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#Canada; #COVID19Pandemic; #CriticalMedicalSupplies; #CanadianCompanies Ottawa, Mar 31 (Canadian-Media): It was announced today by Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that a deal has been signed with three Canadian companies — Thornhill Medical, Medicom and Spartan Bioscience — to make critical medical supplies, including ventilators, surgical masks, test kits and other items, media reports said.  Justin Trudeau. Image credit: Official website Millions of masks and thousands of ventilators to cope with the country's rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 cases and is optimistic that they will be available in the coming weeks. Trudeau said Ottawa also has signed letters of intent with five other companies — Precision Biomonitoring, Fluid Energy Group, Irving Oil, Calko Group and Stanfield's — for critical supplies like hand sanitizer, tests and gowns. "The entire world is trying to get its hands on the various equipment needed to fight this virus. That is why we know that it will be important to have made-in-Canada solutions," he told reporters. $2 billion is being allocated by the government, Trudeau said, to buy protective personal equipment in part through bulk purchases with the provinces and territories. The federal government had announcement on March 20 its intention to provide monetary support to manufacturers to retool their assembly lines to make ventilators, masks and other personal protective gear to help those already making such products. The response to this was met with close to 3,000 companies agreeing to offer their help. It was also announced earlier this month, by International Trade Minister Mary Ng, government's decision to temporarily eliminate tariffs and taxes on all goods imported by public health authorities.
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COVID19 affected businesses with 30% drop in revenue to be eligible for 75% wage subsidies: Trudeau3/30/2020 #CanadaOffersWageSubsidy; #COVID19; #CFIB; #CanadianTaxpayersFederation; #BusinessCouncilOfCanada Ottawa, Mar 30 (Canadian-Media): An announcement was made today by Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that all businesses and non-profit organizations seeing a drop of at least 30 percent in revenue due to COVID-19 will qualify for the government's 75 percent wage subsidy program, media reports said.  Justin Trudeau. Image credit: Official website During the daily media briefing outside his residence at Rideau Cottage, Trudeau said the wage subsidies will be retroactive to March 15, 2020. He also said the number of people employed by a business will not determine its eligibility and that charities and companies big and small will qualify, he said. Canada's Finance Minister Bill Morneau will provide more details of the program on Mar 31. Trudeau also said that the operation of this program should be in good faith and trust and there will be measures in place to prevent exploitation and warned of "serious consequences" for anyone abusing it from society and the government. "We stand ready to support government with any retroactive measures needed to address anyone found cheating the intent of this or other support programs," says a statement from The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) and added, "The wage subsidy is the single best measure to help Canada prepare for a quick recovery the minute the emergency phase of the pandemic is over." Aaron Wudrick, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said that while abuse of the program is likely, the government has no option but to deliver "economic life support" during the pandemic. I today's news conference held by Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Health Minister Patty Hajdu, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez to outline the potential role for the Canadian Armed Forces during the COVID-19 crisis. Freeland said the government also is looking at ways to help hard-hit sectors. Today's news regarding the eligibility of larger businesses for the wage subsidy program was welcomed by the Business Council of Canada, which noted the virus doesn't discriminate between big and small businesses.
#CanadaNewOrder; #TravelersReturningToCanadaToSelfIsolate; #CBSA; #Declaration
Ottawa, Mar 26 (Canadian-Media): Rising number of coronavirus cases and growing economic downturn has forced Canada to issue an order to travelers returning to Canada from abroad to self-isolate, media reports said. 
CBSA. Image credit: Twitter handle
Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) would fully implement this order and travelers coming to Canada would be required to make a declaration at the ports of entry to isolate themselves for 14 days.
Travelers coming to Canada would also not be allowed to use public transit for 14 days.
Canadian travelers who ignore this order would face fines and even jail times. Meanwhile, a temporary program was announced by Ottawa Wednesday through which money will flow into the hands of people who are losing income because of the pandemic. Canada has collapsed two previously announced programs into one known as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) in a bid to streamline the process of applying by eligible workers for the funding of $2,000 a month for four months. There are more than 472,000 known cases of the novel coronavirus worldwide, according to a Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker, with more than 21,300 deaths. According to the the data drawn by the dashboard from various sources including the World Health Organization and national health departments, the number of cases that are recovered or resolved is almost 115,000.
#COVID19Pandemic; #CanadaParliament; #CERB; #AidPackageBillWorth$107Billion
Ottawa, Mar 25 (Canadian-Media): An aid package bill worth $107 billion to help Canadians struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic had been passed by the government of Canada and opposition parties in Parliament March 25 to boost access to employment insurance and flow money to workers and businesses in need, media reports said. 
Canada Parliament. Image credit: Twitter handle
After passing the Senate without any amendments, the bill received royal assent from Governor General Julie Payette Wednesday afternoon.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Wednesday workers would have access to as much as $2,000 a month for four months. Canadian workers over the age of 15 who have earned more than $5,000 in the last 12 months but are now without any income due to COVID-19 pandemic would qualify. Workers, including freelancers, who do not have access to the current employment insurance (EI) program. could access the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).
Morneau also said the government should make sure that people will have employment when the pandemic is over. Morneau said that the Bill which initially was worth about $82 billion, has increased sharply to $107 billion fulfill the demands of more people and added Ottawa has now budgeted for $52 billion in direct support payments and $55 billion in tax deferrals. The proposed aid package from Ottawa includes: A temporary boost to Canada Child Benefit payments with $2 billion in extra support; up to $10 billion could be disbursed in a new Emergency Care Benefit of up to $900 biweekly, for up to 15 weeks to support workers, including the self-employed, who have to stay home and don't qualify for paid sick leave or employment insurance (EI); a new Emergency Support Benefit to provide up to $5 billion in support to workers who are not eligible for EI and who are facing unemployment; a six-month, interest-free reprieve on student loan payments; Doubling of the homeless care program; An extension of the tax filing deadline to June 1; $305 million for a new Indigenous Community Support Fund to address immediate needs in First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation communities. At his own news conference outside his residence, where he remains in self-isolation after his wife contracted COVID-19, Trudeau said the government is trying to balance the need to act quickly to help Canadians with the need to remain accountable to Parliament. "It is an exceptional situation that requires extreme flexibility and rapidity of response by governments to be able to help Canadians and react to a situation that we've seen is moving quickly every single day," he said. "So saying, we have a Parliament that works, we have an Opposition that is doing its job of making sure that we are taking the right steps the right way." The House adjourned until April 20 after the bill was passed. #CanadaPM; #JustinTrudeau; #TelecomData; #Canadians'ComplianceOfPandemicMeasures; Ottawa, Mar 25 (Canadian-Media): The challenges of tracking where coronavirus would strike next and to see if the people are following the health protocols set by the public health officials around the world has prompted some governments such as Italy, Germany, Austria, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Israel to resort to use mobile data to keep track of infections as well as to predict where the virus is heading, media reports said.  Justin Trudeau. Image credit: Official website. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked during his daily media briefing on Mar 24, if Canada would use telecom data to track if Canadians are complying with pandemic measures, Trudeau said that he has not ruled out this option, but at present he is not considering this option. "I think we recognize that in an emergency situation we need to take certain steps that wouldn't be taken in non-emergency situations, but as far as I know that is not a situation we're looking at right now," he said. "But as I've said, all options are on the table to do what is necessary to keep Canadians safe in these exceptional times." Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam also said the option should not be ruled out in our efforts to curb the spread of COVID19 pandemic and to keep the nation's hospitals from being overwhelmed. "I think there's lots of innovative approaches and they should all be examined, obviously with due respect to privacy, ethics and all of those considerations," she said when asked about data collection. #Canada; #COVID19Pandemic; #FederalEmergenciesAct; #SocialDistancing; #JustinTrudeau Ottawa, Mar 24 (Canadian-Media): After speaking with his provincial and territorial counterparts Mar 24, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that most premiers think it was not necessary yet to invoke the federal Emergencies Act and that they would support it once the need arises, media reports said.  Justin Trudeau. Image credit: Official website Trudeau said that every province and territory has already declared either a state of emergency or a public health emergency and some provinces have adopted additional rules, such as a requirement for self-isolation upon arrival from another province. Trudeau also repeated his warning to ensure compliance with public health recommendations to slow the spread of COVID-19, which include social distancing, self-isolation (in cases where there has been a risk of exposure) and staying home whenever possible and added that the duration of crisis would be determined by choices made by them right now.
#COVID19; #RepatriationOfCanadians; #SocialDistancing; #Self-Isolate
Ottawa, Mar 21 (Canadian-Media): During a news conference outside his home at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa Saturday, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he won't be able to help all Canadians stranded abroad due to COVID-19 due to closed airspace and travel restrictions around the world, media reports said. 
Justin Trudeau. Image credit: Official website
Priority to bring home would be Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada, or immediate family members of Canadian citizens.
Only people with no signs of symptoms will be allowed to board, and all passengers will be told to self-isolate for 14 days after arriving in Canada. The government is working with Air Canada to ensure that stranded Canadians can get home at a reasonable commercial price for their ticket. Asked if the federal government will move to restrict travel within Canada, Trudeau urged people to self-isolate to protect themselves, and the health-care system and its workers. Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne said at today's news conference that the government would help bring home people who want to get home, and the rest will be provided consular services. He also informed the travelers about the new emergency loan program established by the government to allow them to access up to $5,000 for a ticket or accommodations due to a price spike or an extended stay due to travel restrictions. Champagne said he had been discussing with his counterparts in Australia, Brazil, Germany, Morocco, Peru and Turkey about plans to facilitate the return home of nationals.
#CanadaPM; #JustinTrudeau; #$82BillionAidPackage; #COVID19Pandemic; #EmergencyAidPlan Ottawa, Mar 18 (Canadian-Media): In the wake of the widespread of deadly COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, a huge $82-billion aid package -- representing more than three percent of Canada's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) -- was announced Wednesday by Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to help Canadians and businesses, including income supports, wage subsidies and tax deferrals, media reports said.  Justin Trudeau. Image credit: Official website $27 billion of the package would be allocated to direct support and $55 billion would go towards helping business liquidity through tax deferrals. Supports could start flowing in weeks, said Trudeau. The emergency aid plan includes: $2 billion to temporarily boost Canada Child Benefit payments; up to $900 biweekly for 15 weeks amounting to allocated to new Emergency Care Benefit to support workers who have to stay home and not have access to paid sick leave; a six-month, interest-free reprieve on student loan payments; doubling the homeless care program; extending the tax filing deadline to June 1; allowing taxpayers to defer tax payments until after Aug. 31 amounts that are due after today and before September. Trudeau is confident of full support from opposition political parties for passing of the measures in Parliament. It was disclosed by a senior government official to CBC News that some of the money, including employment insurance and the Canada Child Benefit, will be delivered directly to individuals through existing safety net programs. #Ontario; #StateOfEmergency; #COVID-19Pandemic; #OntarioPremier; #DougFord Ottawa, Mar 17 (Canadian-Media): In an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19 and to safeguard its health-care system, a state of emergency has been declared Tuesday in Ontario jointly by its premier Doug Ford, joined by Ontario Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, Health Minister Christine Elliott, Finance Minister Rod Phillips and Dr. David Williams, Ontario's chief medical officer, in a news conference at Queen's Park, Ontario.  Doug Ford. Image credit: Twitter handle Empowered by the legislation of Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, Ford ordered closure of restaurants and bars excepting takeouts, prohibits gatherings of more than 50 people, including at indoor recreation centres, theatres and concert venues, libraries, places of worship, private schools and daycares until March 31. Ontario had earlier ordered all all publicly funded schools to close until April 6. Public transit, shopping malls, grocery stores and pharmacies, that vast majority of businesses, including those most vital to day-to-day life, will not be affected The emergency relief fund for the "first stage" of a COVID-19, was announced by Ford during the conference, amounting to about $300 million will be used to add 75 critical-care beds and 500 post-acute care beds at Ontario hospitals, establishing 25 more COVID-19 dedicated assessment centres in the province, purchase of more personal protective equipment for medical professionals. Ford's announcement also included backfill 1,000 additional nurses and personal support workers at hospitals, assigning fifty physicians for primary and emergency care in Indigenous, rural and remote communities in Ontario. Ontario's confirmed 185 cases of COVID-19 as of this morning are spread geographically throughout the province with the majority in the Greater Toronto Area Welcoming decision to declare a state of emergency, Toronto Mayor John Tory asked people to heed to the advice of public health experts to avoid interactions with others to help flatten the curve of COVID-19 pandemic.
#CanadaToCloseItsBorders; #CanadaPM; #JustinTrudeau; #COVID-19; #CBSAToEnhancedScreening
Ottawa, Mar 16 (Canadian-Media): An announcement was made today in a news conference by Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that one of Canada's many efforts to stop the the spread of COVID-19 to close its borders to all travelers except to Canadian citizens, permanent residents or Americans, media reports said. 
Justin Trudeau. Image credit: Official website
Air crew, diplomats, immediate family members of citizens and, U.S. citizens would be exempted from the above rule and that air operators will be required to complete a basic health assessment of every passenger based on guidelines from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
However, Trudeau added that no one with symptoms will be permitted to board a flight to Canada. Effective March 18, said Trudeau that international flights will allowed to land only at the international airports in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, in order to enhance screening. New border controls will not apply to trade and commerce in order to keep Canada's supply chains open. "That border is absolutely vital to the daily lives of the people who live on both sides of that border," said Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland Everyone arriving in Canada from another country, except essential workers, including air crews and truck drivers, would be asked to self-isolate for 14 days, Freeland said. All travelers seeking entry into Canada would undergo enhanced health screening and any one suspected to be ill will be referred by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers to public health authorities for further evaluation.
The border measures include: Enhanced officer presence at major points of entry to carry out public health screening; handing of instructional handouts to all travelers arriving in Canada, display of increased signage at all ports of entry; Filling out Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) coronavirus form, handing of mask kits with instructions to travelers of concern.
Canada is faced with about 375 presumptive and confirmed cases of COVID-19. |
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