OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Canadians to oppose loosening the guard that opposes COVID-19, as he and his closet introduced two days of closed-door meetings to talk about the pandemic and how to lead the country through a wave for now.
In recent weeks, there has been a resurgence of COVID-19 in Canada after a summer break, which Trudeau says is a reminder that Canada is “not yet out of danger. “
“We will have to remain vigilant,” he said Monday before launching the cabinet retreat in the construction of a Canada Global Affairs workplace in Ottawa. “The last thing anyone needs is to embark this fall on a lockout similar to this spring,” and how we can avoid this is staying alert. “
The retreat deserves to focus on the September 23 Throne Address, which Trudeau promised in the first place would provide an ambitious plan for a post-pandemic economic recovery, but the speech now deserves to focus more on the early challenge of overcoming the crisis. pandemic in progress without causing any worse economic havoc.
“We have to get this so we can communicate about the next steps,” Trudeau said Monday.
“So a big component of what we’re going to do at this retreat is communicating how we continue to keep COVID under control, to continue to make sure Canadians are safe, that we don’t overload our health care system. “
At the end of the opening day of the retreat, Health Minister Patty Hajdu said ministers had discussed scenarios about how the pandemic could spread this fall.
“One would be a slow combustion where you see those little potholes, peaks and valleys and paint very hard to extinguish those shoots. But the other situation can be a very serious fall and what we want to be is ready for any of those possible outcomes,” he said.
“At all times it is imaginable that the numbers will accumulate exponentially. It’s a stealth virus. It can infiltrate communities, families without problems and we have to take it seriously, we can’t let it go. “
Ministers heard presentations from Canada’s largest public doctor, Theresa Tam, and the co-chairs of two groups of federal brokers: one created to advise the government on measures for the progression of a COVID-19 vaccine and the other on Immunity against COVID-19.
While urgent and demanding pandemic situations will have to take precedence, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson argued that this does not mean that the government is abandoning its long-term goals, such as combating climate change.
“Canadians are involved in the pandemic and the government’s first priority has been and will continue to help others in this situation,” Wilkinson said during a brief break at ministerial meetings.
“I believe, however, that Canadians also expect us to think about how we are rebuilding to announce the resilience of the Canadian economy and Canadians in general in the future. This is partly due to the possible effects of climate change. future. “
Trudeau said the pandemic has “exposed the weaknesses of our country where other vulnerable people continue to fall through the cracks (but) our focus is a lot on what we want to do with COVID-19. “
Finally, the main points of longer-term stimulus measures are not expected until an economic stage later in the autumn.
The government assumes that the global fight opposed to the fatal coronavirus that motivates COVID-19 will continue for at least two years, and that the reconstruction of the economy will then be covered now.
The insiders, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it was not legal to talk about the factor publicly, have already known 3 priorities to be included in the Throne Address.
These are measures to protect the fitness of Canadians and avoid some other national blockade; The economy needed to keep Canadians afloat financially as the pandemic continues; and longer-term measures to, however, rebuild the economy.
In particular, liberals are expected to promise more investments in fitness care, adding long-term care homes as well as affordable housing and childcare for parents, especially women, to repaint and stay in paints.
The government has already invested billions in emergency assistance to help Canadians weather the pandemic. Treasury Board Chairman Jean-Yves Duclos on Monday defended the government’s plan to spend more, despite a projected deficit for this year of about $350 billion.
“We’ll have to keep investing in Canadians to avoid going from a recession to a depression,” he said, calling the strategy of caring for a disbeliever so he doesn’t turn into pneumonia.
This Canadian Press report was first published on September 14, 2020.