Parses captions for PM Trudeau's daily speeches and presents them in a more human readable format
Rosemary:
Okay, this is the Prime Minister of Canada on thistuesday morning. I’ll just say what everyone is thinking before we get into the meat of what he said, yes, he did get a haircut. I know many Canadians are rushing to do that after a few months without one. Let’s talk more about the policy news he had for us today now that that bit of lightness is out of the way. and it was, as we expected, an extension of the CERB, Vassy.
Vassy:
Yes, an extension by two months, by eight weeks, of the CERB, and just a reminder, as we’ve been discussing over the past few days, there are about 2 million Canadians who come up against the end of the CERB. The Prime Minister used the number 3 million for how many Canadians are out of work and looking for work. and so there weren’t a lot of details necessarily about if anything changes. It really sounded to me like it was just a continuation of the program as it exists right now. Certainly I’m sure welcome news for people who were coming up against the end of this program and still unable to find jobs. Of course that varies depending where you live because the degree to which the economy is open is so different depending on where you live. I’ve been furiously trying to text a number of people to find out the estimated cost of the program will be for those two months, and so far I don’t have an answer. They are trying to figure that out. You heard the Prime Minister get that question a few times. He also didn’t have a specific number for the cost of the program but did say that it would depend on – I mean, their hope is more people move over, for example, to the wage subsidy program and there might not be the need for the CERB that existed let’s say in any of the two of the first four months because so many people needed it, let’s say in – you know, from March 15 to April 15 and the following month. It might not be as much, but we are talking obviously upwards of think based on some of the numbers I’ve looked at $20 billion at least, probably a lot more if the need is as acute as it has been in some previous months. So I will continue to try and find out what the cost of that is, but certainly that’s a big chunk of change the government is already looking at a $260 billion deficit, but clear their assessment and based on a lot of political conversations as well is that the need is still there. We know that from the numbers, as I mentioned, 2 million Canadians. I do want to just quickly touch on one other thing that stuck out for me, and that was the questions around migrant workers. I think it’s a pretty important issue right now on a number of different levels. We have seen the ambassador frommexico, the Mexican government, press pause on sending any additional temporary foreign workers as of last night. First reported by the Canadian press because two men, 31 years old and 24 years old in the Windsor area, two migrant workers, have passed away because of COVID-19. There is a group, the Canadian – sorry, I’m going to make sure I have the exact rightname. The workers alliance for change, the migrant workers alliance for change that did a survey they released last week. They talked to hundreds of these foreign workers who were very concerned about the conditions in which they were working and sort of the measures of isolation and if they do contract the virus. The city of Windsor also very concerned as well. The reason that premier ford kept them in a more restrictive phase and didn’t move them along with many other areas of ontariowas because of the spread of the virus among the migrant workers. I know the mayor of the city wants to increase the amount of testing. There are concerns from those advocates that there’s not even adequate inspections taking place, and of course both the NDP and that group are really calling on the federal government to amp up efforts to, for example, introduce permanent residency for many of these migrant workers. It’s a real live issue right now, and I think it’s getting worse as we speak based on everything we’re hearing from those who are involved in the situation, and clearly that’s what the Mexican government says as well. The Prime Minister got a number of questions and said essentially that it does force us to re-examine sort of the system that exists right now andhow this country deals with those workers and treats those workers, but he didn’t have any specifics on, for example, whether or not they are looking at an accelerated path to permanent residency, or if they’re going to change the way in which they do inspections. Obviously we’re saying tuned fornews on that, and the Minister is overseeing that file, but theconcern is pretty acute from those advocates, the people who are working, the people who employ them who also put food onour table, and as well the city of windsor. and I think there were cases in New Brunswick yesterday also among migrant workers.
Rosemary:
Thank you for highlighting that important story. Certainly also because Canada and much of our food sector is so reliant on the temporary foreign workers who come in and help at planting season and harvesting season. On the CERB, the total amount spent so far is $43 billion, just to give you a sense of what it cost over the past number of months. and for some international kind of context around what other countries are doing. For instance, in the United States, the president has said that he is not going to go beyond the top-up that they weregiving to people towards the endof July, and they are going to move to some sort of get back towork incentive. I think they were getting $600 weekly as a bonus, as a benefit around the pandemic, but that that was going to get cut off. So this gives Canadians, and we’re going to talk to someone in a moment, another two months, which I imagine, david, will help a lot of people.
David:
Yeah, Rosie, it also just shows we’re three months into this, basically. It was around the middle of March when parliament suspended and then the borders started to close and people were told to stay home. We’re still a long way to go before we’re out of it. We’re rolling over two big things, direct payments to Canadians who can’t work to keep them above water, and rolling over the border closure with the United states. So as we inch towards a return to normal with things starting to reopen, there’s a constant reminder of just how abnormal still things are. Two other issues, one quite significant and one kind of entertainingly interesting, the quite significant one are the demands from the parliamentary black caucus on some immediate changes, like justice reform, how police operate, getting rid of mandatory minimums. We did hear from the Prime Minister yesterday saying they were looking at a series of recommendations and getting ready to take immediate action on things they can move on quickly, and now this written public demand from M.P.s and senators from all parties sort of demanding these changes. That shows that, you know, whilewe deal with the fallout of the health crisis the country is in, the company for better racial justice and equality is continuing, and apparently, based on the indications we see from the Prime Minister, being heard. The other thing we heard from the Prime Minister today that sports fans are going to be keenly interested in is there’s willingness for one of the canadian cities to be a hub cityso the nhl season can re-start and the playoffs can get going. This is something that the NHL has been trying to do. As you know, the return to sports happens, it is a way to get playoff hockey in Canada, which is something we haven’t really had a lot of in the last little while, but the Prime Minister signalling a willingness to work with the league and to work with provincial and local health authorities to have this hub city plan happen. There was initially some reluctance to do this. We’ve seen a softening of that in places like em and Vancouver. This – Edmonton and Vancouver. This would be a significant economic thing potentially, but also one of those pressure release valve things. If the NHL can find a way to do sports safely, you may not be able to go in person, but a lot of people will want to watch that as a distraction from all the pretty ugly things happening right now.
Rosemary:
From everything else, exactly. and just on the black parliamentary group that sent in this long letter of sessions to the government today, there was also attached a long list of what they called allies in the letter, and it includes liberal M.P.s and even cabinet ministers. and the Prime Minister did say we are open to reviewing mandatory minimums which interestingly was something in his first justice Minister’s mandate letter to jody wilson-raybould. Supporting black businesses together –
David:
[indiscernible].
Rosemary:
Yeah, legal aid, putting more restorative justice in place, so lots of concrete things that certainly the government could pick up and move to get in place right now if it wanted to take some action on that very quickly. and I will just end on, if I can just get you both to weigh in on the united nations, because I note that the Prime Minister is speaking with or has spoken with today the Prime Minister of Spain, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, the Prime Minister of India, the Prime Minister of st. Vincent and grenadine, and obviously this vote tomorrow, an important one for the government, and I would say even though he said, you know, we’ll do our work anyway, an important one for him personally too, Vassy.
Vassy:
Yeah, he certainly as the Prime Minister has hitch add lot to it, and the government has as a whole. Right from the outset they had begun campaigning the ambassador, Canada’s ambassador to the UN, has also. Interestingly, obviously things have changed. That process has changed very dramatically throughout the pandemic. My understanding is they are hosting a zoom reception tonight. I mean, part of this, the campaign as it has existed in the past is very much, you know, wining and dining, receptions, allot of quote unquote schmoozing, which is certainly which turns allot of the critics of this campaign off, but it is sort of a fact of the way these things operate, and the pandemic, as I said, has really changed that. I think, you know, it’s going to be really interesting to see, we may not – I should preface all of this by saying we may not know tomorrow the outcome for Canada because you have to win two thirds of the vote. There are two spots. We’re competing against Ireland and Norway, so for example, if one country is way out ahead and they get two thirds of the vote but the others don’t, you have to go to a second round. So it is very possible that we may not know the outcome of that. I’ve been trying to talk to as many people as possible to gauge whether or not they think they are going to win. They have been canvassing all the people that you listed off over a number of weeks. Somebody told me this morning for the last two years there has rarely been a conversation that the Prime Minister has had with a counterpart internationally that did not – in which he did not bring up the UN. So that gives you an idea of how near and dear to their politicalhearts, I guess you could say, this campaign and securing this seat has been. I think there will be a lot of analysis one way or the other, if they are able to secure it. Critics of the campaign are critical more generally of the UN and the hypocrisies of what it pursues or the things it doesn’t pursue and also the efficacy of having that seat. You don’t have a veto power and other countries do. How effective can you be? the Prime Minister and the federal government’s point has been we believe in multilateralism, especially at this juncture, as you see the United States withdraw from that type of arrangement and from sort of the leadership on the world stage. We believe the substitute for that is a sort of punctuated belief in multilateralism, and this is the best way to leverage that belief and leverage our own how I think the Prime Minister said something along the lines of we are big enough that we can make a difference but we’re small enough to know that we can’t do it alone. That is kind of the philosophy that underscores the pursuit of this seat from the government’s perspective. But like I said, that campaign has its critics, and I guess chief among them is sort of the criticism we have heard of the liberals over a number of years, which is – and we’ve heard it within Canada even around this seat. There have been almost some sort of domestic criticism among someone like David Suzuki who came out and wrote a letter that they talk a lot about moral leadership, but not all of their actions necessarily match up with it. So do they quote unquote deserve to secure this seat? ultimately the representatives of other countries at the UN will make that determination. But you heard the Prime Minister’s rationale for why he thinks it would be productive for Canada to secure it.
Rosemary:
David your thought son that before I let you both go for a moment?
David:
On the whole concept of multilateralism, this is something that government talks about a lot, and the united nations security council seat has been part of that bid, but it’s not just this one institution. It’s the entire erosion of the multilateral order that’s out there. I’ve covered four g7s since I’vebeen working here. The first one was barack obama, the last three with donald trump. They have each gotten progressively less ambitious andwith less unity, and in many ways less effective. and that’s not just happening with the g7. It’s been happening with nato astrump disrupts that and the world trade organization. He’s pulled out of the world health organization, for example. You need to think about the big problems the world is facing. Bringing it back to COVID-19, untilthis virus is controlled in all countries it’s not controlled inany country if we want to resumenormal global trade and travel. It’s going to take a great multilateral response, particularly in the developing world, where countries just don’t have the money to spend onhealth care because they are spending it on debt servicing and they can’t pay doctors and they can’t borrow because of their debt limits, and that’s going to take real committed multilateral voices in all of these institutions, and now in November it could change. The outlook of the united stateson these things, who knows. But it’s interesting to hear theway Canada pitches its bid for aseat SAT the table at the united nations security council versus what some of the traditional great powers are doing globally. It’s a delicate time for the world, and I think that is the sentiment that trudeau and them are trying to play into, even though they may not be a perfectcandidate, as the legion of critics have highlighted and made clear.
Rosemary:
Just to remind people, it’s a three-way raise, norway, ireland, Canada. Lots of people believe norway isa shoe-in. It’s all done in secret. Even if someone tells you we know how it’s going to end, the chances they do know is pretty slim. Okay, Vassy, I know you’ve got to jet off for another interview. Thank you very much for helping us, and david we’ll be back to you shortly. You can catch Vassy at 5 on “power & politics”.
My next guest works in the restaurant business, the hospitality sector has been really severely threatened and hurt by the many bars and restaurants that have gone under. Some of them reopening now, but Asia one of those people that did use the Canada emergency relief benefit. Asia, good to see you.
Hi, nice to see you too.
Rosemary:
Thanks for making the time. You heard the Prime Minister’s announcement there, an extension of eight weeks, two more months. Will you need that and what do you think of it?
I absolutely need that, and I’m by no means the only one. Even with restaurants slowly reopening, we’re seeing very few people actually being hired back in the front of house in particular. In the takeout situation, you need the kitchen, obviously, and you may need one or two people in the front, but obviously not the sheer number we’ve needed in the past.
Rosemary:
So do you think that two months is going to be enough time for things to reopen little bit more even so that you will be able to get back to work, or what’s your view on that?
Well, here’s the thing. If we’re – even in the reopening of restaurants in phases two and three, which I should point out Toronto and g. T.a. Are not included in so far.
Rosemary:
Right, right.
But even when we are, we will have to adhere to the socially distanced rules, and that means that most restaurants are going to have to reduce their capacity by at least 50%. so what you’re going to see is half the staff needed to do that as well. So you are going to see a maximum 50% hire back rate, maximum at restaurants, and that’s assuming people are going to be coming into restaurants.
Rosemary:
Sure, yes.
So you know, because we do rely on tips. I would like to take this opportunity, if you don’t mind, to point out that even if we claim tips on our taxes, it doesn’t actually affect our EU or even the bank doesn’t recognize it at all either for mortgages. So I, for one, claim all My taxes. I’m 38. I’ve been doing it for years. and it doesn’t impact My ei. So My EU will still be based on wages, which as you know being less than minimum wage are low.
Rosemary:
Oh, interesting. Okay. So was the $2, 000 enough for you over the past I guess you’ve used it for the full cycle, and is it going to be enough for you for the next two months?
For me it is. I’m very fortunate. As we know in Toronto, rental rates have gotten a little out of control, we’ll say, to be conservative. I’m lucky enough to have lived in My apartment for a long time, so My rent isn’t as exorbitant than others. So the $2, 000 for me covers My expenses, just. I wasn’t making any dent in My debt or savings, of course, but it covered My expenses, and most of My friends have found that it covered their basic expenses. and when I say basic, that means – that’s not including medication, for example. Some of My groceries, things like that. So $2, 000 is the bare minimum, particularly for living in a city. and I understand the frustration across the country with CERB. I know there’s parts of the country where $2, 000 is a lot more money and goes a lot further than it does here, but we have to be real about that.
Rosemary:
I’ve only got about30 seconds. How do you feel now knowing thatyou’ve got another two months of sort of flex here where you don’t have to panic or go further into debt, or however you were going to solve that. How do you feel?
I feel relieved. I feel safer. I mean, I’m so grateful to live in Canada. Obviously we have a very lucky situation here. I’m internally – eternally grateful, much more relaxed and hope that they are open to the fact that this may have to be continually extended as surges and upticks of COVID-19 cases come back as we try this reopening, as well as facts that certain industries, like the restaurant industry, will be hit a lot longer than others.
Rosemary:
Ajar, thank you so much. Take care of yourself over the next two months.
You too.
Rosemary:
She works as a bartender, server and caterer. More of our special coverage, the government’s response to COVID-19 right after this here on CBC news network.” ♪♪[♪♪♪]
Rosemary:
Hi there. I’m rosemary Barton. Welcome back to CBC news network here in Ottawa. We’re streaming live around the world on our app and our website. We are, of course, standing by for the press conference of cabinet ministers and public health officials at 12:30 eastern we are expecting the COVID-19 committee to take place. The Prime Minister will be thereto answer some questions. The big news from the Prime Minister this morning is that the government will extend the Canada emergency response benefit that so many Canadians tapped into as the shutdown went into effect at the beginning of March. That extension will now go for another eight weeks. If you can’t get back to work, if your job is not allowing you to go back to work, you will have more room to breathe. There are some 2 million Canadians that will need the CERB going forward. The Prime Minister confirming an extension of that. Also confirming some news around the Canada-United States border. That too will remain closed to non-essential travel for another30 days. As we wait for this press conference, I wanted to do a quick interview with someone doing something pretty great in victoria, British Columbia there is a non-profit meal program bringing healthy meals to those who need them most. The red cedar cafÉ has already delivered, get this, more than 7, 000 meals to seniors and othervulnerable people. Liz may joins me from the kitchen of the cafÉ. thanks for making time.
Interview:
Good morning.
Rosemary:
I guess it’s morning there, afternoon here. How does this idea come about? it’s amazing how much you have been able to do over this period of time.
Interview:
I just started recognizing the need for extra help over these times. It’s super challenging for people and a lot of economic hardship. a lot of people were laid off and self-isolating. We’re recognizing that need and filling a gap.
Rosemary:
and the goal is to get people good, healthy, home-cooked or cooked by you andyour team meals. How are you funding that? where is the money coming from for that?
Interview:
We’ve been so heartened by the support from the community. This is what mutual aid looks like. We don’t have any funders, but it’s just community members participating in the project, donating raw ingredients, funds, and time to the project. We’ve partnered with a lot of grocery stores and other food network hubs in the region, community centres, that have been providing a lot of the raw ingredients. Then we get some one-off donations from individuals and organizations who want to support the project and feed thepeople.
Rosemary:
It’s 7, 700 meals since mid-April. How do you manage to do that? and were you surprised at the amount of need that is out there? it is a little overwhelming to find so many people that need that help.
Interview:
Yeah, so it’s been lot of figuring it out as we go. As you can see behind me, we’re in this beautiful space in downtown Victoria that was functioning as a traditional restaurant three months ago. So we’re not in a production kitchen. We have styled our operations over the last couple of months. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we have a kitchen lead and about 10 other assistants who are here for about eight hours in and out that are creating about 1, 200 meals in those three days. Then we’re distributing them on Thursdays. To your second question, have Webern surprised with the demand. Yeah, the first week we were probably providing around 200 meals, and that quickly scaled up to 1, 200 by the – within a month. So yeah, it’s – we’re filling ademand, but it just keeps growing and just kind of showing me how big of a need there is right now in the community.
Rosemary:
What do you think has changed for people who were either worried about going out to get food, didn’t have enough money to get food, what do you think it’s changed for people?
Interview:
Since we started or –
Rosemary:
Yeah, just getting those lovely meals that you’ve prepared at a time when things are difficult.
Interview:
Yeah, it’s like we have a lot of feedback. We have testimonials on our website. We were getting e-mails. People feel like – they feel warm and comforted. It’s showing support from other community members. We put a lot of love and care into these meals. We’re feeling people with dignity. It’s not standard soup kitchen meals. We have really qualified chefs that are working with us becausethe whole hospitality industry is on pause. Myself included, I’ve worked in hospitality for years, and we want to continue in the sector. It’s really fun and we’re givingback to the community.
Rosemary:
What’s going to happen post-COVID-19, eventually that will happen one day or at least more things will be opening. What will happen to the program? have you given any thought to that?
Interview:
Definitely, yeah. We’re trying to figure out where our scope is. We’ve been busy getting food to people and will continue to do that. That will be our priority, to get healthy, affordable meals to people who need it. There is no shortage of demand. So if we keep providing the 1, 000 to 1, 200 meals a week, we’re doing a great job. We, like a lot of Canadians, are looking ahead to the recovery from COVID-19 and doing it in a just, equitable, safe, fair, and healthy way that doesn’t leave anyone behind.
Rosemary:
Liz maze, so great to hear of people coming up with creative solutions to help. Thank you so much. That’s Liz maze, a volunteer and the coordinator for the red cedar cafÉ in Victoria.
we are waiting still for cabinet ministers to give us more specifics around what the Prime Minister announced. Not too long the extension of CERB for another two months for people who need it, $2, 000 of course. That number has gone down over time as some Canadians have gone back to work and some industries reopen and some companies tap into the wage subsidy, but there are still as many as two millioncanadians who need support because their jobs might not exist or might not be coming back. Let me bring in My colleague David Cochrane to talk a little bit more about that. We’re going to hear from people now. The Prime Minister will be at the COVID-19 committee at 12:30 we’re hoping he takes some question. We heard from Asia, how good that will be in a big city. She also was already installing, I hope the government thinks about what happens after that. Of course it’s so hard for anyone to know what happens after that and how much more that may have to continue, change, or evolve in a differentway. I must admit, I’m surprised that it is a straight rollover and itdidn’t get altered in a significant way. I imagine the next version of that will not be exactly the same.
David:
Yeah, there may be some tweaks in the regulations, as jean-yves Duclos or carla qualtrough can tell us in this news conference. The Prime Minister announces thebroad strokes and the fine printcomes from the ministers. They’ve done two things, extended the lifeline that a lotof people need to make it through these difficult times, but they’ve also bought themselves some time to get moredata and a sense where this is going to go and what changes they need to make. We’re still early in the economic reopening in a lot of places. Certain regions of the country are quite advanced in the elimination or reduction or containment of COVID-19, particularly atlantic Canada. We don’t know how this reopeningis going to go and we won’t knowfor a couple of weeks, with the lag of symptoms and cases showing up. You can’t just keep pumping out $2, 000 a month to millions of canadas with no end in sight with no transition back to work, and with no recognition of the regional differences. You could go back to work in Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador. Newfoundland and Labrador has not even had any cases. As long as the provincial and local health authorities allow that opening up, there should bea quicker return to normal and adraw down on the CERB. We don’t have a price tag on this today, but you can expect that the uptake would decline. Some of the costs will shift to the wage subsidy as more businesses reopen and rehire people and rely on the subsidy and you can’t get both at the same time. This is an announcement that comes with a price tag in the tens of billions. It’s just not precisely clear from what the Prime Minister hastold us where they expect that to be. They might not know that for a while until we see how the reopenings go.
Rosemary:
Such a relief for so many other people who just don’t see themselves returning to work and also are concerned about the safety aspect of returning to work. I know the conservatives have expressed concerns around people not wanting to go back to work. If you can’t, if the job isn’t there or the job has not enough answers to support you, I’m not sure what your choice is in thatsituation.
David:
You’ve got Asia who works in the service industry. Bars and restaurants are coming back with reduced capacity. Who knows how comfortable people will be going out. The patios I’ve seen in Ottawa, there’s people on them, but at half capacity and fewer staff. I interviewed a woman yesterday, rebecca grey, she was on a story on “the national.” in normal times she works five jobs. She teaches music, she’s in a acquire, an usher at a concert hall, but all of these are dependant on singing in crowded places. Singing is a really bad thing todo during this pandemic because it becomes like a super-spreading episode in termsof the spittle and volume that goes out as people sing. As we goes back to work, those venues are not opening up, even in the reopening. In very specific sectors, there’s no obvious hope now compared to what there was in March when the country started to go into lockdown. Restaurants and bars reopening. Concert halls, not so much.
Rosemary:
It’s the same for the arts industry. The film and TV production has been put on hold, with the exception of the news. There are people in creative fields as well, very, very concerned, as well as people who are self-employed who rely on contracts and trying to build upa salary over time. Obviously the extension of the CERB would be a relief to a lot of people. We will wait and see from the cabinet ministers about some of the details and about whether ornot something substantive has changed in terms of the announcement. We do know again that they have extended the border shutdown by another 30 days to the end of July. It’s no surprise because when you see what’s happening in the United States, there doesn’t seem to be any case to be made, I would imagine on both sides but particularly for us, to allow any sort of travel back and forth at this stage.
David:
That would be the deputy Prime Minister’s role, Chrystia Freeland. She still has responsibility forcanada-United States relations, despite the fact that Minister champagneis the foreign affairs Minister and Minister blair is the borderminister. It’s hard to see a reopening beyond where it is now. The transmission rates in canadaare below 1, we’re bending the curve down. You get to a point where it’s quite good, but still some hot spots in the two biggest provinces here in central Canada. Americans have a very different story. The reopening in the southern and mid-western states has spiked a bit. The president says if they stopped testing they wouldn’t have any new cases. That would be a bit surprising to scientists. Electoral politics and what’s happening in the United States, the importance of the economy atthe centre of the political conversation there seems to me to be at a much higher degree than in Canada, where collectivesocial well-being is a dominant concern. Given that there’s no hurry on the canadian side to do it. and, perhaps fortunately, rosie, donald trump likes thick bordersand this gives him a chance to have one at both sides.
Rosemary:
The political calculation important for a president who thought he would get re-elected on the state of the economy and the performance of the markets. That has proven difficult over the last couple of months. I’ll come back to you, david. We’ll go to our briefing and there is the deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland:
Carla qualtrough [voice of interpreter] and the president of the treasury board, jean-yves Duclos. [end of translation].
Good afternoon. I will begin with an update on the latest numbers for COVID-19 in Canada. There are now 99, 147 cases, including 8, 175 deaths. 61, 042, or 62%, have now recovered. Labs across Canada have tested over 2, 183, 000 people for COVID-19 to date. Over the past week, we have tested an average of 33, 000 people daily, with 2% testing positive. These numbers do change quickly and they’re updated daily in the evenings on Canada. Ca/coronavirus. Today I want to reflect a littlebit on the numbers. Although we read and post these numbers online every day, we can’t forget there is so much more behind them. Every case is a person with family, friends, and community, having been confronted with the illness and the uncertain outcomes. Some people have endured painfulseparation from their loved onesduring severe illness and hospitalization and some have experienced the unspeakable painof a loss of a loved one to COVID-19. As I take a step back to reflecton the numbers, I want to acknowledge the lives we have lost and to offer My sympathy tothose who continue to grieve theloss the deepest. I don’t think there has been a day that has gone by when Canadians haven’t considered what these numbers mean. I know that is a big part of what has united us to make sacrifices to stop the virus from doing more damage. For those who are tired of this new way of life, it helps to look at what we’ve sacrificed and to consider the progress we’ve made and to gather our strength and resolve to continuetogether. Yesterday we reached a new milestone of cases that have recovered, with over 60% of all cases recovered. This is a sign that the epidemichas slowed enough that new casesare no longer overtaking those coming off the long road to recovery. It also means that we have protected the health system and have been able to support severecases through the worst of theirillness. However, even though the epidemic growth has slowed considerably across the country and we can now see these hopefulsigns, this is the part where wegather our strength and resolve to continue our efforts. Because it may only take one newcase of COVID-19 to spark an outbreak or renewed economic growth that could change our trajectory. The hard truth is that COVID-19 is still very much with us. There is no room for complacencywith COVID-19. We all need to keep up with public health measures to maintained epidemic control. That means there is only one wayto go out, and that is to go outsmart with physical distancing, frequent hand washing, and coughetiquette. This means wearing a mask where you can’t keep a two-metre distance from others. Most importantly, if you have symptoms, even mild, it is vitalyou stay home and away from others to prevent the spread of the virus. Thank you. Merci.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland:
Thank you very much, Dr. Tam. [voice of interpreter] Dr. Njoo, you have the floor.
Thank you. As usual, I will begin on an update of the latest numbers. There are now 99, 137 cases, including 61, 042, or 62%, have now recovered. Labs across Canada have tested 2, 183, 000 people for COVID-19 todate. Over the last week we have tested an average of 33, 000 people daily with 2% testing positive. These numbers change quickly an dare updated in the evenings on Canada. Ca/coronavirus. Today instead of moving on to another topic, I want to stop and reflect on the numbers. Although we read and post these numbers online every day, we can’t forget that there is so much more behind them. Every case is a person with family, friends, and community who have been confronted with the illness and its uncertain outcomes. Some people have endured painfulseparation from their loved onesduring severe illness and hospitalization. Many have suffered the unspeakable pain of a loved one lost to COVID-19. As I take a step back to reflecton the human stories behind the numbers today, I want to acknowledge the lives we have lost and offer My sympathy to those who continue to grieve their loss the deepest. I don’t think there is a day that has done by when Canadians haven’t considered what these considers really mean. We know it’s been a big part of what has united and driven us tomake sacrifices to stop this virus from doing even more damage. So for those moments that we tire of this new way of life, ithelps to look back at what we’vesacrificed but also to consider the progress we’ve made and to gather our strength and resolve to continue forward together. Yesterday we reached a new milestone in the percentage of cases that have recovered with over 60% of all cases recovered. This is a sign that the epidemichas slowed enough that new casesare no longer overtaking those coming off the road to recovery. It also means we’ve protected the health system and have been able to support severely ill cases through the worst of theirillness. However, even though the epidemic growth has slowed considerably across the country – and we can now see these hopeful signs – the part where we gather our strength andour resolve to continue our efforts, because they may take only one new case of COVID-19 tospark an outbreak or renewed epidemic growth. The hard truth is COVID-19 is still very much with us. There is no room for complacencywith COVID-19. We must keep up public health measures to maintain epidemic control. That means there is only one wayto go out, and that is to go outsmart with physical distancing, frequent hand washing, and coughetiquette. This means wearing a nonmany of medical mask where COVID-19 is existent and keeping a two-metredistance. This is important to sprechbt the spread of the virus. [end of translation].
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland:
We will hear from Minister qualtrough.
I’m pleased to join you today to provide an update on the actions taken by our government to support Canadians impacted bycovid-19 as we carefully and safely reopen our economy. We all know and degree that the best way to bring back the economy quickly and efficiently is by helping Canadians get back to work. We know that approximately 1.2 million Canadians who were getting financial help from the CERB are no longer in need of it. Question also know as of June 16, more than 23, 000 employers have applied for the Canada emergency wage subsidy, supporting 2.6 million employees across the country. [voice of interpreter] recent job numbers have shown positive progress in terms of people returning to theworkforce, but have also shown us many Canadians are still struggling. [end of translation] we are extending the CERB for eight weeks. This will go a long way for Canadians who don’t have a job to return to and for workers and industries who haven’t reopened yet. Extending the CERB will give greater confidence that workers get the support they need, as there are ongoing disruptions to work and home. It will be available from March 15 to the fall. While the CERB has helped millions of Canadians get through this difficult time, we know this benefit is not a long-term solution. We’re moving from a phase in thepandemic where we were asking everyone to stay home, to a phase where workers are going back to work when it is safe andpossible for them to do so. [voice of interpreter] we want to ensure that our program continues to support Canadians and our economy. That is why over the next weeks we will continue to monitor the situation and ensure that come September we are able to adapt our existing systems to support canadian workers, as more and more people continue to return to the labour market. [end of translation] we know Canadians are ready and eager todo their part. We know that employees will go back to work when they are able and it is reasonable to do so. We encourage them to consult thejob bank that helps with tools for job searches. These expectations will be set out clearly in the CERB attestation. As I’ve said many time befores, we will get through this. Thank you.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland:
Thank you very much, C.R.A. [voice of interpreter] now, the president of the treasury board. [end of translation].
Good morning. Two important announcements made by the Prime Minister. First, the extension of our agreement with the united state son our shared border, both to maintain and protect the health of Canadians and to protect and maintain the flow of people for essential reasons. [voice of interpreter] the second announcement our colleague carlajust summarized it. It’s the extension of the CERB by eight weeks, with some conditions that will take into consideration some significant improvements, yet still modest improvements, with respect to the labour market. There’s also an attestation that has to be signed. It includes the fact that a person would accept work when reasonable and safe to do so. Also, the job bank, the government of Canada’s job bank, which will mean that more and more jobs – the increasing number of jobs showing up in the next few weeks can be matched with certain available workers. This context takes into consideration evolution in the labour market, while at the same time residing that there still are millions of Canadians today who are facing many difficulties trying to find work and a really hard time making ends meet.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland:
We are now prepared to start with your questions. [end of translation].
As usual, we will start with three questions on the one, one question and one follow up. Operator.
Operator:
Thank you. [voice of interpreter].
Question:
Question for Mr. Duclos. The question was asked of Mr. Trudeau this morning but we didn’t get an answer. With respect to the cost of thiseight-week extension, what do you expect that to be?
Answer:
Very good question and two quick answers. First, of course cost will evolve over the coming weeks. My colleague Carla will be able to give you some specifics on the cost. Costs were higher at first. We’ve already seen a significant decrease in the cost of the cerbfor good reason. That’s because there are 1.2 Canadians who are no longer asking for it because they no longer need it. If I can say as an aside, given the good results that statisticscanada shared with us 12 or so days ago on June 5, stats canadasaid there were 300, 000 new jobscreated, however, we expect these costs will decrease over the coming weeks. As we said, we expect more and more employers to turn to the wage subsidy, therefore fewer workers will need the CERB.
Question:
What is your –
Answer:
We’ll do that in English. [end of translation] briefly in English. We are mindful that the costs of the CERB have changed over the last few weeks, and for good reasons, as Minister qualtrough might want to make that even more precise, as she has said. Initially we had a large number of CERB recipients because we wanted those Canadians to be away from work for health reasons. That has changed over the last weeks. Minister qualtrough did mention that 1.2 million Canadians didn’t need the CERB anymore because they found a new job. Now expect that trend to continue over the next few weeks. We expect more and more Canadians to be able to switch to the emergency wage subsidies and therefore not to receive thecerb anymore.
[voice of interpreter] at the start of June it cost $44 billion for thecerb. At its highest, it represented $17 billion per month. As My colleague said – [end of translation].
Rosemary:
If you want to keep watching this press conference, you can watch on our CBC. Ca/politics.
let’s go to west block where it is question period.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning, we knew as we rolled out measures we would need to improve and tweak them. That’s what we’ve done over the last three months. We needed to make measures happen quickly for Canadians andthat’s what we did, but we made additions and amendments so more people could get the help they needed, including with the proposed legislation last week that expanded the reach of the wage subsidy to more businesses. Unfortunately, the swifts didn’teven want us to debate that particular piece of legislation.
The Hon. Andrew Scheer:
Actually, it was the liberals that didn’t want to debate that motion. They refused in that motion to allow businesses who have made acquisitions to access the program. When we look at the rent program, it is so difficult to apply for, that many landlords are refusing to bother, leaving more small businesses through the cracks. To the $3 billion allocated to the rent relief program, only $39 have been paid out. The Prime Minister is using talking points from April. It is now June. He’s refused to fix these programs and he’s successfully talked out the calendar when we’ve met. When will he make these changes to get the help to the canadianswho need it.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
Throughout this pandemic, we have been updating and expanding our various programs. We recognize in conversations with the premiers how important it is to make sure we’re workingtogether, provinces and federal government, on issues like rent subsidies, where commercial rentis, indeed, a provincial jurisdiction. Many provinces have moved forward with the eviction bans that are annotation to go along with this. We will to go along with this to make sure the Canadians get the help they need.
The Hon. Andrew Scheer:
Canadians cannot wait. He’s run down the clock on parliamentary sittings and he still refuses to make the changes to get help to Canadians. Today we learned tel us has installed huawei technology in downtown Ottawa. There are over 80 sites in the downtown capital region with huawei technology. Some of these sites are near government sensitive institutions. How long has the Prime Minister known that huawei technology has been installed in the Ottawa area?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
Mr. Speaker, first off, on the issue of parliament, we’ve been meeting four times a week and members of the opposition have is continued to ask questions on COVID-19 and Ina broad range of subject. Indeed, every two weeks the finance department puts forward the full, transparent measures of what we’ve done at finance committee so parliamentarians can study it. We are continuing to work in this crisis. At the same time – sorry? at the same time, as regards huawei technology, there are strict rules for companies to follow and we assume they all will follow those.
We’ll pause for a second, stop the clock. I want to remind the honourable members who are joining us virtually that heckling really does disrupt the whole session. Your face does come up and we see who it is. I want to make sure you’re aware of that. We’ll go back to Mr. Scheer. We have a minute and 10 seconds left.
The Hon. Andrew Scheer:
Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister is bragging about accountability and transparency, will he table an economic update?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
Mr. Speaker, throughout this unprecedented pandemic, we’ve been open and transparent about the measures put forward.
The Hon. Andrew Scheer:
That is a long way of saying no, Mr. Speaker. Now, the Prime Minister has pursued a policy of appeasement in pursuit of a personal vanity product at the u. N. in the process he’s cozies up to dictators and human rights violators. He’s abandoned Israel and committed funding to unra, an organization whose facilities have served as breeding grounds for racism and anti-semitism. He has apologized for the iranian regime when they shot down a plane full of canadian citizens and he refuses to list the iranian revolutionary guard corps as a terrorist entity. What’s the point of having seat at the table if you have to sellout canadian principles to get there?
The right honourable Prime Minister.
The Hon. Andrew Scheer:
Mr. Speaker, we see the conservatives have kept with theharper approach to internationaldiplomacy, the failed presence of Canada on the world stage was an embarrassment for Canadians for many, many years. That’s why when we took office five years ago, we demonstrated the leadership on values that Canadians believe in and we will work together on multi-lateralism.
I AM not sitting that far away from the Prime Minister. I’m sorry, Andrew Scheer used to be the speaker of the house. He should show better decorum. [applause].
We have a point of order coming again.
On the same point of order, it is disgusting for the leader of the green party to use decorum to interrupt the leader of the opposition on critical lines of questioning. The leader of the green party knows the rules of this house and shouldn’t be using them to advance an agenda.
We are getting into debate. The time had run out and we’re moving on to the next line of questioning.
The Hon. Andrew Scheer:
I appreciate Elizabeth may, the leader of the green party, I always appreciated her advice about how to improve health and decorum. I wanted to say tot member and all members is the reason I couldn’t control myself is the Prime Minister used the word “embarrassment” in regards to a foreign affairs question and it made me think of the India trip.
Now we’re going to move on tomr. Blanchet. [voice of interpreter].
The Hon. Yves-François Blanchet:
While the greens and the conservatives will be meeting each other out back afterwards, the Prime Minister extended the CERB and that’s good news, but this isn’t enough. Last week there was an emergency to fight fraud. In our view, there was also an urgent need to adjust CERB to meet the needs of tourism, artists, farmers, who we’ve seen that will be lacking h. R. where has this emergency gone? how come the government is refusing to discuss with the opposition parties?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
I’m very happy, chair, to hear the honourable member finally aligning with the liberals’ position. Unfortunately, it’s one week toolate. They should have let us debate this last week, when it was in front of the house.
Mr. Blanchet.
The Hon. Yves-François Blanchet:
I have the impression that this is just a fantasy in his mind, but we clearly proposed to extend debate to reach agreement, which leads me to My second question. Last week the assistance to persons with disabilities was a key issue and it’s even more so now, a week later. The bloc proposed to split the bill to help persons with disabilities. How come the government is refusing to help people with disabilities in the form of aid, even though it could have discussed this with opposition parties?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
Chair, this is exactly what we wanted. Unfortunately, we needed unanimous consent of the house and one party, namely the conservatives, voted against that unanimous consent to be able to debate these issues. Unfortunately, we are going to have to take other measures to help people living with disabilities.
Mr. Blanchet.
The Hon. Yves-François Blanchet:
Since everything was so wonderful, how come we don’t try this again? how come we don’t open dialogue now? what is preventing the Prime Minister from bringing people together and saying we’ll sit down and discuss this issue instead of – and people with disabilities won’t have the assistance that they need? on October 21 the prime minister received a minority mandate fromcanadians. How come the Prime Minister can’t stop acting like a majority – like he holds a majority, like he’s a monarch?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
Chair, I’ve heard the conservatives and the bloc quÉbÉcois in their accusations, but what they’re not telling us is there was consent of the house to proceed with the special COVID-19 committee until end June. Three parties agreed on this, and which is what we need in a minority setting. We worked with the other parties because they didn’t obtain the result they wanted. Now they’re complaining. It fortunately, they also are Ina minority parliament and we have to respect the will of the majority in this party, just like we do.
Mr. Blanchet.
The Hon. Yves-François Blanchet:
I would have been tempted, but I’m the not the Prime Minister, he is. That’s his job to bring people together. It’s his job to have conversations. It’s his job to call back the parliament. All we asked for was a couple of hours to discuss this and they said, no, this doesn’t work. That’s something strange. Moreover, the government wants to spend $14 million in Quebec’sjurisdiction and Quebec and other provinces are refusing this interference and they want this money to be paid without strings. is the Prime Minister trying to benefit from this crisis or is he trying to create a constitutional crisis?
The honourable Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
Chair, the responsibility of all levels of government, their priority is the security of Canadians. That’s why we proposed $14 billion to ensure Canadians across the country will see a safe reopening of the economy. We’re working on this proposal now with the provinces, because we know that across the country needs, whether it’s in terms of early daycare centres or testing centres or support for municipalities, we need this country-wide and the federal government wants to be there to help the provinces. Now we’re going to continue withmr. Singh.
Mr. Singh. [end of translation].
The Hon. Jagmeet Singh:
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Indigenous leaders have expressed a lack of confidence in the RCMP commissioner’s ability to tackle full-scale systemic racism, but the Prime Minister’s expressed his confidence in the commissioner. What’s that based on?
The right honourable Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
Mr. Speaker, over the past two years commissioner luck has made significant strides forward on an issue where there is still much more to do. We mow that systemic racism exists in all our institutions across –
We’ll go back to Mr. Singh.
The Hon. Jagmeet Singh:
This is the same r. C.b. Commissioner that said they couldn’t explain what systemic racism was. Now the Prime Minister says he has confidence, when indigenous leaders have expressed their lack of confidence. Why does the Prime Minister believe the RCMP commissioner can tackle systemic racism in the RCMP?
The right honourable Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
Mr. Speaker, systemic racism is something that touches every corner of our country and institutions and requires people to understand and move forward in coordinated ways with partners. The commissioner is committed to doing that alongside members of our government. We will do that together and work with indigenous communities and black –
We’ll now go back to Mr. Singh.
The Hon. Jagmeet Singh:
Mr. Speaker, recent events have made it abundantly clear that to tackle systemic racism at the level of the RCMP, we need a full-scale overhaul of the RCMP. is the Prime Minister committed to a full-scale overhaul of the RCMP to root out systemic racism?
The right honourable Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
I AM committed to addressing systemic racism in this country and taking bold actions to reduce the amount of discrimination that indigenous peoples and racialized canadiansface on a daily basis. We have much work to do, but we will do it together.
The Hon. Jagmeet Singh:
Black lives matter have been calling for governments to defend the police. What they’re saying is we need to be better at where we spend our money, investing in communities and not policing. Will the Prime Minister commit to a defending of the r. C.m. Budget?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
Over the past years, we have been investing more directly and more money in community organizations, in the black community, working with indigenous partners on the path to reconciliation. We have been investing in the kinds of community-based programs and solutions that are part of the solution, but we know there is much more to do and we will continue to look at all our expenditures.
Back to Mr. Singh.
The Hon. Jagmeet Singh:
Mr. Speaker, over the past few years when this Prime Minister has been in office, the r. C.m. Budget has increased by 31%. I’ve asked the Prime Minister, in recent events we needed people who needed a health care response to a health care crisisbe killed by the RCMP. Does the Prime Minister believe we need to be investing in a health care response versus a police care response?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
The member opposite knows well it’s not an either/or. We need to make sure our system across the board from our policecare to judicial systems to health care systems are addressing the systemic racism issues embedded in them, and that is exactly what we’re goingto continue to do in the coming years.
Mr. Singh.
The Hon. Jagmeet Singh:
Mr. Speaker, with the CERB extension, can the Prime Minister guarantee that everyone who is receiving CERB payments now will continue to do so without any gaps throughout the summer?
The right honourable Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
Mr. Speaker, I’m happy to highlight that many canadianswho were on the CERB are now returning to work. Many more who are on the CERB now will be returning to work in the coming weeks. We know as the economy gets back to work –
We’ll go back to Mr. Singh.
The Hon. Jagmeet Singh:
[voice of interpreter] can the Prime Minister reassure people who need it that they will continue to receive the CERB throughout the summer, yes or no?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
Chair, we’re very happy to highlight that we’re extending the CERB for another eight weeks because there are many people who will need it. Even if they want to go back to work, there won’t be enough jobs for everyone, as in the beginning.
We will now go – there we go. We were having trouble with My mic. [end of translation] we’re going to pause for a few moments to allow the staff and our support staff to substitute each other in a health and safe way.
Rosemary:
That is the end of the first round of questions inside the special COVID-19 committee, the Prime Minister taking questions on CERB because that has now been extended for two months. Jag meet Singh wanting to make sure that all the people who qualified for it will continue to qualify for it if you continue to be out of work.
let’s bring you back to Toronto because Ontario premier Doug ford gave his statement to the province’s response. There are 184 new cases. Let’s listen in.
Premier Doug Ford:
Good afternoon. As thousands and thousands of people in Ontario get back to work, get back out into their communities, as we get the economy going again, we need to give people confidence and peace of mind. We need to make sure that people have the confidence to re-engagewith the economy, the confidenceto get out and shop at local stores, the confidence to get back on public transit. We need folks to have the confidence to get back to work. That means ensuring we have the necessary hospital capacity, it means rebuilding our P.P.E. Stockpiles, it means keeping the testing numbers as high as they have been, and it means putting in necessary workplace safety measures because nobody wants to see our economy up and running more than I do. But we have to get it right. The worst thing we could do is rush into reopening. Health and safety must come first. Over the past few weeks, we’ve taken steps to build the necessary confidence that will help everyone prepare, adapt, and get our economy going again. That means giving employers confidence that they have – with what they have and can open their doors. That also means giving workers confidence and we have to give customers confidence. That’s how we will get our economy roars once again. As more regions are set to enter stage two this Friday, we’re going to make it easier for businesses to inspire that confidence where it matters most. Today I’m proud to announce the release of a new toolkit, the COVID-19 safety plan guide. This toolkit builds on many supports we have already provided to businesses to help them prepare for reopening, including over 133 sector-specific workplace safetyguidance documents. This toolkit will help give businesses, employees, customers, and consumers the confidence they need to resume business as usual. It will help businesses identifyrisks, take steps to keep their workplaces safe, and help them develop their own tailored safety plan. This is about giving businesses and owners the tools and resources they need to adapt andsucceed in this new reality, in giving their employees and customers the confidence they need to keep supporting businesses as they reopen. It’s up to all of us, it’s up toeveryone, to support our local businesses during these difficult times. Let’s take pride in our incredible Ontario small businesses and manufacturers. Let’s support local. Buy Ontario. Because we have the best of the best right here in Ontario. So let’s all shop local. This summer plan your vacation at one of our incredible ontariodestinations, and together we will support each other through this. My friends, we’re all in this together. Thank you and god bless the people of Ontario. Now I’ll pass it over.
Rosemary:
That’s premier dougford, the premier of Ontario. As much as this province moves into a new phase – we’re jumping around a lot – let me take you back to Ottawa for more from Dr. Theresa tam.
It is very important for us to actually examine the results very carefully before making any further recommendations. I would say it would be the clinical expertise that would be applied in Canada look at that.
[voice of interpreter] two last questions over the phone. [end of translation].
Operator:
[voice of interpreter] radio-Canada.
Question:
Hello. Dr. Njoo, I’d to hear what you’dhave to say about this dexamethozone drug, if you could answer that. Once you’ve seen these studies, if it seems as though this drug can be of use and these studies are conclusive, how long would it take before we get this drug in the hospitals?
Answer:
Thank you for your question. As Dr. Tam has just said, we are aware and have seen the news and reports in the media. Of course we look forward to reading these results in scientific publications. This analysis is what we’re going to be also discussing wit hour counterparts throughout the provinces and territories and researchers throughout Canada. If the results really are as conclusive or perhaps these are optimistic results, it’s certainly something that could be considered. There would potentially then be research studies in Canada. It’s not only about what can be done in the hospitals, but also continuing on with the research. Science evolves. One single study is not enough for us to use it across the country. We have to approach this cautiously. We have to turn to these result sand also have discussions with scientists, as to the next stops for us to consider the study in Canada. If we do do that, we have expertise in Canada. We have a network. That network is well established. If we do decide to have these studies done in Canada, it could be done quickly. [end of translation].
Rosemary:
If you want to keep watching that, go to CBC. Ca. That’s the premier of Ontario taking questions. We wanted to get you back to that.
Premier Doug Ford:
Just until people understand. Ford motor company has to go to headquarters in deer born and tell them why they should have another line up here in oakville. is if we’re competing against other United States plants or down in Mexico, we have to give them a reason to sell Ontario. If they go in there and there’s endless regulations and red tape and they can’t get through it, we don’t create an environment to be competitive, then we’re going to lose a lot of companies. I don’t intend on doing that. I want to make sure we cut regulations and red tape, making sure we have an environment where the employees will thrive and prosper. There are over 4, 000 employees in oakville who are relying on ford to get another model to produce. If it means me going down after these borders opening up and we can travel – it might be a few months down the road – I will be at the headquarters of ford banging on their door selling why Ontario is the best place to manufacture cars anywhere in theworld. We have the best people in the world manufacturing cars right here in Ontario. I’ll put our people up against anyone in the world. We have the best here in Ontario.
Next question.
Operator:
Next question comes from Christina tanalia from CAP 24.
Question:
Hi, premier. More specifically wondering what your response is to the mayor ofmarkham’s calls to make masks mandatory in public places because of the concerns that people from Toronto and peel will go to Markham, who are moving into stage two on Friday.
Answer:
I’ll be having a conversation with the mayor this afternoon regarding that. We have to encourage people – iapologize, this is the reason we started early because this is when the bells go off. I’ll be having a conversation and I highly, highly recommend you go outside and you’re in large groups or shopping centres, wear a mask. I think it’s critical that you do that. But policing 14 million people is difficult. We don’t have the manpower for bylaw and police officers to be chasing people without masks. Everyone’s been great. Let’s continue moving forward. The numbers are going down, all because the people of Ontario have followed the protocol.
We’ll wrap it there.
Premier Doug Ford:
Sorry about the bells. That’s the reason we started at 12:30. We’ll see you again tomorrow at 12:30. Thank you.
Rosemary:
That’s the premier of Ontario wrapping up. We carried some of it online. That was the bells calling them into the legislature. That is one of the issues you have to deal with with live TV. The premier says they’ll be back around the same time. Ontario, as you know, moving into a reopening in a vast majority of the province, with some exceptions around Toronto and the g. T.a. Again, registering less than 200cases again for another day in arow, which shows a real positivesign. The premier was also asked about the migrant worker situation. As you know, mexico has put a stop to sending more migrant workers into Canada because of the death of two of those workers. a testing centre has been openedin essex which is part of the region those workers will be going. Farmers and employees are urged to use it. That will be a concern for Ontario, Quebec, and many provinces who depend so much on those temporary foreign workers.
I will leave you with the news the Prime Minister gave and that is the CERB, or Canada emergency response benefit, will be extended for the two million or so Canadians that need it, that’s an additional two months of $2, 000 to get you through this difficult time if you find yourself without unemployment. I’ll pass on to Andrew Nichols.
Andrew:
Rosie, thank you. This is CBC news network. As the Prime Minister mentioned, an eight-week extension to the emergency response benefit. We have the details and reactionto that.
we’ll take you to Ottawa fora live event. In half an hour the