Parliament sitting on Tuesday to "pass emergency legislation"

Members of parliament are coming together again next week to pass legislation related to Canada’s COVID-19 response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday.

The House of Commons is being recalled on Tuesday at noon Eastern Time “so we can pass emergency legislation that will put our plan into motion,” Trudeau said from Rideau Cottage.

Trudeau wouldn’t explicitly say whether Ottawa will invoke the Emergency Measures Act, only saying that the government is “looking at all tools that may be needed to keep Canadians safe.”

Parliament’s emergency session comes after consultation with the opposition parties, Trudeau said. Earlier this month, his Liberal government suspended Parliament until mid-April because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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At Sunday’s press conference, Trudeau also said airlines are organizing more than 30 flights to bring home stranded Canadians. Canadians in Morocco were already brought home on an emergency commercial flight, and specials flights home are planned for Peru and Spain as well.

Trudeau also thanked Canadians who have been adhering to social distancing guidelines, saying the timeline of when life will get back to normal depends on everyone’s actions “today, tomorrow, and into next week.”