Premier Jason Kenney said his province has passed the peak of Omicron infections and that new hospitalizations due to the virus are coming down.
“The threat of COVID-19 to public health no longer outweighs the hugely damaging impact of health restrictions on our society, on people’s mental health, on their emotional wellbeing, on our broader social health,” he said during an afternoon briefing.
“Now is the time to begin learning to live with COVID.”
Step 1, which takes effect in Alberta tonight at 11:59 p.m., will remove the restrictions exemption program — which mandated people to show proof-of-vaccination. Restrictions on food and beverages at entertainment venues will be removed and all capacity limits will be ended except at large capacity venues (500+).
As of next Monday, almost all restrictions on kids will be lifted — including masks in schools for kids in grades K-12. Outside of school, kids 12 and under will be exempt from mask mandates.
Phase 2 would take effect March 1, provided hospitalizations are still trending downward, and would include removing all indoor masking, lift all gathering limits for indoors and outdoors, and remove the work-from-home order.
Alberta currently has the highest daily case positivity rate nationally, with 36.4 per cent of all PCR tests coming back positive.
Several provinces, including Quebec and Saskatchewan, announced plans Tuesday to further ease COVID-19 restrictions in the coming days and weeks. (CBC/Radio-Canada)
The Quebec government says most COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted across the province by March 14 — except for mask mandates and the vaccine passport system.
Premier François Legault announced a road map today that begins Saturday, when all limits on indoor private gatherings will be removed. (Though public health recommends having at most 10 people present.)
By Feb. 21, entertainment and sports venues can open at 50 per cent capacity and fully reopen on Feb. 28. The Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens, can reopen fully on March 14.
Bars and casinos will reopen as of Feb. 28 at half capacity and increase to full capacity by mid-March.
Legault, however, says his government isn’t ready to lift mask mandates or end the vaccine passport system, both of which will remain until at least March 14.
WATCH | Premier Legault says Quebec is taking a ‘calculated risk’ with reopening plans:
Almost all restrictions in Quebec to be lifted by March 14, Legault says
10 hours ago
Duration 2:02
Calling it a ‘calculated risk to learn to live with the virus,’ Quebec Premier François Legault outlined a series of dates to lift COVID-19 restrictions, with almost all being eliminated by mid-March. 2:02
Beginning Monday, Saskatchewan will no longer require COVID-19 vaccine passports. It is also ending its indoor mask mandate at the end of the month.
Premier Scott Moe said Tuesday that providing proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to enter businesses, like restaurants, had helped in the fight against spread of the virus. But he said it also created deep divisions in the province — in effect “two classes of citizens.”
“The benefits of this policy no longer outweigh the costs,” said Moe, adding people should be able to choose whether they get vaccinated or not.
WATCH | There is no better public health intervention than proof-of-vaccine requirement, says Sask. doctor:
Sask. doctor says lifting proof-of-vaccine measure too rushed
7 hours ago
Duration 4:51
The decision to end proof-of-vaccination in Saskatchewan is coming too soon, says Dr. Alexander Wong, an infectious diseases specialist in Regina. He suggested it is more likely due to political pressure. 4:51
Other provinces have said they are also looking at lifting their COVID-19 measures.
King says the news should not be seen as a declaration that the pandemic is over, and some restrictions may remain in certain locations, such as hospitals.
WATCH | Prime Minister Trudeau says everyone is sick of restrictions, and vaccines are the way out:
Trudeau says ‘government has been focused every step of the way on following the best science’
9 hours ago
Duration 1:02
The prime minister says he understands the frustration over vaccine mandates but insists that the only way out of the pandemic is through mandates and vaccinations. 1:02
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said team competition within leagues or regions can resume Monday. Tournaments are still not permitted, but single games can occur.
Also effective Monday, formal gatherings will be able to increase to 50 per cent of a venue’s capacity. Informal gatherings will remain within a person’s group of 20 close, consistent contacts.
Starting Monday, restaurants, bars, theatres, bingo halls and other performance spaces can operate at 50 per cent capacity, provided physical distancing can be maintained. Gyms, fitness facilities and arenas can also operate at 50 per cent capacity with distancing.
Restrictions for faith-based groups in the province are being loosened as of Saturday, allowing churches that require the province’s vaccination passport to operate at 50 per cent capacity and 25 per cent capacity if not using the passport.
-From The Canadian Press and CBC News last updated at 7:30 p.m. ET
Students push to freeze grades because of learning disruptions
16 hours ago
Duration 2:02
There’s a growing push among high school students to freeze their grades where they were before the winter break, to level the playing field for those whose schooling was disrupted by a switch back to virtual learning. 2:02
With lab-based testing capacity deeply strained and increasingly restricted, experts say true case counts are likely far higher than reported. Hospitalization data at the regional level is also evolving, with several provinces saying they will report figures that separate the number of people in hospital because of COVID-19 from those in hospital for another medical issue who also test positive for COVID-19.
For more information on what is happening in your community — including details on outbreaks, testing capacity and local restrictions — click through to the regional coverage below.
In Central Canada, promoters of Quebec’s most popular festivals want the government to let them know what COVID-19 health orders they’ll face this summer, fearing the restrictions are affecting the city’s international reputation.
The province on Tuesday reported 56 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus and a 45-patient drop in COVID-19 hospitalizations, with 2,380 people remaining in hospital.
In Ontario, where visitor restrictions for long-term care eased slightly this week, health officials on Tuesday reported 42 additional deaths and said the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 stood at 2,254 — up by 99 from a day earlier.
In Atlantic Canada, Prince Edward Island’s chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, reported the death of one person over the age of 80 — the 13th COVID-19-related death in the province since the pandemic began.
Morrison said nine people are hospitalized with the disease, a decrease of two from Monday, and one patient is in intensive care. There are five other people in hospital who were admitted for other reasons but later tested positive for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the head of Nova Scotia’s cancer care program is warning that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are causing serious backlogs in the health system that could take years to clear.
“Even if COVID suddenly disappears tomorrow, it will take years to catch up with the backlog and to rebuild the system,” Dr. Helmut Hollenhorst said. Staff availability and lack of intensive care unit beds have been an issue in the most recent wave, he said Monday.
Provincial health officials on Tuesday reported 91 people were being treated in designated COVID-19 units in hospital — unchanged from Monday — including 14 in ICU.
In New Brunswick, six more people have died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 269 since the start of the pandemic. Health officials reported 151 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, unchanged from Monday, with 17 in intensive care.
Manitoba reported two additional deaths Tuesday. There are currently 697 people in hospital being treated for COVID-19, including 40 in the ICU.
Alberta had 1,623 people in hospital with COVID-19 Tuesday, including 129 in ICU. An additional 13 people have died from the virus.
In the North, the Canadian Red Cross has sent six nurses to Nunavut as the territory continues to experience its worst outbreak of COVID-19 to date. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Michael Patterson says COVID-19 has reached Resolute Bay, with four presumptive cases of COVID-19 in the High Arctic community of about 200 people.
There are currently 366 cases of COVID-19 in Nunavut, while 19 people have been hospitalized and one person has died during this wave.
Yukon health officials on Tuesday reported four people were in hospital being treated for COVID-19.
“After two of the most difficult years in our history, we know people are exhausted and families are feeling stretched,” Premier John Horgan said in a news release.
“That’s why our focus has been, and will continue to be, on investing to help make life better for people.”
The province reported 986 people in hospital with COVID-19 Tuesday, including 146 in the ICU.
-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 8 p.m. ET
What’s happening around the world
As of Tuesday evening, more than 400.3 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.7 million.
In the Americas, the governors of four U.S. states announced plans Monday to lift statewide mask requirements in schools by the end of February or March, citing the rapid easing of COVID-19’s Omicron surge.
The decisions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Oregon were announced as state and local governments grapple with which virus restrictions to jettison and which to keep in place. The changes also come amid a growing sense that the virus is never going to go away and Americans need to find a way to coexist with it.
Meanwhile, California announced plans to end its indoor masking requirement for vaccinated people next week, but masks will still be the rule for schoolchildren in the nation’s most populous state.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, seen in this 2021 photo taken in a Pre-K classroom, is moving away from mandatory masks in the state’s classrooms. (Mary Altaffer/The Associated Press)
In Africa, Ugandan authorities are seeking to legally mandate vaccines in draft legislation aimed at boosting the East African country’s drive to inoculate more people against COVID-19. The bill, which is subject to changes as it faces scrutiny by a parliamentary health committee, proposes a six-month jail term for failure to comply with vaccination requirements during disease outbreaks. Alfred Driwale, a public official who leads Uganda’s vaccination efforts, said he supports the proposed changes to the country’s public health law.
Attempts by Ugandan officials in recent months to enforce limited mandates have been unsuccessful. A vaccine requirement for people using public transport failed to be implemented amid opposition from operators.
In Europe, Sweden has decided to lift entry restrictions for foreign nationals travelling to the country from Nordic countries and the rest of the European Union and European Economic Area from Wednesday.
Meanwhile, several German states are planning to loosen coronavirus restrictions despite rising infections, officials said.
In the Asia-Pacific region,China has ordered inhabitants of the southern city of Baise to stay home and suspended transportation links amid a surge in COVID-19 cases at least partly linked to the Omicron variant. Classes have been suspended, non-essential businesses closed and mass testing of residents ordered. Restaurants are only permitted to serve takeout.
Traffic lights have been switched to red only, to remind drivers to stay home. As of Tuesday, 135 cases had been reported in the city — at least two of them found to be Omicron, health authorities said. The city has become the latest to be placed under lockdown in keeping with China’s “zero-tolerance” approach to the pandemic. The policy requires strict measures be applied even when only a small number of cases have been found.
In the Middle East, health officials in Iran on Tuesday said 114 people had died from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, with 38,757 additional cases reported.
-From Reuters, CBC News and The Associated Press, last updated at 8 p.m. ET
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
