Residents of Ontario can now download a new app that can tell them whether they have been near someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 over the previous two weeks.
But while government officials say the goal is to make the COVID Alert contact notification app available across the country and are in talks with other provinces, they can’t state yet when it will be available outside Ontario. The Android version can be found here.
They also haven’t explained why only one province has agreed to adopt what was supposed to be a national app.
COVID Alert is the federal government’s latest move in the battle to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as Canada’s economy gradually reopens. Here’s how it works:
You start by downloading the app to your smartphone.
That will allow the phone to use Bluetooth technology to exchange signals with nearby phones.
If someone tests positive for COVID, their public health authority will give them a one-time key to enter into the app.
The app will then send out notices to every phone that has been within two metres of the infected person’s phone for at least 15 minutes over the previous 14 days — as long as those other phones also carry the app.
Those who receive a notification will receive instructions on what to do next.
Officials say that the app will become more effective as more people download it — and they stress that it’s a notification app, not a contact-tracing app.
App is voluntary
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has downloaded the app.
“I want to be clear — this app isn’t mandatory,” he told reporters. “It’s completely voluntary to download and to use.”
Watch: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explains new COVID Alert app
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa how the new federal COVID app will warn Canadians if they have been near someone who has tested positive for the virus. 2:32
Other provinces, such as New Brunswick, have worked to develop their own apps. Alberta launched a contact tracing app called ABTraceTogether on May 1.
Trudeau said the federal government is close to working out an agreement with the Atlantic provinces to integrate their systems with the app. The federal government says it is also talking with other provinces and territories about integrating their systems but hasn’t indicated when other provinces might adopt the app.
While anyone across Canada can download the app, they will receive alerts only if they have been near someone who has tested positive in a province that has integrated the app with its testing system, and who has downloaded the app.
While the Android version requires users to turn on their location settings, officials maintain the app will not know a user’s location, name or address. It also won’t track exactly when the user was near someone who tested positive, or whether they are currently near someone who has tested positive.
For users of Apple devices, the app works on the iOS 13.5 operating system and newer systems. That means the app might not work on some older smartphones, and some users might have to upgrade their operating systems.
Officials said the government has been working with federal Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien’s office to address any privacy concerns.
Therrien endorsed the app on Friday, saying that he plans to download it himself.
“Canadians can opt to use this technology, knowing it includes very significant privacy protections,” he wrote in a statement.
Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Patricia Kosseim agreed, saying her office’s review found strong measures to protect privacy.
“I support the use of exposure notification technology to help control the spread of COVID-19, provided it is used in the way it’s been designed to respect the privacy of Ontarians,” said Kosseim. “This app will only work if people trust their personal information will be protected and choose to use the technology.”
Therrien and Kosseim said, however, that their endorsements are conditioned on the app’s use being voluntary and the government continuing to monitor it.
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
