Roundup: Trudeau in isolation

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The pace of COVID-19 news was relentless yesterday, culminating in the news that Sophie Grégoire Trudeau had tested positive for the virus following her trip to the UK, and that the prime minister would be isolated for the next two weeks as a result. He’d already announced earlier in the day that he was self-isolating while his wife was undergoing testing, and that he would be working from home, but it also meant the cancellation of the First Ministers Meeting – to be held later today by phone – and the indefinite postponement of said first ministers meeting with Indigenous leaders. Not to be outdone, Jagmeet Singh also announced that he was self-isolating because he was feeling “unwell.” And while more events get cancelled, Peter MacKay and Erin O’Toole have stated they will suspend public campaign activities for the time being (though one suspects that this will simply escalate into a shitpost war online as they battle for votes in that space).

The big question now is whether or not Parliament will suspend for the coming weeks, and there are moves afoot – the Senate has been recalled to sit tomorrow (they usually don’t sit Fridays), and the talk is that the Commons will pass the New NAFTA tomorrow morning, and send it to the Senate immediately for passage so that if there is a decision to suspend, that will be out of the way. And it should be noted that the Senate did to pre-study on the bill while it was still in the Commons, so that will expedite the passage in the Senate, provided that twelve different senators don’t feel the need to give useless Second Reading speeches (because that’s a real danger these days).

Once again, Maclean’s has resources on symptoms and how to get tested.

Meanwhile, Paul Wells gives a decent reading of the year to date, and makes the case that First Ministers’ meetings are pretty useless these days so the cancellation of this one is not a big loss. Heather Scoffield ensures that you know where to place the blame for the markets crashing and wiping out retirement savings. And here’s infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch on what we can expect over the next two weeks.

Good reads:

  • Indigenous Services is preparing isolation tents and possibly field hospitals for any remote First Nations that become afflicted with COVID-19.
  • The NSICOP report was released yesterday, naming Russia and China as national security threats.
  • The report also talks about how Canadian Forces intelligence operations don’t feel bound by privacy laws.
  • The RCMP are crying out for more resources for combatting terrorism and cyber-crime, though they have received a lot of new resources in recent years.
  • Here’s a look at how Peter MacKay and Erin O’Toole are dealing with the social conservatives in the party, and how they’re being perceived by them.
  • Leadership candidate Jim Karahalios has been making anti-Islamic statements around Erin O’Toole’s campaign chair.
  • Justin Ling thinks Trudeau is getting it right on Indigenous blockades and COVID-19. Chris Selley isn’t so sure about the Wet’suwet’en deal.
  • This thread from Philippe Lagassé explores the concerns about the use of Crown prerogatives in the NSICOP (and the committee sounds offside).

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2 thoughts on “Roundup: Trudeau in isolation”

  1. Dale, what about Margaret and Ella-Grace? They were with Sophie on the trip to the U.K. Are they being tested and/or quarantined too? When will we know if PMJT gets tested?

  2. It would have been easier if Trudeau when answering the question why haven’t you been tested just said, I have been asked and answered that many times but just for you I will get tested. Reason he didn’t….unless you show symptoms you don’t need a test. As for his mother and orhere? These are people who are private citizens, To ask someone about them is a violation of privacy.

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