Officials have listed 1,005 U.K. variant cases (B.1.1.7) which is up by 49 since yesterday, 42 South African variant cases (B.1.351) which is up by one, and 34 Brazilian variant cases (P.1) which is up by six, that have been detected so far in the province.
The cumulative case count for a mutation that was detected but the lineage was not determined was 6,859, an increase of 346, the government indicated.
Meanwhile, 296,252 Ontarians were reported to have recovered from COVID-19, which is 94 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 1,124 from the previous day.
Active cases in Ontario now stand at 11,512 — up from the previous day when it was 11,283, and up from March 5 at 10,378. At the peak of the coronavirus surge in January, active cases hit above 30,000.
The government said 64,611 tests were processed in the last 24 hours. There is currently a backlog of 36,744 tests awaiting results. A total of 11,649,060 tests have been completed since the start of the pandemic.
Test positivity — the percentage of tests that come back positive — for Friday and Thursday was 2.4 per cent for both, up from last Friday when it was 2.3 per cent.
Ontario is reporting 1,371 cases of #COVID19 and over 64,600 tests completed. Locally, there are 371 new cases in Toronto, 225 in Peel, 111 in York Region and 109 in Hamilton.
As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 1,062,910 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.
Ontario reported 676 people hospitalized with COVID-19 (down by four from the previous day) with 282 patients in intensive care units (up by five) and 189 patients in ICUs on a ventilator (up by five).
As of 8 p.m. on Thursday, the provincial government reported administering 1,062,910 COVID-19 vaccine doses, representing an increase of 43,503 in the last day. There are 282,748 people fully vaccinated with two doses.
Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson are the vaccines currently approved in Canada. The first three require two shots administered several weeks apart while the fourth requires only one.
Here is a breakdown of the total cases in Ontario by gender and age:
155,107 people are male — an increase of 693 cases.
158,083 people are female — an increase of 685 cases.
42,926 people are 19 and under — an increase of 283 cases.
115,483 people are 20 to 39 — an increase of 504 cases.
90,750 people are 40 to 59 — an increase of 359 cases.
45,093 people are 60 to 79 — an increase of 183 cases.
20,567 people are 80 and over — an increase of 41 cases.
The province notes that not all cases have a reported age or gender.
Here is a breakdown of the total deaths related to COVID-19 by age:
Deaths reported in ages 19 and under: 2
Deaths reported in ages 20 to 39: 29
Deaths reported in ages 40 to 59: 294
Deaths reported in ages 60 to 79: 1,974
Deaths reported in ages 80 and older: 4,827
The province notes there may be a reporting delay for deaths and data corrections or updates can result in death records being removed.
Cases, deaths and outbreaks in Ontario long-term care homes
According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 3,750 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario which increase by one death since yesterday. Eleven virus-related deaths in total have been reported among staff.
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There are 80 current outbreaks in homes, which is a down by three from the previous day.
The ministry also indicated there are currently 45 active cases among long-term care residents and 138 active cases among staff — down by six and up by one, respectively, in the last day.
Cases among students and staff at Ontario schools, child care centres
Meanwhile, government figures show there have been a total of 9,949 school-related COVID-19 cases in Ontario to date — 7,189 among students and 1,610 among staff (1,150 individuals were not identified). This is an increase of 137 more cases in the last day — 99 student cases and 38 staff cases.
In the last 14 days, the province indicates there are 1,219 cases reported among students, 233 cases among staff and 19 individuals were not identified — totaling 1,471 cases.
The COVID-19 cases are currently from 850 out of 4,828 schools in the province. Thirty-four schools in Ontario are currently closed as a result of positive cases, the government indicated.
There have been a total of 2,968 confirmed cases within child care centres and homes — an increase of 20 (14 new child cases and six staff cases). Out of 5,273 child care centres in Ontario, 179 currently have cases and 47 centres are closed.
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Data for cases in schools and child care centres are updated weekdays only, at 10:30 a.m. On Friday’s, numbers are included from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday afternoon.
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.
