Ecuador’s dearth of doctors: When COVID-19 began to ravage Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, the government transferred medical workers from rural areas to the city to help overwhelmed hospitals deal with the surge in cases. But now as coronavirus cases pile up in small towns and fishing settlements along the nation’s Pacific Coast, villagers say there are no doctors left to treat them or to prescribe medication. Anecdotal evidence reveals that many people with symptoms consistent with COVID-19, particularly those in rural areas where poverty is rife and access to healthcare was limited even before the pandemic, can’t get tested for the infectious disease. In many cases, they have relied on natural remedies such as lemon and eucalyptus to manage their respiratory ailments in recent weeks. Community leaders say they have appealed to the health ministry for help but have yet to receive a response. Ecuador, which has one of the highest COVID-19 caseloads in Latin America, has recorded almost 3,000 deaths from the disease, but authorities acknowledge that, given the state of the country’s overstretched healthcare system, the death count is likely much higher.
Greece’s tourism slowdown: The summer months usually bring about two million visitors to the island of Santorini, Greece’s most popular holiday destination, pumping cash into the country’s economy. But with travel paralyzed by coronavirus lockdowns, the global health crisis could be particularly catastrophic for Greece, whose tourism industry employs some 700,000 workers and accounts for a fifth of GDP. (Greece’s tourism sector brought in a whopping 18 billion euros in 2019.) The current downturn threatens to send Greece back to the ruinous state seen at the height of the debt crisis a decade ago, economists warn. The EU predicts that Greece’s economy will shrink by 9.7 percent this year, one percentage point more than at the height of the eurozone crisis. Athens, for its part, is pushing the EU to come up with bloc-wide rules that will allow tourism to ramp up again in the near-term, while keeping both travelers and locals safe from infection. But even if people are allowed to venture out on holiday, it’s unlikely that large numbers will feel comfortable traveling abroad for a vacation before a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available.
Nigerian doctors strike Lockdowns are meant to help countries “flatten the curve” to ensure hospitals aren’t overwhelmed by surging numbers of infected patients. The plan is less effective, however, if it also keeps doctors from getting to work. That seems to be what’s happened in Nigeria’s sprawling commercial capital city of Lagos, where doctors are going on strike to protest detentions by police who are overzealously enforcing a new curfew. The local doctors’ association says that even ambulances carrying sick patients through the city of 17.5 million have been stopped by cops. The problem seems to stem from confusion about who is exempt from new restrictions on movement. Nigeria has so far confirmed 6,400 cases of COVID-19, with 192 fatalities. The country’s death rate of 0.10 per 100,000 is currently one of the lowest in the world, but there is reason to believe that many COVID-related deaths haven’t been properly counted.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
