Today is the first day the official announcement that Canada now has more recovered COVID-19 cases than active cases nationwide. Confidence-boosting great news to hear, what this message tells us is that we are now handling the virus better than the virus handles us, or (depending on how you look at this), the virus has already done away with the most vulnerable Canadians. Either way if you are now reading this, you’ve done well, captain.

Canadians have taken the appropriate measures and survived through what seems to be the worst part of this pandemic; yet, this doesn’t mean that we should let our guard down. COVID-19 is still rampant among us and is just waiting for someone to do exactly that, so COVID-19 can take back control. However, considering how long we have been taking these precautions, I am certain that this new way of living (being cleaner, more health and germ conscious) is going to be how we are going to live and survive. I don’t think that businesses as a whole will be affected that much, though the return to “business as usual” will take time.

Trudeau reiterated how the government is there for Canadians, and how they have introduced several measures to aid Canadians and Businesses. What has been given the go ahead is serological testing to find antibodies in the blood that can help identify key factors in COVID-19 immunity. “Serological testing will contribute to a better understanding of whether people who have been infected by COVID-19 are immune to the virus.” (https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/news/2020/05/statement-from-health-canada-on-covid-19-serological-tests.html)

To read Health Canada’s statement, you can click the link above for the full, and official statement issued by Health Canada.

Trudeau continued his to maneuver his way through questions and dance around providing any real concrete substance. Abuse of power, perhaps, do you think he is needlessly draining our economies wallet, just throwing money where he sees fit and not really caring about the future? Maybe he knows that his time in office is going to be over soon, and he is trying to rack up the bill to leave with the next PM, yet this is why we need our budget. Earlier, I had noted that people didn’t ask about the budget, or really care for the budget, and Trudeau has gotten away from having to do his job. When pressed for the budget, he keeps on saying that “his responsibility is to keeping Canadians safe”, “this is an unprecendented time”, yet I thought the point in having various Ministers appointed for certain areas, like health, is so that they are responsible for their various positions, like health. A reporter reminded Trudeau, and subsequently the rest of us, that during the financial crisis of 08, the Government of Canada provided budgets. Anyway, what does the finance minister do if the job isn’t looking at Canada’s finances, or preparing the budget, and what is our Prime Minister doing if he is not making sure our elected or the appointed officials are doing their jobs? What is the role of the media, organizations like CBC, if it is not to scruntinize our Governement, after all they are just people like us, positioned to take on extraordinary responsibilities and answer for their actions.

The border between America and Canada has its restrictions set to expire on the 21^st of May, which is next week, tomorrow. Speculations are that the border won’t reopen for at least another month, on June 21^st. With various states set to reopen, despite having less than promising numbers and the continual climb of COVID-19 cases, the question remains if the how the conversations are going between Canada and the US. Really, America has taken a series of haphazard measures during this pandemic, and the questions remains if fear is stopping us, or just sound precautionary jdugement. Trudeau says that the conversations that he has been having with Trump and his administration has been very positive, in what direction though, remains ambiguous.

In international news, China was said to have “accumulated negative soft power”, regarding how they have dealt with COVID-19 and answering questions posed by various nations. To put it exactly, “Canada’s ambassador to Beijing (Dominic Barton) says China is alienating foreign countries and injuring its goodwill abroad at a time when its diplomats have adopted a heavy-handed approach around the world.” (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-china-is-alienating-foreign-countries-damaging-its-global-soft-power/). Yet when asked to comment on this, also, if Trudeau will stand up to China, siding with the statement made by Australia that “China is a bully”, Trudeau said that there are other pressing matters and now isn’t the time to act on this particular issue.

However, when is the right time to do the job of a Prime Minister, Mr. Trudeau? Responsibility is something that Prime Minister Trudeau likes to “put on the back burner”. It seems that when asked whether or not the Government will step in and act on issues succh as the TTC’s financial situation, he defers to the Provincial Government. When asked about international issues or foriegn affairs, he acts as if it is not his responsibility to answer definitively, as if he doesn’t know anything; then, is Trudeau just the face of Canada?

Trudeau is just a glorified secretary. This pandemic has definitely shown Canada’s vulnerabilities.