Chinese Canadians are bearing the brunt of misinformation and rumour about COVID-19, warns Canada’s health minister.
Patty Hajdu met with her B.C. counterpart Adrian Dix, Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart and stakeholders in the Vancouver Chinese Canadian community Monday to find ways to combat the issue.
Alex Wang, who runs the Peninsula Seafood Restaurant in Oakridge said he’s seen business drop more than 70 per cent.
“For my cash flow, I don’t think I can survive longer than three months,” he said.
Wang said he’s trying to avoid laying off staff, some who’ve been with the business for six years, but has been forced to cut shifts.
“The Chinese New Year period is the most busy time in the year. We [had to] cancel all the parties, nobody come out,” he said.
“The biggest loss is the salary and our inventory that we prepare for the Chinese New Year.”
Mayor Stewart said Wang’s concerns are widespread in the community, where unfounded fears around COVID-19 have some entrepreneurs worried they’ll be put out of business.
“We’ve heard some restaurants that are losing 50, 60, 70 per cent of business which is very, very concerning to us, because most of it is based on misinformation,” said Stewart.
“We’re encouraging people to go on with their regular business, enjoy all the great food and other services that are offered here in Chinatown and other Chinese communities because at this stage we’re considering everything safe and we don’t want these businesses hurt.”
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to grow, there has been rising concern about racism and misinformation which is rapidly being spread online.
2:18 Coronavirus outbreak: Hajdu stresses shutting down borders over illness ‘not effective at all’
Coronavirus outbreak: Hajdu stresses shutting down borders over illness ‘not effective at all’
Asian supermarket chain T&T was forced to issue a statement in January after social media posts linked it to the virus, while this month a B.C. man who had never been infected found himself as the unwitting face of the disease thanks to a viral photo.
Hajdu made a similar stop with Ontario’s health minister and Toronto’s mayor last week amid similar concerns stigmatization in that city’s Chinatown.
Hajdu said there was nothing new about online misinformation, but that the speed with which it’s spreading is a challenge.
“Sometimes there are alternative agendas for misinformation,” she said.
“Sometimes people drive fear because they like to, sometimes they drive fear because it might result in a profit. You can sell more masks for example if you create more fear. People sometimes drive fear as a way to cast aspersions on communities.”
1:44 B.C resident coming home after being quarantined on the Diamond Princess
B.C resident coming home after being quarantined on the Diamond Princess
Hajdu said it is more important than ever that Canadians stick to reliable sources of information, whether it be credible media or official provincial or federal public health officials.
Dix said health officials in British Columbia had made a point of maximum transparency, including weekly in-person updates with the province’s top doctor, in a bid to counter misinformation.
“We are determined, any time there is a positive case, to let people know and we’ve consistently done that,” he said.
“People can be assured that that is going to happen every single time.”
Hajdu also spoke about Canadians aboard cruise ships docked in Cambodia and Yokohama where COVID-19 cases have surfaced.
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She said there was no formal timeline to repatriate Canadians aboard the ship in Japan, but that officials anticipate it could take place later this week.
5:50 COVID-19 myth debunker
COVID-19 myth debunker
She added that health officials were still working to determine which Canadians aboard the ship in Cambodia had left that ship and what their travel routes were.
As of Monday, eight COVID-19 cases had been identified in Canada — five in British Columbia and three in Ontario.
The virus has killed more than 1,700 people and infected more than 70,000 people in total, most of them in mainland China.
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.
