Media Lock-Up for Economic and Fiscal Snapshot 

Finance Minister Bill Morneau will present an Economic and Fiscal Snapshot (EFS) in the House of Commons on Wednesday, July 8, 2020, at approximately 1:40 p.m.

July 3, 2020

Finance Minister Bill Morneau will present an Economic and Fiscal Snapshot (EFS) in the House of Commons on Wednesday, July 8, 2020, at approximately 1:40 p.m.

Media are invited to take part in an embargoed reading and technical briefing (both in-person and digital options as detailed below) ahead of the release of the EFS. The media lock-up will start at 11:00 a.m. and will last approximately three hours. Departmental officials will provide a technical briefing (not for attribution) during the lock-up.

The embargo will be lifted by a Department of Finance official when the Minister begins speaking in the House of Commons at approximately 1:40 p.m.

Mandatory registration:

In line with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Ottawa Public Health’s recommendation concerning physical distancing, in-person attendance will be limited and controlled by the Parliamentary Press Gallery.

If you show any COVID-19 symptoms as outlined on Health Canada’s COVID-19 website or if you feel unwell, please attend remotely.

In-person attendance: In-person attendance is restricted to media representatives accredited through the Parliamentary Press Gallery. Media representatives attending in-person will be required to wear a mask. Please bring your own water and lunch as neither will be provided on-site to limit physical contact. Please be mindful of food allergies. For more information on accreditation and in-person attendance, contact Pierre Cuguen, Manager, Parliamentary Press Gallery Secretariat at pierre.cuguen@parl.gc.ca by noon, Monday, July 6, 2020.

Remote attendance: The embargoed reading and technical briefing will also be available remotely to journalists accredited through the Parliamentary Press Gallery members and full-time working journalists recommended by the bureau chief of their Ottawa press bureau. For digital documents, and to attend by teleconference, Ottawa bureau chiefs should send the contact information of participating journalists to the Department of Finance at fin.media-media.fin@canada.ca, by noon, Monday, July 6, 2020.

Dial-in information for the teleconference technical briefing and Ministerial press conference will be provided along with digital embargoed EFS materials at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 8. 

Time:

11:00 am. 

EFS lock-up begins. Media wishing to attend in-person should arrive at the main entrance of the Sir John A. Macdonald Building no later than 10:45 a.m. Entry procedures will respect physical distancing rules.

11:55 a.m. 

Government of Canada officials will be available to provide information on a deep background, not-for-attribution basis only, to journalists on-site and those participating remotely. Audio recording or video recording with audio of these briefings for the purpose of broadcast is strictly prohibited.

12:45 p.m.  

The Minister’s embargoed press conference begins and will be available to journalists on-site and those participating remotely.

1:40 p.m.

The Minister delivers remarks in the House of Commons. Embargo is lifted by a Department of Finance official.

Location:

Sir John A. Macdonald Building
144 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario

Embargo Procedures

Registered journalists and media representatives participating in-person and remotely will be required to sign embargo agreements, as per usual practice.

A digital embargo agreement will be required for all journalists who wish to participate remotely. Participants must return the signed embargo agreement to the Department of Finance by Monday, July 6 at 4 p.m. The participants who return the embargo agreement will receive EFS materials at 11:00 a.m. on July 8, 2020.

Under the terms of the embargo agreement, participants agree to respect the release arrangements and not to release or communicate documents, materials, information, or other records of any nature whatsoever provided during the embargo period, to anyone in any manner until the embargo is lifted.

EFS documents will remain under embargo until the embargo is lifted by a Department of Finance official in the lock-up when the Minister begins speaking in the House of Commons at approximately 1:40 p.m. For reporters participating digitally, the embargo will be lifted ONLY once a confirmation email is sent by the Department of Finance.

The Department of Finance, with the agreement of the Parliamentary Press Gallery Executive, reserves the right to refuse access to any future Department of Finance embargoed releases to any person and/or their organization that breaches the terms of the embargo agreement.

Special COVID-19 measures

Due to the current health related measures in place to limit the spread of COVID-19, the Department of Finance is taking additional precautions.

As such, only a limited number of participants may attend in-person. Seats will be allocated by the Parliamentary Press Gallery. Physical distancing requirements will require the adaptation of access to Department of Finance officials, and seating/broadcast arrangements on-site.   

Non-medical masks will be required in the lock-up. The Department of Finance will provide masks for those attendees who did not bring one.

Contacts

Media may contact:

Maéva Proteau
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Finance
maeva.proteau@canada.ca

Media Relations
Department of Finance Canada
fin.media-media.fin@canada.ca
613-369-4000