Finance Minister Bill Morneau says that the federal government will announce “support” for Canadians who have to be quarantined from COVID-19 as early as next week as part of a broader response plan to the virus, which has so far infected 46 Canadians and caused major disruptions to the markets, commodity prices and travel and tourism sectors.
He provided little detail on what the “support” to Canadians who have to be quarantined might look like, but promised specifics next week. “We are seeing lower prices of oil impacting oil companies. We know the tourism and travel sector is being impacted because people are changing their travel plans. But until we see the depth and duration of this virus, we don’t know yet what other sectors will be impacted,” Morneau said.
Morneau hinted that monetary policy was just the first step in a potentially longer-term plan to address the economic fallout from the virus and that the government will not hesitate to exercise its fiscal might to address “potential virus-related issues down the road.” “The situation is different in Italy and Japan. We are in touch with the international community, and continue to learn from what they are doing. But we will consider measures that are more Canadian-appropriate,” he said.