Canada's lower legislative chamber, the House of Commons, will be adjourned until April 20 amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Pablo Rodriguez announced on Friday
TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2020) Canada's lower legislative chamber, the House of Commons, will be adjourned until April 20 amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Pablo Rodriguez announced on Friday.
"Today, we took the decision to adjourn parliament until April 20," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez, speaking alongside Chief Opposition Whip Mark Strahl, Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet and House Leader of the NDP Peter Julian, said that the motion to extend the March recess period scheduled for next week was agreed to unanimously.
Rodriguez said the motion includes mechanisms that would allow parliament to gather in smaller numbers to consider important legislation ahead of the April 20 date, as well as the option to extend the break.
Additionally, the annual budget, originally scheduled to be unveiled on March 30, will also now be delayed for an undetermined period of time.
The development follows news that Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), who himself now is in self-isolation.
According to the latest Government of Canada data, 152 Canadians have now been infected with the new strand of the coronavirus.
The World Health Organization has declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, as it is already present in over 110 countries. So far, the total number of confirmed cases worldwide has surpassed 128,000, with a death toll of over 4,720. More than 69,000 patients have recovered from the disease.
