News after the Speech

Rosemary:

The Prime Minister of Canada on this Wednesday, giving always number of bits of news there and mainly, as David Cochrane reported earlier, that there will be not an economic update. He is not using that word. He is using fiscal snapshot which seem to be something quite more limited than what an economic update will be. But it will be done inside the house of commons on July 8. I’ll bring back Vassy and David to talk about that and more. Vassy, is very – I think that is done very specifically, so that we don’t have certain expectations around what we’re going to get July 8. That it’s not going to be as complete as an economic update would be.

Vassy:

Yeah. The Prime Minister was pretty specific and even in his terminology and I think that’s why prior to the announcement this morning, I was getting all of these signals from the government that the opposition probably won’t be satisfied with what they announced today and it wasn’t a full 180 from what they had telegraphed earlier when they were insisting that I was way too uncertain to do a fiscal update so they’re calling it a fiscal snapshot instead and the Prime Minister’s exclamation for that obviously involved around the uncertainty and fluidity right now. But he said that there would be some projections, a few projections, I think was exactly what he said going a number of months out. But certainly nothing that goes into a number of years out. I AM anticipating that that will not satisfy the opposition who were looking. I don’t think necessarily – it depends on which party you’re asking for, looking for uncertainty three years from now, what’s going to happen. But a little bit of a plan as to how this government is thinking about what they’re going to do after this is all over or through the mid point of how this all works out. I think what I took from what the Prime Minister said was that from his view, that was not possible. Because, again, of that uncertainty. But what we would see instead was a sort of [inaudible] – totality of everything they’ve done so far. We know what programmes, the CERB, the wage subsidy, all of those things. How much have those cost so far and how much do they anticipate they will end up costing and then, you know, what that looks like a few months from now. The one thing that maybe we can garner from that information when it comes out, I think a lot of people are interested to see what happens beyond the summer in particular and that is because yesterday the government announced the CERB will continue for an extra two months and the wage subsidy they announced earlier will extend again. We don’t have an indication for many of these programmes what happens after or what happens into the fall. and obviously we’re all sitting around wondering if there is going to be a second wave and how that might affect the economy and the re-opening process and all of that. So, if, in fact, this update – this snap shot, I should call it, sorry, does give us an indication and does tell us that they are not planning to continue the CERB dwlaonlds or not going to continue with the wage subsidy or they’re going to reduce the amount of money they think it will cost. That means that the programme might be amended or that’s what they’re thinking. That would at least I think provide parliamentarians and Canadians with an idea of where the government thinks their aid packages are going. But short of that, I think generally those who are calling for more robust transparency on these financial issues might be left a bit wanting by what the Prime Minister said today.

Rosemary:

and fiscal snapshot, so Canadians know, that is not a common phrase around these parts. This is obviously something the government has come up with in order to describe what it is doing so that people don’t think that they’re going to get as complete a picture as they would if it wasn’t a budget or an economic update. I would also point out that July 8, I think parliament is sitting July 7 if I’m not mistaken, so their COVID-19 committee, you can correct me if I’m wrong either of you. But July 8, I’m not sure a lot of Canadian will be sitting around the TV waiting for this fiscal picture, either. I’m not sure – I guess I’m just not sure how much transparency is going to be there, given that that is sort of, you know, the beginning of summer. People have – are focused on other things. and I would imagine that there could potentially be some criticism there as well, David.

David:

As a guy who leads our coverage on the fiscal update every year, I’m not sure a lot of Canadians are sitting around waiting for fiscal update in normal times. This is going to be less than a fiscal statement and a fiscal selfie. I’m not sure what the fiscal snapshot is. They do want us to have some expectation and they do want those expectations to be pretty low. It sown like this is going to be a summary document simply compiling what they spent so far and from the language the Prime Minister has used, I can’t see a projection going out more than, say, three to six months based on what he’s saying here. To give people an idea of what is in a fiscal update every year, you see one year projection, three-year projections, five-year projection and all of those have the caveat of volatility because you had, for example, in the last one we had some civil unrest happening in europe. You know t yellow vest movement was taking place. and slowing growth in china and there’s trade uncertainty with the United States. a gradual economic dampening around the e. U. caused by brexit. All of these things throw significant volatility into the projections, but they still try to give you those horizons because they are a little bit more predictable in some ways than what we’re dealing with now which is a service-led recession which we’ve never seen. The pandemic packed on top of it combined with a slielgly recovering oil shock. So, the volatility is nothing like we’ve ever seen. The uncertainty is like nothing we’ve ever seen. So, the Prime Minister and finance Minister who’s now tweeted about it, essentially telling us we’ll get a fiscal update like nothing we’ve ever seen. and I think you’re right. I think the opposition is not going to be satisfied with this. I’m not sure there would be much beyond the full budget that would satisfy them. But you – there is the reality that if you did do a fully robust, traditional sort of fiscal statement and drop it into the house of commons on July 8, by August 8, it’s probably completely out of date. So this is a challenge here. I think it is good that they’ll do a summary so people can get a clear sense of where things are in this emergency phase as the Prime Minister describes it as we prepare to glide into our launch into this recovery phase and that lets you look at the toll of the emergency measures versus the deficit toll of the recovery measures and then sort of you can assess the efficacy of all of those and whether they worked or not and whether they’ve gone from being one-time deficits or maybe structural deficits, which is certainly the deep concern. I think we can also expect to see the borrowing, the interest rate bite from the borrowing, historic low interest rates. Something like that you want to see over a five-year horizon or 10-year horizon and the extra debt servicing cost of all this spending. This is going to be like the moulding ton COVID-19 projections. That people wanted it and when they got it, they realised just how imprecise it was. I get the sense it might be something like that coming next month.

Rosemary:

and Vassy and Phil have both sent me texts. It is July 8 that the house is expected to return.

David:

a Wednesday, I think.

Rosemary:

They will present this fiscal snapshot. I will point out for the Prime Minister to say that an economic update is highly unreliable and then to turn around today and say he was presenting an economic update probably wouldn’t be coherent so he had to come up with this fiscal snapshot.

David:

The other challenge, if I can add it, normally the fiscal update updates a full budget. So you have an economic document to build off.

Rosemary:

Sometimes it’s just a fall statement if there’s been an election, for instance. I’ll leave it there with both of you for now. and talk about another story that I know a lot of people actually have been waiting for because churches, mosques and synagogues, temples have started to re-open in places across the country. Some of you have already gone back to your faith-based practices and in Ontario, catholic churches are starting to welcome parishioners for public mass and it starts today. But it’s pretty much everything else. It’s not going to look quite the same as it did before. Cardinal thomas collins is the archbishop of toronto, the country’s largest catholic archdiocese and he join me now. Nice to see you.

Nice to see you.

Rosemary:

So, this has been difficult, I would imagine. Not just for you but for parishioners to not be in a common place together celebrating, praying, especially at a time when you might need that even more.

That’s very true. We could do something. We’ve been live streaming mass every day and, of course, mass has been celebrated individually by the priests every day. But it’s not to be able to be present is a very great sacrifice. and it’s also hard on us on our catholic tradition to not come to church to play for the yiek r*is and blessed sacrament. It has been a great sacrifice and I’m so glad this that this morning 7:30, I celebrated mass as I’ve been doing for the last 91 days, live stream, but there were people there as well. [laughter]oh, My. Not an empty church. There’s people.

Rosemary:

That is lovely for you. Tell me what it looked like then. Obviously I’m not sure it’s 7:30 on a Wednesday, but on a Sunday, is everyone is packed in the pews. It’s fairly busy. How will things be different now?

Well, it is – all the Church’s are video out into six-foot sections. You know, a marker every six feet and so on with lines on the floor. When we come up to receive communion, there is six-foot apart markers where you symptom and so on. So, there’s fewer people. The limit in Ontario is 30%. but if you divide any church into six-foot units, you are not going to get anywhere near even 30%. although some people, if it’s a family, they can sit together at one of the points. But if everyone is individual, they must lower. But they were there.

The coo» Kate these Raul seats about 1100 and there were about 100 people there spread out. It was so good to see.

Rosemary:

I bet it was. What about mask wearing and sanitizing your hand and things we have to do when we go out to other places. Are you doing that, too?

Absolutely. When people come into church, they sanitize their hands. When they’re in the church, they’re more than six feet apart. But when they come up to commune, since they’re going once place after another with someone that’s been before, they wear the mask. I celebrate the mass without a mask because it makes some sense but we’re more than 20 feet away from the people. When I went down to dribble the communion, I sanitize My hand and put on the mask and say “body of Christ” from six feet away and they say “amen” and give them communion and they step aside and take off part of the mask and receive communion. We have all of those things in place to be careful for one another.

Rosemary:

I didn’t think about communion and how complicated that might be. But it sounds like you have that figured out. Have you been talking to other faith leader in the community mosques or temples or what have you to see if they have to share best practices? have you all had any conversations like that?

The catholic church, all the bio medicals of Ontario put together an astonishing document. I’m amazed. I didn’t write it, but I’m amazed with medical advice. We put it on our website and everyone is free to adapt what they want from it. We have a shorter form and the key points that we use. We have videos and stuff of how to do that. Anyone who wants to borrow and use them, they’re most welcome. But I haven’t had direct conversations exempt that I was on a conference call like a video call with a bunch of various religious leaders sponsored by one of members of parliament. and so in that case, we also had Minister McNaughton who’s the liaison with the religious group. So, we had an interchange.

Rosemary:

Right. You did your first mass this morning at 7:30. You said they had about 100 people, which is pretty good for a 7:30 on a Wednesday during a pandemic, I must say. and you said it was nice to see them. What was your message to them after having not seen people face-to-face in so long and how did it feel for you?

Well, I didn’t speak directly about the pandemic, although after the mass for the last three months, we would bring the rosary for people who are suffering and we’d say a special prayer for pope Francis and people suffering in the pandemic. I just talked about the gospel and the first reading and I’ve been doing that for three months now. So it wasn’t specifically on that. But before giving commune I don’t think so er I give instruction on how to do it. and I must say I think it went fine. I didn’t notice any aberration or anything at all. Everyone was six feet apart.

Rosemary:

Good. and you felt good, too. I know that you are able to pray in private and don’t need a crowd, but it must have been – tell me how you felt seeing people there anyway.

It was so good. In a sense, the thing that got me excited was on Sunday, we were going in and for three days now we’ve had private prayer allowed in the church. But not a celebration mass. But I’ves been celebrating mass beforehand with the people live streaming and it was so much joy on Sunday . at the end of mass, I went down the aisle with the other priest, opened the gates of the cathedral and there was a small group of people that came for a private mass and said welcome home and we all walked in. and I swouz moved by that and then we had these three days of prayer and now starting mass with the big Sunday mass with many more people.

Rosemary:

Well, I know that you and other faith leaders right now are anxious to be back at work and anxious to see people there. I wish you well. Stay healthy. Stay two metres apart from everybody. Good luck on Sunday when there should be a good turnout, too. Appreciate it.

Thank you so much. Good bless.

Rosemary:

and to you. Church’s are opening today. But churches and mosques have opened up across the country and a lot of people were anxious for that to happen in Ontario as well. We’re coming up to the top of the hour, noon eastern here. This is CBC news network and we heard from the Prime Minister not long ago confirming that the government will, in fact, give a, quote, fiscal snapshot of the state of the economy since the pandemic struck on July 8 inside the house of commons. This is not, the Prime Minister made it clear, a full economic update. Instead, it will provide the spending to date, how we’re doing compared to other countries and perhaps give us some projections over the next couple of months. I should point out that in this city as well, the liberal government faces a confidence vote later today inside the house of commons and this around key government spending estimates that have to be approved inside the house of commons in order for that spending to go on in support of the NDP We believe that that vote will, indeed, pass. and there is another big vote happening, too, and this is for the government, certainly a lot at stake politically. But also for the entire nation. Canada at the united nations is hoping to gain a temporary seat on the u. N. security council. Voting is under way. T*z expected to wrap up a little bit later this afternoon. Canada is expected to cast its ballot later this hour. That is the united nations you’re seing there in new york. But because of the pandemic, voting is staggered to make sure everyone is keeping safe and far enough away from one another. There are two rotating seats there up for grabs. Not sure who that is voting or if they would tell us. Norway, ireland and Canada competing for those two seats right now and the Prime Minister was asked about that today as well. I have My colleagues with me, david and Vassy. Let’s talk about that u. N. bid. There is a fair bit riding on it for the Prime Minister. He’s made it very clear that regardless of the outcome, you know, the relationship will continue. His government will continue to be present in other multilateral organisations. But he was asked – I thought a very good question from glen mcgregor of CTV when he said lots of these votes that have come to tally are based on development money and peacekeepers. and we were talking about it in our earlier meeting today here in the bureau and murray brewster, we asked him how many peacekeepers do we have and it’s something like 20 right now. So if that is the weight that people put on this vote, it may not go that well for the government. But if it is other things like the Prime Minister positioned in Canada as this important voice on a multilateral platform and his personal relationships with leader, it might work out for Canada.

Vassy:

Yeah. It is interesting to try to figure out and determine, and it’s a secret ballot so probably we’ll never know. What various countries are using to assess or to make their determination about how they vote. Obviously this government, Norway and Ireland, have been making these pitches for the last two years. and you heard that through the Prime Minister’s twoeerses today. Amplifying for this so they can best tackle the situations like we’re in right now. The significant of these institutions in times the like this and Canada’s desire to amplify its own voice and amplify those institutions in turn. That seems to be the pitch, almost underscored by the pandemic right now, through the Prime Minister and through others who have been aiding in Canada’s lobbying efforts. I just don’t know if it will work. Ultimately those points that you made and Murray and to glen’s questions made are valid ones. We don’t have a large peacekeeping presence. There was some criticism around what we did contribute to the mission in Mali, for example. When it comes to foreign aid, Norway spends 1% of its g. D.p. Though Canada has promised to get to that number, which is an aspirational goal determined by a number of multilateral organisations. It’s not there right now. I think it is at .27 and it hasn’t increased all that much as a function of g. D.p. From the years prior and with the previous government. So, there are valid criticisms. It just depend on what people end up voting based on and also depends on how successful this sort of wooing campaign has been, which I mentioned yesterday, has certainly changed because of the pandemic. There was a virtual reception, not a real one. There’s a huge amount of different things that people or countries are considering. Justs from a technical point of view, we’re showing those votes being cast on all My conversations bethienl scenes and you can hear the copying with this with the Prime Minister. They don’t feel like they have a 100% grasp on how things will turn out. Even though you talked to all these people, the Prime Minister has had 60 conversations or more with other world leaders since the start of the pandemic about this. You try to figure out do you have their vote in they really do feel like it’s not 100% eith earth way. They anticipate that it will go to a second round because you need two thirds to squur a seat. Norway sdienlds of thought to be a frontrunner, but really nobody I talked to seemss to know how it is going to unfold.

Rosemary:

No, which isn’t at all surprising. They do their best to gauge. What did you have on last night? the Prime Minister –

Vassy:

Barbados. [laughter]

Rosemary:

So you have one locked down.

David:

1-0.

Rosemary:

and it will be Minister champagne who will cast Canada’s vote today and that happens between 12:30 and 1:00 so we’ll keep our eyes out for him when he pops up. He did go down to new York to help with this final push because the pandemic has changed the campaign a lot. Many people who believe the ambassador has been a significant strength to Canada, certainly. But it will come down to also, you know, what – where the world wants to sort of put some focus right now, whether they believe they need another north American ally, whether they want to see Europe have a bigger voice at the table. and, of course, when we last tried for this under Stephen Harper in 2010, we lost and I was at the time viewed to be fairly embarrassing for Canada. We lost to Portugal, a much smaller country with fewer resources and I don’t know if it is a vindication, but a win for Canada and a win for the government p.

David:

It’s interesting the challenge Canada faces because the rhetoric from Canada sometimes does not match its effort. The effort often lag behind the rhetoric. You go back as Canada as the big declaration around the time they started this whole bid to get the staoet on the united nations but then you see the lack of real meaningful growth in foreign aid in a substantive way to match the competitors are doing and slow to get going in the [inaudible] and it wasn’t at the level that they anticipated that they would do so there is that challenge t. Soaring rhetoric sounds great, right? you want to be this progressive voice. Canada has great regulation ships with most of them with the exception of china and they want to be this progressive voice at the table to bring Canada’s voice and Canada’s values to one of the premier arenas for multilateral initiatives. So, you have that and then as our colleagues are reporting, there’s a kind of crass level of campaigning that goes along with this, too. Canada gave people Celina Dion tickets. Ireland gave people u2 tickets. I don’t know if Norway gave people aha tickets. But it’s almost like a cam paint for the FIFO world cup or for the super bowl where you see like these sort of base-level gift packages that are kind of being done. It is an interesting thing of the personal relationship of the Prime Minister and personal brand of the Prime Minister whether that helps as well because he did have that rock star moment when he came to the stage in 2015 and seen as one of these next generation of progressive leaders globally. Whether Canada has lived up to all of that, and what it has done on the world stage to satisfy people – let’s face it – ireland and norway are meaningful contributors to the united nations in a very tough, competitive field for Canada to go up against. You know, I remember talking to a senior official who expressed regret that Canada had even done this because everything they did internationally was looked at through the lens of campaign on the seat of the security council.

Rosemary:

Yeah. Good to remember that Ireland and Norway are also progressive countries in line with much on Canada’s thinking so it shouldn’t be viewed as a rebuke certainly of Canada. But it would be a significant disappointment for government. Ok. The press conference is getting under way. Let’s go now to the deputy Prime Minister – oh, this is Teresa tam, chief public health officer. Including 8213 deaths and 61443 people or 62% have now recovered. Labs across Canada have test over 2, 216, 730 people for COVID-19 to date. Over the past week, an average of 36, 000 people were tested daily with just over 1% test positive. These numbers, again, change quickly and they are updated daily. Yesterday I it rated that COVID-19 is still with us so I’m starting today with My broken record about going out smart. What has brought to virus under control was our actions and it will take all of us continuing with physical distancing and good hygienic practices to maintain that control. This means physical distancing two metres from each other, even when outdoor, hand washing and cough etiquette everywhere and wearing a non medical mask or facial covering when COVID-19 is still active in your area. With the ups and downs of COVID-19 pandemic, it can sometimes seem like our emotions are on their own trajectory. From concern and cautious awareness to frustration and fatigue with a bit of hope thrown in here and there. Given the level of uncertainty, and changes in our lives over past past months, this range of emotions is to be expected. There have been losses that have caused grief and things we’ve prevailed against have given us hope. This is a lot to process. But it’s something that we’ve all been through together and sharing our experiences can help us work through loss and build on hope. On that note, today I want to highlight a new mental wellness campaign called take that step. It was launched this week by the wellness together Canada portal. It remind us that we can take steps every day to improve our mental well-being, especially during difficult time. The government of Canada fund add wellness Canada portal and offers a wide range of resources from information and self-assessment tools to the opportunity to chat with peer support workers and other mental health professionals. Resources are available for all ages, free of charge, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The wellness Canada portal reminds us that mental health is a journey, not destination. We all have different needs so whether you’re struggling with problem gnatic substance use or need help to manage stress, there are a range of immediate mental health and substance use supports as well as resources to motivate you on your wellness journey. It makes it that much easier to start your journey. So, take that step today. Thank you. Merci.

Ok. Thank you very much, Dr. Tam.

[Voice of Interpreter]:

Now for Dr. Njoop. Thank you. As usual, we begin with the latest updates on COVID-19. In Canada, there are now 99467 cases including 8213 deaths and 61443 people or 62% who have now recovered. Lab across Canada have tested the over 2, 216, 730 people for COVID-19 to date. Over the past week, an average of 36, 000 people were tested daily with just over 1% testing positive. These numbers change quickly and are updated daily in the eveningings on Canada. Ca/coronavirus. Later today, we reiterated that COVID-19 is still with us. So we started today with repeating howl – how to go out smart. These measures have allowed us to control the virus and we need to continue with physical distancing and good hygiene practices to maintain the control. This means physical distancing two metres from others, even when outdoors, hand washing and cough etiquette everywhere and wearing nonmedical mask or face covering where COVID-19 is still active and you can’t keep a two-metre distance from others. With the ups and downs of the COVID-19 pandemic, it can sometimes seem like our emotions are on their own trajectory from concern and cautious awareness and frustration and fatigue with a bit of hope here and there. There is a lot of information to digest and we’re all in the same boat, sharing our experience can help us to rebuild with hope. That said, today we would like to praenlt new mental wellness campaign. It is called take that step, which was launched this week by the wellness together Canada portal. The take that step campaign reminds us we can take steps every day to improve our well-beg, especially during difficult times. The government of Canada funded wellness portal offers a wide range of resources from information and self-assessment tools to the opportunity to chat with peer support worker and other mental health professionals. Resources are available for all ages, free of charge, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We all have different needs. and with this portal, you have access to a wide range of supports, mental health supports as well as resources to support you and motivate you on your wellness journey. Having a full range of resources that are really accessible online makes it easier to start your journey. Take that step today. Thank you.

Thank you, doctor. and now I will give the floor to Minister Anita annand.

Good afternoon. I will start today’s procurement update by acknowledging the hard work as many organisations and businesses across the country who are diligently ensuring that their bl*ishments are safe to re-open for customer and employees alike. Many of you built these organisations from scratch and now you must reconstruct them for very a very different world. Canadians across the country have done a tremendous job to flatten the curve and are now in a position to lay the foundations for an economic recovery.

[Voice of Interpreter]:

However, we must be cautious. The potential for outbreaks remain and the second wave could be just around the corner. For the doctors, nurses and front line health care workers, might have been continuing to be vigilant in procuring the vital supplies they need to keep themselves and all Canadians safe in the months and years ahead.

We are focused on ensuring that Canada is prepared when it comes to having enough personal protective equipment. As the demand for P.P.E. Around the world goes up, Canada is keeping up. Our strategy from the beginning has been to aggressively procure P.P.E. In a highly competitive global marketplace and to diversify our supply chains, especially by engaging domestic suppliers. a task that I have been pleased to work on with My colleague, nav Bains. Now for the deliveries update. Internationally, cargo flights of P.P.E. and other supplies don’t arrive daily. This past week, we received 11 more plane loads of supplies and our 70th cargo flight is on the way as we speak. 70 flights. This is an incredible effort. Since last week, we have also received four additional shipments by sea arriving in the port of vancouver, carrying more than half a million litres of hand sanitizer. Given the large volume of supplies ready to be shipped to Canada, transport by sea will become increasingly important over the next months.

[Voice of Interpreter]:

Here in Canada, we are receiving deliver is from Canadian companies every day. More and more, we are relying on the domestic production of some of our most vital supplies.

In the fact that Canadian companies are playing an imperative role in our pandemic response. While sustaining and creating jobs across the country at a time when Canada needs them most. Company such as fluid energy a calgary-based chemical and processing manufacturing firm was primarily focused on producing and developing environmentally chemical systems prior to COVID-19. Fluid energy has stepped up to produce 10 million litres of hand sanitizer for the federal government and Canadians at large. The company has already delivered five million litres and will be fulfilling the remainder of the order in the next few weeks. Canadian companies are doing their part and we are pursuing opportunities with more companies, including businesses by traditionally underrepresented groups. For example, a recent request for proposal aims to solicit interests specifically from indigenous led businesses that can help to provide 25 disposable nonmedical masks. We have had an encouraging response so far and we expect to award contracts in the coming weeks. On all fronts, we’re seeking more supplies as deliveries continue to arrive. Let me now provide you with an update on specific items in terms of deliveries. Gowns. This week, we received more than 600, 000 gowns, including from canadian manufacturers like logistic, unicor, yoga jean and samuelsson. This brings our total to 4.4 million received and 700, 000 made right here at home. Face shields. We now have more than 17 million received with most of these face shields made by canadian companies such as bauer, jacob and thompson, the canadian shield and sterling industries to name a few.

[Voice of Interpreter]:

Surgical masks, we received more than 100 million surgical masks to date with more on the way.

We also continue to receive approximately half a million n-95 respirators every month from 3m with many more arriving and being delivered. Canada has now distributed more than 3.1 million n-95 respirators to the province and territories. These are just a few examples of the P.P.E. We have coming in with a full list contained on our pspc website. We’re also taking action on more testing and tracking of the virus. To help us do just, that I’m pleased to announce that we have finalized a contract with abbott laboratories for 140, 000 serological test kits. These kits can detect presence of previous exposure to COVID-19 and will be used for research by the government of Canada’s immunity task force. These kits will play an important role in tracking how widely the virus has spread. Inflammation made available through these kits could also prove valuable in the estimation of potential immunity and vaul neshls in our populations. With restrictions easing across the country, we know that access to P.P.E. Will prove essential for all Canadians. Business owners are opening up their doors and organizes are gearing for employees to return safely to work. They want to know how to find the right P.P.E. To be able to function safely. With this concern in mind, we launched the supply hub last week. It is an internet-based flat form that blings together available resources for organisations buying or selling personal protective equipment and includes consumer information and questions to be asked prior to purchase. Since its launch in one week alone, people from across the country visited the supply hub platform nearly 33, 000 times. The president of the canadian trucking alliance called the hub an invaluable resource and said it will help his industry find what they need to keep everyone safe while we work through this pandemic. We know the need for sourcing P.P.E. is out there. and that is why we, at pspc continue to buy aggressively and why our government is taking action to ensure that Canadians have sufficient amounts of personal protective equipment. In closing – to the thousands and thousands of Canadians who have been able to return to their jobs, a key factor in driving economic recovery, thank you. I wish to once again acknowledge the health care workers as well on the frontlines keeping flayedians safe. This voice of appreciation cannot be said enough. You are the heros that have guided us through this pandemic and Canadians appreciate all that you do. Our government will continue to ensure that you have enough personal protective equipment now and into the future. We are pressing forward and will continue to do so. Thank you so much. Merci.beaucoup.

Ok. Thank you, Anita. Now the Minister for science and innovation, navdeep Bains.

Good afternoon, everyone. Over the past several months, our government has been doing whatever it takes to protect the health of Canadians and the Canadian economy. and I’ve been extremely proud of how communities across the country have responded as we navigate through this crisis.

[Voice of Interpreter]:

We all want to go back to work. We all want to be able to go to school and see our elders.

This is a call to action. Over 6400 companies have contacted us to offer their expertise and capacity t. Of 240e6z 400 companies, 700 have retooled the supply personal protective equipment.

[Voice of Interpreter]:

We acted quickly, we analyzed matters and made purchases.

We’ve developed testing and personal protective equipment capacity in Canada.

[Voice of Interpreter]:

We signed a contract with a Montreal company. This company will create magnetic reagents and this technology is essential for laboratory testing.

and Canadians have received an authorization from health Canada. This important step is another milestone in our made in Canada project. and it demonstrates that critical importance of securing domestic suspect mile of vital, life-saving equipment to fight COVID-19. We started by bringing together a coalition of canadian manufacturers to design and produce multiple made in Canada vent lays toer and now these firms are able to ramp up manufacturing with, to deliver on contracts that the government has established with each group for a combined of 20, 000 ventilator for these two specific companies. On masks, the national research council is working with dorma filtration to adapt their low-cost reusable n-95 mask production to meet the needs of canadian health care workers. Fro*ifrj french –

[Voice of Interpreter]:

I would like the highlight the work of our researcher and the work they do throughout our country. Canadian can be proud of them.

In 2018, the government invested the largest amount in Canada’s history toward fundamental science. That was a point of pride. and it is those researchers that we count on today and will continue to count on in the future. As a part of our continued effort in this endeavour, today I announced $492 million in funding by the natural sciences and engineering research council of Canada through its discovery, a research programme which will help over 2400 researchers across the country. There will be advances in the natural science and engineering and promise to unlock discover is that will address our world’s biggest challenges. and we’re proud to support the women and men making this happen. Too everyone who has been contributing to these efforts, our researchers, entrepreneurs, businesses both large and small, I want to express My sincere gratitude. Thank you very much for stepping up. It’s greatly appreciated and together we’ll move forward. Merci.beaucoup.

Ok. Thank you, Navy. I think we’re now ready to answer your questions.

Operator, over to you. Pray play thank you. Merci. If you have a question, please press star 1 on your telephone key pad.

[Voice of Interpreter]:

First question from radio-Canada. Yes, hello. We heard it is important to have proper screening strategies. What do you think of what’s happening in Quebec where there was a significant decrease in tests? does it concern you that there are not enough tests being done for us to have an idea of the situation? answer? thank you for the question, Dr. Njoo. Throughout Canada, we have a strategy that we agreed on with our colleagues in the provinces and territories. I believe that the strategy is on our website. We changed criteria for people who are symptomatic t. At the beginning of pandemic, provinces and territories. But that only people who were symptomatic with a cough or fever were worth the risk. But with experience, we have been able to notice that there are a wide range of symptoms and there are even people who are asymptomatic. So the criteria for screening has been increased in Quebec with any kind of symptom if one doesn’t feel well, headaches muscle ache and tell people to programmes see a doctor or go to a screening site. Secondly, with evidence and world experience, we know that asymptomatic people could contribute to the spread of the virus. In these circumstances, if there is a case in a long-term care facility, where the population is already vulnerable it might be a good idea to screen all of the other residents and staff in that facility. This is an approach that was well-implemented by all provinces and territories. and lastly, in some provinces, there are studies for an approach to offer screening for people who are asymptomatic. There are risks associated with screening people who are asymptomatic and there are benefits as well. But we will see the results of the pilot projects or these studies and as a special advisory committee, we talked about the preliminary results. Currently there are not a lot of positive results in the asymptomatic population. But we’ll keep following up on these results. I can’t necessarily talk about what’s going on in Quebec. It is important to look at your local immunologies. I think it would be a better question to ask Quebec what is going on in Quebec. Follow-up question? this is Dr. Tam. I would like to add more data. It’s the percentage of positive cases in Quebec, for the first time, the percentage of positive tests is under 3%. and the first time since the start of this pandemic.

Rosemary:

Ok. If you want to continue watching this briefing, you can do so at CBC. Ca/politics. Let’s go inside the west block now, the house of commons, where the COVID-19 committee is beginning questions. That was Andrew Scheer.

Prime Minister Trudeau:

[Voice of Interpreter]:

Who don’t understand that this is a global pandemic and this isn’t something that we can solve alone. It’s something we have to work on with the international community so the efforts I’ve been making for several months now and the conversations I’ve had with leader and through the investments I’ve made in safety, well we’re going to continue to work with the rest of the world to face these challenges and help Canadians to create a better world. Mr. Scheer?

Andrew Scheer:

He claims he’s been making phone calls. On June 11, the Prime Minister had a call with the sultan of Oman. Will he today condemn oman’s repeated arrest of anti-government protesters?

Hear, hear.

The right honorable premier.

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Mr. Eke spaoer, we continue to be engaged around the world on issues that matter to Canadian, whether it is defeating COVID-19, make investments or working with partners around the world to advance common causes. We’re going to continue to engage in the world because that is what Canadians expect.

Andrew Scheer:

But he won’t condemn that human rights abuse. On May 6, the Prime Minister had a phone call with the emir of Qatar. Will he condemn qatar’s use of slave labour to build a soccer stadium?

The right honorable Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Mr. Speaker, Canada has long been engaged in the world, including with people who we don’t always agree. But it is important to work together on issues where we do agree and make sure that we’re continuing to speak loudly and strong little for human rights which Canada always does.

Andrew Scheer:

He won’t condemn human rights abuses. He just calls them disagreements. Well, on June 11, the Prime Minister spoke with the president of Rwanda. Will the Prime Minister condemn the murder, frequent arrest, torture and imprisonment of opposition politician and investigative journalists, yes or no? [applause]

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Mr. Speaker, over the past months and indeed year, Canada has Rena gauged with Africa. We’ve worked with a number of strong African leaders on issues that matter to people. While at the same time, highlighting how our support and our working together can improve the situation around human rights right across the continent. We’ll continue to work with leaders across Africa.

Andrew Scheer:

That was a yes or no question. The Prime Minister can’t bring himself to criticize dictators and despots around the world who abuse human rights. and we know that he likes to fund NRA to curry favour with nations who are ideologically opposed to israel’s right to exist. Not only has NRA helped ha mas and provided educational materials that attacks jew just last year its leaders were found to have been involved with, quote, sexual misconduct, nepotism, retaliation, discrimination and other abuse of persons in authority to suppress dissent in order to achieve their personal objective. Why is the Prime Minister funding unra?

The right honorable Prime Minister. [applause]

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Mr. Speaker, we made the decision to restore funding to NRA because we know that working towards peace and prosperity in the middle east go hand in hand. We have brought in greater safeguard and greater can thability for NRA through our slo*fment in it. But we also know that creating a better opportunity and better support for people in the region is part of the path towards peace.

The – Mr. Scheer.

Andrew Scheer:

The Prime Minister’s record on foreign affairs has been a complete disaster. He surrendered to Donald trump, offering up concession after concession. He went to china to get a free trade deal and all he came home was a nickname from the communist party that is so offensive the speaker has ruled I can’t repeat it in this chamber. [laughter]his erratic behavior during the transpacific partnership talks andingered our allis in australia and japan and, of course, who can forget his disasterous trip to india. So, Mr. Speaker, which one of the –

Rosemary:

Ok. We’ll leave the house of commons and bring you the united nations where you can see franÇois Philippe champagne, he will be casting the votes on Canada’s behalf here. There are three votes. The graoefn box – or look for the purple box. That one right there. That is the vote on the non permanent members of the security council. Of course, that is what Canada is vying for. There are two seats up for grabs. Canada, Ireland and Norway competing for one of those seats. That is our foreign affairs Minister. I imagine we know how he is voting. Even though they’re secret ballots. This orange box here is the president of the general assembly and all three votes have been cast and now Canada has to way. There are 193 u. N. ambassadors who have to cast a vote today. You need to get two thirds. Assembly in order to win a seat. So, Canada just wand ed to mark that moment. We are expecting some results later today. But it could go to a second round and that is highly possible. Let’s go back now to the house of commons. That is the leader of the bloc quÉbÉcois asking some questions now of the Prime Minister.

[Voice of Interpreter]:

and sent a message. It tells how the government has been working for a certain time. In terms of the recent past, I have some questions. For example, while the Prime Minister PRO tends to be talking to the other premiers in Quebec tan provinces every Thursday and everything seems to be going well, premiers are saying that in terms of health transfers, things aren’t going well. The Prime Minister’s refusing to increase health transfers. His current attitude, what is it telling Quebec about health care transfers? the right honorable Prime Minister. I’d like to thank the leader of the bloc for working with us for many initiatives here in this house to help quebecers and all Canadians over the past three months. We passed four bills with various partners in this house, including the bloc, to deliver results for our seniors, for our young people and Canadian, we’ll don’t work. It done mean we’ll always agree on everything. Of course it is a parliament here, but we’ll continue to work together and I’d like to thank him for his cooperation.

Mr. Blanchet?

[Voice of Interpreter]:

is he joking? [laughter]there was nothing that had to do with My question. He kind of smiled. It’s funny. They don’t really answer your questions. At the beginning of this crisis, he transferred $500 million to provinces and the premiers wanted to talk about health transfer and he should be considering another 500 million transfers before health care transfers. What message does this send Quebec? well, we are talking about transfers. It is a priority for us all across the country. That is why our proposal of $14 billion includes health transfers that will help health care in the provinces and we’re going to continue to work nanld hand with premiers. During a pandemic, this is somewhat lackluster. The provinces are saying the same thing as him. This $14 billion has been denounced by the very provinces and Quebec because there is a systematic approach to encroach on provincial jurisdiction, including that of Quebec p. They’re saying they’re going to defend the interests of Canadians. But is that the message he is sending. The right honorable Prime Minister. Chair, all levels of government agree that we have to do everything we can to protect Canadians. Throughout this pandemic. To restart the economy, safely, across the country. We are supposing to help provinces with important measures for early child care centres so that people could go back to work. and with help for personal protective equipment and help for municipalities. This is all levels of government. We have to ensure the safety of canadian and that is why we’re working with the provinces and territories on this. Mr. Blanchet. He is not working with the province and territories. The Prime Minister says, listen, I have a legacy I want to step on your jurisdiction by using federal funds, which comes in the provinces. There is no agreement. There’s been no accord signed. This is clear interference. This is a series of proposals that shows a spirit of cooperation. It says what Quebec is asking for its province. and shut the door on us. and they thought that we would just vote with them. is that the Prime Minister’s meaning of cooperation? is that the message he is sending Quebec and quebecers? the right honorable Prime Minister. Mr. Chair, we understand completely that, for political reasons, the bloc always wants to show that the relation sh*ifms from the federal government and the provinces isn’t working. a lot of conversations are continuing with the province of Quebec. Positive discussions are under way and we’re working together to ensure the health and safety of owl Canadians and that is xangly what we’re doing. You won’t always agree. We’re having tangible conversations that will help Canadians by implementing measures to restart our parties safely. [applause]

Jagmeet Singh:

Families were weeks away from not putting government on the table before the government finally extended the benefit to help Canadians out. This should never have happened. Families should never have been worried about when they’re going get support weeks away from their support running out. What is the plan for August for families that may not be able to go back to work?

Right honorable Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the honorable leader of the NDP This should never have happened. We do not want to be finding ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic and yet, we are. and every step of the way, as a government, we have been responding to be there for Canadians, to help them, modifying, adjusting, expanding and extending in this case the Canada emergency response benefit for an additional eight weeks to ensure that Canadians are supported through this difficult time.

Jagmeet Singh:

Will the Prime Minister admit that the e. I. system is broken for most Canadians?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

One of thing this is pandemic has shown is we need to do better around vulnerable Canadian and what we can do right now to help people and we also need to look at the longer term, including –

Mr. Singh?

Jagmeet Singh:

Will the Prime Minister fix e. I. so it helps all Canadians in need?

Honorable Prime Minister?

Prime Minister Trudeau:

We’re always happy to move forward on improvements in our systems to help Canadian and that is something that we’re very much looking at –

Mr. Singh?

Jagmeet Singh:

[Voice of Interpreter]:

Will the Prime Minister enhance employment insurance so we can help all those in need? the right honorable Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Chair, our priority right now is helping people who need help immediately, enhancements and modifications to help more people.

Jagmeet Singh:

Canadians living with disabilities have been ignored throughout this pandemic. We’ve forced and pushed the government to commit to hemming Canadians living with disabilities almost two months ago. But still there is no help for them. When will Canadians living with disabilities get the hem they need.

The right honorable Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Mr. Eke spaoer, from the beginning of this pandemic, the Minister of Canadians with disabilities has worked with the community and worked to help out and we as a government have stepped up on helping many, many people. There is more to do, which is why we put forward legislation to send extra help to people with disabilities. Unfortunately, politic got in the way of that. We’ll continue to work on how to help people with disabilities.

Mr. Singh?

[inaudible].

[Voice of Interpreter]:

One moment. There is a point of order. Ms. La Roche?

[inaudible for the interpreter]

Let me see if everything is being translated.

[Voice of Interpreter]:

Can you hear me in french?

I AM to speak in English. Can you understand everything being translated? [laughter]ok. Perfect.

[Voice of Interpreter]:

Perfect. The problem has been solved. Thank you slfp. – thank you very much. Yes, it helps to speak the correct language. We’ll now proceed to Mr. Singh. Mr. Singh?

Jagmeet Singh:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. New democrats are repaired to offer legislation that helps all Canadians living with disabilities. We will support that legislation right away.

The right honorable Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Mr. Speaker, we brought forward such legislation last week. Unfortunately the conservatives denied unanimous consent to be able to move forward to help people with disabilities with an extra $600.

Back to Mr. Singh. Mr. Singh.

Jagmeet Singh:

It has been over two months and Canadians with disabilities need help right away and it is a matter of choices that this government is making in terms of who they’re choosing to hem and who they’re not helping. We just learned today what we’ve known for a while, that the wealthiest 1% of Canadians own as much as the bottom 40%. will the Prime Minister make a choice to make the super wealthy pay their fair share?

The right honorable Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Trudeau:

Mr. Speaker, since we came to office, we’ve moved forward on making the tax system fairer on ensuring that everyone pays their parts. The first things we did was raise taxes for the wealthiest 1% so we could lower them for the middle class and people working hard to join it. We’ll continue to focus on helping vulnerable Canadians in this pandemic and going forward.

Rosemary:

Ok. I think we’ll leave the rest of this. You can keep listening at CBC. Ca/politics. Important to note that question there from NDP Leader jagmeet singh around the disability top-ups that canadian were hoping to receive soon. I was par of the legislation that did not move forward last week but the government is still working on ways to get that to Canadians and we’ll don’t track that story. An important story, of course. I wanted to talk about something that you’ve probably seen across social media channels and other places over the past 24 hours. and it is the men who hemmed create and co-hosted the canadian health and fitness segment “body break “who decided to reveal some starling news in a youtube video, hal johnson says the series was started to combat racism. Take a listen.

You think that “body break “was started because of fitness. It wasn’t. It was started to combat racism. That was the number one reason that we started “body break,” Joanne and I. and I thought how can I change things? how can I make so it that we can all live, work and play together and it bone this attitude that white and black and Asian and persons with disabilities and male-female, we all can’t be together. So, I came up with this idea and the idea is body break.

Rosemary:

He tells the story that inspired that decision. He says it was started with a job offer. He was hired and then fired. and we’ve reached Hal Johnson today in oakville. What a pleasure to see you, Hal Johnson. Thank you for joining us.

Thank you very much for having me.

Rosemary:

So, why did you decide to share this story? because I mean, I guy up with “body break “as so many people did. It would never have occur ed to me, I would have never known that you started it because you essentially lost another job that you shouldn’t have lost.

Yeah. It was a series of things over the years that had occurred and I really had enough was enough and how can we change the landscape? how can we make it that we can all – that they live, work and play together. [theme music playing]so I just met joanne, really inspired the idea for the show. and that we could. So I talked to her, we put it together and we – and what we really want to show, what we wanted to do was really never talk about it. Just show that people can live together. Show that I’m black and joanne’s white. I’m black and irish and joanne’s german and italian. Don’t talk about it, just show it. When you watch our “body break “up sewedses and we started to put the old ones up on youtube, you’ll see that this is a lot of different nationalities in our episode and persons with disabilities and that is not by accident. Thinking that if we gave you a little bit of medicine, a little bit of – that you would be able to take it, ingest it and become better and understanding that we can so that having a black couple, a black and white people together, that would – that is normal. and we’re sharing on youtube all the comments from people saying that they grew up with us and thought it was normal, hal and jo, black and white person being together and that is really heartening.

Rosemary:

The story that you told, though, in the video dates back to 1988 when you wanted to be a sports reporter at tan and they hired you. and maybe you can just, for people who haven’t seen your whole video, tell them what happened after that.

Well, they hired me at 11:00 in the morning, just a lovely gentleman named jack hutchison. and he called me in tears at 2:00 and he said he can’t hire me because they already have another reporter, black reporter, his name is mark Jones who went on to ESPN. a great reporter down there. and they didn’t want to have two. The higher-ups didn’t want to have two black reporters at the same time. and so that afternoon, I went home and I actually told joanne about that and that it occurred and I wasn’t bitter or frustrate about that. I was disappointed. But I was always told by My parent and shown that, you know, there’s always a way. and as tough as it has been for me, it’s been a piece of cake compared to what they went through. So, people ask me how were you able to get through that? and I go, well, they got through a lot worse than I ever did. I had to go through. So, you know, just literally just suck it up and do it. [laughter]

Rosemary:

So, tsn, even though this happened in 1988 yesterday did issue an apology. I’ll read a little bit of it to our viewers. They say they apologize to you for the racism you experienced, a shameful part of our past and thank him for sharing his story as a reminder of racism in Canadian media that continues today. Did that mean anything? does that change anything for you, the fact that they recognized what had happened and they apologized for it?

To me, personally, they didn’t need to do it. I’m not a victim. I’m not bitter. Everything turned out Ok. and so I don’t have any ill-will toward tsn at all. Or CTV. I mean, they were fine. I think what it does do is it puts – I think their landscape of media is going to change. I think that hopefully the landscape of all the sweeps, they should realise you should have somebody at the table that is reflective of the community that you’re serving. I think having another perspective is certainly helpful.

Rosemary:

Do you think – would you have thought all those years ago that we would still be at this place? where there wasn’t enough representation in media, certainly, but in other place as well. Would you have hoped that things would have gotten further? would you have expected that to happen?

Well, I don’t know if it’s expected. Hoped, definitely. But, you know, things take a long time to change. Now the pandemic colliding with George Floyd and all of these other issues have changes happening really quick a lot quicker. and My dad who 50e8s – who’s 88 is more hopeful now than he’s ever been before. I think things are really going change and, you know, and I put this in quotations. As tough as it is in Canada, it’s much worse in the states and I lived in the states for 10 years and I – I think in Canada there is a lot of – there is prejudice, in the states there is racism. There’s hate. and it’s a very different country and, as I say, I lived there 10 years. I know what it’s about. When you cross that border, I’m relaxed. When I’m in the United States and I’m driving, I feel hunted. I do not feel that way when I’m in Canada.

Rosemary:

Wow. But you still see places for us to do work, obviously. Because there’s been a conversation as you know for the past couple of weeks about systemic racism and changes that need happen in this country, too.

Absolutely. I’ve done – I’ve been in literally hundreds of meetings with advertising agencies, companies and I rarely have seen – especially in p. R. agencies, and advertising agencies, people of colour. So if they’re advertising, if they’re promoting, how can they have a Senator – perspective? how can they understand? I said wouldn’t it be different having a black reporter talking to a black athlete. How is it different for a black athlete or a black vote in er a black reporter can ask that question and get them more information and so I think that bring a collective group of people to the table. and I think why not? but the why not is people don’t want to give up power and also when you hire people, you often hire people that look like you.

Rosemary:

I’ve run out of time but I have to tell you I’m such a fan girl and I love you and Joanne and say hi to her for me.

I will. and I’m a fan of yours, roseye,. [laughter]

Rosemary:

Hal Johnson. I’m rosemary Barton. This is no*in.

Andrew:

Hello, I’m Andrew nicholsful this is CBC news network. We’re watching two important votes today. One here at home and one at the united nations. Later today, the Prime Minister will face a confidence vote in the house of commons on the government spending package. and – this is the scene right now at the united nations. Canada is hoping far seat on the u. N. security council. Ambassadors are voting right now and we could get a result today or it could go into tomorrow. and this is a live shot of the Ontario legislature in Toronto. Premier Doug afford will have his regular COVID-19 update any moment now. We will bring that to you live. For several week, the Prime Minister said his government couldn’t provide an economic update because COVID-19 is causing so much economic uncertainty. Today, he changed his mind.

Prime Minister Trudeau’s I’ve consistently said that an economic and fiscal update would be unrealistic right now because it automatically includes projections for a year, three year, five years ahead of time, which quite frankly, we simply couldn’t make any responsible predictions about. However, every two weeks, over the past number of months, we have put forward all the information from finance to the finance committee, to parliamentarians, on the measures that we have moved forward on, to give very precise accounting on what we’ve done. We’ve continued to do that and, in a few weeks, we’ll gather all of that together, along with a sense of where we are, comparisons to where we are compared to other countries and, you know, some estimates on where we could be in the coming months. But this will not be an economic and fiscal update. It will be more of a snapshot or a portrait of where we are right now.

Andrew:

The cbc’s Karina roman has been following the developments from Ottawa. How does this differ from a fiscal update?

Reporter:

He couldn’t very well say it was a fiscal update when for weeks saying doing so would be an exercise in en. Invention and imagination. So he couldn’t call it a fiscal update. As well I should point out that a fiscal update for the most part usually updates the budget and we didn’t have a budget this year because, of course, I was canceled due to COVID-19.

Andrew:

All right. Thank you. We’ll leave you a little early to take you to Toronto where premier Doug ford is speaking. Let’s listen.

We left absolutely nothing on the table. Our heroic front line health care workers stepped up, thousands of businesses stepped up. We had an army of 14.5 million people who went above and beyond. Our front line res ponders put themselves in harm’s way each and every day to keep us safe. 4300 people put up their hand to help our seniors. Ontario businesses answered the call as well. We mobilized the manufacturing might of Ontario to support our health care heroes in the fight against COVID-19. Hundreds of businesses retooled their operations to make critical medical supplies and equipment. Thanks to their help, we’ve secured over 10, 000 ventilators for our stockpile. 123 million masks, four million face shields, 173 million surgical gloves and 21 million gowns. It was absolutely incredible. and I thank you. and when COVID-19 took a toll on people’s lively hoods, we acted quickly to provide relief for Ontario families and businesses. Our government immediately developed a $200 million social services relief fund to support food banks, shelters and those most in need. We put money back in the pockets of 1.5 million families by providing a one-time payment of $200 per child. We gave people a break on their hydro bills by providing a fixed off peak electricity rate 24/7 for families, small businesses and farms. We helped businesses stay afloat with a $10 billion relief package, including tax deferrals and wsib premium relief and we worked with our federal partners to set up a $900 million commercial rent relief programme to help small businesses through these difficult times. My friends, in three short months, we have made tremendous progress. and we’re not going to stop. We have to keep going. Because of that progress, because of our collective efforts, more businesses are opening their doors. More people are going back to work and taking home a paycheque again. and we all know all of Ontario will join them very soon. But we must remain on guard. My friends, make no mistake. Tough challenges lie ahead. But I’m confident team Ontario will come back and come back stronger than ever before. If we stick together, if we keep looking out for each other, we’ll chart a path to a strong and prosperous recovery. Thank you and god bless the people of Ontario. Now I’d like Minister elliott to say a few words. Thank you.

Thank you, premier. Good afternoon. To say that the last few months have been unprecedented would be an understatement. It has been a time defined by it disruption, not only to our health system and economy, but to the lives of every single Ontarian. Nearly five months after identifying our first confirmed case of COVID-19, and three months after declaring a state of emergency, there are unmistakable signs that were making real progress in our fight against this virus. For the fourth day in a row, Ontario reported fewer than 200 new cases of COVID-19. Ontario has added more devolved than new cases meaning fewer and fewer active cases in the province. In fact, since Tuesday of last week, there are over 1400 fewer active cases in Ontario. I.c. U. admission and patients on ventilators also continue to decline. Every day a clear majority of public health units will report fewer than five cases with many of them reporting no new cases at all. With Ontario continuing to lead the country in daily testing, our positivity rate remain at all-time lows. Our journey as a province has not been without loss. But, during these trying times, we’ve also seen the very best of our province. Retired nurses and doctors joining heroic frontline workers each of whom put themselves in harm’s way to keep our families safe. Businesses retooling production lines to help manufacture desperately needed suppliesand neighbours coming together to do what may seem like the simplest of gestures, banging pots and pans in the evening, but which serves as a daily reminder that here in Ontario, we always have each other’s backs. Because of this shared resolve, we are able to continue to safely re-open our province as each ofous adjust to ours new normal. As we do, more and more families are going back to work. Ontarians are safely enjoying each other’s company as they build their social circles. Scheduled surgeris are resuming, helping more ontarians receive the care they need and have waited for. and friends, family and caregivers are reuniting with loved ones in long-term care homes, retirement community, hospitals and residential care settings as visits resume under safe conditions. None of this would have been possible without the strengths and determination of all ontarians. Together, we will continue to stop the spread of COVID-19. We will beat this virus.

Ok. We’ll go to the phone lines for question. First question?

Operator:

First question from radio-Canada. Please go ahead.

Hi, Julia.

Reporter:

Hi, good afternoon, premier. We’ve come a long way in terms of testing in the province but we’ve been over 20, 000 every day for the last few days. After so many challenge, and what’s next? what’s next? is there a target as the economy re-opens and when do you want see more testing being done?

I’ll tell you. We ended up getting there. We changed the strategy. I know public health was working extremely hard and they max out. Because of those two folks and their teams, that’s the reason we’re able to reach over 20, 000 and I’m so proud of them. We tested over one million people now in Ontario. So congratulations. But we aren’t going to take our foot off the pedal. We’ll continue testing until we don’t need to any longer and hopefully that will come sooner than later.

Reporter:

and you talked about the fact that it has been three months since the declaration of the state of emergency. I was wondering what have you learned in those last month and how has it changed you as a leader?

Well, I think what we’ve learned, everyone has learned across the country that just amazing how the businesses stepped up, people stepped up, our front line emergency service folks, we just came together as a team and what I’ve learned and the people of Ontario and Canada learned is that when we’re all pulling in the same direction and all working together, depending on – doesn’t matter what political stripe, if you are from the green, orange or red or blue party, we need to work together. We didn’t play politics at the federal level. They did a great job. Municipalities didn’t. I just ask other people from other parties, be it opposition or not, work with us. It’s easy to sit back and, you know, fire shots. Buff it’s not worth it. People don’t want to see that. They want to see us all working together. and that is exactly what we’ves been doing.

Next question.

Operator:

Next question comes from Cynthia mulligan from citynews. Please go ahead. Hello, premier.

Reporter:

Hi. Listen, today doctors at the hospital for sick children released a report strongly recommending that kids go back to school in September. They say they’re losing sleep over the ramifications socially and mentally on children. But many are concerned that they’re not going to be protected and it doesn’t spread amongst children or they’re immuno-compromised. How can you protect educators when school does resume, presumably in September?

First of all, I want to thank sick children hospital, they are an incredible hospital. and I know we’ve been consulting with them. We’ll continue to consult with them. and other stakeholders and just praoernlt. So, thank you. I know Minister recce will be laying out a plan. I’m not going to risk anything that puts our kids in jeopardy. I’m just not going to do it. and now for the teachers. We’ll make sure we sit down with the unions and discuss a strategy to make sure they feel safe. Because they’re so important to our children and so important to the education system and I want to thank all the teachers out there who have done an incredible job through this pandemic with the online courses. and getting on there and teaching our kids as we went through this pandemic. But we’ll have that discussion with the unions and I want to thank them and never do anything to put our children at risk.

Reporter:

So, if a teacher is immuno-compromised or caring for a family member who’s immuno-compromised, how will they be protected?

Their jobs will be protected, just like everyone else has been protected and we’ll work with them and come up with a solution. Through their unions and through the ministry.

Next question.

Operator:

Next question comes from ch ch TV. Please go ahead.

Hi, premier.

Reporter:

In the last three month, there’s been many emergency regulations passed. Some of them are relatively progressive, like allowing alcohol delivery and takeout from restaurants, curbside pickup, cannabis from illegal marijuana stores and the creation of what is essentially virtual courtrooms. Are some of these regulations going to become permanent? and if so, which do you think would be a good idea to continue on after this thing is over?

Well, we’ve been pretty flexible. We wanted to make sure that companies could stay open and have the flexibility to deliver their products to the public. and that is snag we have to review, randy. a lot of it has worked extremely well. Things have changed. and I think we can do things a lot more efficiently moving forward and learn from the lessons over the last few months.

Reporter:

and also we see a lot of the civil service, civil service working from home. Can you see, you know, there’s benefits to that. In that there is not as many people on transit and on the roads. Can you see that continuing? that some of the civil service will continue to operate from their homes after this is over as opposed to going into offices?

That is a conversation I’ll have with the secretary of cabinet and sit down with him. and see when people can work at home. That’s great. There is another hole, randy. Another whole social aspect about going to work. Some people rely on going to work to meet their friends and their fellow team member and there is a whole other side this about the social aspect and interacting rather than sitting at home all day. You can start going squirrel working at home all day if you don’t have interactions with your co-workers. That is something that we’ll discuss with all the different ministries and with the private sector, too. I’ve heard both sides of the story on that.

Next question.

Operator:

Next question from CTV. Please go ahead.

Reporter:

Good afternoon, premier. I wanted to return to what sick kids is recommending for schools. One of the main recommendations that they will be able to re-open schools or schools can re-open in September for in-person learning s. That a recommendation that your government is going to accept, that schools will return in September?

We’ll listen to the experts. They are the experts. Our health team are the experts and I’m not going waiver from that. As long as the health care experts including the sick kids hospital, if they think the green light is good to go, then we’ll follow their lead and put in really stringent protocol and I know Minister recce will be rolling that out shortly.

Reporter:

I appreciate that. On the economic recovery, premier, we’ve seen in the two regions that are not re-opening, including toronto, the numbers are back up today, down yesterday. There is some fluctuation. The government has said there will be re-openings every Friday. is that firm or can toronto and peel open earlier than any given Friday?

Before I send it over to the Minister of health, I want to be clear that all 34 jurisdiction, even if we give them the green light, if they want to don’t keep the shops closed, that is going to be up to them. They know they have the powers to do that and we’re going take the advice of the chief medical officer and the health table. I just hope that we can open up as quickly as possible. I’ll pass it over to to the Minister.

We hope that they will be able to come back as quickly as possible. We’re looking at things on Mondays, making a decision about an opening on the following Friday so that businesses in certain areas will be ready to be able to do that. We give them as much notice as possible. But what happens is we get the data in for every day. We get the data in for on Sunday about 5:00 and then the data is reviewed by the chief medical officer of health and the other public health officials at the health command table and they made that determination as to what the rate of cases has been for that period up to and including the information that they receive on Sunday night and then they make the determination on the Monday about whether that can be opened up or an announcement made about it opening up for the subsequent Friday. So we’re going to continue to do that. It works well for the 10 groups that are going to be opening on Friday. and we’ll continue to do that with peel, Toronto and windsor-essex as well.

Next question?

Operator:

Next question from global news. Please go ahead.

Reporter:

Hi there, premier. 1794 seniors have died in long-term care and global recently did a report on the worst-hit homes and who runs them. Sienna has lost 295 resident and rivera has seen 230 deaths. The Ontario health coalition says it is irrefutable that for profit home t larger chains in particular, have a strong correlation of the highest death rates from COVID-19 in our province. Simple question – do you agree there is a correlation and do you think that these owners should be shielded from civil lawsuits?

Let me tell you that, Travis. We called an independent exhibition er as you know. The auditor general is calling an audit and so is the ombudsman along with the – foe bl police, the coroner’s office. But let me be very, very clear. I’m not supporting bad actors and not only that, I’m not even supporting bad actor, but holding these people accountable. When we get through this whole process and find out exactly what happened in these homes, there is going to be accountability. Accountability for the people who lost and accountability for the companies that let this happen because there is absolutely no excuse after that report from the military. Any human being, not to mention the most elderly and most frail and most vulnerable in society were treated the way they were treated. and they will be held accountable and I’m not protecting nil of those bad actors. So I’ll make myself very clear on that one.

Reporter:

Ok. Another issue. Some workers say they’ve been left out from the danger pay that many other essential workers are getting m. Are protesting on the lawn of queen’s park. What do you say to them and why don’t they deserve a bump up in pay like everyone else?

As far as I’m concerned, everyone deserves it. and we put 375, 000 people with a pandemic pay. They’re hero. They have done an incredible job. We spent every penny the feds have given us. and there’s just no more money left. Again, I wish I could pay everyone. I really do. We covered as many people, as many areas as possible and 375, 000 people, there are a lot of people and I’m sorry. These people are heroes as far as I’m concerned. They have done an incredible job and I wish we had the money to pay everyone.

Next question.

Operator:

Next question comes from Robert bencze from the Toronto star”. please go ahead.

Reporter:

Hi, premier. I wanted to ask you in that vein, on the last few days we’ve seen the grocery stores announce that they would not be paying the pandemic premium anymore and you spoke during the pandemic at the height of it how these folk were front line heroes and they deserved every penny that they were getting. Do you think that the grocery stores are making a mistake reducing this pay at this time? we’re not through the woods yet.

I can’t comment on the private sector. That is up to each and every company, every company is different. So that is going to be up to them. and I do think they’re heroes. We talk about all the heroes. Just imagine that the cash register clerk stood there day after day cashing everyone out and just imagine all the people they have been in contact with. They’re heroes. The res a lot of heroes throughout that have helped us through this.

Reporter:

and to follow-up. Today the government’s introducing legislation to ban evictions to help small businesses retroactive to May 1. Just wondering if you are having any second thoughts and maybe if you could do this again if you would have done it a little bit earlier because so many businesses, of course, have been hurt by the pandemic.

Well s we back dated it back – made it retroactive to May 1. and I was begging, trying to get the landlords and the tenants to work together and I kept telling the landlords, I rep coming out here numerous times, begging them to work with them and a lot of them didn’t want to work with them. So we did what we have to do and I don’t regret it. I have to protect the little business. Always.

Next question.

Operator:

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