Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used today’s address to once again drive home the importance of the choices we make in the coming days.
“Every day, someone asks me how long these restrictions will be in place, and the truth is we don’t know yet.” He said. “But here’s what we do know, the duration of this crisis will be determined by the choices we make right now. By decisions we take every single day. So if you want things to get back to normal, do your part, stay home. And if you just returned from abroad go straight home from the airport and do not leave for at least 14 days. This is not a suggestion. You cannot pick up groceries or visit your parents or your friends. You need to go home and stay there. If people do not follow these guidelines we will put much more stringent measures in place.”
He implored Canadians to protect healthcare workers by staying home. “Here’s the hard truth, if our nurses and doctors have COVID-19 they can’t help you. They won’t be able to treat you or your loved ones if you get sick. This is serious.”
When asked about the federal Emergencies Act, he said he had ‘a good discussion’ with provincial and territorial leaders. “It is not something that the premiers largely thought was necessary at this point. Most of them indicated that if it became necessary they would of course support it. But they didn’t feel it was there yet.”
Meanwhile approximately 30 MPs are meeting in Ottawa today to pass an emergency aid bill to help Canadians deal with the financial impacts of the virus.