Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 16, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba <s> ■e-C MHK -e- PAGE A1THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020 Unusual scene at legislature; province gets more power in COVID-19 fightEmergency bills to pass, from a distance CAROL SANDERS AND LARRY KUSCH IN a surreal scene at the Manitoba legislature Wednesday, one-third of the province’s 57 MLAs, sitting well apart from one another, debated seven emergency bills to address the COVID-19 crisis, while several support staff and at least one politician wore masks. The bills included new measures to give the province greater power to restrict Manitobans’ movements and the ability to punish citizens more severely for breaking public-health orders. With physical distancing in full force, cabinet ministers occupied spots on the back benches, and the middle row of seats in the chamber remained empty. “We will face our challenges together, strong and united,” Premier Brian Pallister told the house as the session began. The government’s intent was to compress the days and weeks of debate that normally accompany each bill to a single day. Debate was expected to continue into the evening before the bills received royal assent, as opposition politicians negotiated with the government over amendments. A bill to amend the Public Health Act would allow an order to be issued to prohibit or restrict people from travelling to and from specified areas in Manitoba. Bill 59 would also enable authorities to order people travelling into and out of specific locations to take certain precautions to prevent the spread of a disease. It would also give a medical officer or inspector broad powers to deal with anyone failing to comply with a public-health emergency order. They could take or cause to be taken “any action that the medical officer or inspector considers necessary to carry out the order.” The officer or inspector could request the help of a peace officer or any other person to carry out the order, the bill states. The Emergency Measures Amendment Act (Bill 54) would give the provincial cabinet broad, largely undefined, powers during a state of emergency. Cabinet could make “any order” it considers necessary and essential “to prevent, reduce, or mitigate 0 JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS A masked clerk overlooks the chamber during an emergency COVID-19 session at the Manitoba legislature Wednesday in which only one-third of the 57 MLAs participated. serious harm or substantial damage to persons or property or the effects of fiscal or economic disruption.” The bill would increase penalties under the act to a maximum of $100,000 or one year in prison for individuals and a maximum $1-million fine for corporations. It would give courts the option to increase the fine for a person convicted of price gouging by an amount equal to the financial benefit acquired. The bill would give the government the power to build an emergency shel ter wherever it’s needed, regardless of local bylaws. The amendments that authorize the provincial government to make emergency orders would be temporary and automatically rescinded after one year. Other bills introduced Wednesday would provide enabling legislation for recently announced government initiatives, including adding temporary protected leave for employees who can’t work due to circumstances related to the pandemic. The government also tabled docu ments to provide additional spending authority for up to $1 billion for COVID-19 initiatives, including $500 million to fund health services, $100 million for emergency expenditures and $400 million for new pandemic-related costs throughout government. The $400 million would give the government the flexibility to create new programs or support services for Manitobans, or cover pandemic-increased costs under existing programs. Opposition politicians said their main concern is the absence of any direct provincial financial aid for individuals and small businesses. “We’re pushing for that. We haven’t seen it from the government yet,” NDP Leader Wab Kinew said. He said Manitoba could have used the $4 million it has budgeted to fund a call centre to help Manitobans apply for federal programs to instead finance the cost of providing interest-free loans to small businesses and landlords, the latter benefiting renters.• BILLS, CONTINUED ON A2 City lays off674 temporary staff JOYANNE PURSAGA THE City of Winnipeg will temporarily lay off hundreds of workers as it deals with the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 674 non-permanent staff who work at recreation centres, pools, arenas and libraries that have been closed, will be temporarily laid off April 25. “While we want to support our employees, we also need to ensure we are being responsible with taxpayers’ money. We cannot continue to pay employees’ salaries while facilities remain closed,” said Mike Ruta, interim chief administrative officer. Those facilities were closed about a month ago, with the goal of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Currently, public gatherings of more than 10 people remain banned throughout Manitoba and citizens are expected to ensure at least a two-metre distance between themselves and others. Ruta said the city redeployed as many workers as possible to avoid layoffs, moving 62 permanent staff into new roles that support Winnipeg Harvest, the community ambassador health order enforcement team and other city departments. But he said the latest financial figures, combined with expectations COVID-19-related health orders could continue for months, forced the city to cut jobs for now. He estimates the city will save about $1 million per month due to the layoffs. Ruta said most affected employees should be able to access unemployment benefits. Employees who receive regular employment insurance benefits will also be eligible for a supplementary top-up to 75 per cent of their regular gross weekly salary for up to four weeks, the city said. Ruta said the city could still consider further layoffs and/or ask staff to accept pay cuts, though the latter would require union negotiations. “We’re certainly looking at all options,” he said. Mayor Brian Bowman stressed the workers will be brought back as soon as possible, though there’s no clear timeline for when the facilities could reopen. “When it’s safe for our citizens to return to the gathering spaces and these vital community spaces, I know it will be a huge relief for our staff to be making calls to our valued employees to come back to work,” said Bowman. A union leader who represents most of the affected workers urged the city to avoid job cuts by making additional efforts to redeploy staff.• LAYOFFS, CONTINUED ON A2 Trump looks to ease up, CEOs urge caution WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he’s prepared to announce new guidelines that allow some states to quickly ease up on social distancing even as business leaders told him they need more coronavirus testing and personal protective equipment before people can safely go back to work. The industry executives cautioned Trump the return to normalcy would be anything but swift. The new guidelines, expected to be announced today, are aimed at clearing the way for an easing of restrictions in areas with low transmission of the coronavirus, while keeping them in place in harder-hit places. Governors would have the ultimate decisions. “We’ll be opening some states much sooner than others,” Trump said. But in a round of calls with business leaders Wednesday, Trump was warned a dramatic increase in testing and wider availability of protective equipment would be necessary for the safe restoration of their operations. The new guidelines come as the federal government envisions a gradual recovery from the virus, in which disruptive mitigation measures may be needed in some places at least until a vaccine is available - a milestone unlikely to be reached until sometime next year.• TRUMP, CONTINUED ON A2 MORE ON CORONAVIRUS FIFTH MANITOBAN DIES SIX-DAY DELAY COST LIVES SEW FAR, SEW GOOD BENEFIT EXPANDED Manitoba woman in her 60s is latest coronavirus victim / A3 China failed to issue timely warning when virus first appeared in January / A14 Local textile sellers facing 'non-stop' orders as mask-making ramps up / B4 After criticism, Liberals tweak emergency benefit plan so more qualify / A9 -e- -e- A_01_Apr-16-20_FP_01.indd A1 0 2020-04-15 11:09 PM ;