Thanks, Ron.
This is just to highlight the problems we've had. At the beginning of this committee it took us 13 minutes to get this off the ground, and now another couple of minutes here to get to the questions. I certainly believe we should look at extending it so that we get more than three rounds in.
To begin my questions, because I have limited time, I want to first thank our front-line workers and essential service workers, and everyone who is doing their part to contain COVID-19. As cases continue to mount, I would imagine hospitals are starting to prepare for an influx of cases.
Not to be too critical of the government's work, but there's no doubt that some of the measures were implemented much too late. Canadians are asking whether the government is prepared for the next surge.
I'll provide some examples. On January 29, many members in the House of Commons asked for Canada's borders to be closed in high-risk areas. The government implemented this measure only on March 16. On March 9 members again pushed the government to enact the Quarantine Act and to enforce mandatory quarantine for incoming travellers. It wasn't until March 25 that the government rushed an announcement that mandatory quarantine would be enforced—again, weeks too late. On March 23 our colleagues called on the government to cover 75% of wages following the government's announcement that it would cover only 10%. Then on March 27 the government backtracked and increased the wage subsidy to 75%.
This is all on top of how, on February 4, the government sent 16—