Trudeau offers $14B to provinces for anti-virus measures

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday he has offered provinces and territories up to $14 billion in new federal transfers if they work with Ottawa on a “safe-restart agreement” that will help Canadians return to more normal living without a massive surge in new COVID-19 cases.

Trudeau said the “substantial offer,” which he made during his weekly conference call with premiers on Thursday evening, will include money to cover 10 days of paid sick leave for workers.

It will include protective gear for front-line health workers and businesses that need help in keeping their employees safe, money for child-care facilities to be able to reopen safely and for municipal governments to help keep city services such as transit running.

He did not specifically mention long-term care centres, which have borne the brunt of COVID-19 deaths in Canada, but said funds for protecting vulnerable seniors would be in the mix.

He said resuming economic activity requires the right resources so all Canadians have access to the same protections.

“Canadians have sacrificed too much over the past couple of months to lose the progress we’ve made,” Trudeau said.

More than 94,000 Canadians have been confirmed to have COVID-19, but the spread of the novel coronavirus has slowed substantially in recent days. The vast majority of new cases are being found in and around Montreal and Toronto.

All provinces have lifted some of the restrictions on public activities and gatherings, but to varying degrees. The federal jobs report Friday showed nearly 290,000 jobs were added to the economy in May, a sign the federal government said is hopeful, though far from what is needed. Trudeau said governments have to keep their eyes squarely on getting more people back to work.

Trudeau said the $14 billion is intended to roll out over the next six to eight months, but the fine print has to be negotiated with the provinces. He has not specified how the money will be divided.

Quebec Premier François Legault said Quebec should get the most money because it has had the most COVID-19 cases and that the funds should flow without any strings attached.

“If he really wants to help us in the [long-term care homes], he could transfer us money, but it has to be without conditions,” Legault said.