Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that the federal government is considering invoking the Emergencies Act to help keep the Canadian economy afloat as the novel coronavirus spreads throughout the country.
Speaking from Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Trudeau said he has asked House Leader Pablo Rodriguez to speak with his provincial counterparts to recall the House of Commons to bring in “emergency measures.”
Trudeau said little about what those measures would specifically entail, but when asked what enacting emergency measures would do that differed from current protocol, he said the government was examining the act “to see if it will allow us to do more things that can’t be done otherwise.”
The announcement to consider emergency measures marks an upward trajectory in government response, which previously saw sweeping border closures to help flatten the curve of the virus.
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What is the Emergencies Act?
The Emergencies Act received Royal Assent in 1988, replacing the War Measures Act. It was created to provide a legal framework for power to be temporarily consolidated with the prime minister and cabinet to issue executive orders during national emergencies, like COVID-19.
It has only ever been invoked three times in Canada: during the first and second World Wars, as well as during the October Crisis of 1970, when members of the Front de Libération du Québec abducted then-provincial Deputy Premier Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross.
Daniel Henstra, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and associate professor at the University of Waterloo, said emergency measures were intended specifically for events like pandemics and wars and would have been surprised if one wasn’t declared.
“Certainly COVID-19 is exactly the type of emergency that this legislation was intended for,” he said, but added they aren’t to be taken lightly.
Invoking a federal state of emergency temporarily, said Henstra, grants a “great deal of power” to the prime minister and cabinet.
Under the Emergencies Act, officials would have the right to take over property, public utilities, provide special services and special compensation, regulate or prohibit public assembly, as well as travel anywhere to or from any specified area within the country, he said.
With that in mind, Henstra clarified that calling a state of emergency does not mean a government will use all measures at its disposal, “it just empowers the cabinet to move more quickly without having to go to the legislature for approval on every move.”
Reallocating government funds
It also allows the government to use public funds, like the public treasury, for example, outside of the various envelopes of the budget that have been approved by the legislature, which Henstra said would most likely be the Trudeau government’s main use for the act.
“Normally, every expense has to be approved through the budgeting process, but in this case, the cabinet can appropriate these funds and use the funds for emergency purposes to send emergency relief to responders or income relief to individuals,” Henstra said.
1:50 Coronavirus outbreak: Canadian hospitals trying to increase capacity for serious COVID-19 cases
Coronavirus outbreak: Canadian hospitals trying to increase capacity for serious COVID-19 cases
The act specifies that a state of emergency can be called by any level of government — and has already been declared in the provinces of Ontario and Alberta.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney called a state of public health emergency in that province, banning the use of public spaces like casinos, museums and art galleries, gyms and movie theatres, as well as limiting restaurants and bars to a capacity of 50 people.
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford also invoked emergency measures Tuesday morning to create a $300 million relief fund and order the immediate closures of gatherings of more than 50 people, based on the medical advice of Canadian Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam.
There are four types of emergencies laid out in the act.
They include a public welfare emergency, which would include natural disasters, disease, accidents and pollution, an emergency that arises from threats to Canada’s security, war, and an international emergency, which would involve intimidation, coercion or violence towards Canada and one or more other countries.
Jocelyn Stacey, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia’s Peter A. Allard School of Law, said the federal government has never enacted the Emergencies Act in its current form, but that it would fall under the statute of a public welfare emergency.
“One of the requirements for the federal government to declare a state of emergency is that the emergency exceeds the capacity of the provinces that it affects,” Stacey said.
“In the past where we’ve had other emergencies like fires or floods, it hasn’t been the case that those have extended beyond provincial boundaries or territorial boundaries. The situation that we’re in right now clearly is of a national scale.”
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While Stacey said she was unable to predict which measures the Canadian government would be instituting, she said it was clear that financial measures across the country were “desperately needed.”
2:42 Coronavirus outbreak: Canadian health official says country rapidly updating messaging on self-isolation at borders, airports
Coronavirus outbreak: Canadian health official says country rapidly updating messaging on self-isolation at borders, airports
So far, the government has made a point of promoting social distancing and urging employers to let their employees stay home — which Stacey said could be difficult for those working in industries that rely on personal interaction like the service industry.
“Not everybody is able to do that if they’re depending on the next paycheque and things like that,” she said.
Stacey said invoking emergency measures could “expedite” a release of funds for Canadians who may be struggling to do things like pay rent and afford groceries.
To date, Tam said Canada has 440 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and four people have died from the disease.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Tam said a majority of cases appear to be linked to Canadians who recently travelled from affected countries, but that the government was seeing an increase in the virus being passed within a community — better known as community transmission.
Although Tam said 37,000 Canadians have been tested for COVID-19 so far, she said the country needs to move faster if it wants to flatten the curve of the virus.
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“Speed trumps perfection,” she said. “The greatest error is not to move.”
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
