Is Trudeau's response to the COVID-19 pandemic enough？
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Summary
The Prime Minister announced that Canada will no longer allow illegal migrants crossing the border at Roxham Road from upstate New York to Quebec, reversing three years of a flawed policy that allowed millions of people to enter the country without proper documentation.
Transcript
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The Prime Minister held another press conference in front of what has become his unofficial
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residence at Rideau Cottage with 24 Sussex Drive being renovated. This seems to have become an
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almost daily event since he announced the closure of our borders last week. In his Saturday morning
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press conference he took almost 30 minutes to say well absolutely nothing important and he did it
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in both official languages. Now I have no issue with the Prime Minister providing updates to Canadians
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when he has something to say it's just that he didn't seem to have anything to say. Thus far
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though he has announced an 82 billion dollar stimulus spend that could drive the deficit north of 100
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billion dollars. Think about that number it's massive but by far the most significant announcement
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he has made is saying that Canada will no longer allow the illegal migrants crossing the border at
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Roxham Road from upstate New York to Quebec reversing three years of flawed policy. He did it without
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apology to Canadians for the nearly 60,000 people who have already entered the country illegally
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and and accessed our very generous system while awaiting adjudication on their refugee claims.
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What is not clear is how many of those who are unsuccessful with their refugee claims and are
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ordered out of the country actually leave. There isn't much available information on that that I could
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find anyway but I wager the number is very high. Most refugee applications are not accepted
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and theoretically those who are unsuccessful are ordered out. Do they actually leave or do they continue to
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remain and access the generous welfare system medical systems and educational systems of the country?
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We don't know. It's about time that the Prime Minister took this action after three years of saying there was
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nothing we as a country could do about it. Clearly that was nonsense as was calling conservatives who called for the
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the the shutdown of the Roxham Road access point. He called them racists. It is not racist to want to
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secure our borders and to protect the nation. I'm glad that the Prime Minister has finally come to that conclusion.
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It remains to be seen whether once closed it will remain closed once the pandemic is over though.
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And it will be over sooner or later. The question remains is when and how many deaths will be directly
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related to the COVID-19 virus by that time. The other question that remains is at what cost
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to the Canadian economy. There has been varying reactions to the pandemic depending on where you
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live and work. In Vancouver for example it has ordered that all restaurants stop serving dine-in meals
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as of midnight last night. Across the Burrard Inlet there is no such restrictions in North Vancouver.
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That might change but as of today that is the case.
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Those affected restaurants and the many folks that they employ will be directly and adversely affected.
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The government has promised financial assistance to affected businesses but again at what cost?
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Time will tell but at least the Prime Minister is finally engaged after sitting on the sidelines for weeks
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after the US had taken action. The other thing I'd like to see is for the Prime Minister to stop with the stunts
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at his press conferences. Like the one the other day where he ran back into the house to get a coat
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after he had started the presser. Or the one this morning where he started the media briefing wearing
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headphones and then seemingly took them out as an afterthought after he had started talking.
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These are serious times and the Prime Minister is talking about serious things. One would hope
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that he would appear as serious as a subject matter. For True North, I'm Leo Knight.