Prime Minister Trudeau addresses Canadians on COVID-19

UPDATE: 9:38 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he'll push the provinces to give workers 10 days of paid sick leave a year as the country deals with the COVID-19 pandemic.

That appears to meet a key demand from NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in exchange for the New Democrats' support for a motion to limit sittings and votes in the House of Commons through the summer.

Singh laid out the demands on Monday morning, shortly before a small number of members of Parliament returned to the House of Commons to begin debate over the future of parliamentary sittings for as long as several months.

The debate will revolve around a Liberal proposal to waive "normal" House of Commons sittings in favour of expanding the special COVID-19 committee that has acted as a sort of stand-in for the past month.

Because they hold only a minority of seats, the Liberals need the support of at least one of the main opposition parties to pass this motion.

The Conservatives are expected to oppose the motion as they push for an end to the COVID-19 committee and the resumption of Commons sittings, albeit with no more than 50 MPs in the chamber at any time.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Jean-Yves Blanchet said Monday his party isn't participating in negotiations around the return of Parliament.

The Bloc previously laid out a set of conditions it wanted met before it would engage in discussions around how Parliament could sit.

Those included more help for businesses to cover their fixed overhead costs and a straightforward plan for how the Liberals would follow through on a promise of financial support for seniors.

Blanchet said the Liberals have followed through on neither, and ensuring they do is his priority.

"Every time we spend five minutes talking about parliamentary rules, we're spending five minutes less talking about what Quebecers require," he said.

He said his party will likely go along with whatever consensus is arrived at to govern how the House of Commons sits for the next while. The Bloc won't argue about who drives that bus or where it's going, Blanchet said, but when it comes, the Bloc will probably get on board.

That leaves the NDP, with Singh said his party is willing to support Liberals' motion — for a price.

"We are continuing to make it clear that we need a commitment that the government is willing to provide paid sick leave for all Canadians," Singh said during a news conference on Parliament Hill.

"We're suggesting the government can use something like the (Canada Emergency Response Benefit) or employment insurance to deliver that program federally immediately. But we want to see something that is long term and that will require working with provinces and employers to deliver a long-term commitment so that forever in our country, everyone who needs paid sick leave will have access to it."

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UPDATE 8:58 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians have a responsibility to themselves and to the people around them to follow public health rules to slow the spread of COVID-19.

He also says that people will have to keep adjusting routines as the country moves into summer.

He says any reopening of public spaces and restoration of economic activity will have to happen gradually and carefully.

Speaking outside his Ottawa residence, Trudeau says any steps will require robust contact tracing and testing.

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UPDATE 8:43 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he'll push the provinces to give workers 10 days of paid sick leave a year as the country deals with the COVID-19 pandemic.

That appears to meet a key demand from NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in exchange for the New Democrats' support for a motion to limit sittings and votes in the House of Commons through the summer.

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ORIGINAL 8:00 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau provides an update in Ottawa on the federal government's response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

– with files from the Canadian Press