Is it time to pause the PM’s pressers?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hit a milestone, if you will, on Monday: he completed his eightieth press conference since the pandemic was declared in mid-March. The majority of them have been held just off his front porch at Rideau Cottage, though a few recent briefings have become almost campaign-style visits to Ottawa-area businesses. And those big-impact announcements of border closures and emergency economic supports that dominated spring headlines? They’re now few and far between. With that in mind, Rosie and Elamin wonder: have these regular prime ministerial briefings run their course? Plus: the death of a third temporary foreign worker employed at an Ontario farm is raising serious concerns about working and living conditions of seasonal workers during this pandemic — though advocates have been flagging many of these concerns for years. Elamin and Rosie take a look at what steps can be taken, now and in the long-term.