OTTAWA—Canadians left without income because of the impact of COVID-19 can apply for emergency financial aid starting Monday and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government is looking at fixing “gaps” that could hit students and part-time workers.

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit will pay $500 a week for up to 16 weeks to people who have lost their jobs or have to stay at home without income because of the virus. However, it’s no help to post-secondary students needing to earn money for tuition and housing and now facing bleak summer-job prospects.

Trudeau said he knows that students who were relying on a summer job “are very concerned.

“We know that we need to do more for young people as they come out of university and look for … projects and ways of securing income this summer. That is something that we are very closely engaged on,” Trudeau said.

He said possible remedies include changes to the federal summer job program or even providing direct support, adding that the government would have “more to say in the coming days.

“We are looking very closely at ways we can help. We know that this is a real need,” he said.

As the federal government looks at ways to ensure farms and food processors get the temporary foreign workers who are typically brought in to assist with the work, Trudeau mused that out-of-work Canadians could provide some of the agricultural labour needed in the months ahead.

“There are a lot of people, including a lot of young people, who don’t know what kind of job they will have this summer and they may be interested on a farm or helping out to feed Canadians,” he said.

The prime minister was also challenged about those workers still on the job, many in essential sectors such as grocery stores, but earning less than the emergency benefit will pay. He conceded that in some jobs, “workers may be asking themselves that question.

“That’s why we’re developing other ways to encourage people who are providing essential work to continue that important work,” Trudeau said. “We recognize that any time we're doing big measures like this, there will be gaps, there will be challenges in implementation and unforeseen consequences.”

The federal government expects such high demand for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit that it is stretching the application process over several days based on the month applicants were born.

Those born in January, February and March can apply Monday. Applications then open for following months — three months at a time — Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Once an application is completed, it will take three to five days to get the money via direct deposit or 10 days to get a cheque in the mail.

Meanwhile, the federal government says it has processed one million of the 2.4 million applications it has received for employment insurance and expects to clear the backlog in the coming week.

By Sunday, there were more than 14,400 cases of COVID-19 in Canada and 258 deaths, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

With health experts saying the coming weeks will be crucial in determining the severity of the virus in Canada, Trudeau announced that his government is taking action on several fronts to bolster its staffing.

He said that Health Canada is building an inventory of volunteers with special skills who can help track cases as well as collect data. And reservists are being offered full-time jobs to boost the ranks of Canada’s military, which Trudeau will help offset the economic fallout.

Trudeau said that the federal government remains in discussion with American officials to secure shipments of N95 masks needed by health-care workers in Canada that U.S. President Donald Trump wants diverted to the U.S.

The issue blew up last week when Trump issued an edict to bar manufacturer 3M from shipping the masks to Canada.

Trudeau made clear Sunday that essential goods travel both ways across the border, but the PM stopped short of threatening retaliatory action when asked about Canadian doctors and nurses who work in the U.S.

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“I'm not going to engage in hypotheticals. I will say that we will do what is necessary to keep Canadians safe and we will do it in as constructive a way as possible,” he said.

White House adviser Peter Navarro told Fox News on Friday that there would still be some exports “to our friends in Mexico and Canada but as for the rest of 3M’s production around the rest of the world, we will get our fair share.”

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said that officials are working to buy more personal protective equipment from overseas suppliers but also trying to foster manufacturing capabilities in Canada.

“Every stop has been pulled out in terms of getting supplies. Globally there is a very competitive environment and a shortage environment. We are doing everything we can,” Tam said.

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