Trudeau kicks off cabinet retreat, warns against relaxing guard on COVID-19

Trudeau says the rising case numbers in recent weeks are a reminder that Canada is not out of the woods yet

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is warning Canadians against relaxing their guard when it comes to COVID-19 as he and his cabinet launch two days of closed-door meetings to discuss the pandemic and how to lead the country through a second wave.

Trudeau says the rising case numbers in recent weeks are a reminder that Canada is not out of the woods yet, and that no one wants a return to the extreme lockdowns that swept the country when COVID-19 first arrived in the spring.

The cabinet retreat comes as Parliament is set to resume next week with a speech from the throne that was originally expected to focus on developing a plan to rebuild the economy in a post-pandemic world.

The recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases has largely shifted the focus to protecting the economy and limiting the damage from a second wave.

Trudeau nonetheless says there is a need to address inequalities in the current system that he says were exposed by the pandemic.

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Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press