 The situation we're facing with COVID-19 remains extremely serious. On Sunday, Ontario reported a record single-day high of new COVID cases. And not just in Ontario, but in many parts of the country, ICU beds and hospitals are filling up. And the patients in them are younger and younger. This is not the place anyone wanted to be right now. Because when hospitals fill up, it puts pressure on nurses, doctors and all healthcare workers. And it means that operations or treatments have to be cancelled or postponed, like for people who are waiting for cancer surgery. We're not out of the woods yet with this virus. Everyone is working around the clock to get as many Canadians vaccinated as quickly as possible. But right now, more contagious and dangerous variants are spreading and threatening the progress we've made. Even with millions of Canadians already having received their first dose, we need to keep doing what we know works to stop the spread of the virus. So avoid gatherings, stay home when you can, wear a mask, keep your distance and download and use the COVID Alert app. We know what it takes to stop this wave. We know how to get out of it. We've done it before. We just need to hang in there, be careful and protect our loved ones. Protect our essential workers. Do the right thing so we can get to a summer that is better than right now. Today, I also want to address teachers, parents and kids across the country. Yesterday, Premier Ford announced that schools will close in-person learning indefinitely as cases of COVID-19 rise sharply in Ontario. And we know that other provinces are watching the situation in their schools too. I know this isn't easy. So to teachers, parents and kids, thank you for your efforts once again. You are stepping up in incredible ways and I know it's tough. Nobody wants to go back to online learning. Nobody wants to be stuck at home, but we have to make it through this and things will get better because of what we're all doing right now. Since the beginning of the crisis, we've invested $2 billion through the Safe Return to Class Fund to help provinces and territories make your schools safer. And we will continue to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to get us through this. Until now, we have delivered more than 11.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to provinces and territories. For Pfizer, this week, as planned, we have received a little more than a million doses. For Moderna, we have delivered 850,000 doses to Canada this morning. The vaccine is progressing. Every day, there are more and more people receiving their doses. But it doesn't prevent us from continuing to protect each other by following public health advice. With the variants, the cases during this third wave are spreading very quickly. We are all tired of COVID-19. With the events last night in Montreal and elsewhere in the country, we see that the people are more and more frustrated. But when we don't respect public health advice, we only want to extend the situation. And we want to get out of this third wave. Everyone wants to get out of this third wave as quickly as possible. We must continue our efforts to save lives and to help our health workers who have been deported for a few more weeks, to keep up with public health instructions, to be very careful. And we hope to have a much better summer. But as you know, the cases we have today are based on the actions we have taken. One week, there are two weeks. If we want to see the cases drop in two weeks, we must do the right things today. The vaccines are coming, but we must reduce the cases too. By the end of June, we will have 44 million doses of vaccines. So it's not the moment to let go. We must flatten the curve. Since the beginning of the crisis, we often talk about essential workers, whether in our hospitals, schools or elsewhere. These workers are making incredible efforts. And when we talk about essential work, it includes, of course, the crucial work of our farmers, which allows us to put quality food on our tables. One of the things that the pandemic has shown us is how important it is to have a strong and resilient agricultural sector. While we continue to work on economic recovery, we want to ensure that Canadian producers have the necessary tools to succeed. There are thousands of poultry and egg farms in Canada. A lot of them are owned by families. Last year, we promised those families that we would invest over $690 million over 10 years to provide full and fair compensation to Canada's chicken, turkey and egg farmers following the CPTPP trade agreement. Later today, Minister Bebo will share details about how this funding will help producers invest to modernize their farms and how it will help promote Canadian-made products here at home. But the bottom line is this. Our government will always be there for Canadian farmers. So to farmers, thank you for your incredibly hard work. You stepped up during this pandemic to get good food on our plates. Through this pandemic and beyond, we've got your back. Together, we'll continue to build a sustainable future for rural farm families and for all the Canadians who rely on you every single day. Anyone who's seen the endless miles of wheat and canola as they drive across the country can tell you just how big Canada is. In a country like ours, air travel is an essential service. On that front yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Freeland and Minister Al-Rabra announced that we've reached an agreement with Air Canada to secure air travel for Canadians for the future. The conditions for Air Canada to receive this support are very clear. They will ensure that regional communities have air connections to the rest of Canada. They will refund their customers for pandemic-related cancellations. They will commit to protect jobs, pensions and collective agreements, and they will restrict executive compensation, buyback shares and dividends. Air Canada will also have to demonstrate how they will support environmental sustainability and national climate goals. The deal is a good and fair deal in the interests of jobs, workers, communities and customers. L'entente annoncé hier avec Air Canada va protéger les emplois, garder nos communautés connectées et assurer que les passagers soient remboursés. Le secteur aérien est un secteur stratégique pour notre économie et nos négociations avec les autres transporteurs aériens se poursuivent. Comme toujours, on va s'assurer de mettre les intérêts des Canadiens et des travailleurs au coeur de tout ce qu'on fait. This past year has been tough. There have been a lot of special moments and celebrations that have been done differently. Yesterday, I had the chance to speak virtually with Sikh healthcare professionals from across Canada to celebrate Vasaki and Sikh Heritage Month and to thank them for everything they do. Happy Vasaki to everyone celebrating. This week also marks the start of Ramadan. I want to take this opportunity to thank the many Muslim Canadians who continue to work hard on the front lines and the many others who are helping us in communities during these difficult times. This year, again, Ramadan will be different. We will have to use virtual means to meet online rather than in person. But one thing is certain. The pandemic will not stop us from celebrating the values of gratitude, compassion and generosity that are at the heart of Muslim communities and that are shared by Canadians from all the horizons. Ramadan, mubarak, merci.