While he didn’t show up at the “virtual” special committee yesterday, prime minister Justin Trudeau nevertheless held his daily presser, during which he announced that they were creating a $470 million programme to support fish harvesters, which would include grants for those businesses who needed a bridge, and EI application rules for those who would have to miss the season because it wasn’t safe. As well, there was another $100 million for an agriculture and food solutions programme through Farm Credit Canada. Trudeau also noted the upcoming long weekend, and said that as of June 1^st, some national parks and historical sites would be re-opened to the public – provided the province they are in would allow it – and that there were new restrictions for pleasure craft, with the intention that they not be allowed to head to places where they could infect local populations, particularly in the North.

Meanwhile, the breathless pearl-clutching fraudulent CERB claimants continues unabated, as the National Post procured yet another government documents that allegedly says to grant it even to people who have quit their jobs or been fired with cause, which shouldn’t be allowed. But as Trudeau stated under questions after his presser, the goal was to ensure rapid delivery for the 99 percent of people who were claiming this benefit for legitimate reasons, and that if they had insisted on more robust checks at the beginning of the process, the money still wouldn’t be flowing. This of course hasn’t stopped some of the usual suspects from tweeting bullshit about how the programme is being abused, with zero evidence and using examples that could not actually work. But let’s create a moral panic about it.

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/1260960640480407552

So the CRA should have had a *much, much* larger staff in place, just in case they were needed to examine a large number of cases in real time?

I thought you guys were in favour of small government?

Or was it just petty, mean-minded government, regardless of size? https://t.co/fgBaaYG9mg

— Stephen Gordon (@stephenfgordon) May 14, 2020

In hindsight, I should have called horseshit.
Live and learn.

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) May 14, 2020

We also had some observers fanning themselves and reaching for their fainting couches when Liberal MP Wayne Easter, who chairs the finance committee, remarked to Bill Morneau at yesterday’s finance committee meeting, that he wanted a stronger statement from the government that they were going to deal with fraudulent cases. Imagine – an experienced backbencher taking a tough tone with his own party in government! Suffice to say, the message from this government has consistently been that if there is misconduct, it will be caught and dealt with at the appropriate time (and now is not that time). I’m not sure how much more explicit they can actually get, but maybe that’s just me.

Good reads:

• Prime minister Justin Trudeau has been making a lot of calls to other world leaders lately, in part because of the upcoming vote for the UN Security Council seat.
• CSIS and CSE are warning that state-sponsored hackers seem to have shifted their targets to COVID-19 research, hoping to mine that intellectual property.
• Here’s a look at the next steps with the MOU between the Crown and the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs that was signed, creating possibly new conflicts.
• The government’s announced plan to buy surplus food and distribute it to charities is far more complex than it seems, and may not be of use to those charities.
• Senators dealing with their portion of the Centre Block renovations still have no idea of the kind of price tag they’re being asked to deal with.
• In a shocking move, Senator Peter Harder has joined the Liberal/Progressive caucus.
• Today is the membership deadline for anyone who wants to vote in the Conservative leadership contest.
• The Hill Times has a look into the divisions in the Conservative caucus over the move to try and oust MP Derek Sloan for racist comments.
• Kevin Carmichael parses the Bank of Canada’s latest Financial Systems Review, which says our banks can survive a worst-case scenario.
• Heather Scoffield makes the case to finally start treating long-term care workers like the essential workers that they are.
• Colby Cosh delves into a French study on the prevalence of COVID-19 in the population, and how hopes for herd immunity appear to be dashed.

Odds and ends:

Hey tweeps! Want to read #UnbrokenMachine while you’re social distancing? Here’s your chance to get it at 25% off. https://t.co/PpC4ovVe7S

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) March 23, 2020

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