True North

Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced a $10 billion stimulus fund for business in Canada in response to the “extraordinary” COVID-19 pandemic. 

Morneau made the announcement Friday afternoon alongside Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz and Superintendent of Financial Institutions Jeremy Ruden. 

“I’m told this is a rare occasion, maybe even a first for a finance minister, a governor of the bank of Canada, and the superintendent of financial institutions to make a policy announcement together,” said Morneau.

“These are extraordinary times and that means we are ready to take extraordinary measures.” 

The $10 billion stimulus program will be distributed through the Business Development Bank of Canada and the Export Development Canada. 

“The government of Canada is preparing a significant stimulus program to be released next week to stabilize our economy, to support businesses and to protect Canadians during a difficult time,” said Morneau.

“As a first step, today I’m announcing that we are establishing our Credit Facility Program to support businesses and to stimulate the economy. This will make $10 billion dollars available in additional support for Canadian businesses through the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada.”  

Poloz also announced that the Bank of Canada will be cutting interest rates to 0.75% to stimulate economic activity. 

The announcement comes after a number of significant banks and economists, including RBC, CIBC and the Bank of America stated that they expect the Canadian economy to enter into a recession. 

“Hit by both the virus and oil markets, Canada and the U.S. are likely to join a growing list of countries facing an economic contraction,” said CIBC economist Avery Shenfeld and Bejamin Tal. 

Passengers returning on the last Air Canada flight from Rome say that they were not screened for COVID-19 upon arriving in Canada.

According to a CityNews report, the travellers were not asked any questions about potential symptoms at Montreal’s Trudeau Airport but instead were handed a sheet of paper with information on the coronavirus. 

“Except for the paper that they passed out, nothing,” said one passenger about the screening measures upon arrival. 

Air Canada announced on Tuesday that it would suspend all flights between Canada and Italy due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Italy has seen cases of COVID-19 skyrocket in the past few weeks and the Italian government has put the entire nation on lockdown. 

Over 15,000 people have been infected with COVID-19 and over 1,000 people have died from the virus. 

Cases have been steadily rising in Canada since the virus first broke out. Currently, there have been 138 confirmed cases of COVID-19, a majority of which are in Ontario and British Columbia. 

According to Health Minister Patty Hajdu anywhere between 30% to 70% of Canadians can expect to contract the virus in the near future. 

While US President Donald Trump has completely suspended flights from the European Union, the Canadian government has not imposed any travel restrictions on Italy or other countries. 

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau has tested positive for COVID-19, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed Thursday evening.

Grégoire Trudeau, the wife of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, developed flu-like symptoms following a return from the United Kingdom.

Trudeau announced Thursday morning that Grégoire Trudeau would be tested, and that both of them would remain in isolation for 14 days.

“Although I’m experiencing uncomfortable symptoms of the virus, I will be back on my feet soon,” Grégoire Trudeau wrote in a statement.

“Being in quarantine at home is nothing compared to other Canadian families who might be going through this and for those facing more serious health concerns.”

As of Thursday evening, Trudeau had still shown no symptoms, but the PMO confirmed he would still maintain a self-quarantine.

Grégoire Trudeau’s diagnosis is the 158th confirmed Canadian case of COVID-19, which earlier in the week was deemed a pandemic by the World Health Organization.

According to CTV News, the Trudeaus’ children are not symptomatic and have thus far not been quarantined.

The Ontario government has announced that it intends to close all public schools for the next three weeks, starting on March 14, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

March break was originally scheduled to be one week long, ending March 22, but has been extended by two weeks, until April 5. 

“Based on advice from Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and the experts at the COVID-19 Command Table, the minister of education has issued a ministerial order to close all publicly funded schools in Ontario for two weeks following March break in response to the emergence in Ontario of COVID-19,” said a joint statement by Premier Doug Ford, Education Minister Stephen Lecce, and Health Minister Christine Elliot. 

The announcement was made late Thursday afternoon, shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau were tested for the coronavirus and went into precautionary self-isolation.

Ontario legislators have indicated that they are also planning on passing a government motion that would allow them to suspend the legislature if need be to prevent further spread of the virus. 

According to federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu, between 30% and 70% of Canadians could become infected with the virus. 

“There are a range of estimates, but I would say that it is safe to assume that it could be between 30% of the population that acquire COVID-19 and 70% of the population,” said Hajdu.

The latest federal government figures show that there are currently 103 people in Canada who are confirmed to be carrying the virus, 42 of which are in Ontario. 

Veterans Affairs Canada is opening a new department aimed at better serving female and LGBT veterans while a backlog of people waiting for benefits is at a record high. 

According to the new Office of Women and LGBTQ2 Veterans’ director Christina Hutchins, the department will work to be “fair and equitable” to minority groups. 

“Are we reaching all the veterans that we need to reach, in terms of offering the services and benefits that we have? And are there any potential gaps in the services and benefits that we’re offering, in terms of being fair and equitable to minority groups like women and LGBTQ2 veterans?”, said Hutchins. 

Women make up 14% of Canada’s 670,000 veterans. The Canadian Armed Forces have been trying to increase the number of women in uniform by 1% each year, with the goal of 25% by 2026. 

As exclusively reported by True North, the Royal Canadian Navy is exploring changing its “seaman” ranks to be more ”inclusive” and reflect a more progressive navy. 

In February, the number of veterans waiting for a decision on their benefits application rose to 44,000. 

The Trudeau government has struggled to handle the rapidly growing application backlog, which grew by 10% in the last six months.

Despite hiring hundreds of new employees in the department and promising further funding, the Liberals have not been able to adequately address the situation. 

Canadian veterans were shortchanged by Trudeau in 2019 after he promised them $105 million in additional funding but never delivered on the promise. 

According to Global News, the Liberal government sat on a $372 million fund earmarked for veterans for its first three years in office. 

In 2018, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked by a veteran why his government continued to fight veterans’ rights groups in court, he told him that they were asking for “more than we are able to give right now.”

Veteran Affairs Canada has also performed poorly on meeting government service standards, according to their official figures the department flunked 15 out of 24 of its targets.

The NHL has suspended its 2019-2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In a statement published on Thursday afternoon, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement. 

“In light of ongoing developments resulting from the coronavirus, and after consulting with medical experts and convening a conference call of the Board of Governors, the National Hockey League is announcing today that it will pause the 2019-20 season beginning with tonight’s games,” wrote Bettman. 

The suspension comes less than a day after the NBA paused all games. The NBA’s measures were cited by the NHL as a reason behind their decision.

“It now seems more likely that some members of the NHL community would test positive at some point. It is no longer appropriate to try to continue to play games at this time,” claimed Bettman. 

Sports events around the world have been cancelled or are currently considering its options.

Yesterday, Quebec’s Health Minister Danielle McCann announced that the World Figure Skating Championships scheduled to be held in Montreal next Monday were to be cancelled. 

Japan has also been considering its options regarding the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to the virus, including the possibility that the billion-dollar event could be cancelled. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in self-isolation while his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, is being tested for COVID-19.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Sophie Trudeau began showing flu-like symptoms, including a fever, Wednesday after returning from a speaking engagement in the UK. 

“The doctor’s advice to the Prime Minister is to continue daily activities while self-monitoring, given he is exhibiting no symptoms himself. However, out of an abundance of caution, the Prime Minister is opting to self-isolate and work from home until receiving Sophie’s results,” said a statement from the PMO. 

“The Prime Minister will spend the day in briefings, phone calls, and virtual meetings from home, including speaking with other world leaders and joining the special COVID-19 cabinet committee discussion.”

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh also announced he will be self-isolating after coming down with an illness. 

“I have been in contact with a doctor and they do not believe I have symptoms consistent with COVID19. But their advice is for me to limit contact with the public until I am feeling better,” tweeted Singh on Thursday. 

There are 140 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada and the number is expected to grow. 

According to Health Minister Patty Hajdu, anywhere from 30% to 70% of Canadians can expect to be infected with the virus. 

Trudeau’s announcement today also affected a first minister’s meeting which will now be conducted virtually. 

The Department of Finance spent an undisclosed amount of taxpayer dollars to build a “wellness room” in the final hours of the last fiscal year.

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, bureaucrats wanted to build the room as quickly as possible as the 2018-2019 fiscal year came to a close.

“Let’s get this in place as soon as possible,” wrote Alexandre Emard, department facility support officer in an email to coworkers.

His email was sent on March 29, 2019, at 11:53 a.m., with five hours and seven minutes left before the fiscal year ended.

Emard also suggested paying a personal trainer to do a photoshoot for instructional posters in the wellness room.

“She can get one of her staff to do a photoshoot instead of taking them from internet pictures. What do you think?” he asked.

While the department would not disclose the total cost, among the equipment purchased for the room included medicine balls, yoga mats, aerobic steps, foam rollers and gliders.

Government departments are known to spend whatever remains in their budgets in the days and weeks leading to the end of the fiscal year – infamously known as “March madness.”

In 2019, the federal cabinet reported a total of $2.04 billion in government-wide purchases in the last eight weeks leading up to the March 31, the end of the fiscal year.

It was also reported that employee use of government credit cards increased by 231% in March 2019.

“We note the increased pressure to spend budgets at fiscal year-end was one of the main contributing factors,” government auditors said about the spike in credit card use.

In 2019, the Ford government in Ontario introduced new rules limiting the amount the money departments can spend between mid-February and March in an attempt to stop “March madness.”

The Ford government estimated the move would save taxpayers from $153 million in unnecessary spending.