Albertans who are abroad are scrambling to figure out plans to come back to Canada as countries around the world begin to impose stricter travel restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Sheila Ethier of St. Albert is in Bucerias, Mexico with her significant other and friends. The group arrived at the end of January and are currently scheduled to come home April 7.
However, the group has been watching the developments around the coronavirus and is looking to come back to Alberta sooner rather than later. Ethier is a nurse.
“I felt I needed to be back at work and also, just because I’m in a foreign country and the fear that the way things were happening so fast, that the airlines wouldn’t be able to fly anymore or they would cancel flights,” she said.
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Ethier has been trying to re-book her flight and is concerned that she will be left stranded in Mexico.
“I’m loving my vacation here. It’s wonderful. But given the uncertainty with the markets and the way things are rapidly changing, watching what may or may not happen to airlines across the world…it makes you more concerned about getting home,” she said.
Ethier said she is currently waiting for a call back from her airline to change her flight.
“I’m actually not afraid of the virus as much as I am not being able to get back home,” she said.
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“I think the last three days, you wake up in the morning and there’s a feeling of, ‘Is this real?’ You don’t look at it in terms of relaxing on the beach. It’s more of a panic to get home because you’re not sure of the future.”
2:40 Canadians told to avoid all non-essential travel outside Canada
Canadians told to avoid all non-essential travel outside Canada
Meanwhile, Darian Crowshaw of Edmonton is still trying to figure out his next steps.
The art student has been studying at the Florence Academy of Art for the last 1.5 years. There has been a travel lockdown on Italy, which is the epicentre of coronavirus cases in Europe.
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Crowshaw is on the fence of what to do after hearing the announcement from the foreign affairs minister.
“[The announcement] was like kicking a fire under my butt and saying, ‘Oh no, maybe if I don’t come home right away, I’ll just be stuck here for longer with nothing to do,’” he said.
Crowshaw has been looking at flights back to Canada but is also waiting to see whether the Italian government plans to lift or extend the travel lockdown.
“If they’re going to open the schools back up here by April 3, which is their plan, it would be okay for me to stay here. But if they keep the schools closed and it interrupts our trimester then I’m probably going to have to go home,” he said.
Crowshaw said he is not one to make hasty decisions.
“I don’t want to go home and have school start and then be back in Edmonton and be in lockdown again,” he said.
Most people diagnosed with COVID-19 experience mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, and the vast majority of those who contract the virus recover. The Public Health Agency of Canada says the risk to the general population is low.
However, for some, including Canadians aged 65 and over, those with compromised immune systems and those with pre-existing conditions, the illness can be much more severe. Among the Canadians diagnosed with the illness so far, fewer than 15 per cent have required hospitalization.
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Public health officials are urging Canadians to practice frequent hand washing and social distancing.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
