Another 390 new coronavirus cases continued Canada’s overall flattening of the pandemic curve Thursday, yet some health officials are warning of new surges if people don’t change their behaviour.
To date, Canada has now seen 121,174 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The death toll stands at 9,015, after nine more deaths were reported since Wednesday.
Although Ontario and Quebec are reporting lower case counts than at the peak of the pandemic last spring, other provinces like British Columbia are escalating dramatically, while those in central Canada are now posting double-digit increases regularly.
In Atlantic Canada, only New Brunswick reported new cases Thursday, adding two to a provincial total that now stands at 180. There are a total of 16 active cases across the four easternmost provinces, including five reported in Prince Edward Island on Wednesday.
Quebec broke a short streak of reporting fewer than 100 new cases per day, with 104 more infections bringing the provincial total to 60,917. Six new deaths were also reported, although nearly all of them had occurred prior to Tuesday.
2:12 Tracking COVID-19 infections in Quebec
Tracking COVID-19 infections in Quebec
Ontario saw one of its lowest daily counts on record, with 78 new cases, though the total did not include data from Toronto Public Health. The province’s total now stands at 40,367, with 2,787 deaths. No deaths were reported Thursday.
Manitoba saw 25 new infections for a total of 588 confirmed by laboratory tests, along with 15 that are still considered probable. Saskatchewan saw a similar increase, with 27 new cases, bringing its total to 1,511.
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In Alberta, officials reported 76 new cases and three more deaths. To date, the province has seen 11,969 cases and 220 deaths.
In a grim milestone, Ontario’s daily case count of 78 was matched by British Columbia, a feat not achieved since the very early stages of the pandemic. B.C. has in recent days watched its number of active cases explode past 500, the only province to see such a dramatic uptick compared to recoveries.
Modelling released by B.C. health officials Thursday warned the province could see a massive growth of new cases into September unless people refrain from large gatherings, including indoor parties, and re-commit to physical distancing.
Officials are directing their messaging particularly toward young people, who now make up a majority of new cases, despite accounting for only a small fraction of hospitalizations.
2:08 Dr. Bonnie Henry explains possible long-term effects of COVID-19 on young people
Dr. Bonnie Henry explains possible long-term effects of COVID-19 on young people
The province recently announced it would be delaying the start of the school year for students by two days to Sept. 10.
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Most other jurisdictions across Canada are going ahead with returns to in-class learning in September, yet debates are raging over issues like mandatory masks and how to conduct some classes and activities like physical education.
Those same back-to-school debates are now front of mind around the world, where the coronavirus has now infected at least 20.7 million people and killed over 750,000, according to public health data compiled by John Hopkins University.
Experts say the true number of cases could be up to 10 times higher than official data shows, due to testing shortages that have continued to plague several countries since the pandemic began.
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.
