Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces an accelerated delivery schedule from Pfizer-BioNTech, with one million doses arriving each week between March 22 and May 10
All available appointments have been booked for COVID-19 vaccinations at the Nepean Sportsplex, which began this week for many Ottawa residents aged 90 and older
The provincial booking system launches Monday, and residents are asked to wait until then and not to call for appointments Friday or on the weekend
Ottawa Public Health reports 62 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday
There were 1,289 tests conducted in Ottawa Thursday with a 2.4 per cent test positivity rate. The weekly average rate is 2.2 per cent in Ottawa, which must remain below 2.4 per cent to remain in Orange
Ontario administers another single-day high of 43,503 vaccine doses across the province
Three more regions are elevating from their current levels in the provincial framework, including Leeds, Grenville and Lanark, which will move from the Green to Yellow (Protect) zone
PC government house leader Paul Calandra criticizes the federal government over an “unreliable” vaccine supply to the province during a hastily called press conference Friday afternoon
THE LATEST COVID NEWS
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced an accelerated delivery schedule from Pfizer-BioNTech, with one million doses arriving each week between March 22 and May 10.
“A million doses of Pfizer alone, every seven days,” Trudeau said. “That’s going to make a big difference.”
The new delivery schedules have been shared with the provinces, Trudeau said, so provincial counterparts can make adequate preparations for mass vaccination sites.
Canada has so far delivered 3.8 million doses to the provinces and territories.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said more than 2.7 million of those doses have been administered, including more than 600,000 shots in the past week, the highest weekly numbers since the vaccination campaign began.
Closing out a “week of reflection” following Thursday’s national day of observance, and looking back on the pandemic’s past year, Tam said there is renewed focus on the next steps “that will shape our future.”
There have been 899,757 confirmed cases in Canada and 22,371 deaths. There are now more than 30,670 active cases across the country, with a weekly average of 3,050 new daily cases and 31 deaths each day.
More than 2,050 Canadians are in hospital including 540 in critical care.
And to date, more than 3,000 cases involving variants of concern have been identified in Canada, with the highly-contagious B.1.1.7 strain accounting for more than 90 per cent of those.
“Racing to the finish line could cost us the success we’ve worked so long and hard for,” Tam said, urging Canadians to carry on at a “steady, cautious pace.”
THE LATEST COVID-19 NEWS IN OTTAWA
The city is urging people not to arrive early for vaccination appointments after people lined up outside Nepean Sportsplex Friday on the first day of the mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic for those 90 and over. Some of those in line were in wheelchairs.
City staff had to use megaphones to urge people to wait in their cars until it was time for their appointments and to urge those without appointments to go home and book one.
All available appointments have been booked for COVID-19 vaccinations at the Sportsplex.
The provincial booking system launches Monday, and residents are asked to wait until then and not to call for appointments Friday or on the weekend, according to a statement from Ottawa Public Health.
Additional appointments will be available on Monday with the launch of the provincial system.
Residents who are not yet eligible for the vaccine are asked to follow announcements on when they can receive their shots. Ontario is expected to unveil further details about its centralized appointment booking system.
THE LATEST COVID-19 NEWS IN ONTARIO
PC government house leader Paul Calandra criticized the federal government over an “unreliable” vaccine supply to the province during a hastily called press conference Friday afternoon.
Calandra told reporters Ontario has mass vaccination sites “ready to go, but we have not had the supply to allow those clinics to operate.”
The province has had “tremendous success with the vaccines, but we want more,” Calandra said.
Ontario has been administering around 40,000 doses per day, but Calandra said the province has the capacity for 150,000 shots a day.
That rate of efficiency can only be reached with a reliable supply of vaccines, Calandra said, urging the federal government to deliver the shipments that have been promised.
“They haven’t been able to do it in the past. I am hopeful that they will actually deliver this time,” he said.
Meanwhile, three more regions are elevating from their current levels in the provincial framework, including Leeds, Grenville and Lanark, which will move from the Green to Yellow (Protect) zone.
Lambton Public Health will move into Grey (Lockdown) and the Northwestern region will move into Red (Control).
The decisions were made in consultation with local medical officers of health, provincial officials stated Friday, and were based on the trends in public health indicators and local context and conditions.
The three public health regions will be moving to those levels in the framework effective Monday at 12:01 a.m.
The Ontario government also activated an “emergency brake” in the Sudbury region Friday, moving into the Grey (Lockdown) level “due to the concerning trends in public health indicators … ”
Ontario is also adjusting capacity limits for weddings, funerals, and religious services, rites or ceremonies held in regions currently in Grey zones.
Effective Monday at midnight, weddings, funerals, and religious services, rites or ceremonies will be permitted to allow for up to 15 per cent total occupancy indoors, or up to 50 people outdoors.
NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES IN OTTAWA AND ONTARIO
Ottawa Public Health reported 62 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. There have now been 15,400 total cases in Ottawa and 446 related deaths.
There are currently 570 active cases in the city, a number that has increased steadily this week, which began with 513 active cases as of Monday.
Hospital admissions are also rising, with 31 patients in local hospitals and three of those in intensive care.
Ottawa remains in the Orange (Restrict) zone of the provincial framework
Ontario is reporting 1,371 new laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases Friday and 18 related deaths.
There have now been 341,891 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic and Ontario’s death toll is 7,127.
Another 1,124 cases were resolved in the past 24-hour period and of Ontario’s total case count, 296,252 are now considered resolved.
Hospitalization rates have flattened across the province after showing signs of decline in recent weeks. There are now 676 patients in hospital, 282 in intensive care and of those, 189 require a ventilator.
The majority of new cases continue to be identified in provincial hot spots around the Greater Toronto Area, with 371 in Toronto, 225 in Peel, 111 in York and another 109 in Hamilton.
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Daily case counts continue to rise in surrounding regions, with 12 new cases in the Eastern Ontario public health unit, which includes Cornwall and Alexandria, a day after 18 new cases were confirmed in the same region. There are nine new cases in Kingston, nine in Renfrew County and 10 in Leeds, Grenville & Lanark. One new case was identified in the Hastings region.
COVID-19 TESTING INFORMATION
There were 1,289 tests conducted in Ottawa Thursday with a 2.4 per cent test positivity rate. The weekly average rate is 2.2 per cent in Ottawa, which must remain below 2.4 per cent to remain in Orange.
Ottawa’s weekly average rate of infection is 36.7 cases per 100,000 population, and must remain under 40 cases per 100,000 population to remain in Orange.
The R(t) number — another key indicator measuring the secondary cases generated by a single confirmed COVID-19 infection — must be between 1.0 and 1.1 to remain in Orange.
Ottawa’s R(t) number had approached that threshold in recent days with a 1.08 score on Monday, but that has since receded to an average 0.95 weekly score as of Friday.
Any number above 1.0 indicates the virus is spreading in the community, any score under 1.0 indicates the spread is coming under control.
New outbreaks were declared at the Peter D. Clark long-term care home on Wednesday and at the Lord Lansdowne retirement residence Thursday, each involving a single confirmed infection in a staff member. There are now 21 open outbreaks at health-care institutions and eight in child-care settings.
According to the latest update from OPH, Ottawa has now administered 73,009 vaccine doses of the 80,540 total the city has received.
There were 64,611 tests conducted in Ontario with a 2.4 per cent positivity rate, which has also flattened in recent days.
Provincial officials continue to track the spread of variants of concern, with 49 new cases of the B.1.1.7 strain identified Friday, including four in Ottawa. There are now 1,005 known cases of B.1.1.7 in Ontario and 13 in Ottawa.
There was one new case of B.1.351. There are now 42 known cases of that strain in Ontario, with two of those in Ottawa.
Another six cases of P.1 were found and there are now 34 cases in Ontario.
There are 6,859 other cases in the province where a mutation has been detected, though the lineage has not been determined. Those include 121 cases in Ottawa that remain under investigation.
COVID-19 VACCINE NEWS AND UPDATES
On the vaccination front, Ontario administered another single-day high of 43,503 vaccine doses across the province, with 1,062,910 total doses administered and 282,748 Ontarians now fully immunized with both shots.
According to the latest update from OPH, Ottawa has now administered 73,009 vaccine doses of the 80,540 total the city has received.
MORE COVID-19 NEWS AND UPDATES
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Wiliams on Thursday said the declines in case numbers, hospitalizations and ICU occupancy the province saw through February are now slowing.
Public health measures have decreased transmission and slowed the spread of variants of concern, Williams said, though with the B.1.1.7. variant, in particular, continuing to spread across Ontario, it is likely that cases, hospitalizations, and ICU admissions will soon increase.
The next few weeks are “critical” to understanding the impact of the variants, Williams said, and there is still a period of risk before the pandemic likely recedes in the summer.
Williams said there is likely still “four to five months of clear, hard work” while Ontario administers vaccines to those most vulnerable.
University of Toronto Prof. Adalsteinn Brown, who joined Williams for a weekly update on the province’s modelling projections, said there is clear evidence the vaccines are working to reduce severe outcomes and deaths, but there are also some concerning trends developing in the province.
Daily case counts have increased in 24 of Ontario’s 34 public health units, and 14 of those have seen case numbers rise by more than 30 per cent.
“This growth isn’t random,” Brown warned, with mobility increasing in the province as public health restrictions are loosened, along with the spread of variants of concern.
“We can keep the gains we have made by watching the spread very closely, and by loosening public health measures only carefully,” Brown said. “We must be nimble in applying public health measures to extinguish flare-ups quickly.”
Brown also warned of a “significant backlog” of post-pandemic hospital care, with surgeries, screening and in particular mental health and addictions services under immense pressure, Brown said.
“There will be a substantial and prolonged surge in the need for post-pandemic care across all sectors,” he said Thursday.
Vaccinations in long-term care homes, meanwhile, have been a “clear success,” he said.
“We know that vaccines work … especially if we deploy them strategically,” Brown said, and focusing vaccination efforts where they have the biggest impact on deaths and hospitalizations “are key to controlling the impact of the pandemic.”
There are 25 long-term care homes currently in outbreak in Ontario, a dramatic reduction from the pandemic’s peak, and 13 public health units have no home outbreaks.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
