Christ Yoder
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OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used his daily COVID-19 remarks to highlight the now-launched Emergency Business Account for Canada program and to announce that his remarks on Saturday will come from the floor of the House of communities as it meets to adopt additional support measures.
After delivering 26 consecutive daily addresses from his front door, it will be a change in his schedule as he takes Sunday and Monday off.
Parliament was recalled for a rare emergency sitting on Saturday to hold a fast-track debate and vote to see another major economic policy enacted: the 75 percent wage subsidy for employees.
Trudeau will be present at this meeting and will provide daily updates from his seat inside the House. He also announced that he will take Sunday and Monday to spend time with his family and deliver his next COVID-19 national speech on Tuesday.
The prime minister hinted that the government will soon have more to say for those who feel mentally challenged and overwhelmed by the new reality the pandemic has created across the country, which could last in one form or another. for many months to come.
As of noon as of Friday, there were 20,765 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada and 509 people had died from the disease.
After days of back and forth, minority Liberals and opposition parties agreed to meet again in Ottawa with a limited group of MPs to pass the second emergency COVID-19 bill.
The Conservatives have presented the second bill as a “correction” to the first, while the Liberals say the bill would enact “the greatest economic measures of our lives”.
Talks continue on how to see the House of Commons meet remotely in the future, as the pandemic is expected to limit the ability of Canadians to meet for weeks or even months to come.
“It’s really important despite a time of crisis – indeed, because of a time of crisis – that our institutions remain strong and our democratic principles continue,” Trudeau said.
BUSINESS LOANS AVAILABLE
Trudeau also spoke about the newly available loan program and reiterated the billions of other emergency response benefits the government has enacted or is in the process of launching.
The loan program was first unveiled at the end of last month, as a way for businesses to access government-guaranteed loans to cover the costs of keeping their business afloat during the COVID crisis. -19.
Minister of Finances Bill Morneau announced Thursday that the program was now available and encouraged businesses that are struggling to cover rent, utilities, or other operating costs to contact their bank to get the loan.
“It will only take a few days for you to receive the full amount in your account. It’s money you can use for anything you need, whether it’s monthly expenses or paying employees, ”Trudeau said Friday.
Last month the government announced the Emergency Small Business Loan, with banks offering government guaranteed loans of $ 40,000 interest-free for the first year. If the company can pay off the loan balance by the end of 2022, up to $ 10,000 will be forgiven.
Applicants must prove that they paid between $ 50,000 and $ 1 million in payroll in 2019.
Projected as a $ 25 billion program, nonprofits can also apply through their banks, to help cover their operating costs during a period when their revenues have been “temporarily reduced.” due to the economic impacts of COVID-19.
PREFER NOT TO USE THE EMERGENCY ACT
The Prime Minister spent Thursday evening on the phone with Prime Ministers, where he and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland discussed the stockpiling of ongoing supplies as well as the possibility of enacting the broad national powers of the Emergency Situations Act. ’emergency.
The federal government sent a letter polling the provinces and territories on their current needs and whether the extraordinary powers – formerly known as the War Measures Act – were necessary to compel Canadians to stay behind. inside.
The law has never been used as it is currently drafted, requires that prime ministers be consulted and has been seen as a last resort and has no plans to pass it yet. If this step were taken, the nation could fall under a “public welfare emergency” allowing the federal government to regulate travel and distribution of goods within the country, to direct people trained to provide essential services and impose heavy fines and prison terms for those who violate emergency orders.
Asked about the call and the prospect of passing the emergency law, Trudeau said the measures are currently not needed.
“We hope we never have to use it. We find that the collaboration, the partnership between the provinces and the territories and the way we move forward means that we may never have to use the Emergency Act, and that would be our preference, ”a Trudeau said.
It comes as the majority of provinces and territories say there is no need to invoke emergency law and it should be up to each government to dictate how it responds to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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