Trudeau Outlines Help for Vulnerable Canadians As COVID Cases Near 13,000

On Saturday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau outlined the $200 million dollar funding allocated for vulnerable Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trudeau says no one should have to choose between being somewhere they are unsafe and risking getting COVID-19. He announced investments of $40 million for women’s shelters and sexual assault centres across the country, $10 million to emergency shelters for indigenous women and children and $157 million towards the Reaching Home Program. Trudeau says the communities who require this funding have been identified and money is already getting to them. The homeless shelter funding will go towards buying physical barriers, additional beds or renting new spaces and facilities to keep people safe. These announcements today are in addition to 16.5 million dollars in funding announced last week for the Kids Help Phone and programs dedicated to the United Way to help senior citizens.

The Prime Minister says COVID-19 projections from the Federal government will be produced in the coming days. In Canada, he says, provinces are experiencing, handling and bringing in measures to adjust to their own situations in various ways. At the federal level they depend on provincial data that is being collated and aligned, so in the coming days projections can be made in to provide a vision of what Canada can expect.

After the White House ordered American company 3-M to stop exports of protective masks to Canada this week, Trudeau once again reiterated it is in both countries interest to maintain the flow of essential goods. The Prime Minister says the government has highlighted to the United States the amount of medical materials and services supplied by Canada that are transported to the US.

Trudeau says the Canadian government is not looking at retaliatory measures at this time and will continue to work collaboratively and cooperatively with the US government.

Cases Near 13,000 in Canada

There are now 12,924 cases of COVID-19, including 214 deaths, in Canada.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health officer says testing continues at a high rate with over 309,000 tests performed, around 4% have been confirmed positive, 95% have been negative.

Dr. Tam spoke on a new COVID-19 dashboard for Canadians that was released today on the government’s website that will present the COVID-19 data the government has, so Canadians can quickly learn more about the outbreak and search for specific information. Dr. Tam also pointed out that the vast majority of deaths is in older age groups over 70, but they have received reports of Canadians in their 20’s and 30’s who have passed away. She says that is a key message that Canadians need to take to heart and consider very seriously.

View the Canadian Coronavirus Dashboard here