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OTTAWA — Canada is prepared to act quickly to help companies hurt financially by the outbreak of the new coronavirus and would not need to wait for the next budget, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said on Tuesday.

The Liberal government has not yet set a date for the annual budget, which is often unveiled in the second half of March.

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Morneau had earlier discussed the virus with counterparts from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations. The ministers said they would use all appropriate policy tools to achieve strong, sustainable global growth and safeguard against downside risks.

Morneau said Ottawa was paying particular attention to the oil and gas and tourism sectors.

“The budget is not the necessary place for us to deal with this,” Morneau told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, adding that it was premature to say what the effects of the outbreak would be in Canada.

“Should there be some issue in the economy we see that happens quickly or even further out, we will deal with that as the facts emerge. It could be in advance of a budget, it could be in a budget, it could be after a budget,” he said.