Parses captions for PM Trudeau's daily speeches and presents them in a more human readable format
Police brutality protests across the United States and marches scheduled in Canada. More on that in just a moment as there is new police brutality videos. and tragic endings. My colleague the cbc’s catherinecullen is joining us. I’m going to start with job numbers, if I can. We did get some new job numbers. We heard from the president just moments ago because there was a pick up in job numbers in the United States, and there was in this country as well. Although the unemployment rate rose. We saw 290, 000 new jobs or people in new jobs in the month of may, which speaks to the reality that there are some provinces reopening and people getting back to work.
Catherine:
Nonetheless, the numbers in Canada came as a surprise. We saw one of our colleagues tweeting that when he looked at the consensus from economists, they were expecting about half million jobless rates to rise to15%. no, instead, almost 300, 000 jobsgained. As you say, ultimately the employment level did rise because there are more people looking for work. Buried in those numbers there are many different stories about what is happening in Canada right now. One thing we have talked about before on this special, rosemary, is the gender difference. When you break down who is getting their jobs back, the vast majority are men’s jobs. More than 200, 000 of those jobs are for men. Women has 84, 000 of the jobs. That is part of the discussion and we can expect it to be more of the discussion going forward. That is perhaps some of the jobs like construction and manufacturing, those tend to be men’s jobs. Those are starting up more quickly. Women tend to be more often employed in the service sector and whatnot. Restaurants and retail still struggling to restart in the picture in different places across the country. When we listen to what the Prime Minister has to say today, one of the things we will be wanting to say before is the news of the restart across the country. The Prime Minister’s office described it to me as a proposal, billions of dollars aimed going out to the province sand territories to fund how this restart is going to work. There’s certainly going to be some strings attached. We expect that that money is going to have to be spent on things like personal protective equipment, testing, contact tracing, boost to municipalities. At the beginning of the week there was some money advanced for municipalities, but nearly as much as they were hoping to see. I think it’s important to highlight that this is a proposal. This is not a fa it accompli. This is an effort by the federal government to move things forward, something the Prime Minister discussed with his provincial and territorial counterparts last night. The question is what are those strings and when will the money start moving.
Rosemary:
The readout from that call was vague. They’re never particularly detailed. Talking about what you’re talking about, they said they discussed initiatives to ensure front line health workers and other essential workers receive P.P.E. To protect themselves andother vulnerable people and seniors, which leads me to believe there is a conversation around long-term care. is the money they’re talking about here, is part of it slated for long-term care or all gearedto reopening the economy? I’m left with many questions, asare you. is what the Prime Minister is going to say today really an attempt to get the provinces to move on some of this stuff? they do have to agree to it and request it. It can’t just be the federal government handing money and sort of figuring out where it goes. It has to be an agreement. We’ll see whether he has more to say about how that will unfold over the next number of weeks.
Catherine:
Indeed. Jurisdictional issues often play into this. For folks sitting at home, their hearts don’t light on fire at the discussion of jurisdictionalissues, but it’s part of the way things work in Canada. There is that push and pull. Everybody may be broadly on side. I don’t think you will find a politician in Canada who won’t tell you something needs to happen when it comes to long-term care. Who controls it, given that long-term care is ultimately a provincial and territorial jurisdiction. Certainly members of the canadian forces helping in Quebec to ensure that some of the most vulnerable Canadians getting care is not acceptable. Where do we go from here? report after report has been done about the numerous issues facing the system. Where does the push and the new money come from?
Rosemary:
You talked about the gender gap in the return to work. It’s true because the construction industry in large part you can get projects going, that industry has seen the biggest boost in the number of jobs according to the jobs report today, 19%. the other part of what we’ve seen in terms of the gender breakdown is also about child care. That to me – I would imagine the Prime Minister would be asked questions about that, given that this is a government that has pushed the issue of gender and making sure that women have a place at the cabinet table and in society. What we saw in the job numbers reflects a challenge for women.
Catherine:
Indeed for all families. We know that historically and presently that women do tend to end up taking on more of the child care responsibilities. If a family has to make a decision about who goes back to work and if they are a family made up of a mother and a father, more often than not it’sthe father going back to work and the mother taking on the child care responsibilities. I realize there are a variety ofscenarios, a lot of shades of grey, but by and large this is what we’re talking about. The last time we had the labour force survey from the Prime Minister, he did say that child care was going to be integral to getting things up and running again, safe, reliable child care. I mean, when you talk about the innumerable issues, we just talked about long-term care, butanother area this pandemic has shone the spotlight on is the need for child care for people to be able to function at the level they would like to. The Prime Minister has acknowledged that. Where is the action going to be on that issue? I would say I don’t mean to be glib by saying, add it to the list, rosemary, but it is an ever-growing list, but certainlyan important one that many people who might have their tvs on while their kids are running around right now are living the reality of it this moment.
Rosemary:
Those statistics that you talked about, they bear out that there are more men returning to work than women, some of it because of child care and some of it because of the breakdown of sect oral work and where you find men and women working.
Catherine:
One economist did say that the jobs that have returned at this point are low-hanging fruit, some of the jobs easier to get up and running again. Some of these service-sector jobs do not come back. What do we do about a society ofgetting more women back into theworkforce? the last labour survey I remember speaking with rebecca young who said it was the 1980s we saw a low female participation. We’re back to the age of shoulder pads. That’s not what this government says it stands for. How do we make that happen? child care is a part of that. I’ve never loved the term “she session,” but there it is, a recovery that focuses on the sectors that employ women. As we talk about the importance of child care right here, you have economists saying why not put that money into creating child care spaces? that helps families get back into the workforce and helps employ women. That’s a care recovery. That’s one of the pitches out there. It sounds like the kind of thingthis government would be interested in, but we’re waitingto see what shape all of this will take. The last thing I was speaking tothose economists, I don’t think they felt they were getting the kind of reputation they hoped for. We realize there are a lot of issues being juggled right now. This Prime Minister likes to call himself a feminist. How is that going to play into this recovery plan?
Rosemary:
We are hearing the Prime Minister might be a few minutes late. I have things I want to cover with you and with Meagan Fitzpatrick. There was a press conference and the Prime Minister was asked about police violence against indigenous Canadians. There was a violent arrest that happened in Nunavut by an RCMP officer, I’m sure people have seen the video. and there was a woman, Chanel Moore, who was killed in Edmonton by police after a wellness check. Let’s play that clip from the Minister of indigenous services, Marc miller, and we’ll talk about that.
I don’t understand how someone dies during a wellness check. When I first saw the report, I thought it was some morbid joke. You look at it and you say, yes, there will be an independent investigation. Frankly, along with many Canadians, indigenous people living in Canada, politicians, I’m pissed, I’m outraged. There needs to be a pull accounting of what has gone on. This is a pattern that keeps repeating itself.
Rosemary:
So some very frank emotional response by the Minister, but a lot of people asking questions about those twoevents. Of course these are just two of the latest events in reference to policing and indigenous people. The focus this week has really been on policing and black people in this country and in the United States, but interesting to hear the Minister’s remarks, nonetheless, Catherine.
Catherine:
and certainly a strong contrast to what we heard from the Prime Minister yesterday. He was asked, rosemary, specifically about that video of the man in Nunavut who was hit by a police cruiser. He said something we’ve heard him say over the course of this week. He did express concern. Even as we watch with horror what is going on in the United States, we know we have an awful lot of work to do in Canada. As a government, we have taken steps towards that, but as you’ve pointed out, there is much more to do, is what he said. Certainly no one would deny the words we heard from Minister miller are stronger than that. Since then we’ve had additional details about the wellness check involving Chanel Moore. I would say when you talk to, for instance, the organizers of the various protests that are going on today, they will say broadly this is nothing new to them, an incredibly long list of people who have interacted with police, people from racialized and minority communities. Often this is the case as with reg is paquet, somebody who was in distress. Police came to the residence she was at. It’s still being investigated what happened, but we know the 29-year-old woman fell to her death after that. There were questions for the Prime Minister and Minister miller. Outrage about what needs to be done. Minister miller made the point that politicians do not control the police. No one would want it that their hands were directing specific police action. He expressed some openness to the idea of body cameras. He talked about the importance of training, the importance of recruiting, talked about this being a discussion that needs tocontinue, but I think we all want to hear a little bit more. Federal government, if ministerssuch as Minister miller, are expressing this level of outrage, where do they think this ought to go and what steps are they prepared to take in order to see the changes that more and more Canadians are calling for.
Rosemary:
This is a broader conversation that goes under the rubric of defending the police and that they are getting too much money that could be used elsewhere, whether mental health calls or abuse prevention. How did we go from a wellness check to someone dying. Catherine, I’m going to come back to you as we wait for the Prime Minister to come out of his home. Catherine alluded to these rallies and protests that are happening today, one on parliament hill and moving towards the United States embassy. There is one in Toronto in support of the protests south of the border, but also in relation to the events we’ve witnessed in this country, whether anti-blackracism or other forms of racism against indigenous people. The cbc’s meagan fitzpatrick is in downtown toronto. Meagan, give me a sense of what we’re expecting there.
Reporter:
This is expected to get underway in a little bit. The participants will be marching down here to the start of Yong street and making their way to city hall. They’re going to surround the pool that turns into an eyes rink in the winter. That’s where the protesters will take a knee and kneel and finish their protest. The organizers on this on their social media account are encouraging people to be safe today, to keep their physical distance, to wear masks and gloves and not be afraid to speak up if people are getting too close. Reminding people that there is pandemic going on and to take precautions as they participate in today’s March. We’ve just now started to see some participants show up. As we can see, there is a police presence here as well, rosemary. We did hear from the police chief mark Saunders yesterday, who said they are aware of this event and some more in Toronto tomorrow. He is encouraging torontonians to remain peaceful as they were last Saturday when there was a protest in Toronto. Here is more of what chief Saunders said.
I can tell you the vast number of people who have gone to the protests in the city of Toronto have been peaceful. There is a lot of passion, there is a lot of anger, and a lot of hope. I hope as torontonians we can continue to do that. a lot of the members that are at the protest have self-regulated those that have shown up and hada different agenda.
Meagan:
They are hopeful and expect it to remain peaceful. Notice the plywood behind me. We have seen businesses along this intersection boarding up. The Eaton centre has been boarded up and a lot of the stores along bloor. There is a high-end shopping area here, the area known as yorkville. There are a lot of shops there boarded up. You can see some of the businesses are prepared for today’s protests. But again, the organizers sayingit will be peaceful and no disruptful behaviour will be tolerated by the participants inthe March. Things should be getting underway, rosemary. Not too big of a crowd, but we’ll see what happens in a little bit.
Rosemary:
The cbc’s Meagan Fitzpatrick in Toronto. Stay safe. We are expecting up to 5, 000 from the organizers in Ottawa are saying. It is a March around parliament hill and towards the United States embassy. On making My way in to work today, I didn’t see much boardedup. The police in Ottawa have said they intend to be present at this protest, while trying not to cause any issues between them and protesters. Everyone hoping that that will go fairly smoothly as well. Obviously we’ve seen a different kind of scene in the United States in various cities overnight, along with some disturbing video of police taking violent action against people that did not seem to be doing anything wrong at all. The latest one happening in Baltimore, if I’m not mistaken. We are expecting to hear more from the Prime Minister about disabilities, Canadians with disabilities, rather, and some benefits that they could perhaps further use. This comes a day after the government announced the seniors’ benefit would be issued the week of July 6. Lots of seniors were waiting forthat. There were a lot of people tweeting me with disabilities who were concerned they were being left out or forgotten by the government during the pandemic and hoping they would get further aid. The cbc’s Catherine Cullen is still with me as we wait for the prime Minister. We’re at the point in this pandemic where the government is trying to fill in gaps. 6 million Canadians living with disabilities is a big gap.
Catherine:
This is one that the government has been eyeing. Carla qualtrough, the Minister responsible for employment and speaking on the file of Canadians with disabilities, has been foreshadowing she wants to do something to help these Canadians for a few weeks now. We’re going to get into that exciting topic of jurisdiction perhaps once again. It may be a bit complex, given that some of the payments to help Canadians with disabilities come from the provincial level. How is the federal government deciding who is eligible for this particular payment. In a remains to be seen. We know it’s something they are working on it. The question is getting the money out the door. We are a ways into this pandemic. We know a big part of today is about restart and recovery. Some of the viewers across the country may feel like they’re into that restarting process. That is the direction that things are taking. I do know that it’s perhaps been reoccurring question throughout this process. Why is it taking so long. We want to get a sense of why this announcement is only comingnow. Of course there is the announcement and then the question when does the money go out the door? that depends on how the federal government plans on getting money to people, are they going to use an application or a pre-existing criteria that allows them to get money to Canadians. While we talk about these issuesthat seem abstract or big-picture, there are people that need money right now. Some of these people may have been eligible for the additionalg. S.t. Payments if they are Canadians living with a lower income. But the very fact that the government wants to make this announcement suggests that the people need more than just that payment. How much money are we talking about and how does the government intend to get it to people.
Rosemary:
It’s about 70% of disabled Canadians eligible to receive that g. S.t. Credit. That was about $375. Not a huge amount of money, but a little bit goes a long way during these times. This would fall in line with what seniors are getting under that old age security benefit. $300 for people with that. If they have on top of that the guaranteed income supplement, upto as much as $500 per senior. The Prime Minister is another couple of minutes late.
Catherine:
One thing I might dive in on, rosemary. One thing I don’t know if it will come up, but it’s relevant in the discussion of additional measures. Monday is the date of the opening of the period that Canadians can apply for their fourth payment of CERB, not fourth for everyone, but people who have been getting the money since March 15, it is the last payment. There is so much going on in theworld, I’m not confident that CERB will come up. When we talk about the number of issues that the government has to deal with, certainly this is one of them. What is the future of that particular payment? we have positive economic news today, suggesting that many people are now newly employed who might not have been – as I say, the unemployment number has gone up because there are more people looking for work as well. Still, there are going to be a lot of Canadians relying on thismoney. I haven’t looked at the figures, but the last time I did, it was in the neighbourhood of 8 million Canadians who made an application for CERB payment. What is the government going to do, create a higher threshold? a bit more of a challenge to get people to apply, that people will be re pushed back into the wage subsidy or rejoin the workforce. It is a conundrum. It will be interesting to see what the government does. If they make it like e. I.-like and you have to prove you’re looking for work, that makes it more complex. The reason they set this up the way they did is they wanted to get the money out quickly. The Prime Minister said if therewere more checks in place, people would wait longer. a conundrum.
Rosemary:
It was more of an attestation requiring you to show that you are looking for work. That may be something people can consider because there are jobs opening up so perhaps why they make the shift.
the other thing I’m reminded about is the sick leave days that the federal government had committed to, at least in part, financing in some way with the provinces. They made that agreement with the NDP About a wee ago, in order to get the parliamentary calendar that they wanted essentially, which would mean hybrid sittings four times a week and a couple of dates in the summer. After the requests, they would try and find 10 days of sick leave for people in this country, as we anticipate another wave during this pandemic. I imagine that came up yesterday with the premiers as well, but have no idea what kind of movement, if any, there has bee non on that front.
Catherine:
It seems like premier Horgan is the one that started this. He said this is important because when – as we start the restart, as we rebegin, the question of people returning to work – both the Prime Minister and the premier have talked about the fall in particular. We start getting into cold and flu season. People are back at work. They start to not feel so well. If they have to take an unpaid day and risk losing their job, they might come in to work sick. The thought is these additional sick days would prevent people coming into work sick and be better for society as a whole. We know there is not you – unanimity about this. What challenges is this going to create for employers and the federal government. I believe Stephen McNeil said this is perfectly fine in the time of COVID-19, but moving on this shouldn’t continue. I don’t believe premier Horgan agrees on that. This would require buy-in from the provinces and territories. Unanimity is not something they have talked about before. The Prime Minister has talked about the importance of this. He agreed to the NDP’s request on it, but has articulated on the importance ofthe program.
Rosemary:
If people are wondering why we’re still talking, it’s because the Prime Minister is running late. We are expecting him – oh, look, there is the two-minute finger. He’s about two minutes away. We got the updated national modelling numbers from Dr. Theresa tam that did show things are going largely well inthe country. There remains hot spots, the province of Ontario and Quebec and the g. T.a., the greater Toronto area, and in and around the island of Montreal, those continue to be the places where the vast of cases are and the vast majority of cases in Ontario and Quebec. Dr. Tam also mentioned that if you look at the modelling, they can certainly see that if there is too quick an easing of the rules of those public health rules that we all know by heart, two metres away, wash your hands, avoid the crowded places, all that kind of stuff, that we could be into a place where I think she called it an explosive second spike of the virus, because we don’t really know how the virus is going to react when we all start returning to our new normal lives. So there is – while there is good news, there are obviously hot spots that are of concern and behavioural things that need to continue, otherwise we will be back in a bad position, Catherine.
Catherine:
Also something the numbers demonstrated clearly, rosemary, 94% of deaths from COVID-19 are people age 60 and over. Over 80% of the deaths have happened in long-term care facilities. This comes back around to where our discussion started at the beginning, as the federal government is preparing the proposal to get billions of dollars out the door to the provinces and territories, to what extent will they make requirements of the provinces and territories to enact particular measures to try to secure the state of people in long-term care facilities. As you rightly say, the significance of the regional outbreaks, the importance of that good behaviour, and all of this on a day where we do expectto see perhaps hundreds of thousands of Canadians in the streets, you know, organizers ofthese marches saying they do want people to wear masks, they hope – they’re asking them to maintain appropriate physical distancing, but large crowds – obviously COVID-19 is a concern, although one being weighed against another, very pressing and important concern for many, many Canadians right now if we look at the state of the things that many non-white Canadians are dealing with, growing pressure for those things to be addressed.
Rosemary:
Absolutely right. We’ll see. Obviously organizers are suggesting people wear masks and try to maintain a two-metre distance in the crowds. We are waiting for the Prime Minister to come out. In the province of Ontario, dougford could announce as early as next week, the loosening of somerestrictions in this province. He had been reticent to do any regionalized reopening because there are places in the provincethat are doing better than the g. T.a. He has now decided that he is wim – willing to look at a regional reopening and he is looking at allowing a wider number of office buildings and businesses to reopen and the social gathering numbers to expand. There is the Prime Minister testing My ability to fill time. Here is the Prime Minister of Canada.