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Hello,
The federal government has announced a $1-billion package of aid to help Canadians, businesses and hospitals deal with the novel coronavirus.
The package includes money for provinces to help with higher health-care costs, funds for vaccine research and changes to employment insurance rules for those self-quarantining.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the funds mere hours before the World Health Organization officially declared the virus a pandemic.
The illness could hit close to home for Mr. Trudeau: Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan, a close friend of the PM, says he is self-isolating because there’s a chance he could have gotten the coronavirus.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
The federal government is preparing to list plastic as a toxic substance through regulation, partly to avoid a messy legislative debate.
The RCMP appears to still be looking into the SNC-Lavalin affair.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he’s going to get tough on the province’s tow-truck industry. A recent Globe and Mail investigation revealed the level of violence and crime hitting tow-truck operators
The Quebec government introduced a balanced budget yesterday that puts money aside to pay down debt while also increasing infrastructure spending. The budget relies, however, on economic forecasts that could be a bit rosy if coronavirus continues to weigh on the global economy.
Canada’s chief justices are pushing back on a multipartisan proposal to make judges take more training on sexual-assault cases.
Residents of Lower Post, B.C., say they hope the federal government will replace a building that formerly housed a residential school that now houses many important community services.
Long-time Conservative MP Scott Reid is the only person in his 121-member caucus without any kind of leadership role, critic portfolio or committee assignment, the Hill Times reports. Mr. Reid and the party whip declined to explain what happened, but the Ontario MP did reveal in December that the party had previously punished him for voting in favour of the Liberals’ cannabis legalization bill.
Joe Biden is racking up wins in the Democratic presidential primaries, but Bernie Sanders say he will remain in the race.
And disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Kelly Cryderman (The Globe and Mail) on the magnitude of the problems facing Alberta: “The oil-price crash this week is uncharted. Yes, there have been oil demand slowdowns, and global fear about the spread of a previously unknown, deadly disease. There have been past battles between global oil giants, completely out of Canada’s or Alberta’s control, that have hit oil prices and hurt the economy here. But at this scale, all at once, and coming off a five-year period when the province was already crawling out of a hole? That hasn’t happened before.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on the low-oil-price-shaped-hole in the Alberta budget: “At some point, the compassion one has for a province down on its luck has limits. If Alberta does not want to do anything to help itself out of these messes when they invariably arrive, then you can’t feel too badly for them. It’s like a child that won’t listen. Eventually, you have to let them sort out these problems for themselves. That’s the only way they will learn.”
Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on the Quebec budget: “How Quebec’s public finances stand up during a crisis could have a profound impact on the fate of the Legault government. It came to office promising sound fiscal management and robust economic growth. But a shrinking working-age population and lower immigration levels were already hampering its plans before the threat of a recession emerged.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on the finances of Newfoundland and Labrador: “Thanks in large part to its oil wealth, Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy generates much more in revenues than any other province – about a third more than the national average. The problem is that it spends even more – in excess of $8-billion annually, against roughly $6-billion in taxes and other revenues. It gets about a billion dollars from the feds, and borrows the rest.”
Lawrence Martin (The Globe and Mail) on how U.S. President Donald Trump is dealing with coronavirus: “There is still time for Mr. Trump to reverse course and gain some control of the situation. National crises provide presidents with enhanced emergency powers. In many ways, COVID-19 plays to Mr. Trump’s nationalist agenda of stricter border controls. For the economy he will take extraordinary measures of stimulus for those most affected. He had been talking about another tax cut before the fall election. With so many businesses taking a hit from the virus, he will now likely be able to get one passed.”
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