figure out a way forward where we can ensure thatcanadians are treated fairly an dour airline industry remains there for when our economy pick sup again.
Question:
I understand whatyou’re saying, but could you Beau bit more clear about this? you say you’re seekingsolutions, but among thosesolutions, could you demand that the airlines refund Canadians?
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Werjurisdictions and other countries are doing. We are currently talking to theairlines, as well, and we’veheard canadian’s concerns. We node that they want to be kndtheir money and they want an airline in the future because we need it. So that balance will be reallyimportant. The Canadians both want to make sure they’re not out of pocket, but they want to know that we do have a future for our airline industry in Canada. It’s an important thing forcanadians to continue to have airlines in this country. We need to make sure that we’regetting that balance right andwe’re making it through this in the right way.
Question:
I’m tom Perry fromcbc. Evacuee seen shortfalls in places like Ontario and quebecwith testing. You just said the federal government is offering to invest in a national framework to lead the way on testing and contacttracing. You got a call with the preps pstoday. If they take you up on youroffer, what’s standing in your way and giving the shortfalls like Ontario and Quebec, should they feel safe as these economies reopen?
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
We have seen a significant ramp-upsof testing in places likeontario and Quebec, where thereis a need for even greatertesting. Last week with the premiers, ilaid out that offer that thefederal government could take iton and we got positive responsesfrom right across the country. We’re going to continuediscussing that tonight and talkprecisely how to scape uptesting immediately in placeswhere it’s necessary, like inontario and Quebec, and be readyto scale up almost instantly ininplaces where right now the visis under control and anyflare-ups need to be respondedto. We don’t want to be held backfrom doing all of the testingthat is necessary and that’swhat the federal government willbe there for.
[translator speaking]
Question:
We know that we need to do more testing and contact tracing. , particularly inontario and quosay, there’s been a large increase in the testing that has been conducted recently and we will continue to do that. We know it’s important to ram pup the amount of testing that’sbeing done and the federal government will be there with resources and equipment for that to happen just as we’ve been doing now for several weeks. Right now in Quebec and Ontario, in particular, they need to ram pup their testing immediately, but there are other places incanada where the need is not there now for more testing because the situation is pretty much under control, but they have to be ready to immediately do a lot more testing if there’sa resurgence of the infection in one location or another ofcovid-19. and the federal government will be there to support the provinces to get that done.
Question:
The premier say she wants a national policy on paid sick leave, said it is crucial part of preventing that second wave of Kuhn. COVID-19. You have economies opening up and low-wage workers finding ithard to take sick leave and whatyou be willing to look at anational policy?
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Weythe provinces and I’ve heard the premier of British Columbia directly and looking forward to continuing conversations with the provinces to best support people. There’s the issue of sick leave. There’s the issue of increased childcare spaces and the issue of making sure that ourlong-term care facilities arebetter supported and moreprotected and there are a numberof things that we need to talkabout as governments to ensurethat we’re moving forward in theright way.
Question:
Canada’s spyagencies, sics is warning of national risk closed by foreign investments and threat from foreign actors to manipulate thecanadian public and interfere with our democracy. I’m wondering, how concerned are you about these reports and what actions is your government taking to mitigate theseconcerns?
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Our national security agencies do an exceptional job flagging risks to Canadians and taking action to mitigate those risks. We will always support them and take on their recommendation sand make sure that we are doing everything we can to protectcanadians from malicious actors, whether foreign or domestic.
[translator speaking] Justin
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Our security agencies play critical role in threats tocanada and the federal government always follows their recommendations and works with them to ensure the safety and the integrity of our systems incanada.
Question:
On the west bloc, we spoke to china’s ambassador to Canada and when we asked him about the detainment of the twomichaels detained, he said they were treated very well and then he went on to say, and I quote, that actually the biggest issue in our bilateral issue is themeng Lanzhou case and that’s why we made our position clear, youknow, to make sure she’s back in china smoothly and safely. So the ambassador has linked her case to the two michaels. and I would like your thought son that.
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
We have seen Chinese official slinking those two cases from the very beginning. Canada has an independent judicial system that functions without interference or override by politicians. It is one of the things that is deeply dear to Canadians in oursystem, to keep it strong and to assure the division of powers within our democracy. China doesn’t work quite the same way and doesn’t seem to understand that we do have an independent judiciary from political intervention. We will continue to follow and uphold the independence of our judicial system while we advocate for the release of the two Michael’s who have been artemporarily detained by china in retaliation for a judicial system that is independent in the way it functions.
[translator speaking]
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Cat judiciary and that is not exactly the same case in china and they do not understand that we have no intention of interfering in our judicial system which is an independentone. It’s very important that we defend our values and democratic principles and we will always dothat. So the fact that china is still refusing an independent judicial process and tying that to these arbitrary detention of the twomichaels, unfortunately, that ISS challenge that we are working on and have been for a number of months now.
Question:
There are tonnes of cases of fraud where people are using personal information to open a bank account and then they request the emergency benefit in the name of thatperson. What about the extent of that fraud problem and what can you do in concrete terms right now to stem that kind of fraud?
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Weyunderstood that we had to take quick action to help the millions of Canadians who have been lost their job because ofcovid-19 that would not have any money to pay for their groceries or to pay their rent. It was an emergency. So, we introduced measures where we could quickly provide money to millions of Canadians and more than eight millioncanadians have received thecanada emergency responsebenefit. Now, we knew right away that there was a possibility that some individuals were try to defraud the government and we put in place measures not in order to filter applications right away because that would have slowed down the delayer of delivery of money for months andtwe introduced measures to detect and recover that money as the pandemic continues. and I can assure you that thecanada revenue agency and the public service are working hard to ensure that there are consequences and that we can recover the money from people who defrauded the system. Fraud is unacceptable and there will be consequences. There are members of the mohawkcommunity blocking the park and it is up to the community to take that kind of action and are you afraid that things might go off the rails?
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Think first of all, it’simportant to understand thatwe’re all seeking the samething. We want to protect our citizens from COVID-19 and ensure the safety and security of everyone including and especially vulnerable populations. The government and the indigenous governments have to work together to ensure thatwe’re making the appropriate decisions to protect citizens, even, as we try to return to normality is I think leaders in these communities should try to get together to try to do that. First of all, we all want the same thing. Every different order of government wants to ensure that citizens are protected andthat’s why different orders ofgovernment, including indigenous governments need to work with nearby communities and ensure that we’re finding a balance that protects the citizens fir stand foremost but allows for the careful reopening as appropriate of our economies andcommunities.
Question:
Prime Minister, want to ask you about the airline tickets again because your two previous responses were not clear. Will you use the power and authority over them to insist the people who paid for ticket sand were not given refunds get the refunds?
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Thocanadians that we are working with the airlines and withcanadians concerned on and we’relooking at what other other countries have done in these measures and we’re looking to make sure that Canadians are supported financially through this time, but that also, we’regoing to come back with airlines that function in Canada for thelong-term. Getting that balance right willbe delicate but something we’reworking on.
Question:
Don’t you see this is unfair, that they bought tickets and they’re given vouchers to use?
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau:
Thlconcerned parties to try to Fonda solution.