Domestic Politics
The Canadian parliament passed a $73 billion COVID-19 wage subsidy bill aimed at helping businesses and workers survive the economic fallout of the pandemic. [CTV News]
Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP) leader, Jagmeet Singh, called on the government to lift the criteria for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to allow any Canadian in need of financial assistance to qualify for benefits. [CTV News]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that it is monitoring government regulation of religious services, and expects to take action next week to ensure that social distancing policies are applied uniformly without singling out any religious organizations. [CNN]
International Relations
Canada and seven other countries have asked Iran to postpone the download and analysis of black boxes recovered from the wreckage of downed flight 752, which killed dozens of Canadians on January 8. Though Iranian officials had called representatives of eight countries to Europe to start the process, it will now be postponed due to the pandemic. [CBC]
Health
Ottawa-based Spartan Bioscience has claimed that it has received Health Canada’s approval for a rapid portable test to detect the novel coronavirus. In a news release on Sunday, the company stated that the approval means that the tests can now be “sent to federal and provincial government partners starting immediately.” [Global News]
Alberta is preparing to ship millions of pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) to Quebec, British Columbia, and Ontario. Quebec will receive 250,000 N95 masks, two million procedural masks, and 15 million gloves; 250,000 N95 masks will be sent to BC; and Ontario will receive 250,000 N95 masks, 2.5 million procedural masks, 15 million gloves, 87,000 goggles, and 50 ventilators; [Global News]
60 inmates and 23 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Butner Correctional Complex in North Carolina. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the complex has the highest number of coronavirus cases of any federal correctional facility. [CNN]
Energy
Following pressure from the United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia ended their oil price war on Sunday by agreeing to cut almost 10% of the global oil supply in hopes of boosting crashing prices amidst the coronavirus pandemic. [FT]
Image Source: [FT]
