After debating its merits during a recent cabinet meeting, Health Minister Patty Hajdu said on Wednesday the government is mandating that international travellers must now self-quarantine upon arrival. Arrangements are being made to provide accommodations and food to some of those affected. The new measures kicked in already, and appear to be in part a response to reports that many travellers are evading airport screening measures to board the plane by masking their symptoms.
Most international travellers are already being funnelled to four airports, including Pearson in Toronto and Trudeau in Montreal. Anyone defying the 14-day quarantine order could risk being penalized.
“So there is perfect clarity around the need to isolate when Canadians come back from abroad, whether it’s from the USA or other international destinations, we are implementing the Quarantine Act, so there is no confusion about the need to do so whether you are symptomatic or not,” Ms. Hajdu told reporters in a scrum.
Despite wrapping up his 14-day self-isolation after his wife tested positive, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to face reporters for his daily morning briefing at Rideau Cottage. He’s also scheduled to speak to G20 leaders over a conference call.
G7 foreign ministers, meanwhile, failed to issue a joint statement after their teleconference over the U.S. administration’s insistence on referring to COVID-19 as the “Wuhan virus.” The WHO guidelines specifically say the names of viruses should not be linked to its place of origin, as well as the animal that may have been the source of infection.
The Senate yesterday sped through the passage of Bill C-13, the feds’ now-$107-billion COVID-19 relief package, which includes $52-billion in direct aid, a move that seeks to ensure Canadians affected by the pandemic are able to see some financial relief. It’s up from the initial $82-billion package pitched last week, with the government now promising to give up to $2,000 in taxable benefits for up to four months for those who have lost their income. Finance Minister Bill Morneau said the aid will likely be delivered the week of April 6. Mr. Morneau also said the government is looking to get aid for the oil and gas sector out the door within “hours, possibly days.”
Though the government now has, to an extent, unfettered spending power to fund new measures to respond to COVID-19, it has agreed to hold weekly electronic meetings with the opposition to review its response. Mr. Morneau himself will also provide the House Finance Committee with biweekly updates on the spending authority granted under C-13.
Oversight on the government’s new authority to issue special warrants to keep operations and programs funded, meanwhile, will fall squarely on the auditor general, who has been mandated to conduct an audit and report its findings by June 2021.
Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault also announced the feds plan to spend $30-million for its COVID-19 awareness campaign, money that will also help newspapers and other media outlets struggling to maintain revenue amid a decline in ad sales thanks to the pandemic. The government also promised that it is working to implement the tax credits that it earmarked for some struggling outlets.
Four candidates have officially qualified to compete for the top job in the Conservative Party: presumptive front-runner Peter MacKay, Conservative MP Erin O’Toole, Toronto lawyer Leslyn Lewis, and Ontario MP Derek Sloan. The deadline to submit all the requisite fees and signatures was Wednesday.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
