OTTAWA – Canadians are far from done with dealing with COVID-19, as measures to fight the spread of the virus are expected to continue until at least July, according to a government document obtained by the National Post.
“Current GoC [Government Operations Centre] modelling suggests as a best case scenario that current measures continue until at least July.”
That short line, written in a COVID-19 “Daily Sitrep Highlights” by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on March 30 and obtained by the National Post, is the clearest timeline we’ve seen from the federal government to date on how long Canadians will have to endure measures to fight COVID-19.
Is IRCC referring to social distancing measures such as encouraging self-isolation or banning public gatherings? Or the closure of the Canadian border to most foreigners? Maybe the obligatory 14-day quarantine for those who return to the country? Possibly all or none of the above?
The document does not specify, and spokespeople for IRCC and Public Safety Canada (that oversees the GOC) did not respond to questions.
But the Government Operations Centre is Ottawa’s brain during a national crisis. During such times, some of its many roles are creating risk assessments, “national-level planning and whole-of-government response management,” according to its website.
Thus, it holds a central role in coordinating all the measures put in place by the federal government to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the ones mentioned above.
As of now, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has refused to answer specific questions by reporters regarding the government’s internal projections of the spread of COVID-19.
But over the last week, government officials have been hinting that distancing measures would be recommended – or enforced if necessary – for more than just the next few weeks.
“There are obviously many, many different projections of how long this could last, how serious this could be, how many cases we could be facing. But those projections all hinge on choices that Canadians are making today, choices they made over the past few days, choices they will be making over the coming few days,” Trudeau responded to a question on Friday, without revealing any information about said projections.
“We will be able to say more about how many weeks or months this lasts for as we see the impacts of the behaviours people have engaged in over these days,” he added.
Later that day, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, Dr. Howard Njoo, told reporters that Canadians will be in it “for the long haul.”
But again, he shied away from mentioning any specific dates.
“It’s not going to be days and weeks, it’s definitely months, many months. And the one thing that other countries are also looking at, and we’re looking at as well, is that is there a possibility of a second wave? Who knows?” Njoo said. ‘We’re looking at all possibilities and planning for all potential scenarios.”
Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo.
Justin Tang/The Canadian Press/File
Another seldom-reported clue that the drastic measures put in place to fight the global pandemic will last until the summer is the fact that the Canadian border will remain closed to non-American foreigners until at least June 30.
Government officials did not explicitly mention that date during the announcement two weeks ago. Rather, it was buried in the formal government order that enacted the drastic measure.
Already, some federal organizations are preparing for the fact that Canadians will most likely be told to stay home throughout April.
On Monday, the Canada Revenue Agency set out a memo to employees telling them the order to work from home if their work is deemed “non-essential” is extended from April 5 to May 1.
If they cannot work from home because of IT limitations, illness or family issues such as caring for children during school closures, then they are asked to go on paid leave.
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“We have a long road ahead, and we will be continually taking stock and adjusting our approach to ensure we can continue to provide Canadians with the assistance they desperately require during this time. We continue to be tremendously grateful for your on-going dedication, flexibility and cooperation during this difficult time and as needs and expectations change over the coming weeks and months,” wrote CRA Commissioner Bob Hamilton.
To date, the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) – the public service’s employer – is ordering departments to allow teleworking as much as possible during the global pandemic.
That order will be revised by April 10 at the latest, at which point it could be extended, modified or simply cancelled.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
