Pandemic has shunted aside an array of Liberal initiatives, at least for now

OTTAWA — As a new year dawned, the government’s throne-speech commitments unfurled just weeks earlier were grabbing headlines and galvanizing the attention of federal policy-makers.

Then came the most serious public health crisis in recent memory.

The Trudeau government’s gun-control measures, assisted-dying legislation and efforts to advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples are taking a back seat, at least for now, to the all-consuming fight to help people weather COVID-19.

Even the federal budget, a fixture of the late-winter agenda, has been delayed indefinitely as the virus monopolizes time and resources.