COVID-19: the NDP and the Bloc are demanding an extension of the PCU [VIDEO]

The prime minister Justin Trudeau at a press conference in Ottawa, Tuesday

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June 9, 2020 10h58

Updated at 15: 16

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COVID-19: the NDP and the Bloc are demanding an extension of the PCU [VIDEO]

Lina Dib

The Canadian Press

Catherine Lévesque

The canadian Press

OTTAWA – The prime minister Justin Trudeau is not ready to accept the request of the new democrats and bloquistes to extend the duration of the Benefit the canadian emergency (PKU), but it promises to announce soon how the transition to the end of this measurement will be made.

For those who see payments of 16 weeks of ECPS completed, Mr. Trudeau has offered, Tuesday morning, of the words that wanted to be reassuring.

“The people will continue to need help. And we will make announcements in the coming days that will explain how exactly we are going to help; but I can reassure people that, as a government, we will continue to be here to support you during this crisis,” he said at his press conference daily.

The neo-democrats, themselves, claim that the PCU be extended as long as the pandemic will affect incomes of Canadians. In a first time, for “at least four months”.

The bloquistes are rather of the opinion that the program should be prolonged as long as necessary, but only for specific sections, such as culture, tourism or hospitality.

“There are people in these sectors who have need of the PCU for a period longer than the 16 weeks of the current program. We can’t give up and that is why, in a very focused manner, we wish the extension of the PCU”, claimed the leader of the Bloc québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, in a statement sent to The canadian Press on Tuesday.

The spokesperson for the conservative in matters of finance, Pierre Poilievre, did not want to say whether he supports an extension of the PCU. It is, however, of the opinion that federal programs should encourage a return to work.

“You absolutely can not replace the labour market through a government program”, he said during a press conference on Tuesday morning.

Up to now, 8,41 million people have requested the PCU and received 43,51 billion $. The federal government has had to revise its budget and is now $ 60 billion for this measure.

The wage subsidy, it has not been as popular as expected. Ottawa now plans to spend 45 billion dollars to this measure, rather than the $ 73 billion $ calculated at the start.

“You absolutely can not replace the labour market through a government program ”

—
The spokesperson for the conservative in matters of finance, Pierre Poilievre

On Tuesday, Mr. Trudeau has assumed that, now that the economic activity resumes across the country, Canadians will move from the PCU to the wage subsidy “by the natural course of things”.

“We’re going to see a lot of people leave the PCU to be put on the wage subsidy, or to simply return to their job”, he predicted. “The system is working, step by step, in the right way”, he judged.

PCU, fraud and racism

In calling the press on Tuesday morning, the leader of the New democratic Party (NDP), Jagmeet Singh, also wanted to denounce the draft bill that will be considered Wednesday at a meeting of the “normal” of the Commons. This bill provides for penalties – fines and imprisonment – for those who have defrauded the PCU.

Mr. Singh believes that such a law would be punishing a disproportionate number of people from racialized communities.

According to him, the COVID-19 key more racialized communities, these communities are also more likely to be penalized by the criminal laws, and he thus draws a conclusion. “I can guarantee you that, if this law passes, there will be more Black, more Aboriginal people, more people are racialized, the poor people, who will be criminalized and end up in prison”, was launched by Mr. Singh, accusing the prime minister to show himself a hypocrite by protesting against racism while preparing such a draft law.

While saying understand the anxiety of Mr. Singh, Mr. Trudeau has assured that the people who have harvested the PCU by mistake, without having the right, will only have to repay the amounts received. He added that it was necessary, however, “go out and get this small minority of criminals” who used the pandemic in order to defraud the system.

“We have a system that must be integrated”, he stressed. “We’re going to look at a case by case basis”, he promised.

The prime minister Justin Trudeau

The Right Patrick Woodbury

Number of cases

There has been more of 1930 000 tests administered in Canada since the beginning of the pandemic. About 5 % of them have detected the disease. We spend, on average, 33 000 tests per day in Canada.

Up to now, there have been 96 614 cases confirmed or probable in the country as a whole. The COVID-19 has caused the death of 7895 Canadian.

Distribution of cases in the country, according to the most recent balance sheet provincial and territorial : 53 185 cases in Quebec, including 5029 death; 31 090 cases in Ontario, of which 2464 death; 7202 cases in Alberta, including 149 deaths; 2659 case in British Columbia, including 167 deaths; 1060 case of Nova Scotia, of which 62 deaths; 654 cases in Saskatchewan, including 13 deaths; 300 cases in Manitoba, including seven deaths; 261 cases in Newfoundland and Labrador, including three deaths; 147 cases in New Brunswick, including one fatality; 27 cases in the Île-du-Prince-Édouard, all cured and 11 cases in the Yukon, all healed; five cases in the Territories-the North-West, all healed; no cases in Nunavut.

These balance sheets provincial and territorial addition to the 13 cases, all cured, by the passengers repatriated from the cruise ship Grand Princess on march 10.

COVID-19: news of Justin Trudeau on 9 June

CPAC

Le Soleil