Justin Trudeau: (02:53)
All need to continue to do right now. First, keep following the current public health restrictions for a few more weeks. Things can’t open back up until cases are way down otherwise we risk a fourth wave. Second, and this is key, get your vaccine. We can all help get back to the things we love by being vaccinated. [foreign language 00:03:19].
Translator: (03:22)
Our priority is to ensure that you and your family are safe. In the short term, we have to fight and beat COVID-19, and in the longterm, we must build a healthier, more prosperous future. Today, I’m announcing that we are going to invest nearly $200 million in the business resilience bio technologies to strengthen our capacity to produce vaccines and therapeutics here in Canada. By providing support for facilities and to the companies so that they can work with new technologies, Canada will be at the cutting edge of innovation in the world, and that’s essential so that we can face any future health crisis.
Justin Trudeau: (04:06)
[crosstalk 00:04:06] investment of almost $200 million in resilience bio technologies will not only boost Canadian manufacturing, they’ll also support good Canadian jobs. This funding will maintain and create 500 well paying full-time jobs at the resilience facility in Mississauga, positions that people can rely on to provide for their families. It will also mean 50 co-op spots, which will help young people get their foot in the door in a growing sector. To rebuild from this pandemic we’re investing in Canada, in workers, in innovation, and in the future. [foreign language 00:04:44].
Translator: (04:46)
Whether it’s creating jobs in the bio manufacturing sector or supporting entrepreneurs, we have a plan to build a stronger, safer Canada for everyone. This last year has been difficult, but better days are ahead. Thank you, and I’ll give the floor now to Minister Champagne.
François-Philippe Champagne: (05:07)
Thank you, Prime Minister for the introduction. [foreign language 00:05:11].
Translator: (05:13)
I’m delighted to join you today from Shawinigan. As the Prime Minister has said, our objectives during the pandemic have been clear. First of all, protecting the health and safety of Canadians and ensuring that we will be more resilient for the future.
François-Philippe Champagne: (05:33)
To fully appreciate the importance of today’s announcement as outlined by the Prime Minister, we simply need to look to the past. As we have seen, our bio manufacturing sector has been in decline for almost four decades. At the outbreak of the pandemic, we lack the capacity needed to attract the mass production of COVID-19 vaccines. But one thing is clear, Canada is well positioned to grow it’s leadership in the life sciences sector. We have the talent, we have the entrepreneurs, and we have the ecosystem to help this sector grow. That’s why we have taken strategic, immediate action with the long-term vision as we outline with the announcement today.
François-Philippe Champagne: (06:23)
Since March, 2020, we have invested well over a billion dollar in rebuilding our domestic bio manufacturing sector. And in budget 2021, we doubled down on this commitment with $2.2 billion towards growing a vibrant domestic life sciences sector again. We are helping dozen of Canadian firms expand and are attracting foreign investment in Canada as we are announcing with resilience today. [foreign language 00:06:59].
Translator: (07:02)
Our investments will help make Canada more competitive internationally in the life sciences sector. And that brings us to today’s announcement. We’re delighted to announce that we are investing $199.16 million in the business resilience bio technologies to modernize and expand their facilities in Mississauga. We will be supporting a project valued at more than $401.52 million. Once completed, the new facility is expected to be able to manufacture between 112 and 640 million doses of messenger RNA vaccines per year. This will position Canada as a jurisdiction of choice that will attract vaccine and therapeutic manufacturing for both the Canadian market and for export.
François-Philippe Champagne: (08:01)
We are investing $199 million in resilience bio technologies to modernize and expand their facilities in Mississauga, which will support an overall project of more than $400 million. Once completed, the new facility is expected to be able to manufacture between 112 million and 640 million doses of mRNA vaccines per year, a significant boost to our domestic capacity. This will position Canada well to attract vaccine manufacturing for both the Canadian market and the export market.
François-Philippe Champagne: (08:46)
This investment is also very good news in terms of jobs and opportunities for Canadian because the company has committed to keep 500 of these jobs in Mississauga for the next 25 years. All in all, this investment is good news for Mississauga, good news for Ontario, and good news for the growing life sciences ecosystem all across Canada. Today’s announcement is further proof that our country, and indeed our efforts, which are led by the Prime Minister, are attracting major investments in the sector as we have seen over the last few months.
François-Philippe Champagne: (09:27)
I want to say congratulations to everyone on the resilience team, we are excited to be supporting you in this very important project, a project that will create jobs, a project that will increase our resiliency, and a project that will support our economy growth plan. [foreign language 00:09:46].
Translator: (09:46)
On that, I will give the floor to Dr. Tam. Dr. Tam, you have the floor.
Dr. Tam: (09:54)
[foreign language 00:09:54]. Nationally, disease activity continues to decline, but there are still some areas of Canada experiencing very high infection rates. Over the past seven days, an average of 5,700 cases have been reported daily, and the number of people experiencing severe and critical illness remains elevated. On average, over 3,600 people with COVID-19 were being treated in our hospitals each day, including over 1,300 in the intensive care units. And there were an average of 43 deaths reported daily.
Dr. Tam: (10:33)
Nevertheless, we are making steady progress with a 25% decrease in reported active cases since the peak of the third wave in mid April. Last week, we have more encouraging news including significant increases in vaccine supplies and expansion and innovation of vaccination programs across the country that are helping to protect as many Canadians as possible faster.
Dr. Tam: (10:59)
On Sunday the Thorncliffe Park vaccination clinic in East York achieved a great milestone, [inaudible 00:11:06] Canadian first in vaccine delivery by providing over 10,000 people with a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in less than 24 hours as a single clinic location. At the same time, regulatory and expert authorities in Canada continued to assess the evidence for safe, effective, and optimized use of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada.
Dr. Tam: (11:29)
Following Health Canada’s authorization of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use in children aged 12 to 15 years on the 5th of May, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization has completed their expert review with new advice for federal, provincial, and territorial governments released today. NACI recommends that a complete series of two doses of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine can be offered to individuals 12 to 18 years of age who are eligible to receive the vaccine.
Dr. Tam: (12:05)
The coming weeks and months hold rates promise. Accelerated vaccine for roll-outs will return greater benefits if we maintain caution while allowing the vaccines time to build our protection. Many of us are achieving priming protection from our first dose of vaccine during the spring and summer months, to be followed by our second immunity boosting dose that will maximize protection.
Dr. Tam: (12:32)
During this time, as immunity builds up across the population, it is very important to continue following local public health advice, including about when and where to maintain essential precautions such as masking and spacing. This will help us stay healthy while allowing us to safely enjoy more activities and small reunions outdoors.
Dr. Tam: (12:55)
Importantly, this cautious approach will also set us up for better for fall. Maintaining our progress to reduce infection rates down to manageable levels, ease pressure on the health system, and re-establish public health capacity will put us in a better position to prevent a full resurgence. Working together, we can end this pandemic and get back to the connections and activities that enrich our social and economic life and wellbeing in Canada. Thank you, [foreign language 00:13:25].
Dr. Howard Njoo: (13:29)
[foreign language 00:13:29].
Translator: (13:31)
Hello, everyone. Nationally, disease activity continues to decline, but there are still certain areas of Canada experiencing very high infection rates. Over the past seven days, an average of 5,700 cases have been reported daily. The number of people experiencing severe and critical illness remains elevated. On average, over 3,600 people with COVID-19 were being treated in our hospitals each day, including over 1,300 in ICUs. There was an average of 43 deaths reported daily.
Translator: (14:09)
Nevertheless, we are making steady progress with a 25% decrease in reported active cases since the peak of the third wave in mid April. Last week, we had more encouraging news, including significant increases in vaccine supplies and expansion and innovation of vaccination programs across the country. They are helping to protect as many Canadians possible faster.
Translator: (14:35)
On Sunday, the Thorncliffe Park vaccination clinic in East York achieved a great milestone and a Canadian first in vaccine delivery. It provided over 10,000 people with a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in less than 24 hours at a single clinic. At the same time, regulatory expert authorities in Canada continue to assess the evidence for safe, effective, and optimized use of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada.
Translator: (15:08)
Following Health Canada’s authoration of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use in children age 12 to 15, that was on May, 5th, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization has completed it’s expert review with new advice for federal, provincial, and territorial governments released to date today. The NACI recommends that a complete series of two doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine can be offered to individuals 12 to 18 years of age, who are eligible.
Translator: (15:48)
The coming weeks and months hold great promise. Accelerated vaccine rollout will return with greater benefits if we may maintain caution while allowing the vaccines time to build our protection. Many of us are achieving priming protection from our first dose of vaccine during the spring and summer months. It will be followed by our second immunity boosting dose that will maximize protection.
Translator: (16:20)
During this time, as immunity builds up across the population, it is very important to continue following local public health advice, including about when and where to maintain essential precautions, such as masking and spacing. This will help us stay healthy while allowing us to safely enjoy more activities and small reunions outdoors.
Translator: (16:46)
Importantly, this cautious approach will also set us up for a better fall. Maintaining our progress to reduce infection rates down to manageable levels, to ease pressure on the health system, and to reestablish public health capacity will put us in a better position to prevent a fall resurgence. Working together, we can end this pandemic and get back to the connections and activities that enrich our social and economic life and wellbeing in Canada. Thank you.
Speaker 1: (17:27)
Thank you, Dr. Njoo. The PM will be answering six questions, one question, one follow-up. Ministers and doctors will remain another 15 minutes to answer more questions starting with the phone. [foreign language 00:17:36].
Speaker 2: (17:36)
Thank you. Please press star one if you had a question. [foreign language 00:17:50].
Translator: (17:49)
First question from La Presse newspaper. Thank you, question. Major General Danny Fortin’s lawyers said yesterday that [foreign language 00:18:11] knew for several weeks that he had been the source of allegations. When did you learn this for the first time?
Justin Trudeau: (18:19)
[foreign language 00:18:19].
Translator: (18:19)
Answer, thank you. As usual, my first thoughts are also always for the victims of the Canadian Armed Forces who need to have the necessary support, especially when it comes time to report allegations or complaints, we will always be there for them. In this situation, authorities and military leadership, army leadership are in the middle of undertaking a process. And when they do so…
Translator: (19:03)
… are in the middle of undertaking a process, and when they do so they sometimes think it’s appropriate to inform my office.
Translator: (19:08)
I was informed several weeks ago, but obviously because this is a process that is independent, I did not receive much details, which is appropriate, totally appropriate. And of course, I cannot make any comments on these allegations.
Translator: (19:28)
However, I can tell you that when there are allegations or concerns and a followup my office and I have two main concerns, we want to ensure that the investigation is complete, rigorous, and fair. And second of all, if a complaint has been made by someone, we want to ensure that this person’s wishes are given the priority. This is always what we will be doing, no matter what the situation we expect the process to go ahead independently and rigorously.
Translator: (20:17)
But I can tell you, and this is what concerns many people, vaccination is continuing and we have Brigadier-General Brodie now who will be able to continue this work with her trademark excellence.
Justin Trudeau: (20:38)
First of all, I want to obviously express, as always, my total support for women and men who serve in the armed forces who deserve to serve in safety and secure environments, and also to have the supports necessary if ever they are to come forward with concerns and allegations.
Justin Trudeau: (21:03)
In regards to this situation, it is being led, followed up appropriately by appropriate authorities and military leadership. In situations like this, those authorities can make a determination to inform me in my office, which they did in this case a number of weeks ago, however, because as is appropriate, I didn’t receive details of what is being alleged, what’s going on in terms of the investigation, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on that investigation.
Justin Trudeau: (21:48)
But I do want to remind people that whenever we are apprised of situations like this, I have two main priorities. First of all, that the investigation be complete, be rigorous, and be fair. And secondly, that if it’s a situation where there are concerns because someone came forward, that the wishes and supports for that complainant be always top of mind as we go through the process.
Justin Trudeau: (22:20)
At the same time, I can reassure Canadians that our vaccination rollout, particularly this week, where we are receiving record numbers of vaccine doses, our vaccine rollout continues and is in excellent hands with Brigadier-General Brodie and her team, who will continue to ensure that Canadians get vaccinated as quickly and as safely as possible.
Speaker 3: (22:42)
[Foreign language 00:22:42].
Translator: (22:44)
Follow up question. Yes, between the moment that you were informed several weeks ago that Major-General Fortin would be investigated and the actual announcement of his sudden departure Friday, what happened?
Translator: (23:06)
And I’ll ask the question, why are we not disclosing certain facts to demonstrate that this suspension is justified? We’re talking about an allegation that goes back to 1999; we’re having trouble understanding the scope of the gestures that Major-General Fortin times alleged to have done.
Translator: (23:35)
Answer. I fully understand your questions. And I can tell you that this is a situation that we do not want to obviously have, especially right now, but of course it’s also obvious and extremely important to take it seriously.
Translator: (23:59)
With regard to the specific decision, I can say that the authorities in charge military, leadership took, this process on. We were advised that the process had been undertaken, but it is not my role nor my office’s role to oversee this process. These questions would be more appropriate for the authorities.
Justin Trudeau: (24:26)
I understand all these questions, and they’re very legitimate questions [Melanie 00:24:32]. this is also not an ideal situation to be in, particularly in this moment of crisis, in this moment of importance on the vaccine rollout, but it is really, really important that we have proper processes in place and that any concerns be followed up on. That is what all Canadians expect, regardless of the situations we’re in. And that’s what’s being done in this situation. This is not an investigation out of my office, or out of the Privy Council, it’s being handled by military leadership and the appropriate authorities. So I can’t give the more specific answers that you’re looking for, but I would understand that people have questions and are hopeful that this process is going to be, as I highlighted my desire for it to be, fair, complete, and rigorous.
Translator: (25:32)
Thank you. Operator, next question on the phone?
Speaker 3: (25:35)
Our next question is from Tonda MacCharles from the Toronto Star, please go ahead.
Tonda MacCharles: (25:41)
Yes. Hi, Prime Minister, I wonder if you can speak then to a couple of things? Given that this seems to be an allegation that came forward possibly two months ago, you said a number of weeks ago that you found out; given that you are in what you call an important moment in the pandemic, what do you make of, what is your opinion of what, maybe seems like to the outside, foot-dragging on this investigation? Why wasn’t it addressed very quickly? Why wasn’t a General Fortin, for example, given specifics of the allegation he’s facing until Sunday by a reporter?
Justin Trudeau: (26:20)
Again, Tonda, I totally appreciate those questions. They are real questions that people are asking themselves. In this situation, like I said, I was surprised that there were concerns a number of weeks ago. My role, and my office’s role is to ensure that everyone knows that the proper processes need to be followed, that the wishes of any complaining parties need to be respected and supported, and that these measures be taken seriously with rigor and with fairness.
Justin Trudeau: (27:01)
I cannot speak to the details of these allegations in large part because I wasn’t given the details of these allegations, because it would not be appropriate for me to be following that closely an independent investigation like this. But I can assure you that we are very attentive to the fact that proper process be followed in this, as in all cases.
Tonda MacCharles: (27:26)
I’m wondering how you can describe your confidence that a proper process is being followed, given that it seems like there’s a firewall between you and the military, and this seems to be something that’s been afoot for two months. And so if the allegation is founded, then you’ve had a leader in position that presumably you wouldn’t have wanted him to be. If the allegation is unfounded, now his reputation may be at stake.
Tonda MacCharles: (27:50)
So I’m just curious, how have you assured yourself, given what seems to be a firewall between you and the military, that a proper rigorous investigation is being undertaken, and a fair one?
Justin Trudeau: (28:01)
You have highlighted, Tonda, the very real challenges and important factors to consider and to keep an eye on in any such process. Absolutely we need to make sure that the process is fair for everyone involved, and that it is complete and rigorous. That’s why the communications and the leadership of the military has been focused on this, and my office and the Privy Council office have been engaged with the appropriate authorities to impress upon them the importance of following the proper rigorous processes, and ensuring that all appropriate steps are taken.
Translator: (28:46)
Answer repeated in French. I think what you’re saying, Tonda, is extremely important. We need to be focusing on the idea that there is a fair, rigorous, thorough investigation conducted properly. That is why my office and myself got the message out very clearly through the Privy Council that the Canadian Armed Forces must ensure that their process to investigate allegations be followed properly.
Speaker 3: (29:28)
[Foreign language 00:29:28].
Translator: (29:30)
Our last question on the phone is from Le Devoir. Go ahead please.
Translator: (29:35)
Hello, Mr. Trudeau, I’d like to change the topic if you will permit. The recent bill regarding bill 101 in Quebec has been tabled, and you and your ministers have not commented on this new bill from Quebec. We’d like to hear what you have to say. Premier Legault says that he will change the constitution to ensure that Quebec is recognized as a nation, and that French is the sole language of Quebec. Can a province unilaterally change the Canadian constitution? Is an amendment possible? What is your opinion? What is your government’s opinion.
Translator: (30:27)
Answer. First of all, as you know, we share Quebec’s interest and desire to see French protected in Quebec; and across Canada in fact, this is the responsibility of the federal government, and we will always be defending the French language in Quebec and across Canada while ensuring that official language linguistic minorities are protected. When it comes to amending the constitution unilaterally, that is a province amending the constitution, indeed, what we understand from our initial analysis is that Quebec can amend part of the constitution to underscore what the federal government has already stated, that is that Quebec is indeed a nation, and that this province has the official language of French.
Translator: (31:40)
Obviously we’re going to be ensuring that we uphold the constitutional protections, especially for Anglophones in Quebec, but I think we can work together with Quebec to move forward with protecting the French language, something that we all agree upon. Answer repeated in English.
Justin Trudeau: (32:07)
It is extremely important first to highlight that we agree with the province of Quebec on how important it is to protect the French language. Yes, there are particular measures that need to be done to protect the French language within Quebec, but also as the federal government has responsibility right across the country; that goes hand in hand, of course, with the protection of linguistic minorities across the country, which we will continue to do.
Justin Trudeau: (32:34)
In regards to the constitution our initial analysis in terms of the Justice Department has highlighted that it is a perfectly legitimate for a province to modify the section of the constitution that applies specifically to them, and that that is something that they can do while ensuring, of course, that the rest of the constitution, including the sections that protect linguistic minorities like Anglophones in Quebec, continue to be respected.
Justin Trudeau: (33:09)
We will continue to move forward in ways that protect the French language, both in Quebec and across the country, and look forward to partnering with all governments across the country that share that goal with us.
Speaker 3: (33:22)
[Foreign language 00:33:22].
Translator: (33:24)
Do you have a followup question?
Translator: (33:26)
Yes. Thank you for your detailed answer. Just to continue in the same vein, and correct me if I’ve misunderstood, you will not be opposing these constitutional amendments, but what about the rest of bill 96 from Premier Legault? You said you want to ensure that the bill upholds the rights for linguistic minorities in Quebec, that is Anglophone; are you saying you won’t challenge any part of the bill, or can I understand from what you’re saying when it comes to protecting Anglophones that you will be keeping a close eye on certain parts of this bill that may cause problems?
Translator: (34:16)
Answer. First of all, let me say that we agree with the Quebec government that more must be done to protect the French language. But as the federal government, it’s not just a question of protecting French in Quebec, it’s a question of protecting it across the entire country. And in that respect, we agree with the Quebec government. Of course this bill, bill 96, is a provincial bill. There will be an analysis, there may be amendments made to the bill, and we will watch and see what happens with this bill. I can ensure all Quebekers and all Canadians though, that we will be there as partners to ensure that French is indeed protected, and that rights are upheld.
Speaker 3: (35:14)
[Foreign language 00:35:14].
Kevin Gallagher: (35:16)
Prime Minister, Kevin Gallagher, with CTV national news. I just want to take it back to the investigation into Major General Dany Fortin, I find your answers to be a bit vague here. You say weeks ago you found out, you’ve said that issues of sexual misconduct are zero tolerance for you.
Kevin Gallagher: (35:32)
So the question is why was Major General Fortin allowed to stay on with public health until Friday? When did you find out that this was an allegation of sexual misconduct?
Justin Trudeau: (35:43)
First of all, I have highlighted that I have not been given a tremendous amount of details into this case because that would not be appropriate. There are official and independent processes underway in reviewing the case, and reviewing the concerns that were brought forward, and they can speak to what needs to be made publicly. I cannot speak to details of this.
Justin Trudeau: (36:10)
I can highlight that this is a matter being followed up on by the military leadership and the appropriate authorities, that they made decisions along the way, and that we from our position are in a position of ensuring that yes, the appropriate steps be followed, and that wishes of any complainants, if that is indeed the type of investigation this is, be respected and followed. I can’t even confirm the type of investigation this is because that is not information that has been made public by the military yet.
Kevin Gallagher: (36:49)
Well, I think that we need to look maybe broader here; now with Major-General Fortin, at least half a dozen top military officials are under investigation for sexual misconduct. Your government six years ago had recommendations to address sexual misconduct in the forces from the Deschamps report, and very few of those recommendations were implemented. What responsibility do you take now for the crisis that is gripping the military?
Justin Trudeau: (37:18)
I think we all share responsibility for this. The culture of tolerance of misconduct in the military has gone on for far too long, which is one of the reasons why as a government, when we came into office six years ago, we took significant steps to accelerate the move towards creating better supports for survivors of sexual assault or anyone who comes forward.
Justin Trudeau: (37:45)
We have taken steps, but obviously with what we’re seeing now, there is so much more to do, which is why we appointed Justice Louise Arbour to lead up a review process to talk about the path going forward, and immediately appointed General Jennie Carignan to be able to create-
Justin Trudeau: (38:02)
General Jennie Carignan to be able to create supports right now for anyone in the military who needs to come forward and wants to come forward and share unacceptable actions or issues that they have faced. It’s really, really important that anyone who serves feels supported and listened to as they come forward to share actions, experiences, inappropriate things that happened to them over the course of their career or in the past years.
Speaker 4: (38:35)
[foreign language 00:38:35]
Translator: (38:39)
Answer repeated in French. I think it’s extremely important that we must do better as a country and as a society to support survivors of assault.
Translator: (38:53)
For six years now, we have made major steps to improve the situation, but there’s still much more to be done. That’s why we have asked Judge Louise Arbour to do followup to determine what steps still need to be taken.
Translator: (39:14)
In the meantime, as we await Judge Arbour’s report, we have General Jennie Carignan, who is currently concerning herself with the complaints and allegations, the unacceptable situations that people have described experiencing in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Speaker 5: (39:35)
Prime Minister, I’m wondering if you can tell us whether you’re aware of [crosstalk 00:39:35] investigations into sexual misconduct, and if so, how many additional investigations are underway?
Justin Trudeau: (39:40)
As I said, the investigation that is going on is being managed by the appropriate authorities and military leadership. In some cases, we are apprised of those situations, not necessarily in all cases. So I can’t speak to how many investigations are going on.
Justin Trudeau: (39:59)
But what we have seen over these past months is that there is a pattern and there is a culture of unacceptable actions in the military that have gone on for far too long, which is why we are moving concretely on strengthening the supports for survivors, strengthening the processes in place to make sure that people who want to come forward are able to come forward, feel supported in coming forward, which for far too long was not the case.
Justin Trudeau: (40:33)
That is why between Justice Arbour and General Carignan in place right now, we are seeing an immediate shift. And people are coming forward with allegations, some of which go back many years, others which are more recent. And that is how the system should be working. It is going to be a difficult process for the military to transform its culture, but we know, everyone knows that it is time.
Translator: (41:05)
Answer repeated in French. I think it’s clear that what we’re seeing in the news, what we have been seeing for the last few weeks is that there is a genuine problem in the Canadian Armed Forces. For too long, too many women and men have not felt supported and felt able to lodge complaints and tell their stories about unacceptable behavior. That has to change.
Translator: (41:33)
That’s why with this new process put in place with General Carignan and with Justice Louise Arbour, we are ensuring that we have processes that are more accessible, that are more comforting for anyone who wants to lodge a complaint about anything, something that happened recently, or even years ago, decades ago. This is important, but it will be difficult for the Canadian Armed Forces to get through this. We all know, all Canadians know that this is something that we have to do.
Translator: (42:16)
Mr. Trudeau, Radio-Canada. You say it’s important to change the mechanism for victims, but at the same time, you’re saying that the investigations currently underway have to be entrusted to the Canadian Armed Forces. How can you trust the Armed Forces with what you’re seeing? We now have half a dozen of the military top brass under investigation. Is this not the time to remove these investigations from the hands of army commanders? What are you waiting for?
Translator: (42:48)
Answer: We know that we’re in an extremely difficult situation, and a very important one. We need to undertake the necessary processes. For too long, the Canadian Armed Forces has had the capacity to investigate its members, but we’ve seen that with regard to sexual harassment complaints, the Canadian Armed Forces has not always been good at doing its job of investigating. That’s why we are working with the upper ranks of the Canadian Armed Forces to ensure with them and with others to ensure that there are better processes in place. With General Carignan, with Justice Arbour, we are ensuring that these processes are taken seriously and done properly.
Justin Trudeau: (43:50)
I think it is obvious that within the military, including within the military investigations’ approach, that have a robust system of investigations into crimes and issues that are internal to the military have not always been very good about supporting survivors of sexual assault, following up on claims of sexual harassment, and that is something that we need to significantly improve. That’s why we’re working both within the Armed Forces with allies and leaders who get that and who are transforming things from the inside, as is General Carignan, but also bringing in someone of the caliber of Justice Arbour, who will ensure that the structures and the processes in place are the ones that will ensure that all of these issues are taken seriously treated fairly, and that survivors are given proper listening and proper support.
Tom Perry: (44:53)
Prime Minister, Tom Perry, CBC. On the situation in the Middle East, Canada has called on both sides in the current conflict to move toward ending the violence, but there have been calls for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians. Where does Canada stand on that? The Palestinians also say they’re going to go into the General Assembly to try and get some kind of resolution on this. Where would Canada stand on that if it goes before the UN General Assembly?
Justin Trudeau: (45:19)
First of all, our hearts go out to Israelis and Palestinians for the violence that is surrounding them right now. We’ve all seen the tragic images of families, innocents, kids affected. It needs to stop. That’s why Canada is calling for a ceasefire. That is why we will work with the international community to deescalate the situation and to move forward so that there is no more loss of civilian life.
Translator: (45:57)
Our hearts are completely with Israelis and Palestinians who are experiencing very difficult times right now. We’ve seen the images of the violence, violence perpetrated against families, innocent people, children. This must end. That’s why Canada’s position is to support a ceasefire, and we are working with the international community to ensure there is one.
Chris Reynolds: (46:25)
Hi, Prime Minster, Chris Reynolds, The Canadian Press. I’m hoping you’ll indulge a double-barreled question here. First, polls indicate that Canadians are not as enthusiastic as some US lawmakers when it comes to reopening the Canada-US border. So I’m wondering what conditions you think Canadians want to see in place in order to expedite that process of unlocking the 49th Parallel.
Chris Reynolds: (46:49)
And secondly, given all these allegations, these growing allegations against senior members of the Canadian Armed Forces, I’m wondering how comfortable you would be if your daughter, Ella Grace, told you that she wanted to join the military.
Justin Trudeau: (47:05)
First of all, in regards to the Canada-US border, we continue to work very closely with American authorities and with Canadian experts on how we can move forward in a way that is safe for Canadians. We know that we are not yet out of this third wave. We know that there are still real concerns around transmission of the virus, but we will continue to work with our partners and hopefully get to a better place when the time is appropriate. We’re all eager to get back to normal, but we know that before we get back to normal, cases need to be under control and over 75% of people need to be vaccinated for us to start loosening things in Canada. And we’ll see what framework we apply to ensure that we’re keeping Canadians safe, even as we look to eventually changing the restrictions and the posture at the border. In regards to my daughter, I hope my daughter is able to choose to do whatever she wants to do when she grows up. She is filled with dreams and hopes like any little girl, like any child, and I would want to know that whatever workplace that she goes into, she will be treated fairly, she will not face discrimination or harassment, she will be paid as much as a man will, which is a big part of why we’re so strong about moving forward on pay equity, which will come in into force this summer.
Justin Trudeau: (48:42)
There are many, many things I wish for my daughter, but they are not different than that that I wish for any daughter across this country. We have to do better, Whether it’s in the military or in corporate Canada, or within our communities in fighting against gender-based violence. We have work to do, but I am confident that in the coming years, we will continue to deliver on a fairer world for everyone.
Translator: (49:13)
What I wish for my daughter is that she will be able to make any choice she wants. She’ll have the chance to fulfill her dreams. This is what we would wish for anyone. She may choose to work in an office, become a scientist, an artist, work for the Canadian Armed Forces.
Translator: (49:37)
Like any other daughter or girl in Canada, she deserves to have a workplace that’s safe and secure without any threat of violence or sexual harassment, where she’s paid the same as the man and where she does not face discrimination or inequity. That’s why we are continuing to fight against domestic violence and gender-based violence. That’s why we are trying to change culture at the Canadian Armed Forces and in our other institutions. That’s why we’re moving head with salary equity. We want to ensure that men and women are paid the same for the same work.
Translator: (50:23)
Thank you, Prime Minister. That’s all the time you have with us today. We will now go to the questions.
Rosie: (50:30)
Good morning, taking some questions from reporters there. His update of course about the pandemic and the government’s response to the pandemic. One, I guess piece of information of note is that Canada will receive nine million doses of vaccine in the month of June alone.
Rosie: (50:46)
I’ll bring in my colleagues, CBC’s David Cochran and Janyce McGregor.
Rosie: (50:50)
I’ll just maybe summarize the middle East question. There was one of them from our colleague, Tom Perry. His answer was perhaps not surprisingly very, very careful. He said that it needs to stop, what’s happening in the Middle East. He called for a ceasefire. And he says that Canada is working with other nations to deescalate the situation. It was a very brief answer and a very careful one in fact.
Rosie: (51:13)
But let’s talk about the vast majority of the questions, which were about Major General Dany Fortin, the man who was in charge of Canada’s vaccine rollout and has now steps aside pending an investigation. Janyce, it was news to me anyway, and I think to all of us that the Prime Minister was informed of the investigation several weeks ago, although didn’t seem to know any of the details.
Janyce McGregor: (51:38)
Yeah. I took note of that too, a number of weeks ago. He didn’t say how many. I think a lot of people are trying to get their heads around what the process is. Even as the Prime Minister was talking about the importance of having a process that’s fair for everybody involved, I think a lot of people are trying to get their heads around kind of the details that have come out so far about this, including what Dany Fortin’s lawyer said in his statement to CBC News late yesterday, which was that he only found out the specific nature of the allegation against him from a reporter over the weekend, that at the time where he was asked to step aside on Friday, that he only knew that he was under investigation, not what for.
Janyce McGregor: (52:22)
So I think that there remains a lot of process kind of stuff that people are struggling with in this. I think we saw it in the way the Prime Minister answered certain questions.
Janyce McGregor: (52:36)
At the end of the day though, I think the other thing I was kind of struck with listening to the way the Prime Minister was trying to field this is the relative usefulness, if you will, of them having appointed Louise Arbour to lead an investigation into kind of the culture generally here because it does give him a place to go from an issues management point of view. As additional things come along, he can say, “Okay, but we’ve got a process in place. We are dealing with it. See, we already appointed her.” It gives him something useful to do when something like this happens to a high profile person like Dany Fortin, or, I mean, who knows what else might unfold in the days to come.
Rosie: (53:18)
And his language around that, David, was that he understands that people have questions, obviously reporters too, but his desire is that the process be fair, complete, and rigorous to everybody involved in the process.
David Cochran: (53:30)
Right. And technically Rosie, the Prime Minister has no direct role in this process, right? This is going to be handled by the military because it’s allegations against Major General Fortin going back to his time at the Royal Military College, as we understand it, some 32 years ago when he was a student, and that is now for the Department of National Defense and the military and everyone to investigate, not the Prime Minister’s office.
David Cochran: (53:50)
On that, they have appointed Brigadier General Crysta Brody to replace Major General Fortin. She was one of his two subordinates in the rollout since day one, one of the other two senior military officials who had been assigned to the vaccine rollout. And the reassurance is that this will have no impact on the vaccine deliveries.
David Cochran: (54:10)
And if you look at how things are now, we’re at a mature point in the vaccine delivery and that Pfizer does direct end point delivery, relying on a courier service to do a lot of that. The Moderna shipments, we did not get an update on Moderna today, whether there’s going to be a third shipment of it or not this month, but they have a system down now for when these things come in and to get it out. The infrastructure is more robust, it is more set up, and the contingency planning for the spooling up of even more sites as supply warrants is already, as I understand it, baked into the system.
David Cochran: (54:40)
So it’s not like vaccine deliveries will stop tomorrow because there was a change in command. In should continue to roll.
David Cochran: (54:44)
And to correct you, Rosie, and to correct the Prime Minister because he said it wrong too, it’s nine million doses of Pfizer in July.
Rosie: (54:49)
In July. Yes.
David Cochran: (54:50)
He said June. The prepared texts was July. We’re actually getting I think 10 million Pfizer in June on top of what we’ve been getting. But the good news about the July certainty is that this steady clockwork-like rhythm and receipt of a minimum of two million doses a week from Pfizer is continuing into the foreseeable future, which gives certainty and long or medium term planning capacity to provincial and territorial governments who have to roll all of this out. So that’s the good news on the vaccine front, is that Pfizer, which has become the workhorse throughout the spring, will continue to be that into the summer as Canada pushes towards that full vaccination target by the end of September.
Rosie: (55:30)
Well, I’m glad you’re here to correct me on the Prime Minister, David. I’ll also just say it also comes on today I believe, Quebec is announcing later this evening, 5:00 Eastern, some of how it’s going to lift some of the restrictions going forward. The curfew namely is one of the things that premier has been telegraphing. Ontario’s Health Minister also says in the coming days, they will start putting forward their reopening plan, which we’ve already seen a version of that in Saskatchewan.
Rosie: (55:53)
I’ll just end on Bill 96. And you don’t have to weigh in if you don’t want to, but if you want to, put your hand up. This is of course Quebec’s re-invention of Bill 101, a language protection piece of legislation in the National Assembly in Quebec City. And the only reason I mention it is because this is the first time the Prime Minister has reacted.
Rosie: (56:13)
And the Premier wrote to the Prime Minister over the weekend saying, “Here’s what I plan to do. And by the way, I think I can do this change to the Constitution, calling Quebec a nation and saying that Quebec is our official and common language without anyone getting in the way.” And the Prime Minister seems to agree that this is something that Quebec can do on its own with the Constitution and that he as well agrees that the importance of protecting the French language is important.
Rosie: (56:40)
David, you wanted in? And I’m sure Janyce will have something to say.
David Cochran: (56:43)
Yeah, just quickly on that because I’ll not pass up an opportunity to make a Newfoundland or Labrador reference. This has happened in recent memory with Newfoundland and Labrador with two separate constitutional amendments, both of them I believe under former Premier Brian Tobin, maybe one under Danny Williams, but one to change and end the system of religious schools in Newfoundland and Labrador. That required a-
David Cochran: (57:03)
… and in the system of religious schools in Newfoundland and Labrador. That required a constitutional change, but was able to be done because it only affected one province and its relationship with the federal government. And the second time that changed the official name of the province from Newfoundland to Newfoundland and Labrador, also a constitutional amendment, but again only affected the one province. So similar process, I would assume for Quebec in terms of how it wants to make changes in the conditions that apply specifically to that province.
Rosie: (57:25)
Janyce?
Janyce McGregor: (57:28)
Yeah. I would just say the constitutional law experts out there might quibble with sort of a process that amounts to everyone going, “Everyone good with this? Okay, done.” Which seems to be in practical terms kind of what is, what is going to unfold here without kind of the process and the mechanisms of reopening, and everybody believes that would be extremely difficult indeed. But it is a very kind of pragmatic approach. I think it avoids inflaming things that maybe don’t need to be inflamed right now. And unless there’s a great wave of opposition across the land, you have to think the prime minister is taking the simplest and most pragmatic approach in, in greenlighting that.
Rosie: (58:14)
Yeah, he’s also leaning, I think, heavily on the motion that was led led by Stephen Harper’s government, recognizing the Quebecois as a nation, suggesting that that’s sort of something the federal government has already signaled.
Rosie: (58:27)
It’s also of course, a way to make Quebec quite happy and not create a divide with Quebec ahead of a potential election. So all sorts of political calculations there as well. But interesting that he seems in large part, quite favorable to what the premier has put forward. Perhaps that’s not something that we would have expected every day, given the fraught relationship. Okay. Janyce, you’re having streaming problems from your house, so I’m going to let you go. And David too, I’m going to let you both go. Thank you so much for helping with our coverage, David Cochran and Janyce McGregor. We will take you now back live though to the federal COVID- 19 briefing with ministers and public health officials. You’re watching CBC news network.
Patty Hajdu: (59:05)
Operations center are working on many aspects of the delivery to provinces and territories and the day to day work can continue. So we are very confident that we will continue to deliver in a timely way to provinces and territories, and that we won’t miss a beat.
Speaker 6: (59:21)
To go back to a Major General Fortin. As a woman, as a minister of this government, are you at ease knowing that the prime minister did know for many weeks that there were allegations against Mr. Fortin and that nothing was done and that he was able to stay in place? How do you feel about that?
Patty Hajdu: (59:48)
Well, first of all, I will just say that I can’t comment on the investigation of Major General Danny Fortin. But what I can say is that as the health minister, I stay focused on what Canadians are focused on, which is when are they going to get their vaccine, how quickly and how will we can ensure that we control COVID-19 in this country? I serve with strong women around the table, one of them on this conference, and many men who support the strong women around this table, one of them on this conference. And indeed as the prime minister has indicated, there are processes that unfold, but I will say this, I will always stand up for women in the workplace.
Patty Hajdu: (01:00:29)
In fact, as the minister of labor, it was me that introduced Bill C-65, which is a harassment and violence legislation that ensures that every federally regulated workplace has policies and processes so that people who have felt harassment or violence in the workplace have a route to go including by the way, historically for political staffers. And I will point out that that was a decision our government made to protect political staffers, where previously to our government, they had no rights in the workplace. So as a woman in the workplace my whole life, as a female health minister, I will say that it is important that we all take the responsibility that we have to make our workplaces safer. And this government has done that in legislative approaches and many other efforts as the prime minister has illustrated.
Speaker 7: (01:01:23)
Thank you. Next question.
Kevin Gallagher: (01:01:25)
Hi, Kevin Gallagher, CTV National News and this is most likely for Minister Hajdu but also Dr. Tam, perhaps. Dr. Njoo could weigh in. It does have to do with the Stanley cup playoffs. Some US arenas are allowing fans back in the stands. I think that the many Canadians would like to know if they’re going to be able to see their team live during these playoffs, and if there’s any plan for recommendations in terms of provinces and municipalities and how they’d like to deal with that.
Patty Hajdu: (01:01:55)
Well, maybe I can start and then I can turn it to Dr. Tam. And I’ll just say that our approach to international professional sports will remain the same in that we will not make those decisions unilaterally, but we’ll work with the provinces and the local public health agencies to make sure that whatever the plan is, that a local public health and provincial public health authorities have comfort in that plan. And of course, it will depend on the epidemiology of the region and the comfort level of the leaders in those particular jurisdictions. And I’ll turn to Dr. Tam to speak a bit more about
Dr Njoo: (01:02:35)
It’s Dr. Njoo. You want to go? Maybe I’ll answer. I’m a sports guy, so I’ve been more actively involved in dealing with the sports-related issues. The COVID-19. So what I will start off is that it’s very exciting because with the season the way it was organized, including the playoffs, that it’s guaranteed to be a Canadian team in the final four. So that’s good news. So who knows? We’ll take what we get and then go from there. Certainly in terms of the playoffs as they’re unfolding now with the [inaudible 01:03:06] division, it’s all sort of played between teams in Canada. So all of the usual protocols in place for travel between the provinces and cities and so on, are within sort of the existing public health measures that are put in place within Canada.
Dr Njoo: (01:03:22)
The live issue of course, right now, is that what happens when we do get to the final four? And with what I think is putting on the table, that would include cross border travel because the other three teams in the semifinals would be from the US division. So that is a live issue. We’ve had discussions with our colleagues in the provinces and territories about the issue of cross border travel, what’s in the art of the possible. Certainly we were recognizing the epidemiological situation, what it is in both countries, also the state of vaccination, but there are a lot of other factors in place.
Dr Njoo: (01:03:57)
So what I will say at this point is that the discussions are ongoing. I think in some ways, the situation’s the same as it was way back last year, when you asked me the same kind of question about playoffs, et cetera. In some ways it’s different because now we have vaccines and there are other factors in place. So all I can say at this point is that there are lots of people looking at it. It’s a matter under live discussion. And as the playoffs roll on, hopefully we’ll, we’ll come to some resolution that’ll work. Thank you.
Speaker 7: (01:04:24)
Thank you. We have time for one last question before ending this presser.
Kevin Gallagher: (01:04:30)
I can go. I did ask about fans not about cross border travel. That’s all I’ll say is that I think Canadians wonder if they’re going to be able to go to their home arenas in Canada, if there’s a vaccination threshold in the area or a case count. I appreciate the thorough answer on cross border, but-
Patty Hajdu: (01:04:51)
Perhaps I can step in yet again and then turn it to Dr. Njoo, because I do think it is an important distinction. And I do think it is important to clarify that it wouldn’t be the federal government that would release the public health measures in that jurisdiction. Yet again, I think it’s very important to remember that public health measures, including gathering sizes and public events and sporting events and a variety of other public health measures are all applied by the province and in some cases, local public health. And the federal government would not have anything to say about the particular circumstances of that decision. But we do have something to say about the cross border travel, and that’s why we intersect in these decisions.
Dr Njoo: (01:05:35)
Thank you, Minister Hajdu. That’s why I was weighing in terms of the federal role, but you’re right. With fans in the stands, I think we made it quite clear in Canada that we’re taking a sort of a collective approach in terms of our vaccination campaign, the prime minister’s referenced the one dose summer and what we might be able to do when we get hopefully up to 75% or more in terms of the population having received full vaccination, two doses in the fall. And also what that might mean in terms of gatherings, including as I think he mentioned in his opening remarks about looking at indoor sports and so on.
Dr Njoo: (01:06:12)
So I would say that if you look at that timing and what’s obviously the schedule for the NHL playoffs right now, which is taking place right now and into the summer months, that that’s not really something that’s under sort of serious consideration in terms of fans in the stands, just based on where we are with our vaccination campaign at this point. But as the minister said, certainly we deferred to provinces and territories in terms of local public health measures, what they want to put in place. The fact that we’re discussing even the cross border issue with the NHL and the provinces are involved, discussions are ongoing, but certainly with the fans in the stands, I think the comfort level, especially because it’s indoors, I think the risk tolerance would be a lot lower compared to for example, to something that would be a sort of an outdoor event at this point. Thank you.
Speaker 7: (01:07:06)
We’ll take one. Last question.
Abigail Beaman: (01:07:08)
Abigail Beaman, Global News. Question for the doctors and the minister, if you wish to weigh in. Just a broad look question, what do you expect in terms of a timeline for this third wave ebbing, normal life returning. And at the same time, what do you believe the prospect is for a fourth wave or cases persisting in the fall?
Dr. Tam: (01:07:30)
Maybe I’ll start this.
Patty Hajdu: (01:07:31)
Perhaps that’s a good question for Dr. Tam.
Dr. Tam: (01:07:35)
Yes. So as we said, at the beginning of this press conference, we’re beginning to see the sort of positive signs and many of the jurisdictions that they’re on the downward side of that epidemic, but some are not yet. So, [inaudible 01:07:55] for example was a bit later in the start of the third wave. And so we’ll have to see what happens there and the public health measures that have been applied, the most important factor in the deceleration of the epidemic curve is the application of the public health measures in the provinces and territories. How fast we’re going to flatten that curve, and whether we get to the bottom of that curve is contingent upon the work that they’re doing together with their communities. And at the national level, we have been essentially messaging that you have to be really careful with variants at play, while vaccinations are going up. We have to be very cautious about that downward path.
Dr. Tam: (01:08:46)
With that in mind, I can’t tell you right now when we’ll get to the bottom of this. Last time, we only got to two thirds of the way down the curve. And then with relaxation of restrictive measures, we went back up again. And so there’s still a chance that could happen if we’re not careful. Our modeling suggests that with 75% first dose and at the same time, 20%, at least, or the second, those vaccinating people with that second does as fast as possible, can lead you to a lifting of measures without overwhelming the health system. So we’re not quite there yet, but I am really hopeful because of how fast some of the vaccines are going into arms. And I think we were looking at that 50% mark, and then it’s eminently possible that in the next weeks, we’re going to get to that 75% plus 20%. So, that’s I think a reasonable target to look for. But it’s really up to local epidemiology in terms of that easing, and we just got to be really careful
Speaker 8: (01:10:06)
One final question for you, Dr. Tam here. Maybe you can give us the most current number on VITT cases and deaths in Canada and Andrew when Nassi will be ready with the advice on second doses for AstraZeneca recipients? Thank you.
Dr. Tam: (01:10:23)
So at the moment we have 34 reports of blood clots together with low platelets, following the vaccination with AstraZeneca vaccine. Of these, at the moment, 21% of them have the positive lab test, which confirms the VITT, vaccine induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia, those 21 confirmed cases, if you like. But we’re still then investigating 13 that are waiting laboratory tests. Unfortunately, three individuals have died from this rather serious condition. And so all of these cases are being taken seriously and there’s no very obvious sex distribution. There’s 15 females and 18 males amongst that group that’s been just reported. So with that in mind, of course, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization have been providing provinces with a framework, a benefit/risk framework to work from looking at the epidemiology, as well as the rates by age for the epidemiology, really because more serious outcomes occur in the older age groups from COVID-19 and you have to balance that against the risk of VITT.
Dr. Tam: (01:11:55)
So of course, the question that people are waiting for for the next advice on the mixed dose, I think we’ve heard that the UK study, we’re expecting the immunogenicity or the immune response of those study recipients, we think by the end of this month or beginning of June. But I can’t say for sure, because this is the study in another country. But the initial publication suggest that this combination looks to be safe, although there’s more reactions from those who receive the Pfizer vaccine after the AstraZeneca. But we need to look at that more closely. And then with the Spanish is the study coming from Spain, we’ll be trying to get that information to analyze as soon as possible.
Dr. Tam: (01:12:55)
All to say is just to show Canadians who’ve received that first dose of AstraZeneca that there will be a second does of AstraZeneca, should they choose that with informed consent. And then we will come back with the answer about the mixed dose schedule shortly. And for the majority of them, the answer should come before they need that second dose.
Speaker 7: (01:13:23)
Thank you, Dr. Tim. Thank you, ministers. This ends today’s presser.
Speaker 9: (01:13:27)
You’ve been listening to the chief medical officer of Canada, Dr. Theresa Tam, the health minister there, Patty Hajdu. The CBC’s Karina Roman and joins us now from Ottawa. Karina, Lots to talk about, but that was interesting at the end there don’t you think? Kind of on the AstraZeneca, maybe this is something that has been said, there’s so much to follow. But the idea that you will have a second dose of AstraZeneca, if you did receive a first one with informed consent, that will be a choice you will be able to make. The whole mixing, that’s still to come. But that is something that people may be able to choose. That will be an option for people.