Canada's House of Commons has approved the C$82 billion ($56 billion) economic support package announced last week by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in response to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez said in a statement on Wednesday
TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2020) Canada's House of Commons has approved the C$82 billion ($56 billion) economic support package announced last week by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in response to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez said in a statement on Wednesday.
The emergency spending bill has drawn outrage from the opposition after it was revealed that the governing Liberal Party sought to include provisions that would have granted Trudeau and his cabinet sweeping new powers for the next 21 months.
"It's done. The House has adopted the emergency support announced to face COVID-19. It's now up to the Senate. We will work day and night so that Canadians receive as quickly as possible the help they critically need. We will be there for you," Rodriguez said in a statement via Twitter.
On Monday, news broke that the C$82 billion stimulus package included measures that would have granted the Trudeau cabinet the power to spend, borrow and tax - a power of the parliamentary branch - without parliament's approval through to December 2021.
Conservative Pierre Poilievre, the shadow minister of finance, said the emergency powers granted to the cabinet under the agreed final package would be capped at 6 months and can be revoked, should any abuse of power occur.
The stimulus is expected provide financial relief to individuals, households and businesses that have been hardest hit by the novel coronavirus outbreak across Canada. According to reports, nearly 1 million Canadians have applied for employment insurance in the past week as thousands of jobs continue to be slashed in the wake of the pandemic.
The emergency legislation will now be considered in the Senate, where it is expected to be approved swiftly.
Globally, according to Johns Hopkins University, there are more than 436,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections while the number of fatalities is approaching 20,000. More than 111,000 have recovered.
