Q & A

Operator:

Thank you, Merci. [no interpretation][voice of interpreter]

Reporter:

Good morning, Prime Minister. The u. N. security council, you said a few years ago “Canada is back,” and yet yesterday you got fewer votes than the Harper government did in 2010. How do you explain that?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Well, for a number of years now we have been engaging with the rest of the world at many different levels because that is in Canadians’ interest, and it’s in the interest of the entire world, for Canada to have a strong voice, whether it be on climate change or economic development in the most vulnerable countries or gender equality or help for the most vulnerable. Canada for a number of years now has been doing much more. Of course we would have very much liked to continue to raise our voice even more within the security council, but we’ve seen in recent years that Canada was having a positive impact, and we will continue to work on that. Now there is no doubt that this is not the result I was hoping for, but the partnerships, the work we’ve done and the engagement we’ve done in recent years will certainly continue to serve us in the future.

Follow-up, rey?

Reporter:

That doesn’t answer my question. How do you explain the fact thatcanada received fewer votes and failed in this – its attempt to secure a seat? this is not the sign that you were unable to improve Canada’s reputation.

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Well, we knew when we jumped into this race that our two competitors, Norway and Ireland, whom I called to congratulate on their success last evening, had four or five years of pre-entry into the race, and we did make a lot of progress, but the fact is that we were too far behind to win this. Of course it is a disappointment, but what we wereable to do in recent years, by being more engaged on the world stage, was secure positive results for Canadians and for people around the world. and we will continue to work with our partners, with our new friends, with other countries inthe world to defend multilateralism at a time of turbulence and uncertainty in the world. [ end of interpretation ]obviously we would have hoped for a different result yesterday. We’ve worked very, very hard over these past years to deepen our friendships and create new partnerships on really big issues, from climate change to help for the most vulnerable to women’s equality to a range of other issues that is moving the world forward in ways that matter to Canadians, both here at home and around the world. Obviously I was pleased to be able to call Ireland and Norway last night and this morning to congratulate them for a well-runcampaign and commit to them thatwe were going to continue to work with them on all our sharedvalues on the world stage. But the reality was coming in five years later than them gave us a delay that we unfortunatelyweren’t able to overcome. I was hoping we would, and we certainly worked hard to do it, but what we were able to do overthe few years with this campaignwas strengthen and deepen many, many ties, and the impact that Canada has around the world, andparticularly turbulent times. We will remain committed to multilateralism, to engaging constructively and positively inthe world because it’s somethingthat matters to Canadians and italso matters to many, many countries around the world that Canada continues to be present in defending multilateralism.

Thank you. Next question, operator.

Operator:

Thank you, Merci. Next question, Dillon Robertson, Winnipeg free press. Line open.

Reporter:

Good morning, Prime Minister. I wanted to ask about the lack of dis aggregated data about our economic recovery. Statistics Canada recently suspended its job vacancy and wage survey because its resources are being stretched sothin. That project has existed for decades – sorry, for years. It’s been much more detailed than the labour force survey. Your departments are also not publishing any data on how the CERB, the wage subsidy or the commercial rent subsidy are being taken up by province or bygender. This recovery differs by region, but it seems like we’re flying blind. I’m wondering if you’re going to divert resources so we can actually measure the recovery more precisely.

Prime Minister Trudeau:

We know that solid data is the foundation for making the right public policy decisions. This is a very difficult time with COVID-19 where we’ve had to set up new systems and adjust old systems to better respond, and our focus every step of the way needed to be on getting the help out to Canadians. At the same time we’ve been working closely with statistics Canada on collecting better data, and we’ve been working also with the provinces to enable them to get data that is able to be collated at the federal level. We know that we need better data, we need more disaggregated, race-based data, and this is what we continue to work on right now. There’s still, as you point out, much improvement to be made, butwe are very much focused on understanding how we’re doing sothat we can get through this even better.

Follow-up, dillon?

Reporter:

and Prime Minister, I wanted to talk about police forces under provincial jurisdiction. The Winnipeg police have shot and killed three indigenous people in recent months. They were filmed last week kicking a man while he was held down. Your Minister said he’s revolted by these incidents, but little has changed over two decades in Winnipeg, and he said that your government needs to lead the way in com batting what he calls police brutality. So I’m wondering what action you’ll take beyond the RCMP and if you’ll be pressing premier pallister on this in your call this evening.

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Last week and certainly again tonight we will be talking about our shared responsibility over various police services across this country and the need to address systemic racism that exists in all of our institutions, including all of our police forces. That’s why I know that it can’t just be a federal issue, although there is plenty for us to do at the federal side. We do need to work with all partners on this. This is why we’re going to continue to talk not just about making strong statements about committing to fight systemic discrimination within our jurisdictions, but we’re also going to be talking about concrete actions that need to betaken at different levels of government right across the country in order to make sure that racialized Canadians and indigenous Canadians don’t continue to suffer the kind of daily lived reality of discrimination that is all too common. [voice of interpreter]tonight, once again, I will be speaking to the premiers of systemic discrimination and our collective responsibility for various levels of police services. and we’re going to be talking about making the necessary changes. Certainly the federal governmenthas a lot of work to do and manylevers we can use to improve things concretely, but we must work with the other levels of government, and that’s what we will do. Not just to commit to doing better but to develop concrete plans and actions that will allow us to improve the situation for Canadians facing discrimination on an almost daily basis. [ end of interpretation ]

Operator:

Thank you, Merci. Next question, “the globe and mail”. fine open.

Reporter:

Good morning, Prime Minister. Do you believe the RCMP disproportionately uses force against indigenous peoples? and if so, why?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

I think we’ve seen data that suggests that indigenous people are at greater risk of mistreatment or excessive force used by police services, including the RCMP, across the country. and that’s just a clear and vivid illustration of systemic racism, systemic discrimination that exists within our country and across a range of institutions. We need to work hard to address this, to change the protocols. I’ve had conversations with the commissioner of the RCMP on this. I know I’m going to be – have the opportunity to speak with provincial premiers tonight on what we can do in various police forces across this country. This is something we do need to address, and soon, and rapidly. [voice of interpreter]we recognize that this is a reality for racialized and indigenous Canadians to be more often the victims of aggression or injurious actions by the police. We must address this problem, which is a clear illustration ofsystemic discrimination and racism that exists within our institutions, and that’s why I AM having conversations with thecommissioner of the RCMP, but also with the premiers of the provinces, so that we can take concrete action to better serve and protect minority Canadians. [ end of interpretation ]

Follow-up, kristie?

Reporter:

and, Prime Minister, there are now calls for an independent investigation to be launched by your government of the RCMP’s conduct, including its use of force against indigenous peoples. is your government on board?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

As I’ve said many times, we are going to be taking a strong, bold, concrete actions to go at systemic discrimination in this country, and that includes measures within our justice system, measures around policing, but also measures around economic opportunity and community supports. There is a range of things that we need to do to counter systemic discrimination, the lived reality of far too many racialized and indigenous Canadians who suffer every single day. We need to do much more, and that’s why we are working with them to establish rapidly the concrete actions we’re going to move forward with shortly.

Thank you. We’ll take one more question on the phone. Operator?

Operator:

Thank you, Merci. [no interpretation][voice of interpreter]

Reporter:

Good morning, Mr. Trudeau. You will be speaking to the premiers this evening in particular about systemic racism. Mr. Legault in Quebec is refusing to acknowledge that there is systemic racism. Mr. Singh called a bloc M.P. a racist yesterday in the house, saying that refusing to acknowledge the existence of systemic racism is to be a racist. Do you agree with that?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Well, first of all I’m extremely disappointed that the bloc quÉbÉcois continues not to recognize and acknowledge that systemic racism exists in canadaright across the country in all our institutions. I think the first step is to recognize that there is a problem in order to be able to address it, and I do hope that the bloc and other organization sand levels of government will recognize that systemic discrimination and racism exist in order to be able better able to address it. Now with respect to what Mr. Singh said, it’s not up to me to say to a racialized Canadian that when – what to say or do when a question of racism arises. I think many Canadians are facing racism, and these are conversations that make people uncomfortable, of course, but they are conversations that have to happen if we want to move forward as a country. [ end of interpretation ]first of all, it is disappointing that the bloc quÉbÉcois continues to refuse toaccept that systemic discrimination, systemic racism exists within our country, in every part of our country, and in all our institutions, recognizing systemic discrimination is the important first step towards being able toaddress it and ensure better opportunities, outcomes and lived realities for racialized Canadians and indigenous Canadians particularly. In regards to what Mr. Singh said, it is not for me to criticize any canadian, particularly the only racializedleader in the house of commons, for making other people uncomfortable by calling them out for not recognizing systemicdiscrimination. I think we need to recognize that these conversations are going to make people uncomfortable, but it has been the lived reality of racialized and indigenous Canadians fort fartoo long, and we need to continue to move forward in a way that attempts to bring people together, but yes, we aregoing to make some people uneasywith recognizing things have to change. [voice of interpreter]

Follow-up?

Reporter:

Yes. Okay, so you’re disappointed that the bloc does not recognize the existence of racism in institutions, but what about franÇois legault?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Well, I think that right across this country there are different individuals who are at different stages in terms of recognizing that racism exists, but I think the conversations we’re having now and the strong voices that are being heard talking about the problems that are here and the need to find solutions will reassure us that we are moving in the right direction and that everyone can understand the work that is ahead of us and get down to it. [ end of interpretation ]I continue to meet people acrossthe country who struggle with the idea of systemic discrimination, but the sooner we recognize that it exists and that we need to move forward together, the more we listen to the lived reality of racialized Canadians, of indigenous Canadians, the more we understand the challenges that are being faced every single dayin our institutions in our country, the more we are going to be able to address them and improve our country and actuallybe more of the country that we all know we want to be in our hearts. [voice of interpreter]

Reporter:

Radio-Canada. Now even in countries where those tracing apps are used and are most popular, only 40% of people are using them, and that’s not enough for it to be helpful, says public health in those countries. Now British Columbia has droppedthis for privacy reasons. Why do you think that Canadians will be more interested in subscribing to that application and that we will not see the same failure as elsewhere?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Now in terms of the experiences with this type of app elsewhere in the world, I think they were based on a telephone app and the application had to remain active on the phone in order to work. Obviously that used much too much power from the battery. It was complicated to use, but this application is based on a change made by google and apple to their operational systems, which means you can download the application and forget all aboutit. You don’t need to do anything for the application to work. So if you test positive, anonymously a code will be developed that will make it clear to people who were in proximity to you that they have been exposed. You will receive an alert from someone if you were in proximity to someone who tested positive, and at that point you can call the public health department. So this is a very, very simple application. We drew lessons from what other people did around the world in that area, and we know that this type of simple and anonymous application that is entirely voluntary will be extremely powerful in terms of helping us to reopen the economy safely. [ end of interpretation ]over the past months we’ve seen a number of different applications put forward by various jurisdictions around theworld that, you’re right, didn’treally work all that well. Some of the challenges were thatthese applications needed to sitin the foreground of your phone and, therefore, drained batteries, and you had to work to keep them active quite regularly. In the past weeks, apple and google put out major upgrades totheir operating systems that allow this application to work in the background. So you don’t have to do anythingaround this application other than download it. If you test positive, they will plug in a code that alerts any phone that has been close to yours that you have now tested positive, and if you have a phone that alerts you that you may have been in proximity with someone who subsequently tested positive, can you just call public health, and they’ll work through the next steps that you have to do. It’s something you can just download and forget about, and because it’s completely anonymous, because it’s low maintenance, because it is completely respectful of your privacy, including – also including no location services or geotaging of any sort, peoplecan be confident that this is aneasy measure that they can have to continue to keep us all safe as we reopen, as we get more active. This is an approach that we are confident is going to make a bigdifference and Canadians can do this and forget about it. [voice of interpreter]

Reporter:

One of the concerns of people is privacy, so you say that the data will be protected, but I’m trying to understand where will that data be stored, will they be on safe servers, and has the privacy commissioner been involved in this decision, and how will you convince the other provinces that are reluctant to get on board with this?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Well, in terms of the application, there is three parts to this. First of all there’s the application itself which will Beau national application nah will be adjusted for each province that wants to use it so that people can receive information from local health authorities, but the application will be national in nature, and it will be usable right across the country, whether you’re in Ontario, British Columbia or a visitor in the country. It will continue to work. Second, the data bank will be held by the federal government, and it will contain only the anonymous codes associated with various phones. There is no personal informationstored, nothing that can identify you. It will just be a code that will be associated with a positive test or no positive test associated with that code. So the register will be controlled by Canadian digital services within the federal government, entirely safe and secure, and only in Canada. The third part is public health departments in every province and territory. Their responsibility will be that when a test happens, that the code is developed anonymously, saying that this phone is associated with a positive test. and then after that, if someone receives an alert, telling them that they could have been in contact with someone who has tested positive, then they will call public health and say “I think I may have been in contact with someone who has tested positive, what should I do now?” and the public health department will look after that person. So it’s completely anonymous, it’s entirely rigorous. Yes, we worked with the privacy commissioner on this. We worked with blackberry, with shopify to ensure that everything would be private and anonymous. and people will have confidence that this will be a very, very helpful tool in helping us to be more effective in contact tracing. [ end of interpretation ]I think the way to think about this app is actually in three different sections. One is the national app that everyone can download that will be customized for each province, but it will be one app that whether you download it and livein Ontario and travel to British Columbia ortravel to the Northwest Territories, if that becomes an option, it will work everywhere across the country. So it’s one app for all Canadians, and there are over 30million smartphones that could take this app in Canada, so we can talk about a significant portion of the canadian population that could be protected by this app that you can download and then forget about. The second part of it is, obviously, the national database. There will be a database of randomized codes associated witheach smartphone that has this app that will be divided into two columns, those who may have tested positive, those who have not tested positive. So if your phone gets in proximity for a certain amount of time at a certain closeness to another phone, it will register that it has had contactwith that anonymised number. Not a phone number, but an anonymised identifier for the app. a few days later, if that personyou were in proximity with tested positive, you will get a notification to reach out to your local health services. So the third part of that app isthe local, provincial or territorial health services thatwill ensure that when someone tests positive and they have theapp the app is notified that that random number associated with your phone goes into the red column. On top of that, if you are notified that you were over the past few days in proximity with someone who then tested positive, you will be encouragedto call your local health authorities to say I think I – I just got an alert that I was in proximity with someone who looks like they just tested positive, what do I do, and the local health authority will walkyou through that. and it’s completely separate from the app at that point. It’s the same thing as if you realize that your grocer that you just had a conversation with, you know, two days ago suddenly tested positive and youshould probably call your local health authorities. So it’s an extra tool that helpspeople move forward with confidence that we’re going to be able to track and trace more of the exposure or the potentialsharing of the COVID-19 virus around the country. It is an extra layer of protection that goes on top of everything else that we’re already doing, and that’s why we’re encouraging people to download the app once it becomesavailable in early July.

Reporter:

Tom Perry, CBC. is there a level that you’re trying to hit in terms of the number of people downloading theapp? and if you don’t reach that level, is there a plan b?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

I think any amount of people that download it will be useful for that person and for society. But it’s certain that if we can talk about 50% uptake, for example, or more, then it becomes extraordinarily useful, not just for having people know that, oh, okay, they were in proximity with someone who then tested positive so they should reach out to public health, but it will actually allow us to have a better sense of when there are spikes or resurgences of a virus in a particular area or not because more people will be getting that notification and calling their local public health authorities. So any level of uptake would be useful, but because it is such simple procedure, you download it for free, you leave it in the back of your phone and you forget about it until suddenly it tells you, oh, you may have been in proximity with someone who has since tested positive, reach out to your public health authority, it’s something that we expect that a lot of Canadians are going to realize here is a tangible thing they can do to keep us safe as we – safer as we move forward in the reopening. [voice of interpreter]of course this is a tool that will be more useful if a lot of people decide to download the app. If we get over 50%, it could really have a transforming effect, but even if there are only a few people that do it, itwill be a tool, an additional tool that will help us to carry out contact tracing. The fact is it’s so easy, you just have to download the app and then forget about it. The application will then completely anonymously alert youand to tell you you may have been in contact with someone whotested positive for the virus. At that point, you can call the public health authorities to askthem what you should do, and so it has so many benefits for the individual and for society as a whole, without any downside, because it’s anonymous. There are no location services or geographic services used. It’s completely within the control of the user and it’s completely secure. So we are expecting a lot of Canadians to want to do their part very simply because if there is a new outbreak of COVID-19 in one location, very quickly with people who are receiving an alert right away that they may have been in contact with someone who tested positive, then they can take action. [ end of interpretation ]

Reporter:

is there a plan b? and I mean, how much more complicated does that make contact tracing?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Contact tracing as it is right now is being done with hundreds and even thousands of people across the country who are doing it manually, and that will continue. What this app provides is an extra layer of effort that is removed. If someone has the app and is notified by the app that the person they contacted with or the person they sat next to in acafÉ subsequently tested positive, that prevents that person in the cafÉ from having to explain, well, I was in the cafÉ at this particular time and, you know, I think Jim from down the street was sitting next to me, maybe you should call them to tell them that they might have been exposed to me. The app does that automatically, so it is a layer of additional effort, but it is in addition to all the contact tracing that we are doing right now, all the control we’re having. It adds to our capacities in a very useful way if there is strong uptake, but what we are doing as it is continues.

Reporter:

Kevin Gallagher with CTV national news. I just want to go back to yesterday in the house, Prime Minister. I want to ask you: do you think that Alan therrien with the bloc quÉbÉcois was racist by voting against the motion from NDP leader jag meet Singh that there’s systemic racism in the RCMP?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

I think it remains problematic that the bloc quÉbÉcois refuses to recognize systemic racism in the RCMP and in this country. The first step is recognizing that there is a problem so that we can address it, and it is unfortunate that they continue to resist recognizing the lived reality of millions of canadianswho are indigenous or racialized.

Reporter:

But you won’t comment on your opinion on what you think that action means? do you think that that action in the house, by purposely voting against the motion, do you think by that in itself this is what Mr. Singh is alleging, of course, that that in itself is racist?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

First of all, that’s something for the bloc quÉbÉcois members themselves to explain why they continue to resist recognizing the lived reality of far too many people that systemic discrimination does exist in this country. Secondly, in regards to Mr. Singh, I think it is important that we recognize thatracialized Canadians whose lived reality is discrimination and microaggression all too often, you know, have – are allowed to make people uncomfortable in bringing out these issues. I think it’s important that we recognize when the only racialized leader in the house of commons, you know, makes a statement like that, that it comes from a place that, yes, will make people uncomfortable, but needs to be dealt with as we move forward as a country. [voice of interpreter]I think it’s up to the bloc quÉbÉcois to explain why they donot believe that that lived reality of millions of canadianswho face racism and discrimination does not exist. Systemic racism and discrimination, why they believeit does not exist. There are Canadians of diverse origins, such as the leader of the NDP who face discriminationand know that discrimination exists in Canada and who may saythings that make some people uncomfortable, but that is part of the process through which we can move forward in order to understand there is a problem and start to tackle it together. and I hope the bloc quÉbÉcois will understand that we must work together on this in order to address the injurious effectsof systemic racism. [ end of interpretation ]

Reporter:

I want to go back to the app that you just announced, and you said that the privacy RF Canadians will be fully expected. I’m wondering whether or not the privacy commissioner has been involved with this new app, and if he has not, will they be? and also, do you have buy-in from all the provinces?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

The privacy commissioner has been worked with on this app, it is extremely important that we make sure that Canadians’ privacy is protected, not just for their sake but because we know that uptake of this app won’t be there if people are worried for their privacy. That’s why it functions entirely on an anonymised basis. There is no identifiers of your phone, of your number, of your identity, of your address, or even of your location that is any part of this app. a random code associated with your phone will be held in a secure national database that will be consulted by the apps across the country to see whether that randomized code has tested positive for COVID-19 or not. If it has tested positive, your phone will tell you that, oh, you have been in proximity with someone who subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, so you should probably call your local health authority. That’s what it is. It’s super simple. It’s super secure, and we’ve worked very, very carefully to ensure that it is that way. It will be available as of the beginning of July right across the country. The app is there. The national database of anonymised data is there to be consulted by the app right across the country. The third part of the app is integration into the local public health services so that when someone has tested positive, that the app is notified that they are tested positive. That requires working with the provinces on that. We have a number of provinces already moved forward on that, but even if you’re visiting a province that does not have the app, you can still make sure that you’re being protected because people who have the app in that province, even if their public health authority hasn’t signed on to it but who are in contact with someone from Ontario who then goes back to Ontario and tests positive, they’ll be notified that they has been exposed to someone who had the app. Obviously it will work better once all provinces and territories are part of it, because what we’ve seen from other jurisdictions is when you can have one clear extremely simple download and forget about it app that is totally secure and completely anonymised and yet an extremely effective tool to continue in a safe reopening of our economy, the uptake will be quite high right across the country. [voice of interpreter]this application will be available right across Canada starting on July 1. The national registry or the national data bank of anonymiseddata associated with each phone will be in place, but we need the provinces to work with us sothat public health officials canregister a unique anonymous codefor someone who tested positive in order for the people that person has been in contact with to receive an alert telling themthey have to speak to their local public health authorities. Now even if you’re in a provincewhere they have not taken the step of ensuring public health notification, if someone is visiting from Ontario, for example, and you both have the application and proximity has been established, when that person returns to Ontario and tests positive and the application sends a notification, even if that province that doesn’t have that system, you will be notified that you may have been in contact with someone who tested positive. So this is a tool that works much better when all the provinces and territories are part of the system, but even if your province or territory does not have it yet, once it starts it will be useful to have and we do expect that Canadians right across the country will get on board, as well as provinces and territories when they see that it is a simple system that can help them to protect their own citizens. [ end of interpretation ]

Reporter:

Over 100, 000 people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and there is still discrepancies across the country, even within communities, as to where and when you wear a mask. I’m wondering whether or not your government has any regrets that we didn’t ask Canadians to wear masks sooner. As we head into a possible second wave, what more can you do to encourage people to wear masks when they go out?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

I think in the first months of this COVID-19 pandemic crisis we were very strongly encouraging people to stay home, to not go out and to keep very rigidly socially distanced when they did go out for groceries or for whatever reasons they had to go out for. We were concerned, I think public health authorities were concerned that masks could give a false sense of security that might not arrest the spread of COVID-19 as effectively as being properly isolated actually did. But now as people are re-engaging in society, as we have succeeded in flattening thecurve, there is more opportunityfor people to go out and wear a mask as they do. I think we need to remember thatmasks do not protect you as muchas staying home would or as keeping a full two metres distance from each other, but itis an additional measure that wesee more and more Canadians using right across the country in order to keep them safe and to keep their loved ones safe. [voice of interpreter]I believe that when the pandemicstarted the priority was to keeppeople home because the best wayof preventing the virus from spreading was, in fact, to keep people at home and to make sure they didn’t go out unless it wasabsolutely necessary. So the idea that wearing a mask could give people a false sense of security or protection was definitely a concern for many people in public health. But now that we have succeeded in flattening the curve in a significant manner right across the country, in most locations, and we’re starting to reopen theeconomy locally and regionally and people are starting to return to work, we realize that the best way of preventing the spread is to stay at home and practice physical distancing, but at the same time it is recommended to wear a mask if you are going to be close to people, because that can continue to limit the spread of COVID-19 without making you invulnerable, of course, so thathas to be kept in mind. I know that we’re seeing a lot more people now who are wearing masks when they are going into public or when they are next to others, and they may keep their mask in their pocket and put it on when they go into a store, but it’s up to people to do this, and this is the kind of behaviour that will help us to fight COVID-19. Thank you all very much. [ end of interpretation ]