Parses captions for PM Trudeau's daily speeches and presents them in a more human readable format
Rosemary:
All right, that is the Prime Minister of Canada on this Monday giving his regular briefing to Canadians on the government’s response to COVID-19, but also addressing the many protests and rallies that we saw across the United States yesterday and through theweekend, sorry, and a couple here in Canada as well in some of our major cities saying that for far too many Canadians, images and stories coming out of the United States are all too familiar, anti-blackracism is real and it happens here in Canada. The policy announcement many municipalities have been waitingfor. The government has decided to forward, advance money, $2.2 billion in the gas tax relief tomunicipalities as a one-time payout instead of over two periods throughout the year. The federation of canadian municipalities had been asked for anywhere between 10 to $15 billion. The Prime Minister also made it clear this was a first step in helping cities, and the rest would have to come after conversations with the provinces. So let’s get some reaction now from leaders of two of Canada’s major cities about this announcement. Brian bowman is the mayor of winnipeg and kennedy stewart is the mayor of vancouver. Good of you to make the time, gentlemen. Thank you so much.
Good morning.
Thanks for having us.
Rosemary:
I know you’ve both been hit pretty hard by all of this. You’ve both had to lay off people in the municipality. You’ve both obviously felt the effects of fewer transit users as well. That’s one of the places where you get a lot of money. So let’s just get your reaction to this advance of money, I guess that you knew was coming, but it’s just going to come all at once. Let’s start with you, mayor Stewart.
Yeah, I mean, this is really the first chip on the table in this poker game between the federal and provincial governments for funding for municipalities, so it’s a welcome first step, and probably more welcome was the Prime Minister’s comments that he’s open to providing more funding. This, however, is just an advance on capital funds. It’s nothing to do with our operating budgets. We’re losing up to $300 million this year, had to lay off 1800 people already. You know, prepared to lay off more if we have to just because of losses in revenues. So you know, it’s a faint signal, but it’s a signal we’ll take at the moment, but there’s more needed.
Rosemary:
Okay, mayor bowman, how about for the city of Winnipeg? this will obviously make a difference, but I imagine that because it is money you were expecting it will only do so much.
Yeah, I mean, advancing it is obviously welcomed and I would echo the mayor’s comments. Here in Winnipeg this will advance about $22 million that we’ve already budgeted for in this year’s budget, but it will help us with cash flow. I think what I’ll say is consistent, you know, it’s a good first step. Obviously there is more work for the federal government and the provincial government. You know, municipalities for decades have been delivering services with one hand tied behind their backs. We don’t have the revenue tools or the models that other levels of government have, but the expectation from our residents continues to grow, and what COVID-19 has done is tied the other hand behind our back. We need some fundamental changes in how we fund cities across Canada if we’re really going to position for a new norm that isn’t worse than the old norm.
Rosemary:
So this is really the only thing I think that the federal government could have done on its own because you are sort of – you are of the provinces. You’re in their jurisdiction. What is the expectation, then, from your perspective on what provinces should be doing right now to ask for more from Ottawa? because it does seem that there’s a bit of a blockage there, mayor Stewart.
Yeah, I mean, we do have to work together on this. In British Columbia our province also had a good first step as they provided some direct funding for our transit. But that’s only going to carry us to about September. and these two senior government shave to sit down and decide what do they want their cities to look like. I mean, our economy, the whole national economy, runs through cities, basically, and if we don’t have the staff to approve permits, to do building inspections, to get the engineers and the construction teams going, then the whole economy just kind of creeps to astop. So you know, we need to be included in these talks, but they need to decide if they’re going to get in in terms of operating and let us know soon because we’re doing our 2020-2021 budgets right now and have to make some pretty serious decisions about property tax levels and those types of things, and can’t wait much longer for an answer.
Rosemary:
and if property taxes is the only other place you can get money, mayor bowman, I imagine that’s problematic too. The Cm has said some people can’t pay their property taxingsright now because they are also experiencing difficulties. How realistic is it that you could even increase property taxes?
That’s the fundamental problem with how municipalities are funded. I mean, it’s not a smart form oftaxation, and if you want to help support economic growth andrecovery, you don’t do it by doubling down on the tax burden of property owners and businesses. You do it with progressive forms of taxation, like they have at other levels of government, and you do it in a way in which the focus on municipal councils is economic development and job creation. and so that’s the challenge. I mean, the federal government has a lot of money. The provincial government has the powers to make structure changes for municipalities. They also do have a lot more financial tools they can borrow, unlike municipalities can. We’re prohibited from borrowing for our operating budgets. We have balance budget legislation which in our case is balance in the next four years. I would agree, these other two levels of government need to coordinate in a way that is unprecedented and rises to the occasion and the need right now in a pandemic.
Rosemary:
Just so I understand clearly, I’ll go back to you, mayor Stewart, we’re going to hear from Minister mckenna shortly, but this money can’t actually be used for operating costs? is that accurate? it has to be used for capital costs?
That’s right, yeah. It has to be for capital and it’s already capital that we were going to spend money on anyway. The problem is with our cities is that we do require some operating monies in order to make the capital monies flow through. So we still have to pay our engineers if we’re going to build new transit projects, and so if we don’t have that initial operating money, then that money just sits in accounts. We can’t use it right away to kick start the economy.
Rosemary:
Okay, so before I let you go, because ministers are going to pop up shortly, but can you both sort of paint a picture of what happens to your city, what kind of choices you’re going to have to make if you don’t get more? and certainly it seems like the Prime Minister wants to have theconversation, but if more is notforthcoming, what happens to some of the very real things that people need in your cities? mayor bowman?
Yeah, it’s not a prospect we want to go down that path because, you know, we’re talking about essential services, clean, safe drinking water, first res ponders there when you need them. You know, the municipal governments don’t provide nice-to-haves. It’s must have-haves for Canadians, and the majority of Canadians live in canadian cities. For us we can weather the storm until about the end of August, and then after that as we prepare our annual 2021 update, we will have to look at some fundamental choices between services and increasing the tax of property owners, neither of which should help with an economic recovery for winnipeggers and for Canadians.
Rosemary:
Mayor Stewart, same question to you.
Yeah, it’s about the same forus. We have laid off 1800 of our 10, 000 employees. Our unions here have been great, so we have made some arrangements that would stop further layoffs until about the end of August, but come September we’re right back in the situation, and it is – you’re right, I mean, we have –now we’re worried about front-line services. We have already asked the policeto take a 1% cut on their budgetand fire too. How far are they going to let usramp down is the question to theprovinces and the feds. It will take us that much longerto get back up and running and get the economy firing on all cylinders. So it’s an important choice for them.
Rosemary:
I said it was the last question, but I will quickly just ask you, would the wage subsidy program make a difference if you were able to tap into that? they certainly haven’t made that change yet. Would it make a difference for you, mayor Stewart?
YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. ANY OF THESE FEDERAL PROGRAMS, LIKE NONE OF THEM APPLY TO MUNICIPALITIES, IF THEY STARTED TO STRETCH THOSE OUT TO MUNICIPALITIES, THAT WOULD HELP A LOT:
and we could take a slice of the sales tax too, that would be great.
Rosemary:
Mayor bowman?
I would echo that. That’s a smarter form of taxation because we get in the game when it comes to economic growth and development. It’s more progressive. That’s the kind of discussion we need to be having. We all need to rise to the occasion to look at some fundamental changes so that the new norm doesn’t look like the old norm with a lot less dollars for front-line essential services that municipalities provide.
Rosemary:
Okay, I’ll leave itthere, mayors. Winnipeg mayor brown bowman, My tome hound. Hope to get there this summer. Don’t know if it’s going to happen. Good to see you both, gentlemen. Appreciate you weighing in. Thank you.
Thanks very much.
Thank you.
Rosemary:
Thank you. We do of course have our regular briefing from public health officials and cabinet ministers, but before we get there, I want to squeeze in a quick take with Steven d’souza. He’s in new York following the events over the past couple of days in the United States. Steven, what can you tell us about where things are at today?
Reporter:
Well, it’s interesting, there’s a debate going on right now in the city of new York about whether the city should impose a curfew. We have seen that imposed in dozens of cities across the United States, but there is a debate about whether it would work here in new York city. Last night was the fourth night of protests. More violence later in the night. Throughout the day there were peaceful protests. It seemed like protesters were making a concerted effort to put forth a peaceful step and trying to encourage officers to need down. We saw some officers do that. Later in the evening, there was violence and looting, more police vehicles were vandalized and destroyed, and so the mayor today says he is considering a possible curfew. Take a listen to what mayor Billie blasio said earlier.
We have to look at it as an option, but that being said, we have not made a decision. There are advantages and disadvantages, to say the least, to instituting a curfew. Previous nights I think were different than what we saw last night, so we’re weighing that right now.
Reporter:
It’s interesting, the police commissioner has been doing the media rounds today, and he was asked about a possible curfew, and he says, you know, the city doesn’t need the national guard, and he said a curfew probably won’t work because he doesn’t think people in the city would actually even listen to it, and in his words, he said if people think a curfew will work, they don’t understandwhat’s going on. So if mayor said he’s going to be speaking with the commissioner about this idea later. But it doesn’t sound like it will get much traction.
Rosemary:
Yeah, and curfews in other United States cities certainly proving that they also don’t work. Steven d’souza, thank you for making the time. I appreciate it very much. Steven d’souza in new York. Let’s bring you back now to government officials here in Ottawa. This is the health Minister, patty hajdu.
We cannot lower our guard. Things are getting better, but our families and communities are depending on us to keep working together to protect each other. Now I will turn to Dr. Tam and then Dr. Njoo and then Minister mckenna. Dr. Tam?
Bonjour, good afternoon. I will start with the latest numbers on COVID-19 in Canada. There are now 91, 351 confirmed cases, including 7, 305 deaths and 14, 923 cases or 54% are now recovered. Labs across Canada have tested over 1, 961, 000 people for COVID-19 to date with about 5% of these testing positive overall. Over the past week, we have been testing an average of close to 29, 000 daily. While everyone in Canada is working hard in the fight against COVID-19, there is an increasing concern about a range of unintended consequences of the pandemic response, including for populations already experiencing marginalization due to stigma and other forms of discrimination. Among these unintended consequences is the impact on the ongoing public health crisis of opioid-related overdose deaths and problematic substanceuse in Canada more broadly. Last week the British Columbia coroner’s service reported that unintentional illicit drug toxicity deaths have increased in recent months with over 100 reported deaths in the province, both in March and April 2020. This is a worrying trend, and ithas been over a year since British Columbia observed numbers this high sustained overa two-month period. There have also been spikes in opioid-related overdoses in toronto and calgary and several jurisdictions, including Nova Scotia, toronto and guelph, Ontario, have reported overdosesdue to unknown or unusual mixes of toxic illicit substances. As it remains vital to keep our public health measures to protect all Canadians from COVID-19, we must find ways to maintain life-saving supports, including treatment and harm reduction services for loved ones and members of our communities who use drugs. Changes in the illegal drug supply in the wake of COVID-19 may result in increased risk of overdose for persons who use drugs. We know that using drugs alone is a major risk factor for experiencing a fatal overdose. This is why it is so important never to use drugs alone. Always have someone nearby or connected virtually to someone who can monitor you and be readyto call 911 or your local emergency help line is needed. It is encouraging to see community organizations and governments across the country coming together to address the public health crises that COVID-19 and drug overdose deaths. Harm reduction and treatment facilities are implementing infection controls and ramping up virtual and mobile services. The government of Canada’s wellness together portal provides wellness and substance use resources free to all Canadians. British columbian’s lifeguard app will automatically contact 911 if you don’t click in within75 seconds of taking a drug. There is something in Newfoundland and Labrador providing clients with technology and wi-fi to access online tools. Other organizations are providing adequate housing, meals and improving access to medications for substance use disorders to minimalize drug-related harms and impacts of COVID-19. It is efforts like these that will help minimize the inequitable and disproportionateeffect of the pandemic on an already vulnerable group of Canadians. Together we can reduce drug-related harms while keepingup with the essential public health measures to reduce the impacts of COVID-19. Thank you. Merci. [voice of interpreter]
Good afternoon. I will start with the latest numbers on COVID-19 in Canada. There are now 91, 351 confirmed cases, including 7, 305 deaths and 49, 335 people recovered. 54% of cases. Laboratories across Canada have tested over 1, 691, 273 people forcovid-19 to date with about 5% of these testing positive overall. Over the past week, we have been testing an average of 29, 000 people daily. While everyone in Canada is working hard in the fight against COVID-19, there is an increasing concern about a range of unintended consequences of the pandemic response, including for populations already experiencing marginalization due to stigma and other forms of discrimination. Among these unintended consequences is the impact on the ongoing public health crisis of opioid-related overdose deaths and problematic substanceuse in Canada. Last week the British Columbia coroner service reported that unintentional illicit drug toxicity deaths have increased in recent months with over 100 reported deaths in the province in both March and April 2020. This is a worrying trend as it has been over a year since British Columbia observed numbers this high sustained overa two-month period. There have also been spikes in opioid-related deaths in torontoand calgary and several jurisdictions, including Nova Scotia, toronto and guelph, Ontario have reported overdoses due to unknown and unusual excess of toxic illicit substances. As it remains vital to keep our public health measures to protect all Canadians from COVID-19, we must find ways to maintain life-saving supports for loved ones and members of our communities who use drugs. Changes in the illegal drug supply in the wake of COVID-19 may result in increased risk of overdose for persons who use drugs. We know that using drugs alone is a major risk factor for experiencing a fatal overdose. This is why it is so important never to use drugs alone. Always have someone nearby or connect virtually to someone whocan monitor you and be ready to call 911 or your local emergencyhelp line if needed. It is encouraging to see community organizations and orders of government across the country coming together to address the dual public health crisis of COVID-19 and drug overdose deaths. Harm reduction and treatment facilities are implementing infection controls and ramping up virtual and mobile services. The government of Canada’s wellness together portal provides wellness and substance use resources free to all Canadians. British Columbia’s lifeguard appwill automatically contact 911 if you don’t click in within 75 seconds of taking a drug. Stella circle in Newfoundland and Labrador is providing clients with technology and wi-fi to access online tools. Other organizations are providing adequate housing, meals and improving access to medications for substance use disorders to minimize drug-related harms and the impacts of COVID-19. It is efforts like these that will help minimize the [indiscernible] and disproportionate effects of the pandemic on an already vulnerable group of Canadians. Together we can reduce drug-related harms while keepingup with essential public health measures to reduce the impact ofcovid-19. Thank you. [ end of interpretation ]
Thank you, doctor. Thank you very much. I want to start by really reiterating Minister hajdu’s commence. We’re watching hundreds of thousands, or millions, marching around the world and in Canada for human rights. Let’s be clear, Canada is not immune to racism and discrimination. We all need to work together to call it out and to do better. The health and well-being of Canadians has been and will continue to be the top priority of our government, but this pandemic has affected a lot morethan personal health. It also has affected our economy, which is why our government has been taking decisive action to support families, businesses and communities, and it’s why we’re looking ahead to see what more can be done. [voice of interpreter]we can help by continue developing infrastructure projects throughout the country. For example, electric buses, renewable energies and water projects that will help create good jobs and help communities to get back on their feet. [ end of interpretation ]our government understands the challenging situation that cities or towns are in. I’ve spoken with mayors from across the country, and I’ve heard about their significant COVID-19-related financial pressures, in particular in relation to public transit. Our government is having important conversations with provinces and territories about the pressing issue. As the Prime Minister said earlier today, today’s announcement is a start. We know that more help is neededfor municipalities, but every voyage begins with a first step. To make sure cities and towns have the resources they need to get and keep infrastructure projects going, we’re speeding up this year’s funding deliveredthrough the federal gas tax fund. Instead of delivering two payments, one in the summer and one later in the year, we are delivering the full 2020-2021 amount to communities this month. Our government recognizes the need to be flexible during this crisis. By getting this money out early, we are contributing to a safe re-start, helping communities get back on their feet, supporting them to get more infrastructure built, like high-speed broadband, public transit and waste water, creating jobs and building a stronger, cleaner, healthier andmore connected country. [voice of interpreter]for communities to have the resources they need to launch the economy and projects, and asthe Prime Minister announced this morning, we arse accelerating this year’s fund through the gas tax fund [indiscernible] one in the summer and one later in the yearwe will be providing the entire amount to municipalities in June. This is one step to help municipalities. The government recognizes the need for flexibility during thiscrisis. By quickly disbursing municipal funds, we are ensuring that thisrecovery to help municipalities get back on their feet, helping them create new infrastructure, like broadband infrastructure, public transit and waste water treatment projects, helping themto create jobs and to create a more connected and stronger economy. [ end of interpretation ]– provides money to cities and towns and first nation communities and supports thousands of local infrastructure projects, projects like the 1550 solar panels installed in the districtof hudson’s hope in British Columbia, improvements to the legacy trail between canmore andbanff, the rehabilitation of thesid buckwold bridge in saskatoon, dollars from this fund are helping with pool upgrades in winnipeg, and with storm water management in mississauga. [voice of interpreter]these funds help electrify buses in laval and funded to recharge stations in New Brunswick. [ end of interpretation ]– can be used immediately for municipalities for priority projects, banked for later use, pooled with other communities for shared infrastructure projects, or used to help finance big-ticket projects thatcan pay community dividends for decades to come. [voice of interpreter]while we are facing the greatesthealth and social economic challenges in our country, more municipalities in the country will be able to take investment decisions to invest in the projects they need, investments that will help them strengthen municipalities during this pandemic and help build cleaner, healthier, stronger and more connected municipalities. [ end of interpretation ]– the accelerated gas fund tax payment is just one way we are showing flexibility in response to the pandemic. Helping Canadians in their communities to adapt and recover, get people working and building a stronger, cleaner, healthier and more connected country for the future. As the Prime Minister said this morning, this is a start. We know there’s more to be done to support municipalities, so we’ll keep working with the provinces and territories with more to come. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. We will now start taking questions. As usual, we will start on the phone, three questions, and then we will turn to the room. One question, one follow-up. Operator, over to you.
Operator:
Global news, pleas ego ahead.
Reporter:
My, My question is for Dr. Tam. Has any progress made on gathering more detailed data on people suffering from COVID-19, giving knowledge that there are gaps in the data, but I would like to ask what is being done to address those gaps.
That is an important question, and on the general set of data things have improved, and so we now have like 99% of the cases reported from provinces and territories. Unfortunately they don’t contain the race and ethnicity information. We are working right now with statistics Canada and other organizations like Chi and the provinces and territories really actively to try and get some of that. Having said that, it would be no surprise to anyone just based on the information already available, not necessarily through this systematic data gathering, that those who are in certain more disadvantaged populations, social economic areas of lower socio-economic sort of levels and certain groups of people in Canada are more vulnerable to the impact ofcovid-19, and that’s already evident.
Reporter:
Thank you, and for a follow-up, so, umm, how significant are these social determinants? I know you don’t say you have data, but do you have a timelineon when we would get that data and how significant those would be?
So we are working with mainly statistics Canada, for example, in looking at linkages and looking at trends to not just the COVID-19 but seeing what kind of data is available on the unintended consequences and the other data linkages. So I think that’s actually really important. But as you’ve also seen from the more granular data provided now from areas like Toronto, we know in areas like Montreal there’s certain areas of even down to the local jurisdiction that are seeing a disproportionate number of cases. Some are related to the work that people living in those areas are linked to, such as some of the workplaces that we’ve seen outbreaks in, but also crowded living conditions. So that data is coming out for more of the local level.
Reporter:
Thank you.
Thank you, doctor. Operator, next question, please.
Operator:
Thank you. Our next question is from Le devoir. Please go ahead. [voice of interpreter]
Reporter:
Hello, My question is for ms. Mckenna on today’s announcement. I want to know, the gas tax fund for municipalities, will they beexceptions? will the cities be able to spend this money on anything else besides infrastructure?
Thank you very much for the question. The fund is intended to help the capital costs for municipalities. It does not necessarily mean that the entire fund should be invested this year. They could keep the funds to invest in major infrastructure projects in the future. They could work with other municipalities. It’s not for operational costs. It’s for capital expenses.
Reporter:
Thank you. Supplementary question. On infrastructure [indiscernible] mckenna, we are hearing that negotiations are on the way between Quebec and the department to see if there are ways of [indiscernible] infrastructure spending and to see if Ottawa could offer quebecmore flexibility for the [indiscernible] more quickly for some projects like schools and hospitals. Could you tell us what the case of these negotiations are with Quebec? are there any developments? is there an agreement?
I AM having lots of discussions with My counterparts throughout the country. We are hearing them. Certainly we need to be flexible. We need to find out what is necessary now and in the future in the area of infrastructure, of course. The discussions will continue. When there’s something to report, I will be here to report. Of course I’m working very well with the Minister. [ end of interpretation ]
Operator:
Our next question is from the Canadian press. Please go ahead.
Reporter:
Good morning. Will you commit to consulting with the privacy commissioner on any plan for a national contact tracing app?
Thank you very much. We know that privacy is of utmost importance to Canadians, and so the work is ongoing right now to look at a variety of different options that has privacy at the first and foremost consideration. As the Minister of health, of course having a digital contact tracing app would likely be helpful for some jurisdictions, but we also know that an enormous amount of contact tracing is happening in the old fashioned way, using human beings. In fact, some jurisdictions prefer it that way, and so we are continuing those conversations with our colleagues, and I know the Prime Minister himself is watching this development very carefully as it is of utmost importance to him as well.
Jim, follow-up?
Reporter:
How concerned are you about an uptick in the cases of COVID-19 spread out, the coronavirus through the street protests that are unfolding now?
I’ll answer generally and then I’ll turn to Dr. Tam for some practical protest advice. Listen, I think it’s people’s right to express their support and in some cases concern about things that are unfolding both here in our country and across the world, and we know that gathering together is a very powerful way to lend that support and to be an ally in many of these kinds of situations. There are ways to do it more safely. People still do need to keep physical distance, make sure that they bring with them hand sanitizer, for example, and I think bring a mask. There are situations change very quickly when you’re in a crowd setting and you may not be able to keep that physical distance from someone else, so I think although we’ve seen much more peaceful protests in general here in Canada, we still encourage people to be very careful when they are congregating in large crowds. As you recall, it was one of the first things that many municipalities and provincial governments chose to limit, because the size of crowds gathering, and there’s a reason for that. It’s much easier to come into contact with other people’s droplets when you’re close by. Dr. Tam, did you want to add anything?
I think that as in any gatherings, follow your local public health advice that doing it as safely as possible I think is the key from a health perspective. So I think as the Minister’s said, try to maintain that physical distance that one might sort of perceive that this could be difficult to maintain. So definitely wearing a mask, having hand sanitize rs or carrying – you know, having access to hand washing would be very important. One thing that people may want to consider is that, of course, wearing a mask is important, but shouting and making really loud sort of projections can potentially increase the risk, and so, you know, one might want to choose other means of showing or messaging, whether it would be signage or making noise using other instruments, for example, to consider that, you know, shouting and that type of behaviour can potentially project more droplets, but be considerate of others I think people are out to protest, to support a common goal, so I think being respectful and kind to each other who is participating by wearing a mask and doing the right public health measures I think is really key. I do think that local public health will be monitoring very closely because I think protesters outdoors will have lower risk, but anything that’s more in an enclosed environment with lots of people are things that local public health is the most concerned about in terms ofcovid-19 spread.
Thank you, doctor. We’ll now turn to the room. McKenzie?
Reporter:
Hi, everyone, kenzie grey, CTV news. I’d like to start with you, Minister hajdu. In your answer about contact tracing earlier, you seemed to kind of bring up that municipalities and other agencies might be interested in sticking with the old fashioned way. Prime Minister a few weeks ago seemed very confident there would be a singular app that the government would basically tell people to download if they were feeling comfortable with that. is that still the plan with the government?
I think whatever path that we choose to go forward with a digital app for contact tracing, it has to be an app that Canadians will feel comfortable using and that we can gain momentum with. One of the things I think from health perspective we’re keeping our eye on is the usefulness of an app if there is not a high take-up, and actually the success of the apps require people to want to use them. and so we are right now having conversations with provinces andterritories. There are, as you know, some apps being used in other provinces that provinces feel are very effective or becoming effective, if you will, in theirown domain. and those are the conversations under way. But listen, everything we’ve done so far has been in collaboration with the provincesand territories. It’s important to make sure thatwe have an approach that Canadians are comfortable with and that they will use.
Reporter:
On the gas tax announcement today, Minister mckenna, basically it just seemed like a cash advance to many of the cities. They will be getting money they would have received earlier. You talked to many mayors, and one of them saying we need moneynow, we’re going to have to lay people off. In Toronto, the Tc needs a lot of money to be able to continue to run. Why is the government giving money for infrastructure projects and not for operational costs like paying people to make sure they don’t get laid off and keeping important services like public transit going?
So I’ve had many conversations with mayors across the country, and just today with mayor Kennedy Stewart, as you said, as well as mayor Tory, mayor Watson, and this is the first step. The Prime Minister has been clear. We do need municipalities to go ahead with their planned infrastructure projects, and that includes in relation to public transit. But of course we recognize that there are bigger challenges. I’ve certainly heard directly about the impacts of decline in revenue when it comes to public transportation, and we need to re-start properly. We do need people to be able to take public transit, and people are taking it right now, essential workers, and they needto be able to do it in a safe way. So we are having these conversations. We do need to be working with provinces. Provinces have prime responsibility for operating costs, and we are having those conversations right now. I’ve had conversations with My provincial counterparts, and I certainly, like our government, was heartened to see premier ford say he recognizes that the provinces will need to be – will need to step up, and we’re certainly working with them, butwe recognize that we need to do more.
Thank you, Minister. I will now go back to the phone. Operator? over to you.
Operator:
Thank you. Merci. Our next question is from the Canadian press. Please go ahead. [voice of interpreter]
Reporter:
Hi, My question is for you, Mr.. Mckenna. Why the delay to reach an agreement with the municipalities? knowing that they have been asking for 10 billion for the past two months? why the delay in the negotiation?
I think it’s a very importantmeasure. It’s true, it’s not everything we want the municipalities to start with infrastructure projects planned. We are having lots of discussions. I’m talking with the mayors throughout the country. It’s sure that they need help for operational costs, including public transit. It’s very important that we have public transit now for essential workers to be able to go to work, and for the economy to reopen. But we are respecting jurisdictions. It falls – municipalities fall under the provincial jurisdiction. We are not saying we are not going to help. We already took this important measure this morning. We hope that the provinces will step up and join us to help the municipalities that need help because of the COVID-19 situation.
Follow-up question?
Reporter:
I understood that. I’m trying to find out if you could provide details as to why you haven’t reached an agreement with the provinces to help municipalities, to give them money for operational cost.
I know that many discussions are under way between the Prime Minister, Minister Freeland, the provinces and territories. I think every week they have discussions, they are continuing, and these are important discussions. As I said, we’ve not arrived at an agreement, but we do hope that some provinces will recognize the fact that we need to work together to help municipalities. [ end of interpretation ]
Thank you, Minister. Operator, one last question, please.
Operator:
Thank you. Merci. Our last question is from bill curry with “the globe and mail”. please go ahead.
Reporter:
Thanks. For Minister mckenna, earlier this year you put out a report saying that the government had identified about 52, 000 infrastructure projects and funded them, and yet the parliamentary budget officer was at committee on Friday saying that he can only find 33, 000, and he doesn’t know where the missing 20, 000 are. So can you explain that or address his concern?
Thanks for the question. Look, we’ve been working hard to invest in infrastructure, and this infrastructure is having a huge impact on lives across the country, whether it’s investments in public transportation, in waste water, in community and rec centres. These are really important initiatives. We have projects that the auditor general, about 33, 000 that are through our infrastructure program. There are also projects that are through the gas tax that we are announcing today, and there are also projects through cmhc. That brings up to the total of projects, and we’re going to continue moving forward. This announcement today is an example of how we see infrastructure is critical to the re-start of the economy but also in the longer term it’s about ensuring that we have healthier, cleaner and more connected country.
Bill, follow-up?
Reporter:
Yeah, on today’s announcement, you and the Prime Minister said that further promises are dependent on talks with the provinces, but just last year the federal government without the provinces doubled the gas tax to 4.4 billion for that one year only. So why not just do something similar this time, increase the gas tax, which is something the federal government can do without the provinces?
Look, we’re making not only today’s announcement but we’ve been investing in infrastructure with municipalities, and we’ve taken a whole range of measures already in the last few months to support Canadians, to supportcanadian businesses, to support Canadian individuals, to supportprovinces, and we’re going to continue to do that, but let’s be clear, municipalities – and we’ve been told this by provinces – are creatures of the provinces. and so we really do need the provinces to work together. We certainly understand the significant challenges that are faced by cities and towns across the country. As I said, in particular with respect to lost revenues for public transit, and we’re going to continue working with the provinces. I think a solution is there to be had, and as I say, I’ve seen – you know, premier ford has been clear, he recognizes the need to step up, and I think this is where we need to show tocanadians that the federal government and the province can work together to support cities as we go forward.
Rosemary:
Okay, and that is the Minister of infrastructure, Catherine mckenna, and the end of the federal briefing today oncovid-19. Couple little bits of news that happened over the course of the past hour, I want to bring you up to speed on the Ontario ombudsman has announced that he will investigate the – what has happened at long-term care centres in the province of Ontario, calling the military report we received last week a stunning portrait of horrific conditions. So that would be an independent investigation happening alongside one that has been commissioned by the Ontario government. We have also received details on – from the canadian armed forces around what they believe was the probable cause of a snowbirds crash that happened onmay 17 and killed captain jenn casey. Investigators are looking at a bird strike as the probable cause of that crash, so a bird essentially got into part of theengine and caused the snowbird to go down. All right, that brings you up tospeed on some other information, but let’s go back over what we’ve heard from the past coupleof hours with My colleagues, thepost of “power & politics”, Vassy kapelos, and the cbc’s david Cochrane. So I guess we’ll talk about municipalities. You heard me talk to a couple ofmayors there with their reaction. It’s $2.2 billion. It’s money, I guess, to provide them some immediate liquidity inhopes, it sounds very much to me, anyway, Vassy, that the federal government and the provinces can get to another place here where cities can get more money.
Vassy:
Yeah, I was trying very hard to read between all the many lines.
Rosemary:
Me too.
Vassy:
Between the mayors and the federal government. Because here is what’s at stake, and we outlined this prior to the Prime Minister’s remarks. This is money they would have received in six months. It has to be directed towards infrastructure. What the cities say they need is operating money. They are facing a major cash crunch. In Toronto, for example, they are losing $65 million a week. So in order to be able to hire people back or function and deliver the services that so many of us are accustomed to, they need money. The Prime Minister was asked about that multiple times, Minister mckenna was as well, and they kept talking about the provinces, because they are correct in that the provinces have jurisdiction over municipalities, things like this. Maybe when it came to the higher increase in revenue sources, forexample, that would be a part that the provinces could play. The secondary problem is that the provinces don’t have a lot of money to do that at this point. They are facing a cash crunch. They have a little bit of a tougher time accessing that cash than the federal government would. The Prime Minister acknowledged that too. He did at one point thinking about premiers may be not as keen for the federal government to directly intervene. I think what we need to do is sort of get an inside look at what those conversations are like. I know that the issue has been raised on the past two weekly calls with the premiers and the Prime Minister. So which premiers don’t want the federal government supplying direct money to the municipalities, is it all premiers, is it some of them? where are the stumbling blocks? it’s clear from the Minister’s comments and the Prime Minister’s comments that they are willing to consider more help for the municipalities. They are aware, and everyone I’ve talked to in the government as well, there have been a lot of calls between the deputy Prime Minister and the provinces. There is sort of this area in-between right now where everybody seems to be stuck maybe or there are conversationsoccurring, but there are some stumbling blocks to make that happen. So I wonder if it does end up going to the provinces in what way. Because the bottom line is I waslistening to – I at gone email from someone at the city of toronto who says for toronto this is about $166 million that, again, they can direct towards infrastructure. Their operating needs right now, they are losing $65 million a week. So this is something that will help, for sure. Nobody is saying no to it or anything close to that, but it’snot really addressing the crux of what these cities need. They have a bit of wiggle room because of their budgeting timeline, so they don’t need it tomorrow, but certainly they areall trying to plan what the nextyear looks like and what services they can be able to offer. and so they are trying to get a more clear indication or maybe amore specific indication from both the provinces and the federal government of what moneythey might be able to anticipate. It was difficult to get that today.
Rosemary:
Yeah, I applaud your attempt to read between thelines.
Vassy:
I’m terrible at that.
Rosemary:
Some provinces have given some money to cities. Ontario, British Columbia. But everyone agrees that it’s not enough. I’ll just give you some reaction from the president of the federation of Canadian municipalities who says this is “not new money. This is modest, a preliminary step. It doesn’t tackle the stark choices municipalities face, butwe’re encouraged by the Prime Minister’s commitment to come forward with some additional support.” it would be good, David, to understand where that is, because I saw today’s move as a sort of okay provinces let’s get this conversation going seriously, because the federal government is limited in how it can get money to the municipalities.
David:
Yeah, Vassy did a good job of trying to read between the lines, but I guess the bottom line is before the announcement municipalities need10 to 15 billion dollars and the same is true after the announcement. It’s essentially a cash advance on money they knew would be there and already baked into their budgets. Maybe there is some fungibility and flexibility to this money that they can get this cash now and use it to cover off some operational requirements on a short term liquidity basis while they wait for other money to come in and then replace the infrastructure money. There might be some creative measure they can do, but I was looking at that statement from the federation of Canadian municipalities, that this does not eliminate the urgency, and you heard from Brian bowman, the mayor of Winnipeg earlier, that they are going to have to go back to property holders and look at raising their taxes, which is a difficult thing to do coming out of this depression and sort of helping with the recovery, or look at cutting services, which also means cutting jobs and cutting support, and the mayor of Vancouver really laid out the implications of that on an economic recovery basis, that if you don’t have money for permit approvals and building inspectors and all of the things that help, you know, grease the wheels of economic development in cities, and a significant portion of your non-resource development happens in the majorurban centres, this has the potential for a real economic and service crisis for Canada coming out as we try to reopen and recover from COVID-19. So you’re right, I think this does put some pressure on provinces to either look at changing legislation to allow borrowing and maybe carrying some debt or to step up with a cost share of support. The challenge there, rosie, becomes as difficult as things are for some of the major cities, like say toronto or vancouver, you look at a province like Newfoundland and Labrador, it’s in worse shape than toronto and vancouver because of everything that’s going on there. So the ability of provinces to chip in, to help with a municipal aid package, is not equal. You know, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec certainly have the balance sheets and the economic might to be able to do something like that, but as you get down to the smaller provinces, and even some of the larger ones, like Manitoba or Alberta right now, Alberta with the oil slump and the commodity slump on top of everything else, their cash resources are quite tapped. So this is not going to be a quick fix with some big conversations about some big dollar amounts have to get started now with the premiers, on top of everything else that the country is dealing with.
Rosemary:
It’s interesting how often our conversations end with a debate around jurisdiction and how to overcomethat, and sort of problems that maybe need to be addressed long term in terms of how municipalities are funded structurally and whether, as yousay, they should be allowed to carry deficits in some cases.
David:
The math, Rosie, to get to the idea of what the final tally will be in the country on dealing with this is almost incomprehensible. We have spent two years’ worth of budgets already to this point in the fiscal year. You are looking at north of a trillion dollars by the time it’s all said and done.
Vassy:
Even if municipalities or laws can be amended for municipalities to carry a deficit, 99% of them don’t want to, because it’s difficult for them to pay it down. It’s not like they have the levers of taxation that other levels of government do, so they are not able to raise the money that they might need to eventually to pay a giant deficit off in the future. It’s – we see it’s a struggle for other levels of government. They’re resistant to even those laws being changed.
Rosemary:
Thank you, Vassy, you can watch her later on “power & politics” at 5 eastern and you can catch David later on”the national.” thank you, appreciate it. As I leave both of My colleaguesthere, one of Canada’s best-known national parks is reopening today. Jasper national park spans more than 11, 000 square kilometres, including glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, mountains. Today’s reopening with limits iswelcome news to area businesses that have struggled, obviously, during the pandemic. To tell us more about that I’m joined by richard ireland, the mayor of the municipality of jasper. Good to see you there, mayor.
Good day, rosemary.
Rosemary:
I’ll start with maybe where I left off with My colleagues about this news that municipalities will get some added liquidity from the federalgovernment. is any of that to help – of help to you, mayor?
Well, potentially, although think that Vassy was right to say that it’s a difficult choice for a municipality to take on debt in these circumstances. Similar to our businesses, debt is not probably the answer to get out of this economic downturn. We will welcome whatever resources we can get, but access to taxation powers is probably more important than incurring additional debt.
Rosemary:
So tell me how things have been in jasper. Obviously Canadians lucky enough to have been there know how gorgeous it is, but if you were limited and shut down, it would seem to me that must have taken quite a hit on the municipality.
Oh, absolutely. a community like ours is almost entirely dependent on travel, visitation is the lifeblood of our local economy, and it has been devastated just in terms of hotel occupancy. We are down to about 5%, and typically the months of may through September we enjoy about 90% occupancy level. So without the visitors in town, I think there’s scarcely a business that has not been negatively impacted. Everybody has really felt it.
Rosemary:
National parks reopening as of today. What will that mean for jasper? obviously some increased tourism, but also I guess hard to know, right, whether people are actually going to travel right now.
That’s right. and it is a gradual reopening, so the park is open, as you say today, our businesses in town are open and ready to welcome guests in a safe and responsiblemanner, and we’ve been waiting for this opportunity. We’ve had to take the very unusual step in the last two months of asking people politely to stay away, to keep jasper safe and stay home. and now we’re ready to re-welcome those guests, particularly our regional guests, who have been so considerate to our request, and they have postponed their visits. Now we’re hopeful that they willcome again, and we’re ready to welcome them. But of course there will be new welcoming protocols in place, and everybody is going to have to get used to that adjustment.
Rosemary:
So what does that mean there? is there a capacity limit? is it restaurants obviously won’t have full restaurants or hotels either. What will that look like?
Well, it’s start to say exactly what it will look like. Certainly Alberta health services is the authority on these matters, and we have undertaken to follow their advice and recommendations from the start, and we continue to dothat, so as you mentioned, with respect to restaurants, for example, they only have about 50% of the capacity that they would normally have. Other businesses will have to be limited in their offer. There will be hotels, I’m sure, that do not have all of their amenities open. Parks Canada has indicated that its campgrounds will not be open until June 21. Some of the roads remain closed. Some of our major attractions, and you mentioned a number of them, the physical attractions here, the mountains, the lakes, the glaciers, all of that, that is, of course, still here, but some roads are closed so you can’t access those. Some of the adventures that you might otherwise expect here are not necessarily going to be open. If they are, they’re going to –
Rosemary:
Mayor, I’ve run out of time. Good luck. I hope people are anxious to get back there. Thanks so much. You’re watching CBC news network.” I’m rosemary Barton.
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