If we loosen controls too quickly, Trudeau says, we'll give up the ground we've gained and do much more damage

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the partial shutdown of Canada has to last weeks more to get COVID-19 under control, using his strongest warning yet against loosening economic restrictions too soon as he unveiled expanded help for hard-hit workers.

In the last month, the national economy has contracted sharply as businesses have been ordered closed and Canadians told to stay home.

Preliminary data from Statistics Canada on Wednesday showed economic activity collapsed in March, suggesting the drop could be a record nine per cent.

In a fierce warning from in front of his residence in Ottawa, Trudeau says the country is still contending with the first wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Loosening controls too quickly could mean the country gives up the ground gained, he says.

That could cause even greater economic damage than the pandemic has already inflicted.

“With spring coming, people are looking outside, wanting to get out, wanting to this to be over — I understand that. It will be weeks more before we can seriously consider loosening the restrictions,” he said.

“As impatient as people are getting all across the country, we need to continue to hold on if what we’re doing as sacrifices are going to be worth it.”

To help, the federal government is loosening the eligibility criteria for emergency federal pandemic aid to cover seasonal workers without jobs and workers whose hours have been drastically cut but who still have some income.

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The details announced this morning will allow people who are making up to $1,000 a month to qualify for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit for COVID-19.

And those whose employment insurance benefits have recently run out will also qualify for the $2,000-a-month benefit.

Some six million people have applied for the help since the middle of March when businesses were ordered closed and workers to stay at home as a public health precaution.

For those doing jobs deemed essential, Trudeau says the federal government will top up their pay to encourage them to keep going into work during the health and economic crisis.

The Bank of Canada is warning that the downturn tied to COVID-19 will be the worst on record and that the economic recovery will depend on the effectiveness of current measures to bring the pandemic under control.

The bank announced that it is keeping its key interest rate target on hold at 0.25 per cent, saying that it is effectively as low as it can go to combat the economic impacts of COVID-19.

If conditions improve quickly, the economic shock is likely to be “abrupt and deep, but relatively short-lived” and followed by a strong rebound for most, but not all, sectors of the economy.

A more severe scenario would likely see a “significant number” of businesses closing for good and longer spells of unemployment as workers look for new jobs.

A longer downturn would also mean households, businesses and governments could have higher debt by the time the recovery takes hold.

No matter the scenario, all the possibilities suggest “the near-term downturn will be the sharpest on record,” the report reads.

“The outlook is highly conditional on how long the containment measures remain in place, and how households and firms adapt,” governor Stephen Poloz said in his opening remarks during a morning teleconference.

He added that “substantial monetary stimulus needed to be in place to lay the foundation for the post-containment economic recovery.”

The monetary policy report is the last one that Poloz is to be a part of, with his tenure at the head of the central bank scheduled to come to a close on June 2.

He was involved in the first monetary policy report published 25 years ago. Poloz said that he wished the circumstances for his last were “more favourable.”

Trump v WHO

Trudeau refused Wednesday to join the escalating global debate about the World Health Organization’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis, insisting Canada remains focused on working with experts around the world to combat the pandemic.

Trudeau repeatedly batted back questions about Donald Trump’s plan to halt funding to the UN agency and review what the U.S. president says was a failure to properly assess the threat posed by the novel coronavirus back in January.

“My priority and the priority of our government right now is to do everything we can to protect Canadians and ensure the health and safety of people right across the country,” the prime minister said.

“That means working with experts here in Canada and around the world, and we will continue to do that important work for Canadians.”

In the U.S., which has been hit hardest by COVID-19 and is the WHO’s single largest financial supporter, Trump is accusing the UN agency of botching its initial response to the outbreak and covering up the extent of the threat as it emerged from China.

Pending the results of a review, Trump says, the U.S. will halt funding for the WHO, which depends on the country for nearly a quarter of its annual global assessments, along with hundreds of millions more in voluntary contributions that fluctuate from year to year. Canada’s annual support, by contrast, is in the “tens of millions,” Trudeau said.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director-general, last week urged the world to resist the temptation to politicize the pandemic. He defended his organization’s work at a news conference Wednesday in Geneva.

No doubt, areas for improvement will be identified and there will be lessons for all of us to learn. But for now, our focus — my focus — is on stopping this virus and saving lives

“When we are divided, the virus exploits the cracks between us,” Tedros said, expressing “regret” at Trump’s decision.

“No doubt, areas for improvement will be identified and there will be lessons for all of us to learn. But for now, our focus — my focus — is on stopping this virus and saving lives.”

Tedros also thanked those countries that have expressed support for the organization and promised to maintain their financial commitments. “Solidarity,” he said, “is the rule of the game in defeating COVID-19.”

The debate about the World Health Organization has not, however, been confined to international soil.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has raised red flags about the organization’s handling of the crisis, the accuracy of its data and the extent of its ties to China, where the outbreak originated in December. And he assailed the decision to drop Bruce Aylward, a Canadian epidemiologist who headed a WHO mission in China earlier this year, from the witness list for Tuesday’s House of Commons health committee meeting.

Scheer said the government is basing its decisions on fighting the COVID-19 outbreak on information from the WHO, so it needs to hear how those decisions are being made.

Trudeau acknowledged those concerns — but said now is not the time to deal with them.

“In the coming months and years, there will be many reflections on various institutions and systems both domestically and internationally, on how we can improve our response, how we can learn from things we could have done better in this process,” he said.

“These are things that will come in the coming times. Right now, our focus needs to be on doing the best we can right now to protect Canadians.”