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May 5, 2020 3:47 PM -

Trudeau pledges $252M for COVID-19 aid to agri-food sector

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during his daily news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic outside his residence at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, on Monday, May 4, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising a $252 million aid package for Canada's agriculture and food industries in the COVID-19 pandemic.

He says $77 million of that will go to measures to keep workers in food processing safe with protective equipment and by supporting physical distancing in workplaces.

Meat-packing plants, in particular, have seen large outbreaks of the virus that causes COVID-19.

The package includes money for beef and pork producers holding animals they can't sell, a credit program for the dairy industry and a $50 million fund to buy food that spoils and send it to groups such as food banks.

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