OTTAWA —
As another critical week in Canada’s efforts to flatten the COVID-19 curve begins, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government will soon introduce new measures to make emergency benefits accessible for Canadians who don’t currently qualify.
Trudeau said that Canadians who still have jobs but are working 10 hours or less due to the pandemic, such as gig economy or contract workers, as well as those who are working but earning less money than they would if they received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), such as long-term care workers, will soon be able to qualify for federal assistance.
“There are groups of people who aren’t benefiting from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit who probably should,” Trudeau said. “We’re looking carefully at how we can increase their pay a little bit so that they do better off remaining at work, rather than going off work and receiving the emergency response benefit.”
He called the expansion on eligibility the “fine tunings” that have to come when launching a program of this scale with the intent of reaching as many people as possible.
“There will be exceptions that we have to fill,” Trudeau said.
Over the weekend Trudeau indicated that with the CERB applications opening on Monday in a staggered way, more direct help would be coming soon for students who don’t qualify. He also put a call out for volunteers to help Health Canada with data collection, case tracking and contact tracing.
Trudeau said that 240,000 people had already applied for the emergency benefit by the time he gave his late-morning address. As of the ministerial briefing on COVID-19 efforts that followed Trudeau’s address, “more than 300,000” people had applied, according to Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos.
The benefit will provide $2,000 a month for four months for those eligible.
Not all out-of-work Canadians qualify for the emergency benefit, in order to be eligible applicants must have earned at least $5,000 in the past 12 months or in 2019 as a whole, and must be out of work for reasons directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
College and university students are one sizeable demographic that has largely been left in the lurch. Some work only casual, part-time jobs that pay less than $5,000 over the course of a year. Others only work during summer, when classes are out – meaning they haven’t lost their job due to the pandemic, but it will be difficult for them to find work in a largely locked-down country once their summer begins.
“I know there are also lots of university or college students wondering what kind of job you’ll get this summer. You need support now, and work is underway to get it to you as soon as possible,” Trudeau said.
In another effort for additional financial relief, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced over the weekend that several big banks would be lowering credit card rates for those impacted by COVID-19.
Trudeau called this “much needed relief on debt.”
EXPANDED AID BILL BEING DRAFTED
The prime minister also said that the government is currently drafting its second piece of emergency legislation, are in talks with the other parties, and will be looking to recall Parliament “in the coming days,” this time to pass a multibillion-dollar expansion to COVID-19 financial assistance measures.
On April 1, Trudeau called the expanded wage subsidy program — a 75 per cent subsidy for businesses to keep employees on staff, up from the initial 10 per cent — the largest economic program in Canadian history, and that’s why he thinks Parliament should be reconvened to approve it. Though, the recall is also needed because it exceeds what was included in the legislation passed during the first emergency overnight sitting.
In perhaps an attempt to limit future in-person House of Commons sittings in an era of working from home, the government has written to Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota to get advice on what would be a historic first: moving to virtual sittings of the House of Commons as a potential avenue for digital democratic accountability.
“We have to look at ways of virtually convening Parliament, so that parliamentarians from across the country who were elected to do their jobs of representing their citizens in normal times and in times of crisis can make themselves heard,” Trudeau said. “It can’t be just about folks who have proximity to Parliament, or the ability to get here. We need to look at ways that our democracy and our institutions can stay strong and embody and fulfill the functions that Canadians need them to.”
WEEK FOUR OF PHYSICAL DISTANCING
Entering the fourth week of physical distancing and shutdown of non-essential workplaces, health officials say they will be watching closely the number of new cases being reported to get a sense of whether or not the measures in place are proving effective at slowing the virus’ spread.
With more information about the number of cases coming in from across the country, the federal government says it’s working on ways to present more concrete modelling and science-based predictions in the coming days.
Trudeau said the government is working on getting more testing kits to get a more fulsome picture of how many Canadians have contracted the virus.
“Every single day we are doing more tests than the day before. We recognize that large-scale testing is a key element of flattening the curve and dealing with the long term prognosis of this pandemic. We will need to continue to test more and more to get those answers back quickly and be able to monitor the spread of Coronavirus through our population,” Trudeau said.
“Testing will be an essential part of how we get through this,” he said.
As of Monday morning, there are 15,853 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada, with the highest concentrations of the virus in Quebec, and Ontario.
SUPPLY SHIPMENT STRESSES
Shipments of essential medical supplies are also set to continue arriving in Canada this week, as domestic production ramps up in an effort to stave off the impacts of global price gouging and protectionism. Already, some provinces are warning they are days away from running out of personal protective equipment like respirator masks and gloves.
“We have recognized over the past weeks a number of situations in which shipments coming from different countries around the world have been delayed [or] haven’t arrived with as many products as we were hoping to see,” Trudeau said.
Facing questions about the ongoing concern that the United States is restricting producers including 3M from sending supplies made in the U.S. to Canada and elsewhere, Trudeau said he is confident that any outstanding shipments will be delivered.
“We are working with them to ensure that the orders that Canada has placed get delivered. We expect those shipments to come,” he said.
The prime minister said that Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne spoke Monday with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and that talks continue and have so far been “productive.”
JASPER, ALTA. – The government of Canada will forgo up to $15.2 million in rental fees charged to the municipality of Jasper, Alta., as well as its residents and business owners over the next few years.
A devastating wildfire destroyed one-third of the Rocky Mountain tourist town in July, including 800 units of housing.
Because Jasper is located within a national park, residents, business owners and the town itself lease their homes and buildings from Parks Canada.
Although the fees included in the lease agreements vary, and in the case of residential homes and businesses in town the fee is just $1, Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault said Thursday this rent relief will help the town recover from the damage.
On Wednesday, Boissonnault was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the federal government’s ministerial lead on the Jasper rebuild.
“This rent relief will support lessees and licensees whose properties have been affected and are experiencing financial hardship and new costs to rebuild or repair damaged properties,” said Boissonnault in a news release.
Parks Canada has nearly 1,300 lease agreements in town, and 139 leases within the park.
The municipality won’t pay rent on its facilities to Parks Canada until 2027, while a few dozen businesses in the park that pay market rent will receive partial or full rent forgiveness until 2026 depending on fire damage and revenue.
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said in a release Thursday that the town is grateful for the government’s decision.
“By continuing to work effectively together, we can ensure that our local businesses and residents have the supports they need to help in our recovery process,” Ireland said.
Boissonnault also announced Thursday that certain backcountry camping spots in the park are now open for booking for the fall and winter season.
He also said that Maligne Road, which provides vehicle access to the famed Maligne Lake, will reopen on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
EDMONTON – A month after announcing its money would be off the table, the Alberta government says it’s recommitting its $1.53-billion share towards Calgary’s beleaguered Green Line light rail project.
It’s prompted Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi to accuse the government of incompetence he claims could still cost taxpayers another $1 billion in penalties over cancelled contracts.
Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen and Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said in a joint statement Thursday they’ve agreed to continue work on the southern leg of what was a $6.2-billion transit project.
Calgary city council voted to wind it down last month after Dreeshen said the province would pull its funding without a redesign and extension of the Green Line’s route.
The city estimated it would cost $850 million to shut it down on top of the $1.3 billion already spent, but in late September Gondek made a last-ditch effort to ask the province to help salvage some pieces of the project they could agree on.
The two leaders said the province’s previously committed money will be available to support continuing work on the transit line, preserving more than 700 jobs.
In the meantime, a consulting firm hired by the province continues to work on a new alignment to meet Dreeshen’s demand that the downtown section not go underground.
Dreeshen has criticized the Green Line as a multibillion-dollar boondoggle that was poorly engineered and not properly costed from the beginning.
In recent months, the minister has pointed the finger at former Calgary mayor Nenshi – now Alberta NDP leader – calling it the “Nenshi nightmare.”
For his part, Nenshi has blamed the UCP government for delays that led to added costs.
In a statement Thursday, Nenshi said the United Conservative Party government is desperately backing down and trying to solve a catastrophe of its own making.
“Minister Dreeshen told hundreds of workers that they were OK in August, that they would lose their jobs in September, and now in October that they’ll be OK until Christmas. Maybe. These are real people, Minister Dreeshen, and they deserve better from you,” said Nenshi.
Nenshi said financial penalties for cancelled contracts will still cost taxpayers and called for a full public accounting.
As for the city’s previous vision for the Green Line, Gondek told reporters Thursday it is still being wrapped up.
“That project is over. That project was terminated on Sept. 3 when we heard from the province of Alberta that they didn’t wish to carry on with that alignment. This is a new project,” said Gondek.
The final bill for the wind-down remains to be seen, and it’s unclear how spending in the interim might be limited, she said.
“For now, we’re progressing work on an LRT that’s much needed in our city,” she said.
The federal government, which also committed to putting $1.53 billion into the previous iteration of the Green Line, will need to weigh in on whatever the new alignment might be.
The Calgary Construction Association welcomed Thursday’s announcement, saying it gets the project back on track.
“The Green Line LRT is essential not only for connecting hundreds of thousands of Calgarians but also for driving job creation and economic growth in our city,” said president and CEO Bill Black in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
EDMONTON – Nurses in Alberta are set to vote later this month on a mediator’s recommended settlement with their employers.
The United Nurses of Alberta says an online ratification vote will take place on Oct. 30.
It says the mediator is recommending pay increases ranging from 12 to 22 per cent over four years, as well as significant hikes to some pay premiums.
The union had been seeking 30 per cent pay raises over two years while the Alberta government’s standing offer is 7.5 per cent over four years.
Nurses had been mulling next steps, including a possible strike vote, because recent contract talks with the province had been faltering over disagreements around pay and staffing.
The United Nurses of Alberta represents more than 30,000 nurses and the proposed deal involves five employers, including Alberta Health Services and Covenant Health.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
