PM Trudeau Speech

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Good morning, everyone. I want to start by congratulating all of the new non-permanent members of the u. N. security council. I want to talk about our work onthe file. As Canadians know, we embarked on this journey four years ago now. We decided to throw our hat in the ring because we saw a uniqueopportunity to engage with our partners across the u. N., build sustainable peace, and make realprogress on issues that matter. and that’s what we’ve gotten to do during this campaign. We forged new partnerships. We strengthened existing friendships, and we laid a solidfoundation for an even greater collaboration in the future. and that’s never been more critical. Now more than ever global cooperation is crucial, not onlyto defeat the virus, but to address the great challenges of our time, challenges that transcend borders. Growing our economies, mitigating the impacts of climate change, building a lasting peace, advancing gender equality, protecting our citizens. We have to engage with partners to achieve these goals. Getting this seat was never an end in itself but rather a meansto an end, a means to ensure that our voice was heard and that our values upheld on the world stage. The bid was certainly one way toachieve this, but it’s far from the only way. Moving forward, Canadians can count on us to keep working withour partners to make progress internationally on issues that matter to them. [voice of interpreter]first of all I’d like to commendall the new non-permanent members of the united nations security council. Even though Canada is not part of that group, I would like to take a moment to talk about the work that we established in thatarea. As Canadians know, we have been working on this for four years. We decided to throw our hat in the ring because we saw it as a unique opportunity to collaborate with our partners inthe u. N. and to build a sustainable peace and make concrete progress on issues thatare important to Canada, and that’s exactly what we did during the campaign. We forged new partnerships, we strengthened our ties of friendship with various countries, and we laid the foundation for greater cooperation in future. and that has never been as important as it is now. Today, more than ever, global cooperation is critical, not only to defeat the virus, but also to meet the major challenges of our time, challenges that know no borders. We will be working with partners, and we must if we wantto fight climate change, bring in sustainable peace, advance gender equality and protect our own citizens. Securing a seat was never an endin itself but rather a way of getting to our goals, a way of ensuring that our voice would beheard and our values would be upheld on the global stage. Sitting on the u. N. security council was one way of doing that, but it’s not the only way. Canadians can always rely on us to continue to work with our partners to advance the issues of importance to us. [ end of interpretation ]across the country we’re starting to reopen parts of the economy, and that’s welcome newsfor everyone, but as we start loosening some restrictions, we also have to strengthen other measures so that we don’t lose the progress we’ve made. Some people start – as some people start heading back to work, testing and contact tracing is crucial. That’s why we’ve been working with the provinces and territories to ensure that they have everything they need to keep people safe and healthy. and today we’re taking an important step forward toward containing the virus and safely re-starting the economy. Led by the canadian digital service, and with the help of shopify, blackberry and the government of Ontario, we have been working on a nationwide mobile app that will notify users if they’ve been exposed tocovid-19. We will soon begin testing this app in Ontario. There are already a number of other provinces, including British Columbia, who are working with us on this, but it will be available to everyone in the coming weeks. Premier ford will have more to say on how the app will work in Ontario later today, but I want to thank him and his government for their leadership and partnership. Now I want to stress that this app will be completely voluntary. It will be up to individual Canadians to decide whether to download the app or not, but theapp will be most effective when as many people as possible have it. Here’s how it’s gonna work. If you test positive for COVID-19, a health care professional will help you upload your status anonymously to a national network. Other users who have the app andhave been in proximity to you will then be alerted that they have been exposed to someone who’s tested positive. The notification will encourage them to reach out to their localpublic health authorities. At no time will personal information be collected or shared, and no location serviceswill be used. The privacy of Canadians will befully respected. [voice of interpreter]today we are moving forward witha view to containing the virus and safely reopening the economy. Led by canadian digital service in cooperation with shopify, blackberry and the government ofontario, we are developing a mobile application to be used all across Canada that will inform users if they have been exposed to COVID-19. Soon we will be testing that application in Ontario. a number of provinces, includingbritish columbia, are already working with us, and the application will be available right across the country in the coming days. This application will be fully voluntary, not mandatory, but itwill be more efficient if it is downloaded by as many people as possible. Now this is how it’s going to work. If you receive a positive COVID-19 test, a health care professional will help you upload your status anonymously to a national network. Other users who have the application and have been in proximity to you will be alertedto the fact that they have been exposed to someone who tested positive. That alert will encourage them to contact their local public health authorities. No personal information will be either collected or shared, and no location services will be used. Canadians’ privacy will be respected at all times. For a number of weeks now we have started to reopen certain segments of the economy, but therecovery is presenting certain challenges for some sectors. I’m thinking in particular of the cultural industry. Since the beginning of this crisis, our government has been there for artists, creators and the people who work in that industry. The Canada council for the arts believes that the cultural industry has received all in allmore than $2.5 billion, particularly through programs such as the emergency wage subsidy and the response benefit. We granted $500 to that industryto help our artists and rising stars in the sports area to get the support they need, and we are starting up a portal today that will be open. Now any organizations that want to have funding can now apply onthe government site. We are making significant progress, but we also know there’s still a great deal to bedone. In recent months our museums have seen losses, major losses of revenues, which is threatening the jobs of a lot ofpeople. So our government decided to make a new investment of $25.7 million to maintain almost 200 jobs in seven museums, national museums across the country. Our museums tell our stories, pay tribute to our artists and enrich our communities. The people who work in those institutions preserve our canadian heritage. They allow us to learn about ourpast and to discover the people who have marked our country. [ end of interpretation ]since the beginning of this crisis, our government has been closely monitoring the spread ofthe virus, its impacts on our economy and making the right adjustments along the way. We’re going to keep listening tocanadians and look for other ways to support them as the situation evolves. I’m happy now to take your questions.

Thank you, Prime Minister. We’ll now go to the phones first for questions. One question, one follow-up. Over to you, operator.