Hill Life & People
Trudeau calls on some celebrity friends to urge Canadians to stay inside
Plus, the Green Party has adjusted its leadership contest barriers amid COVID-19, and the Peace Tower bells will be silenced.
‘Constituents have a lot of questions. So I know all of our offices are busy, wherever the staff are actually located at this point,’ says NDP Whip Rachel Blaney.
Envoys comment on the ‘uncharted territory’ brought forward by the ‘dreadful ordeal’ COVID-19 brings, and urge co-operation in the global response.
Work inside the Centre Block building continues, but modifications have been made to workers’ daily schedules in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.
It is up to decision makers, policy wonks, and, yes, in the case of the U.S., the president, to take action.
Urgent action remains needed to ensure an adequate supply of protective equipment that our front-line workers need to protect them from infection. 
Fundraising prowess, which typically requires networks of wealthy contacts or ties to powerful interest groups, is a poor basis for assessing leadership candidates’ viability or commitment, writes Samara's Paul Thomas. Hill Life & People
The Senate’s inability to supervise the government’s unprecedented crisis spending is an ‘institutional failing,’ says the leader of the Upper Chamber's largest group.
'The level of correspondence has been hard to describe,' says rookie Green MP Jenica Atwin. 'People are really worried. They're really stressed out.'
At least 35 organizations are either lobbying federal officials about their needs or looking to assist the government in its response to the escalating coronavirus crisis. 
Federal officers such as Dr. Theresa Tam and Dr. Howard Njoo, and provincial chief doctors, are involved in daily live press conferences to update Canadians on the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Plus, Ottawa officially names acting U.S. ambassador Kirsten Hillman to the post. 
'We do not think it would be appropriate, given the very cordial relationship that our two countries have, and the military alliance that exists between our two countries,' says Deputy Prime Minister Freeland.
The Emergencies Act was carefully crafted and revised in the 1980s so that governments wouldn't have to 'reinvent the wheel' when crisis struck, said the former Liberal whip and army commander.
A senior spokesman for the Conservative Party flatly denied that the national council has any plans to disband the committee and take over the leadership election process.
Plus, the government has agreed to hold weekly electronic meetings with the opposition to review its response to COVID-19.
Neil Brodie, former ministerial staffer, suggests the situation may eventually breathe new life into efforts by some parties to revisit the per-vote subsidy.
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says funds earmarked for Indigenous communities will flow directly to them to allow for 'maximum flexibility to help adapt responses to address local needs.'
'Given the scope and scale of this crisis, it’s incumbent on the government to provide them with supplementary budgeting to adequately provide the support they’re looking for,' says NDP MP Matthew Green.
Senators took about two hours to consider the bill, half of which was spent questioning Finance Minister Bill Morneau.
The government has already announced funding for artificial intelligence researchers and developers to help fight COVID-19. Experts say the technology could do more, if done right. 
What was supposed to be a quick, co-operative sitting of the House turned into a negotiating stalemate for hours on Nov. 24 and Nov. 25.It’s not a matter of ‘if, but when' COVID-19 will reach Canada's prisons, says Sen. Kim Pate, who, like NDP MP Jack Harris, sees it as a matter of ‘life and death,’ and is demanding ‘immediate’ action.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer notified Congress on March 17 that the new NAFTA will go into effect on June 1.
How all this will play out as this current crisis unfolds is, of course, unknowable. But what is clear is that one day some months from now, we will wake up to a world marked by huge changes.
Intellectual property is clearly important to world-leading technology champions, so why hasn’t IP been important enough to Canadians?
‘People are unsure, people are scared, this is a whole new time, so we have to have some clear messaging from our government letting our people know of what they need to do,’ said CUPW national president Jan Simpson. Politics This Morning
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