OTTAWA -- Should U.S. President Donald Trump go ahead with his plans to hold an in-person G7 summit in June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may be in attendance.
But with the Canada-U.S. border restrictions on all non-essential workers set to be in place until at least June 21, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that a lot of questions still need to be answered before he decides whether to attend, including whether leaders would have to isolate upon their return, as is the rule for any Canadian coming back into Canada from abroad.
鈥淲e're going to be discussing with public health experts and discussing with the U.S. administration what their plans are and how they're responding to questions around transmission,鈥�
鈥淭here are a significant health preoccupations that we have around holding an in-person meeting but there's no question that in-person meetings in an ideal situation are much more effective than even virtual meetings. However, there are many questions to answer before that we can commit to showing up in-person and those discussions are happening in an ongoing and very constructive way.鈥�
On Tuesday, an official in the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office speaking to 麻豆影视 on background said that they are still considering Trudeau鈥檚 plans, should the meeting be held in person. The official said that no decision has been made.
Earlier that day, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was asked whether Canada is planning on sending a delegation to what would be a meeting of world leaders and senior officials from Canada, the United States, Italy, Japan, France, Germany, Britain, and the European Union.
She told reporters that the issue is complex, and is something that Trudeau is 鈥渓ooking at very carefully.鈥�
McEnany said that any attendees would be protected, and that foreign leaders are on board with the idea.
The summit had initially been slated for June 10-12 at Camp David but was cancelled in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week Trump tweeted that he was considering rescheduling the event 鈥渙n the same or similar date.鈥�
If the summit happens and Trudeau attends, it would likely be his first trip outside of the National Capital Region since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Over the last two months the, prime minister has participated in various international meetings via telephone or videoconference, saying last week that in his view it is important to keep meeting as world leaders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
With files from The Associated Press
