By Chris Brown

Update from the PM

Communities will reopen at different times across the country, says Trudeau

Jun 2, 2020 | 9:20 AM

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that as the economy begins to reopen, many Canadians are wondering when their community will be back up and running.

“The short answer is it depends on where you and how things are going for your city or region,” he said, adding that “as a country defeating COVID-19 is something we must do together.”

Trudeau was direct when speaking about the demonstrations happening across the United States.

“We all watch in horror and consternation what’s going on in the United States. It is a time to pull people together, but it is a time to listen. It is a time to learn when injustices continue despite progress over years and decades.”

He said Canadians must recognize that the challenges in Canada and the systemic racism that exists.

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“Black Canadians and racialized Canadians face discrimination as a lived reality every single day,” he said. “Our systems treat Canadians of colour, Canadians who are racialized differently than they do others. It is something many of us don’t see but it is something is a lived reality for racialized Canadians. We need to see that not just as a government and take action but we need to see that as Canadians we need to be allies in the fight against discrimination. We need to listen, we need to learn and we need to work hard to figure out how we can be part of the solution on fixing things.”

Trudeau was reluctant to comment on the actions of the words and comments of U.S. President Donald Trump, saying that his job is to stand up for Canadians and Canadian values.

At his daily address outside Rideau Cottage, the prime minister said there must be a shared approach moving forward and later added that includes not just governments working together but also working together across industries.

He touted that the federal government is working with Canadian manufacturers on personal protective equipment (PPE) and that more than half of face shields are being produced in Canada. He also said the government is funding four Canadian companies working on what might be breakthrough solutions for COVID-19 rapid testing.

“As we restart the economy demand for supplies will go up and Canada must be able to keep up,” he said.

Asked how far away the country is from having all the PPE needed, Trudeau would only say that “we continue to have enough supplies to supply the provinces in their needs right now but as we reopen we know we’re going to need more.”

He said the government is continuing to ramp up production and importation of PPE.

As of Tuesday morning, Canada had 92,140 confirmed cases, 11 probable cases and 7,344 deaths. There have been 1,721,511 Canadians tested.

In Alberta, there are 7,044 cases and 143 deaths. A total of 237,747 Albertans have been tested. There are 400 active cases in Alberta.