COVID-19: Canada Responds
PM Trudeau on COVID-19 Response, $600M Aid for Businesses – October 2, 2020
At a news conference on Parliament Hill, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau provides an update on the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic. He announces an additional $600 million funding via the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund to assist small- and medium-sized businesses affected by COVID-19. He also announces additional funding for organizations that provide services to victims of gender-based violence, as women and children are faced with being confined to their homes with their abusers amid the pandemic. The government will provide $50 million in funding towards shelters and sexual assault centres, services that support Indigenous women and children living off reserve, and organizations that combat gender-based violence. The prime minister is joined by federal ministers Dominic LeBlanc (intergovernmental affairs) and Mélanie Joly (economic development and official languages) and by Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, and Dr. Howard Njoo, the deputy chief public health officer.
