Canada proposes new pandemic aid, seeks opposition backing

OTTAWA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberal government on Thursday proposed new benefits to help Canadians through a second Covid-19 wave, hoping he can muster enough opposition support to avert snap elections.

The proposed benefits include a weekly payment of Can$500 (US$375) for up to 26 weeks to those unable to work during the pandemic -- including to care for children or relatives.

The initiative -- broadly outlined in a speech Wednesday -- would replace another aid program that supported nine million Canadians in the first six months of the outbreak, but which expires this month.

Another new measure would provide two weeks of paid sick leave for workers who must isolate after being exposed to the new coronavirus.

"The urgency of this cannot be understated," Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough told a news conference.

"These (benefits) will help Canadians bridge the gap between the emergency measures put in place during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to today's economic recovery."

The plan will require the support of at least one of three opposition parties to pass. If all three reject Trudeau's reforms, Canada will head to the polls in the middle of the crisis.

The plan could appeal to the New Democratic Party, which had demanded such measures.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said he would oppose cuts to the level of financial assistance for Canadians, which is what Trudeau's Liberals had originally proposed.

"If they reverse this plan, give people the help they need and bring in paid sick leave -- we will support that legislation," Singh said on Twitter ahead of the government announcement.