COVID-19: Canada passes bill to pay for employees' salaries to avoid mass layoffs

As the fear of global recession looms over the world, Canada has passed a bill that would pay for workers' salaries so as to keep them on the companies' rolls. The North American nation has reported 23,318 cases of COVID-9 and 653 deaths as of now. The bill was reportedly passed unanimously in the rare Saturday session on April 11 with the opposition supporting Trudeau's party. 

According to the legislation, the government will subsidise up 75 per cent of worker’s salaries to avoid mass layoffs in the nation. The new wage subsidy would apply in retrospect to days passed since March 15 and would cost nearly $50 billion US dollars to the Canadian government. According to reports, the legislation was passed by a scaled-down parliamentary session which was attended by the country’s prime minister Justin Trudeau who is now out quarantine along with a quorum of 20 lawmakers.

Medical gear from US

In another news, Trudeau on April 7 announced that the government is keeping up the efforts to ensure the flow of medical supplies from and to the United States to fight the pandemic. During a press conference, Trudeau said that 500,000 N95 surgical masks, part of a batch of 4 million ordered by Ontario, should arrive on April 8.

Read: COVID-19: Justin Trudeau Says Canada Persuading US For Medical Supplies Flow

Read: PM: Canada's First Wave Of Cases Won't End Until The Summer

“We have had constructive and productive conversations that have assured that this particular shipment comes through but we recognize there is still more work to do,” the Canadian PM told at the briefing. Earlier, Ontario had complained that the shipment was blocked following an order signed by US President Donald Trump banning the export of personal protective equipment. In order to combat such impediments, Trudeau announced that Canada has made further progress under its plan to mobilise industries to provide vital, made‑in‑Canada protective gear and medical equipment to respond to the outbreak.

Read: COVID-19: Justin Trudeau Says Canada Persuading US For Medical Supplies Flow

Read: Canada Making Up To 30,000 Ventilators: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

(Image credits: AP)