Canadian Government Working With Provinces On Safely Reopening Economy

0
254

 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this week that the federal, provincial, and territorial governments have come together and agreed to a set of common principles for restarting the Canadian economy, based on shared understanding and appreciation of what science and experts are telling us. This statement identifies the criteria that need to be in place before we can go back to work and school, or see neighbours and friends.

 

OTTAWA – Canadians want to know when they can get back to normal, even if it is not the old normal and when will the economy open again. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has an answer, sort of.

 

This week, the federal government said since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, all orders of government have been working together to slow and contain the spread of the virus. As the first wave of the virus’ activity passes, provincial and territorial governments will move at their own pace to safely restore economic activity within their jurisdictions, while protecting the health of Canadians.

 

Trudeau announced this week that the federal, provincial, and territorial governments have come together and agreed to a set of common principles for restarting the Canadian economy, based on shared understanding and appreciation of what science and experts are telling us.

 

“Our priority is keeping all Canadians safe, while getting back to normal as much as we can. That’s why First Ministers have worked on a set of shared principles to gradually restart the economy, based on science and evidence-based decision-making. Together, we will continue to work collaboratively to keep Canadians safe and healthy, and protect our economy,” said Trudeau.

 

He said this statement identifies the criteria that need to be in place before we can go back to work and school, or see neighbours and friends.

 

This statement acknowledges the importance of restarting the economy through a gradual approach that protects the health of Canadians, including high-risk groups, as well as the need to ensure public health capacity for future waves of the virus, while at the same time continuing to support a range of economic sectors and Canadian workers.

 

The statement acknowledges that provinces and territories will take different steps at different times in order to ease restrictions, reflecting the specific circumstances in each jurisdiction. The statement identifies four main principles, including taking a science and evidence-based approach to decision-making, coordination and collaboration between all jurisdictions, continued accountability and transparency of all governments, and flexibility and proportionality as information changes over time.