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Says COVID plan is working

Parties work on deal to prevent what PM says would be ‘irresponsible’ complete return of Parliament; calls Nova Scotia incident ‘terrible situation’

Apr 19, 2020 | 9:11 AM

There is no deal yet to prevent all 338 Members of Parliament from having to show up for work Monday in Ottawa despite the current COVID-19 restrictions.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau answered numerous questions from media Sunday about a stalemate between his Liberal government and the opposition parties over resuming parliament.

Trudeau said the government has proposed one virtual and one in-person sitting per week, while the Conservatives want more sittings.

“The Conservatives are resisting this reasonable solution at this time but we do hope this can be resolved soon,” said Trudeau who says it would be “irresponsible” to have all the MP’s and their support staff coming in from across the country Monday during a pandemic.

Trudeau agrees his minority government should have accountability measures and a parliament that functions, but said it has to be done responsibly.

“Thats why coming back every week for questions and work on passing new legislation is reasonable and acceptable to most parties.”

Trudeau started his address Sunday by expressing condolences to residents in Portapique Nova Scotia where a suspect was arrested after a shooting, calling it a ‘terrible situation.”

“Our hearts go out to everyone affected,” he said.

The PM also talked about seeing a trend in the right direction on the COVID-19 numbers.

“We need to keep doing what we’re doing. It is working. We must continue to stay home and be cautious.”

The government has tightened scrutiny of foreign takeovers of Canadian companies impacted by the COVID crisis.

“We recognize there are vulnerable businesses that are gong to be important to our recovery who are perhaps exposed to foreign purchases in a vulnerable time. We need to be careful that we’re taking care of it. We will be strengthening our oversight and paying close attention to foreign investment in this country to ensure there isn’t people taking advantage of this crisis,” said Trudeau.

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