What a difference a few months make. Over the summer, Canadians were riding high on the notion they had flattened the curve. In comparison, COVID-19 infections in the neighbouring United States had spiked to new highs.
Then the fall arrived, and coronavirus case numbers in Canada started to surge.
In response, the European Union removed Canadians from its list of approved travellers on Thursday. Also, U.S. President Donald Trump made a point of noting Canada’s COVID-19 “flare-ups” in a recent speech.
Now, Canada must face an uncomfortable fact: while we’re still faring better than many countries, we’ve lost our coveted image as a nation widely recognized as having flattened the curve.
The turn of events is a reminder that the stealth coronavirus can rebound at any moment, and no country can rest on its laurels in its battle with COVID-19.
WATCH | Trump takes note of Canada’s COVID-19 problems:
During his first public event since he was diagnosed with COVID-19, U.S. President Donald Trump said Canada and other countries are experiencing ‘flare-ups’ of the virus. 0:22
“Just because we got through the first wave didn’t mean that we were prepared for what was to come,” said Ashleigh Tuite, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto.
“I think we got a little bit smug in terms of comparing ourselves to the United States.… I think maybe it adds a sense of complacency.”
EU change of heart not surprising, expert says
Back in June, Canada got a big vote of confidence when European countries began reopening their borders. The EU placed Canada on a list of just 14 countries whose citizens EU officials recommended should be welcome in the 27-nation bloc.
The U.S. didn’t make the cut.
Based on the EU’s recommendation, many member countries flung open their doors to Canadian travellers — with no restrictions.
But that may now change as the EU has officially removed Canada from its approved travel list. The EU said it based its revised list on a number of factors, including COVID-19 case counts and containment efforts.
Global health specialist Steven Hoffman said the EU’s change of heart isn’t surprising because Canada has entered the second wave of the virus.
Over the past month, COVID-19 infections in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta have soared to record highs.
“Our numbers are getting worse and so it makes sense that countries are reacting,” said Hoffman, a professor of global health, law and political science at Toronto’s York University.
What happened?
Health experts have offered up a myriad of reasons why Canada’s COVID-19 case numbers have climbed since the summer. First, there was the inevitable rise in cases as provinces eased lockdown restrictions in the spring and summer.
Also, some provinces struggled to keep up contact tracing and testing as COVID-19 cases began to mount.
“The testing, the tracing just wasn’t up to the job in terms of handling these larger numbers of people,” said Tuite. “As a result, the whole system got bogged down.”
But Hoffman said that Canadians shouldn’t get too distraught over the EU decision because Canada is still faring better than Europe.
“In Europe, we’re seeing quite the acceleration to the point where it’s quite scary,” said Hoffman. He added that Europe currently isn’t a good travel destination.
“If Canadians want to be protected from this pandemic … I would recommend they stay right where they are in Canada.”
Trump highlighted Canada’s problems in a speech earlier this month.
“All over the world, you see big flare-ups,” he told a crowd of supporters. “Big flare-ups in Canada, very big flare-up.”
This is in sharp contrast to the summer when Canadian COVID-19 case numbers remained low while U.S. infections spiralled out of control. The jarring difference inspired many Canadians to chastise the U.S. on social media for not being able to control the virus. Some even suggested that Canada build a wall.
But times have changed. The U.S. infection rate is still far above Canada’s rate, but some provinces are now rivalling U.S. states once considered hot spots.
According to New York Times data on Thursday, Quebec’s COVID-19 infection rate over the past seven days is nearing Florida’s rate and has surpassed the rate in Arizona and California. Manitoba’s rate is hovering close to that of California’s.
But Hoffman said Canada can still lay claim to the country where both Canadians and Americans would rather be — when it comes to batting the virus.
“I think every American wishes they were living in Canada right now, because our numbers and our ability to contain this outbreak is far better than what we’ve seen from the United States.”
He also suggested that Canada’s slipping COVID-19 status doesn’t constitute a crisis, but instead it’s a wake-up call to ramp up our efforts.
“This represents a warning for why we need to take this pandemic seriously,” said Hoffman. “We are maybe at this turning point for whether the second wave of this outbreak will be like the first one, or will it be a lot worse?”
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.
