Justin Trudeau addressed media on National Day of Mourning Tuesday, touching on updated guidelines, personal protective equipment, vaccinations, and discrimination.

Trudeau quickly thanked those who were concerned about his mother, saying that she was in good health after an apartment fire hospitalized her.

Trudeau extended his respects to those in Fort McMurray, who are struggling against regional flooding during a tough time.

Trudeau said he will be joining Parliament in a virtual House of Commons meeting.

"Minister Hajdu will provide an update on the new COVID-19 modelling, and Dr. Tam will do the same... This is an updated picture of where we think we are right now, and where we think things will go from here," said Trudeau, stressing that the measures set in place are working.

"If we lift measures too quickly, we could lose the progress we've made."

Trudeau announced that agreed guidelines between federal, provincial, and territorial governments, which will lay out actions that need to be set in place to restart the economy.

The guidelines will touch on controlling transmission, saying that those most vulnerable will have to live through extended measures for longer.

Personal Protective Equipment

Trudeau also provided updates on PPE, saying that over six million surgical masks would be distributed to the provinces. Over 100,000 face shields will also be shipped.

"Indeed, on this national day of mourning, we remember those who died, were injured, or fell ill because of their work. This year, we pay tribute to the thousands of front line workers who deserve not just our thanks, but our support," Trudeau said.

The prime minister said that ensuring PPE is available for front line workers, mentioning that PPE would be necessary to help reopen the economy.

"We know that having the right amounts of PPE for industry that want to be open will be essential for them to reopen," Trudeau said.

Trudeau stressed that Canadians must get through the pandemic together, saying that there was no place in Canada for discrimination against Asian and Jewish communities, who have both increased a rise in.

"Today, and everyday, we are stronger together," said Trudeau.

Mandatory vaccinations not off the table

When asked about the potential for a mandatory vaccine, Trudeau said that "just finding the vaccine" is the first step.

"As to what sort of vaccination protocols will be in place, we still have a fair bit of time to reflect on that in order to get it right," Trudeau said.

Justin Trudeau on whether or not a vaccine for COVID will be mandatory: “we still have time to reflect on that in order to get it right.”



Doesn’t sound like a “no,” does it? pic.twitter.com/UFv9zV7CD9 — ROBERTO WAKERELL-CRUZ ?? (@Robertopedia) April 28, 2020

Trudeau said a vaccine will be extremely important to getting back to normal, but noted that treatments that are not a vaccine could also be an option for helping return normalcy.

A poll released earlier on Tuesday found that 60 percent of respondents believe that a vaccine, once discovered, should be mandatory, while the remaining 40 percent believe it should be voluntary.

Liberal voters were more likely to be in favour than their Conservative counterparts.