Parses captions for PM Trudeau's daily speeches and presents them in a more human readable format
Rosemary:
That is the Prime Minister of Canada on this Friday, wrapping up his daily briefing, almost daily briefing, with some significant news on what he discussed with the premiers last night. I’ll bring in the cbc’s Catherine Cullen, as we await the noon briefing with cabinet ministers and public health officials. In short, Catherine, the Prime Minister said that he put on the table $14 billion for the provinces over the next period of time, a significant amount ofmoney. Not clear to me that all the provinces said, yes, I would like that money. But tell us more about what it’sworth.
Catherine:
Well, I mean, I was really struck by the amount of ground that is supposed to be covered by these $14 billion. Let’s look at a list of things the Prime Minister talked about, rosemary. This is supposed to be money he says, more money for the things that all Canadians need, as we enter into this restarting process. He said for a period of six to eight months they’re talking about more personal protective equipment for health care workers, ensuring that businesses have the personal protective equipment that they need. Child care was on that list. They talked about the importance of supporting seniors, the elderly, and their vulnerability, although, the precise shape of what that support would look like was not clear to me from the Prime Minister’s remarks. He talked about municipalities and he talked about sick days, as we were talking about before the Prime Minister started speaking, that plan to give people access to 10 days of sick leave if they do not have it through the benefits of their employment. Covering a lot of ground here, but a lot of questions still remain. This is still a proposal at thispoint. We’re certainly going to want to know what the shape of some of these offers look like. For instance, child care, is it money for jobs, for infrastructure, how much does it require of the provinces? I mean, it’s really – it’s quite expansive in scope and it is still being negotiated, which is perhaps part of the reason wedon’t have these answers. It’s going to lead to a lot of questions. The federal government obviously trying to send a strong signal here, that they want to ensure that Canadians feel safe as they head back to work, that they have the things they needs in order to get back into the workplace, whether they’re a health care worker or a retail worker. If they’re parents of children that require child care, we want to know to what extent are all provinces ready to buy into par tor all of this. That remains to be seen.
Rosemary:
He talked about targeted transfers and he also said something that I wrote word for word because I thought it was important, that very specific standards would need to be met across the country to help with things as we move forward, which to me sounded like saying there would be strings attached to this money, in a nice way, that targeted funding transfers is another way of saying provinces will be required to either show they are using it for these particular things, that they are performing at a certain standard. I’m not sure what it would look like, but there’s obviously some conditions attached to $14 billion.
Catherine:
So we can boldly predict, rosemary, that not all the premiers are going to like that. [laughter].
Catherine:
In all seriousness, though, right, I think we can be certain that some premiers are going to add – I have to go ahead and say Quebec, perhaps Alberta. I think it really depends on the specifics of what is being offered here and what the nature of those strings look like. We can all agree that there are things with regards to COVID-19 where everyone is on the same page. Everyone agrees that dramatic changes are needed in the long-term care sector, but that is so complicated. For instance, we keep using the term “long-term care,” it’s really an amorphous term in Canada. It’s not clear to me that that is touched on in this $14 billion. He talked about seniors, but I don’t know what that looks like. Child care, what form is that help going to come in? municipalities, we know that this is a touchy jurisdictional issue. How do you decide – does the province decide how much money flows to the municipalities? this is going to be complicated, but these are important issues in people’s day-to-day lives, feeling safe, secure, knowing that their children have a placeto go, knowing if they need it, there’s public transit to get towork. This is a public step in what isobviously going to be not a short process.
Rosemary:
No, probably not. I’ll mention two other things because the disability benefit was announced today, up to $600 for Canadians with a disability, to help get supportive devices for disabilities. We’ll hear Minister Carla qualtrough talk about that later. What I wanted to hear from you is the government’s commitment to do something about systemic racism for indigenous people and people of colour. He said he was going to meet with the cabinet leaders and the commissioner of the RCMP.
Catherine:
He had an interesting answer to one of ourcolleagues, tom Perry, I feel like we’re saying that every day. He tried to push the Prime Minister on whether or not he believed racism is a problem within the police forces more broadly. I have to be honest, at first I wasn’t quite sure what the Prime Minister was trying to express, but he does seem to be saying, yes, there are individual instances we are seeing coming out in the media right now. Those individual cases need to be addressed, but there are broader systemic issues that we can all agree need to be dealt with. He seemed to be big on expressions of concern and reassurance, short on details of how these changes specifically were going to work. He was asked about body cameras as well and didn’t really, again, give an entirely precise or clear answer there. One thing that I was struck by, though, I mean, you know, for some Canadians – and I think it’s probably important to say again as a white person I’m coming to this discussion with particular world view and inadequate in many ways to talk about this – but for some Canadians this is a discussion that’s been going on for a long time. For some Canadians this week they’re saying defend the police, huh, really? in the context of what has happened more broadly with the COVID-19 outbreak in our society, it has shown that dramatic change can be possible if – when it’s really necessary. I was speaking to a former politician the other day about the opioid crisis. He was saying to me, well, if we can make these dramatic changes to save lives with COVID-19, whycan’t we do it to address this other major public health crisis? I think you could apply that same logic to what is happening here. If there is significant public pressure and people are calling for a change – and I’m not advocating for defending the police – but I think it’s shown that great changes with possible. is there enough public support for this? what should it look like? this is a complicated issue. The Prime Minister said repeatedtoday, gradual change, not enough. Small changes, not good enough. Bigger steps need to be taken. If the will is there, great. Where does it go from here? we see Montreal police making an announcement today about changing some of their policies as the Prime Minister was speaking, trying to address some of these issues that are arising. The Prime Minister made that point that they’re in charge of the RCMP, but this is not solely the jurisdiction of the federal government. The police forces are largely jurisdictional and they will have to make those decisions.
Rosemary:
Thank you, Catherine, for that, if you will stand by. As we’re discussing these protests that are happening in Toronto and there’s one happening in Ottawa in the matter of the next hour or so. Obviously this renewed focus on broad, systemic racism that you heard there from the Prime Minister. Institutions that lack true diversity across the country, and that includes institutions like universities, medical faculties, where we will have the pandemic and these two other stories weaving together. This year 24 black students are entering the university of toronto’s medical program. That’s the most ever. Mohamed Adam is in Brampton, Ontario. I’m glad to talk to you both about what you’re doing. My congratulations to you.
Thank you.
Rosemary:
I’m going to start with you, Edgar, to be accepted to medical school and be amongst this cohort, these 24 people that have all gotten in at the same time?
Interview:
This is great news. I would like to send My congratulations to the class of 2020 and the incoming class of 2024. This is good news for all of us, including the black students. It shows that the higher institutions should commit to diversity and they will have the outcome they require.
Rosemary:
Edgar, you’re from Ghana. This must be a big deal for you and your family, I imagine.
Interview:
It is. It has been a childhood dream of mine to become a citizen. When I was dreaming on the M.P. Canada was on the map as a place would come to study. This is My second home and I look forward to My time in Toronto.
Rosemary:
Mohamed, congratulations to you as well. How significant is it again for you personally to be accepted timed school? that’s a big deal for anyone, but to be a part of this historic group of black students all going in at the same time.
Honestly, it means a lot to me. I’m super excited to meet all of my classmates and just what this means to me being a part of thisgroup, this historical group. I think it’s definitely a motivating factor for many of us that also want to pursue this field of medicine, but it’s also steppingstone. Hopefully in the future I want to see this as a normal thing, where we have 20, 30, 50 black medical students all across Canada being accepted.
Rosemary:
That lets me maybe ask you both questions about the times we are in because there are protests and rallies happening of course across the United States and in this country as well. I want to talk to both of you because it’s an uplifting story, but I wonder how you’re living these past weeks. I’ll start with you, Mohamed. Just seeing the positive part ofit, the people coming out in support, but also the difficult parts of it. The violence, the police brutalities, the exposed racism. How are you doing with all of that?
Yeah, so it’s definitely a challenge, but at the same time it’s not something that we haven’t seen already. This is something that’s been repeating itself over the years. Obviously as a black male this affects me deeply because of My own personal experiences with systemic racism. I’m also looking at it in a positive light as well, where our voices are being heard. What I’d like to see is policy and the government to respond and to make the appropriate changes that need to be made so that me, as a black male, can feel safe in My own country and for me to practice as a physician and also be able to help those that need it as well.
Rosemary:
How about you, Edgar? you have the experience of living in the United States and living here. It is different, but we’ve talked a lot this week about how racism exists in Canada and we sometimes don’t talk about it enough – well, we don’t talk about it enough. That’s fair to say. How have you been living these past couple of weeks?
Interview:
Yeah, it’s hard to watch and process for a person of colour. It’s been extremely difficult, but luckily I have My support network that I fall back on. Halifax is a great city with a lot of black people around. We can come together and see how we can chart a way forward. We need to make sure that we move forward. The difference between the United States and Canada in terms of racism, it is there in both countries and there is work to be done in both countries.
Rosemary:
For sure. Do you, Edgar, see your acceptance to medical school as part of sort of building towards making institutions and universities and all parts of society have better representation?
Interview:
Yeah. It’s – in health care it’s essential that the workforce represents the general population. I think the university of Toronto is making an attempt to get to that optimal level. I believe that me getting accepted as a black student will empower other students to apply to these institutions and level the playing field.
Rosemary:
Mohamed, we’re dealing with all of this, this anti-black racism and the policebrutality in the United States during a pandemic, which I also would expect would be a motivating thing for you going to medical school. Have you given any thought to that and how much you want to bethere as part of the fight against these kinds of things?
Yes. I feel that this situation is also unique, in that the whole world is now seeing the importance that we have as health care workers. So just knowing that and seeing how important it is for us to be on the front lines and for me in the future to be there. It’s super exciting. I want to do what I can. and also looking back maybe 10 years later, I’m going to use this as an opportunity for me togrow. Ultimately, I hope it makes me abetter physician.
Rosemary:
Yeah, for sure. Edgar, how about you on that, on the prospect of becoming part of the community that helps fight things like COVID-19?
Interview:
Yeah, it’s very exciting. I think more is to come in the future as we progress as humanity. So having people who are armed with the skills and the tools to fight these diseases is very promising. I’m excited to join the workforce. I also, just like Mohamed, plan to work in marginalized communities, where they skills would be needed the most once I graduate.
Rosemary:
Thanks to both of you for making the time. It’s great news for both of you personally and that whole group. My congratulations to all of you. It’s going to be awesome, and much luck to both of you. That’s Edgar affuco-addu, and mohamed adam, both to enter medical school at the universityof toronto.
we’re going to go back to this town, where the government is giving its briefing on COVID-19. These are public health officials, Dr. Howard Njoo, let’s listen in live.
[voice of interpreter] ensuring that your health needs can be met safely. Finally, with the end of the school year upon us, I want to congratulate all those who are graduating this year. While it might not be the celebration you have envisaged, this does not diminish your accomplishments. You have worked hard in your academic and extra-curricular pursuits, while demonstrating great poise in adapting to the disruptions that COVID-19 has brought. The many ways you have come together to support your families and your communities as we learn to live with COVID-19 as inspired all of us. We are all together, apart proudof you. Congratulations.
Thank you, Dr. Njoo. [end of translation] we will hear from Minister Carla qualtrough, if you have some important information to share with us.
Thank you, deputy Prime Minister. Hello, in person. As many of you know, this is national accessibility week. We celebrate the contributions that Canadians with disabilities make to our communities every day and reflect on the ways we can take actions to a more inclusive and accessible Canada. We know this pandemic has deeply affected the lives and health of all Canadians and disproportionately affected Canadians with disabilities in particular. I think about the significant costs persons with disabilities have incurred to safely get food, medication, and other basic necessities. We also know that there are additional costs for delivery services and private transportation. [voice of interpreter] support workers for these people may not be available or may have to be paid for privately because of a lack of supply. [end of translation] the Prime Minister announced a one-time payment of $600 petitioner persons with disabilities to address these expenses. This payment will go to existingtax credit disability holders, which includes parents with children or dependants with disabilities, seniors, veterans, and many other Canadians that weknow have costs associated with severe and prolonged disabilities. [voice of interpreter] it is not necessaryto apply for this amount. [end of translation] this investment will benefit around 1.25 million Canadians. We also recognize that persons with disabilities are at a higher risk of job loss during economic downturns, which is whywe’ve established a national workplace accessibility stream, and we are investing $15 millionin 2020-2021. In addition, we’re investing $1.8 million in projects for theaccessible disability program. I’d like to acknowledge the members of the COVID-19 advisorygroup that have been providing important advice in the lived experience of Canadians with disabilities and helped shape today’s announcement. I thank them for their continuedwork. [voice of interpreter] I’m certain that these measures will be of great help to all Canadians who are living with disabilities throughout this country. It’s a win-win for everyone if every canadian can play an equalrole in our economy and society. [end of translation] finally, I’d like to address today’s job numbers. Since the beginning of this crisis, we’ve been focused on providing Canadians with the support they need as we work to contain the spread of the virus and keep Canadians safe. As the Prime Minister mentioned earlier today, we know that roughly 21.2 # million canadianswho were successing the CERB no longer need this help. Today’s job numbers reflect somepositive progress in terms of people returning to the workforce. While this is, indeed, encouraging, there’s still a long time to go. Many Canadians continue to face real challenges during these times. It’s for that reason that I wantto reiterate that our governmentwill continue to be there for Canadians. [voice of interpreter] we will get throughthis tough period together. [end of translation].
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland:
Now, the president of the treasury board, jean-yves Duclos.
Thank you. Good afternoon to everyone. Today we have some good news. We will focus on what Carla justdescribed, which is support up to $600 for people living with disabilities throughout this country. Certainly in Quebec the COVID-19crisis has increased the barriers for these individuals. The second piece of good news isthe support for provinces and territories, including Quebec, supports that will be of assistance to the provinces who have to take on this heavy burden in current situation in order to supply P.P.E. For daycare services, support, also support for seniors in health and economic difficulty. Also, the provision of sick leave so that individuals do not have to choose between protecting their health and protecting their livelihood. Also some good news from My colleague C.R.A. 10% of jobs lost between March and April were recovered betweenapril and may. That’s 30% of job losses that have come back between April andmay. This is in contrast with February and April. Unemployment was at 17%. we’re now at 13.7%, which is the national average. This is for Quebec. The national rate has increased slightly, but the economists understand why. The economists know that when it’s a period of recovery, as you are emerging from an economic crisis, it is normal that the labour force increases because people want to go back to work. So they are seeking new work and that explains this slight increase in unemployment, despite the fact that the number of unemployed individuals has decreased. As My colleague has said, the context of significant measures we’ve taken over the last few weeks is particularly significant. The CERB, Canadian emergency response benefit, we are now moving from that to return to work. and also the wage subsidy has had a major impact in Quebec. I would add also that there is Avery interesting – that situation for youth, specifically young people who want to continue with their studies in the fall are facing difficult situation there. Unemployment rate was at 14% about a year ago and stands at 40% for these students who want to go back to school in September. So you can understand why the student response benefit is important to support their personal finances so they can go back to school at the end of thesummer. We’ve also created over 150, 000 new job opportunities, apprenticeship opportunities, which will help young people get the support they need to go back to school. University, college, also helping to gain precious work experience over the coming months.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland:
We are prepared to answer your questions. [end of translation].
We will have three questions on the phone and return to the room, one question and one follow up. Operator.
Operator:
Please go ahead.
Question:
[voice of interpreter] My question is for you, Mr. Duclos, and also for ms. Freeland. This $14 billion to be transferred to the provinces seems attached to continue – conditions. I would like to know how provinces took to that. Do you think you can agree with the provinces, given that these are provincial areas of jurisdiction, mainly health in this case?
Answer:
Thank you for your question, Nina. I’ll attempt to answer, and perhaps jean-yves will have a few comments as well. We discussed this very matter yesterday with the Prime Minister and during our conversation a week ago. Obviously our objective, the federal government’s objective, is to help Canadians as the economy reopens. We can see, given the figures we’ve received today, that this reopening has started and is a good thing. But we understand there remais much to be done to be sure that this reopening is possible, thatthis economic recovery takes place in conditions that protectthe health care of all workers, canadian workers. We also understand – and I speak as a mother here – there need to be certain things in place, child care, daycare, and it’s important to support the municipalities, specifically with respect to public transit. We understand that these things are within provincial areas of jurisdiction. When I speak to Canadians, for Canadians the thing that mattersis not whose jurisdiction it is. What matters is to achieve success in our fight against thecoronavirus and to have a strongeconomy. We’re pleased that we now have this opportunity to work in close cooperation with the provinces. $14 billion is a significant amount. Of course it is important for the federal government to be sure that by working with the provinces we can guarantee the right and necessary conditions are in place for all Canadians throughout the country. [end of translation] the important thing from our perspective is to make sure we have the conditions here in Canada for a safe and effective restart of the economy. The jobs numbers that carla and jean-yves have just spoken aboutshow us that the restart is beginning. I’m so grateful to all the canadian workers and businesses who are participating in it. We understand that we have to make sure that people have the things that they need to make that safe restart healthy, to make it safe, and to make it possible. That includes things like ensuring there is enough P.P.E., ensuring we are effective testing and tracing. and ensuring – here I’m speaking as a mother – ensuringthat there is child care available. Ensuring that our municipalitiesare supported because they provide the public transit. Ensuring that people have sick leave so that if they are feeling unwell they do the healthy thing and don’t go to work that day. So we know that this is what Canadians, whatever province or territory they live in, really need. We understand that these are areas that are in provincial jurisdictions, but we know that the economy is in a very difficult spot right now. So the federal government is stepping up and saying we are going to contribute $14 billion to this essential effort. Now, we also realize that the way to do this successfully is through a collaborative conversation with the provinces that is – we had a conversationyesterday about this. We spoke about these issues alsothe week before. Now what we really want to do ismetaphorically roll-up our sleeves, get to work with the provinces, talk with them about the areas they think are necessary for a safe restart, put forward our own perspective and make sure together we can give Canadians the support they need for the economy to get backto work safely. [voice of interpreter] jean-yves, did you have anything to add?
Yes. Perhaps from a Canadian perspective, you know ms. Freeland and Mr. Trudeau are in close communications with their counterparts and have been in communications with the provinces. They know what the provinces are concerned about, even though all of this is a provincial area of jurisdiction. The federal government does have responsibility to help the provinces in the emergency situation we find ourselves in today. In Quebec specifically, some private daycare has in some way been weakened in some areas. I’ve had this discussion with some stakeholders in this field, although the Canadian government understands fully well that it’sa Quebec government responsibility. We want to be able to help the government of Quebec act in thisperiod. Same thing for seniors and same thing for the personal protective equipment, testing, tracing, all that requires significant resources. The provinces are being pressured financially in that regard. The issue of sick leave. Premier legault mentioned that it would be a very heavy burden if it were only on the provinces. So ms. Freeland, all premiers have worked very hard in order to work collaboratively to achieve that end.
Question:
Thank you. So if I understand correctly, because this is a pandemic you do not think there will not be any quarrelling regarding jurisdiction between Quebec and Ottawa. I want to know how much of that money will be going to municipalities. You were talking about public transit. Cities are also facing major pressures. is there an amount that is earmarked for municipalities in that regard?
Answer:
That’s an excellent question, Lina. I fully agree with you that the cities and municipalities have major needs. We are absolutely in agreement with the fact that cities and municipalities are essential to a restart. The federal government is prepared to make its contribution and that is what the Prime Minister referred to today. Now, referring to specifically to the amount set aside for eachcategory, these are discussions that have to take place with the provinces and territories. We believe that a collaborative approach is critical and we need to speak to the provinces and the municipalities to be sure that an economic restart is healthy and will work for Canadians.
Thank you. Next question. [end of translation].
Operator:
Our next question is from MIA Robson of the Canadian press. Please go ahead.
Question:
This is probably for Minister Freeland. If you’re still working with theprovinces, you’re saying you’re metaphorically rolling up your sleeves now to figure out the details of this program, you can’t tell us how much is earmarked for municipalities specifically. How did you arrive at this $14 billion figure and how is it going to be dispersed to the provinces? have you figured out those details, how much each province would get?
Answer:
Well, let me say couple of things. If you are going to have a truly collaborative approach and a true discussion, you can’t go into it saying, and by the way this is going to be exactly what the end result is. Since we really believe in having a collaborative approach with the provinces, and we understand Canada is a huge country. The needs differ very much from coast to coast to coast. We really are approaching this by saying to the provinces and territories, we understand that a safe restart is essential and that it is expensive. We said from the beginning of this crisis, we are not going to quibble about federal-provincialresponsibilities. We are going to be there to support Canadians across the country. That is what we are doing here. In terms of the Prime Minister specifically saying, and we’re going to put $14 billion on the table, look, having been througha few negotiations myself, I really believe that someone has to get the ball rolling. It’s important to start putting some specific offers on the table. That’s what the federal government did last night in theconversation with the premiers. That’s what the Prime Minister has shared with Canadians today. One other thing that I would like to really underscore is what we are talking about is thesafe restart right now. So this is not a long-term plan. This is for ensuring a safe restart over the next six to eight months. and I think it’s important for Canadians to understand that that’s the time frame that we’refocused on. Thanks.
Follow up.
Question:
Yeah. I’m also curious Minister qualtrough, labour groups, business groups, economists are asking for an overhaul of the emergency response benefit program and maybe rethinking Howe. I. works so the job gains are continued. Are you considering any changes to either of those programs? if yes, what are they?
Answer:
Thank you. It’s important to understand that when we put in place the CERB, we did so because we askedcanadians to stay home and be safe and not work. As we look into the months coming, as the deputy Prime Minister said, we’ve got a different goal in mind. People need to get back to work safely. So as we look at the extension to the wage subsidy, as we look at Canadians having exhausted their 16 weeks of CERB, as we look at potentially transitioning e. I.-eligible Canadians back into the e. I. system, of course conversations are happening within cabinet, with the provinces and territories, with labour, with business associations on how best to structure our support moving forward. On the one hand, we know Canadians will continue to need support. While optimistic, what the job numbers showed today is that 490, 000 people entered the labour force and 290, 000 new jobs were created. Certainly better than jobs lost, but the unemployment rate is still up. So our thinking moving forward is how do we balance a need to continue to support workers, while not disincentivizing work. and absolutely those conversations with happening right now.
Thank you, Minister. Operator, next question, please.
Operator:
Thank you. Our next question is from Melanie marquee, “la presse.” please go ahead.
Question:
[voice of interpreter] thank you very much. My question is for ms. Freeland. To get back to My colleague lina’s question about municipalities who have an important role to play and major questions on them right now, to be clear, the conditions you’re asking of the provinces is they set aside a percentage of the money that you will be providing for certain aspects for municipalities. is that part of the conditions you’re referring to?
Answer:
Thank you for your question. I would prefer not to use the word “demand” that you asked, that you used in french. What we need is to engage in a collaborative conversation with the provinces and territories, and that’s precisely what we’re trying to do. Now, with respect to municipalities, to us that is one of the main objectives of this agreement, of this federal initiative. We absolutely understand on the one hand the reality that municipalities are facing. They are essential to the Canadian economy and they are especially all the more so essential, given our restart. On the other hand, we fully understand the fiscal position municipalities find themselves in. So yes, an important aspect of this conversation will be the support of municipalities. The federal government has made a proposal. To us it will be important to have these discussions with the provinces and territories. I hope we will also see support from the municipalities.
Follow up.
Question:
Yes. a question for ms. Freeland. Earlier Prime Minister Trudeau in his speech said that the situation varies from one province to the next and our plan will take this into consideration. What does that mean in terms of a breakdown of these amounts? will it be based on demographics? will it be based on the way in which the crisis specifically affected a particular province, Ontario and Quebec for instance were hard hit. Will that be part of the calculations to determine how much each province will receive?
Answer:
As always, I fully agree with the Prime Minister. One thing that is questioned clearly at the federal level is that our vast country is very diverse and we understand that the situation in Nova Scotia is quite different than it is in British Columbia our discussion with provinces and territories on this agreement, we said yesterday and we will continue to say in the future that it is really very important to get a good grasp of the diversity of our country. That’s what we will do. [end of translation].
Thank you, deputy Prime Minister. We will turn to the room.
Question:
CTV news. I’d like to start off by asking about Hong Kong. Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the United Kingdom has put a pathway to get 2.5 million citizens of hongkong potential British citizenship quickly. This seems like a country that is in line with Canadian values. Many of the people who would be leaving Hong Kong are fighting for democratic rights. Many of them speak English and are highly educated. Why is Canada not putting in place an immigration system to support these people who would fit in nicely in a way the United Kingdom is?
Answer:
Thank you very much for the question. Let me start by saying there are already roughly 300, 000 people who currently live in Hong Kong who can come to Canada this afternoon. These are people who are Canadian citizens. What I would like to say to all of those Canadian citizens who live in Hong Kong, you are very, very welcome to come home any time you like. You are Canadian. We would love to have you back. I would encourage everyone also to register with the Canadian consulate in Hong Kong. Be sure all your travel documents are up-to-date. The hong kong canadian communityis such a valued and important community in our country. I think all of us are so grateful to the contributions that community has made. So Canada has a particular interest in hong kong. There are – we believe that thecanadians in hong kong are the largest single ex-pat community, certainly one of the largest. That’s the group in hong kong we’re paying particular attention to. As I said, all of you are very, very welcome to come home at anytime.
Rosemary:
We’re going to pull away from this federal briefing. You can continue to watch it on CBC News. Ca. I’ll bring back My colleague, the cbc’s Catherine Cullen, to talk about what we heard there. There were some specific questions to the deputy Prime Minister about this $14 billion the government has put on the table for provinces and territories, not really more details, though, but it does sound like this is the beginning of the negotiation.
Catherine:
Yeah, very much a process. I think there were a couple of noteworthy things that Chrystia Freeland, the deputy Prime Minister said there. Earlier on she said ultimately she doesn’t think Canadians care about jurisdiction. What they care about is getting this process started and feelingsafe, that that is where the priority is. She also made it clear that there is a lot of discussion that needs to come. She said a safe restart is essential and it is expensive, which raises the question of whether or not $14 billion can, indeed, cover the scope of – I don’t quite know if we can call them promises, but objectives that the federal government has set forth here. I would note that Doug ford’s office officials in Ontario have been telling reporters that this is not going to be enough money. Telling one of our colleagues that the premier was hoping to see something in the neighbourhood of $23 billion forontario. We do expect to hear from the premier soon. We’ll hear it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, and get his reaction to it. Again, I would point back to what the deputy Prime Minister was saying, that this is a step in a discussion, is that $14 billion a number that is set in stone or is it the beginning of a negotiation process? that remains to be seen. We really have so many question sat this point about how it would be allocated, what it would be used to cover. I just think there’s a lot less to come. We’ve seen a little bit of this rise to the surface, rosemary. The question is where do we go from here and when does the money start rolling out the door. Are people going to have what they need as things start to recommence in their own lives.
Rosemary:
The deputy Prime Minister making it clear that these aren’t demands. She said this is a collaborativeconversation. We’re trying to work together.
Catherine:
Very Chrystia Freeland.
Rosemary:
Quite. We mean that in the best way possible. You might also ask the question if the federal government is putting $14 billion on the table in some provinces what are they putting on the table. You could probably ask that of some provinces, not all of them. Some are struggling financially, for sure. One more point to you on CERB because Minister qualtrough was asked about it too. I know there are people concerned because it is running out. Their 16 weeks might be running out. What did she have to say about that?
Catherine:
She did acknowledge the figure that we heard from the Prime Minister, that 1.2 million Canadians accessing CERB are no longer in need of help. She said we will continue to be there for Canadians. This is something we’ve heard from the Prime Minister and Minister qualtrough before. This is that those depending on this money, the rug won’t be pulled out from under them. The devil is in the details. What does this process look like going forward and what does it mean for the individuals dependant on this money. It does not sound like that assistance is going to disappear, but what will the conditions be in order for people to receive it. Might it continue in its current form as the government tries to ramp up to another process. The government spoke about creating a higher bar for entry. We really don’t know. It sounds like an answer. It is somewhat imminent. That’s what I read from the Prime Minister’s comments earlier today. They are trying to offer reassurance. People are very much in want of some specific information as soon as possible.
Rosemary:
Okay. Catherine Cullen. Thank you very much for your coverage with me today.
Catherine:
You’re welcome.
Rosemary:
Catherine is hosting “power & politics” at 5:00 PM eastern.
students in British columbiawere allowed to return to school, about 30% of schools were allowed back for day one. Attendance is optional. Remote learning is continuing. There are strict guidelines in place to keep class sizes small and maintain physical distancing. B.c.’s education Minister says this mix of in-class and online classes could continue. We thought we would check in with one teacher in north Vancouver. Rob Olsen is a teacher at carsongrey secondary school. Good to see you.
Interview:
Good to be here.
Rosemary:
and you’re in your classroom, which I love. Tell me, you’ve moved now to some sort of hybrid. What was the online take up withstudents? were they doing it? were they doing the work? how did it go for you?
Interview:
I would say it’s learning experience for all of us as teachers. We’re all thrust in this position. It’s not really a position that all of us want to be in. [bell].
Interview:
I’m still in school. They’ve worked hard to learn the online platform and we’re still learning. We’re looking forward to September. We’re starting to talk about what online – how we’re going to make it a little bit more robust and continue with positive connections for students so they’re successful.
Rosemary:
What do you teach, Mr. Olson?
Interview:
I teach robotics and electronics and design. I’ve got the best job in the world.
Rosemary:
That was not on offer when I was in high school. How do you do that? because that seems to me that you would need a lot of hands-onstuff. How do you do that online?
Interview:
We’ve been learning as we go. We will be giving out packages in the fall. We’ve been doing design challenges. My students in the beginning did medical device design challenge. They really took off. You give a task of designing something that could benefit people in need during the COVID-19 challenge. That was one of the examples of online. We’re doing some coding. There’s a lot of resources opening up for us. We’re really planning ahead and we’re going to do a good job.
Rosemary:
What is the situation right now then? people can come back or is it designated students can come back? what is the situation right now or in your classroom?
Interview:
Yeah, for us right now it’s priority learners. So the secondary level is about 20% of our learners. So the students who need to comeback for semester tutorial or connections, social and emotional learning support. We’re doing our best to keep our classes smaller for obvious reasons, social distancing. It’s not – our school is not full of 1, 000 students rights now. It’s full of maybe 50 to 100 students at a time.
Rosemary:
How many kids would have in your classroom at one time, just a couple?
Interview:
Up to six.
Rosemary:
You’re teaching six people in person and then you’reteaching everybody else online. That sounds very challenging to me to try to keep everybody going. I don’t know if you’re doing it at the same time, but tell me how you’ve adapted to that.
Interview:
It’s been difficult. I mean, we’re learning as we go, but I think it’s the mindset of the teachers and our support staff and our admin, that we’re doing this for the success of our students. We don’t want the situation. I mean, nobody does. We’re doing the best we can. With the ultimate goal of having our students be successful and try to limit those learning gapswe’re talking about and moving forward with that.
Rosemary:
Obviously a lot of places in the country are at different places. There’s no school opening where I AM in Ontario. We’re far behind in terms of reopening, but lots of people worried about what happens in September. What would you say to parents that are starting to think about what school might look like and how schools are preparing?
Interview:
You know, I’ll talk about – I can’t answer the question what schools will look like because we really don’t know. We all want it to be normal. We all want to see all of our students again. The conversations I’m having with My colleagues is how do we make our learning a little bit more robust. How do we engage students in a creative way that’s meaningful to them. There’s some great examples of art teachers doing art projects with supplies from home or English teachers doing their assignments in different ways. We’re all looking at, again, trying to be as meaningful as possible as well as having it robust and – yeah. We’re doing our best.
Rosemary:
Yeah, we all are At strange time. I know you’ve been a teacher fora while. Do you miss seeing the kids and the students?
Interview:
I totally miss seeing the students and the kids. I miss the buzz of the school. There’s no doubt about it. I’d say that’s with all the teachers in My building. We miss the kids and doing what we do with kids and seeing them grow and flourish. We miss that.
Rosemary:
That’s nice to hear. Mr. Olson, thank you for making the time. It’s good to meet you. It’s good to get a sense of how teachers and schools are adapting and you’re well on yourway. Thank you so much for the time.
Interview:
Thank you.
Rosemary:
That was rob Olson, a teacher at Carson graham secondary school in north Vancouver.
let me bring you to Toronto to the March that is beginning to unfold in downtown Toronto. This is the anti-black racism protest or rally that is taking place in downtown toronto today. They are expecting thousands, but there are also other ralliesand protests taking place acrossthe country. There is one scheduled in ottawafor around 3:00 PM eastern, ifi’m not mistaken. There is our own meagan fitzpatrick, who is walking along with protesters. You can see that many people arewearing masks. That has been recommended by organizers, certainly, because it is hard to keep that two metres of physical distance needed when you are in that kindof situation, when you’re all walking together on the streets. Some people not wearing them. We will continue to monitor that. I want to show some tape from a little bit earlier ago. This is the police chief mark saunders, who went down to meet protesters. [ chanting ].
Take a knee.
Thank you so much.
Rosemary:
In Toronto taking knee at the request of protesters. We’ve seen that kind of response from many police officers in this country and beyond. The Toronto police chief also tweeted, we see you and we are listening and we fully support peaceful and safe protest this weekend. We’ll continue to monitor that protest in Toronto and the one expected to get underway in the nation’s capital over the next hour or two hours. With that, I will hand things over to My colleague Andrew Nichols. I AM rosemary Barton. You’re watching CBC news