Trudeau wraps up cabinet retreat aimed at plotting course through pandemic, beyond

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with the media before the first day of a Liberal cabinet retreat in Ottawa, Monday September 14, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to wrap up two and a half days of cabinet meetings Wednesday aimed at plotting a course through the COVID-19 health crisis.

Bold talk of an audacious plan to rebuild the shattered economy gave way during the meetings to the more immediate challenge of confronting the potential for a second deadly wave of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Cases of COVID-19 have been on the rise across the country for the past several weeks.

Consequently, ministers have been focused almost exclusively on how to protect the health of Canadians and avert the potential for another economy-ravaging, nation-wide shutdown like the one that threw millions of Canadians out of work last spring.

The pandemic has already upended the government's plans to deliver on platform commitments upon which the Liberals won re-election just last fall, when the climate change crisis was at the top of their agenda.

Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna, who formerly led the Liberal charge against climate change, says the government has not forgotten the crisis even if the pandemic has shoved it to the sidelines for the moment.

Trudeau is to hold a news conference this afternoon at the conclusion of today's cabinet meeting.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2020.