A summary of the day's activities of Wednesday, September 23, follows.
The Speech from the Throne
Parliament reconvened today with the Speech from the Throne amid what some are calling a second wave of the pandemic. Erin O'Toole, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, and Yves-François Blanchet, Leader of the Bloc Québécois, were not in the Senate chamber as they are both in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19.
The Liberal minority government unveiled an ambitious and wide-ranging plan to fight the pandemic and build back Canada's economy. Many of the goals are aspirational and the costs appear extensive. The path forward, targets, and deadlines as well as anticipated specific outcomes were not identified.
Regarding fiscal responsibility, the Speech from the Throne echoes the government's messages conveyed in its July 2020 economic overview.
This is not the time for austerity. Canada entered this crisis in the best fiscal position of its peers. And the Government is using that fiscal firepower, on things like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, so that Canadians, businesses, and our entire economy have the support needed to weather the storm. Canadians should not have to choose between health and their job, just like Canadians should not have to take on debt that their government can better shoulder.....This Government will preserve Canada's fiscal advantage and continue to be guided by values of sustainability and prudence.
The Throne Speech is built on four foundations.
- Fight the pandemic and save lives.
- Supporting people and businesses through this crisis as long as it lasts, whatever it takes.
- Build back better to create a stronger, more resilient Canada.
- Stand up for who we are as Canadians.
Highlights of key commitments include the following:
Creating jobs
- A campaign to create one million jobs in the economy.
- The extension of the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) until next summer. The government promises to work with businesses and labour to ensure the program meets the needs of the health and economic situation as it evolves.
Supporting workers and their families
- The Employment Insurance (EI) system will become the sole delivery mechanism for employment benefits. The Government is committed to reform EI to reflect the realities of the 21st century and to capture self-employed Canadians and those in the gig economy. Until then, the Canadian Recovery Benefit will cover workers who do not qualify for EI when the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) expires.
Supporting women
- Develop an action plan for women in the economy.
- Strengthen the women entrepreneurship program.
- Make a long-term, sustained investment to create a Canada-wide "accessible, affordable, inclusive and high-quality" early learning and childcare system.
Supporting businesses
- Expanding the Canada Emergency Business Account to help businesses with fixed costs.
- Improving the Business Credit Availability Program.
- Introducing further support for industries that have been the hardest hit, including travel and tourism, hospitality, and cultural industries like the performing arts.
The Government has also committed to strengthen the country's health infrastructure by working with provinces to establish standards for long-term care, accelerate steps for a national, universal pharmacare program, enhance virtual delivery of health care, continue to address the opioid crisis, and further increase access to mental health resources.
The Government has promised to help the provinces increase their testing capacity and to pursue every technology and every option for faster tests for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. The Government will also create a federal Testing Assistance Response Team to meet quickly surging testing needs, including in remote and isolated communities.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will address the nation in a televised address at 6:30 p.m. this evening, followed by the Leader of the Opposition, Erin O'Toole.
Federal Government Briefing
In lieu of an in-person update to the media, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, issued the following statement today:
"There have been 146,663 cases of COVID-19 in Canada, including 9,234 deaths. 87% of people have now recovered. Over the past week, there has been a marked increase in laboratory testing, with an average of almost 70,000 people tested daily across Canada and 1.4% of these testing positive.
Since our last modelling update in mid-August, the national daily case count has been increasing at an accelerated rate. Over the past seven days, an average of 1,123 cases were reported daily, compared to 380 cases reported daily in mid-August.
Canada is at a crossroads with the COVID-19 epidemic trajectory. At the current rate of growth, our epidemiological analysis and modelling studies indicate that unless public health and individual protective measures are strengthened and we work together to slow the spread of the virus, the situation is on track for a big resurgence in a number of provinces."
Statement from Ontario Premier Doug Ford
Ontario Premier Doug Ford spoke with reporters at Queen's Park to provide more details on his government's COVID-19 fall preparedness plan. Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott joined the Premier.
Premier Ford announced that as of Friday, up to 60 pharmacies in Ontario will begin offering testing for Ontarians who have no COVID-19 symptoms by appointment only, with further locations coming online in the coming weeks. This initiative will expand testing capacity well beyond the province's 150 assessment centres.
Premier Ford said, "I have to thank Shoppers Drug Mart, Rexall, and the independent pharmacies who have stepped up in a big way to help expand testing to more people in the province. With everyone pitching in, we are well on our way to reaching our goal of 50,000 tests a day and stopping the spread of COVID-19."
In addition, Premier Ford announced that Women's College, Mount Sinai and University Health Network?Toronto Western Hospital assessment centres will be offering saliva testing this week. More assessment centres will offer this less invasive method in the coming weeks, giving Ontarians more options to access testing for COVID-19.
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