UPDATE FROM THE MINISTER OF SENIORS, DEB SCHULTE

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the federal government has been working with provincial and territorial governments to help keep Canadians safe, and to ensure they have the support they need. Thanks to a “Team Canada” approach and the efforts of individual Canadians, we have been able to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Because of this hard work, we are now beginning to restart our economy. That’s why we recently announced a federal investment of more than $19 billion, made through the Safe Restart Agreement. These investments will help protect those most at risk, like seniors, and make our country more resilient to possible future outbreaks.

Here are some of the key investments we’re making through the Safe Restart Agreement:

To help protect seniors, we’re investing $740 million to support one-time costs, over the next six to eight months, for infection prevention and control measures for long-term care homes and other vulnerable populations. We’ve also expanded eligibility for federal infrastructure funds so they can be used to modernize and renovate long-term care facilities.
To help prepare for a potential resurgence of the virus, we’ve committed $700 million to support health care system capacity.
To help people who are experiencing challenges related to mental health or substance use, we’ve committed an additional $500 million in support for our health care systems.
To protect essential and frontline healthcare workers, we are investing $7.5 billion to secure personal protective equipment (PPE). We also set up a contingency reserve so these workers can have the protection they need to do their jobs.
To help manage future COVID-19 outbreaks, we’re investing $4.28 billion to support provinces and territories to expand their capacity for testing, contact tracing and sharing public health data. The goal is for provinces and territories to be able to conduct 200,000 tests per day.

I want to remind everyone to keep following public health guidance so that we don’t lose the gains we worked so hard to achieve over the past several months! Your efforts are important to the fight against COVID-19 and are helping protect Canadian seniors.

Thank you.
Minister Deb Schulte

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