True North

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been slow to act in responding to the coronavirus pandemic. 

On several issues, including public health screening, travel advisories and creating a coronavirus task force, Canada trailed behind the US by several days or even weeks.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested that Canada was not on the same trajectory as the US because it had acted sooner. 

“I think I would say we’re not necessarily on the same trajectory. We were quicker to get the screening done, and I think we have had more success in getting people to self-isolate,” Trudeau said in French. 

However, on several key issues, Trudeau lagged far behind US President Donald Trump. Here are several places where Canada could have followed Trump’s lead and acted much sooner to curb the pandemic. 

Warning about travel to Wuhan, China: 

January 6 – (US) The Center for Disease Control issued a travel notice for the epicentre of the outbreak

January 9 – (Canada) Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam tweets a travel warning to the area

Implementing public health screenings at airports for travellers coming from Wuhan:

January 17 – (US) The CDC implements public health screening at 3 major U.S. airports 

January 22 – (Canada) Major airports are directed to implement health screenings in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver

Creating a coronavirus taskforce:

January 29 – (US) The White House announces the formation of a coronavirus taskforce to inform the president on the pandemic

March 4 – (Canada) Trudeau forms coronavirus cabinet committee

Declaring a public health emergency: 

January 31 – (US) Trump declares the coronavirus is a public health emergency

February 3 – (Canada) Health Minister Patty Hajdu says Canada does not need to call a public health emergency

Implementing travel restrictions: 

January 29 – (Canada) Dr Theresa Tam says to follow the WHO and not implement travel bans

January 31 – (US) Trump announces travel restrictions on China

January 31 – (Canada) Border official says they don’t have a list of 24 countries where the virus has spread; only limiting identifying passengers who have been to Wuhan

February 2 – (Canada) Trudeau underlines the importance for Canada to combat racism

February 29 – (US) Trump announces travel advisory to Italy and South Korea and bans travel to Iran 

March 4 – (Canada) Hajdu says the border is not relevant to the spread of coronavirus

March 5 – (Canada) Trudeau defends Canada’s open borders approach, denounces knee-jerk reaction 

March 11 – (US) Trump announces travel restriction to Europe 

March 12 – (Canada) Travellers arriving from Italy reporting that they are not being interviewed or screened 

March 13 – (Canada) Hajdu says “border measures are highly ineffective” and could create harm

March 14 – (US) Trump extends travel restrictions to UK and Ireland 

March 16 – (Canada) Trudeau finally restricts international flights except for diplomats and Americans

March 17 – (Canada, US) Both countries mutually agree to close their borders to non-essential travel 

March 18 – (Canada) Foreign nationals from all countries except the US are banned from entering the country

Putting the army on standby for coronavirus response:

March 17 – (US) Trump says the US Army Corps of Engineers is ready to help Americans fight the coronavirus

March 30 – (Canada) Trudeau says that 24,000 members of Canada’s military are on stand by to respond to the pandemic

Hundreds of hotel rooms will open to help house the homeless in Toronto in an effort to minimize the spread of the coronavirus. 

The move comes shortly after a homeless man died from the virus according to the Montreal Gazette. 

On Monday, City of Toronto officials confirmed that four homeless people and a shelter employee had tested positive for COVID-19. 

According to Mary-Anne Bédard, Toronto has signed agreements to secure 300 hotel rooms for the purpose of housing the city’s homeless population. The city is also currently in the process of acquiring 500 additional rooms.

The hotel rooms were acquired with the purpose of giving people space to social distance, a practice that is difficult at crowded shelters. 

Along with providing new housing accommodations to the city’s homeless population, Toronto has also installed hand-washing stations and public washrooms. 

According to Toronto Mayor John Tory, the city is also considering opening up some of these sites as a permanent housing option.

“We’re trying to see if some of those vacant sites could be converted into permanent housing to help with our affordable housing shortage, once this crisis is passed,” said Tory. 

This is not the first time that hotels were converted into temporary housing. 

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, hotels were exclusively afforded to illegal border crossers who settled in the city.

Asylum claimants were given free housing at the expense of taxpayers after homeless shelters began to struggle with capacity issues due to the influx of illegal border crossers. 

At the time, the city’s homeless population was not offered the same luxury. 

As exclusively reported by True North, illegal border crossers were staying in the city’s shelter system for six months in order to take advantage of a taxpayer-subsidized housing allowance. 

The Toronto Transitional Housing Allowance Program would give eligible claimants up to $5000 per month in order to pay for rent. 

The Government of Alberta and TC Energy have come to an agreement to finance the Keystone XL pipeline.

The deal announced on Tuesday will see Alberta invest $1.5 billion into the pipeline project and offer a $6 billion loan to TC Energy. Construction on the pipeline will begin immediately.

In a statement, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said that the province could not afford to see the project postponed.

“We cannot wait for the end of the pandemic and the global recession to act,” he said.

“There are steps we must make now to build our future focused on jobs, the economy, and pipelines. Today we are moving forward with a project that is essential to our future prosperity.”

Once completed, Keystone XL will span 1,947km from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska and will carry 830,000 barrels of oil a day to Gulf Coast Refineries.

After years in legal limbo, in January U.S. President Donald Trump approved the Keystone XL, removing the project’s last major regulatory hurdle.

Along with the 6,800 direct and indirect jobs Keystone XL will bring to Alberta, Kenney says that the project will be a profitable investment for the province.

“After construction is complete, we will be able to sell our shares at profit. In addition, the project will have a net return of over $30 billion to the Alberta taxpayer through royalties and higher prices for Alberta oil in the next 20 years,” he said.

In recent weeks, global oil prices have tumbled due to the coronavirus pandemic and overproduction by OPEC nations.

Western Canada Select, the oil which comes from Alberta’s oilsands, hit $3.82 USD a barrel on Monday — the lowest price on record.

By building Keystone XL and other pipelines, Kenney says Alberta will have more markets for its oil and will get better prices in the future.

In a statement Tuesday, TC Energy CEO Russ Girling thanked the leaders of Alberta and the United States for helping the firm move forward with Keystone XL after years of delay.

“We thank U.S. President Donald Trump and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney as well as many government officials across North America for their advocacy without which, individually and collectively, this Project could not have advanced,” said Girling.

Canada’s ambassador to the UN Marc-André Blanchard has said that his team would not be campaigning for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s bid on the UN Security Council. 

According to the Globe and Mail, Blanchard would instead focus his team’s effort on the international response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

“Let’s make one thing very clear here. This is not a time for campaigning. This is a time to fight the coronavirus and to fight this pandemic and to win the war against this pandemic. This is not about campaigning for the Security Council,” Blanchard told the Globe and Mail. 

A few days earlier, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne and International Development Minister Karina Gould suggested that the Trudeau government’s campaign would go on despite the public health crisis. 

“Canada has been chairing or organizing a number of calls with G7 countries. [Canada has] a voice that is much needed in the world where we need to co-operate, coordinate and work together. I think Canada brings something unique to the table,”  said Champagne shortly after a G7 meeting. 

“It just demonstrates why it is important for Canada to sit on the UN Security Council. That campaign carries on, but in a different way,” said Gould. 

Blanchard noted that his message did not differ ministers’, claiming that Canada had an important role to contribute to the international fight against COVID-19. 

“What’s top of mind is to make sure that, first of all, we win the war against this virus in Canada and second, that we … make a difference and leverage our resources and our capacity to help the world win this war, regardless of the campaign,” said Blanchard. 

While on the campaign trail earlier this year, Trudeau met with world leaders in Africa and Germany to secure support in the upcoming vote. 

While in Senegal Trudeau courted President Macky Sall, who promised that he would be voting in favour of Canada. Sall also defended his country’s homophobic laws, which included prison terms for those found to have engaged in “homosexual acts.” 

“I always defend human rights and bring those issues wherever I go. President Macky Sall is very familiar with my views on this, and we will talk about it briefly,” said Trudeau at the time in French.

The UN is slated to vote on who will win 10 revolving membership to the council in June, but has indicated that they are considering changing the schedule and will make a decision on the matter in May. 

The coronavirus pandemic, combined with the closure of the Northern Pulp mill, has created a “perfect storm” that is threatening the future of forestry in Nova Scotia, according to lumber industry professionals. 

Over the past few weeks, multiple sawmills in Nova Scotia have closed their doors. By April, only one sawmill in Nova Scotia will still be buying wood.

“They made a movie called the Perfect Storm,” Robyn Wilbur, president of Elmsdale Lumber Company, told the Chronicle Herald.

“We’re in it.”

In late December, Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil rejected Northern Pulp’s plea for an extension to meet environmental regulations, effectively forcing the paper mill to shut down. 

Northern Pulp had asked for a time extension so they could find an alternative to pumping waste effluent into lagoons near Pictou Landing First Nation, but McNeil said the paper mill had already been given enough time to find a workable solution.

“You shut down our kraft pulp mill and now everyone wants toilet paper,” said Eric Williams, owner of Williams Brothers sawmill.

“People should know that these sawmills would not be shutting down if the province didn’t take away their market for wood chips.”

The closure of Northern Pulp resulted in the loss of 300 jobs at the mill and about 2,400 jobs total in the Nova Scotian forestry sector.

Across Canada, the forestry sector has seen increasing losses and bureaucratic red tape, with provincial governments unwilling to offer significant help to workers.

Thousands have been laid off across British Columbia in the past year as the forestry sector on the west coast continues to crumble.

In December, BC Liberal forestry critic John Rustad estimated that about 80% of the coastal forestry sector is not in operation.

Only an hour after he was freed from police custody due to coronavirus-related court closures, a man allegedly went on to viciously attack a police officer in a Richmond Hill parking lot.

The incident took place on Friday afternoon near Hillcrest Mall and was captured on video by a nearby witness.

22-year-old Chidubem Anthony Okeke has been charged with attempted murder and failing to comply with recognizance.

According to the Toronto Sun, Okeke allegedly battered a police officer over the head with a baton before trying to disarm him of his gun. 

Okeke was released on bail from a York Regional Police station that day because of coronavirus prevention measures at the Newmarket Court and was told to not go near his residence as part of the bail agreement. 

According to police sources, Okeke approached Const. Andrew Varao while he was sitting in his police cruiser. He then proceeded to punch Varao before disarming him of his baton after he left his vehicle. 

“He tried to deploy his baton in defence but the suspect was able to take it from him and allegedly strike him with at least eight blows to the head,” a source told the Toronto Sun.

“After fending off a grab for his gun, Varao managed to get to his feet and put a call out on his radio.”

In the video of the incident, Okeke is seen wearing a white biohazard suit as he hovers over Varao while he is on the ground. 

Shortly after the incident, several other police cars responded to the attack and arrested Okeke on the scene. 

Okeke appeared in a Newmarket court on Saturday, March 28 to face the charges.