OTTAWA —
Based on the current projections, Canadians need to decrease their current rate of contacts by 25 per cent in order to get the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic under control in this country.
According to new national modelling released on Friday, despite additional restrictions being re-imposed in regions where the virus’ spread has ramped up in recent months, the current epidemic curve does not appear to be flattening.
After surpassing the previous round of projected maximum cases and deaths, cases continue to increase and Canada is on track to see thousands of new cases and hundreds of new deaths by Nov. 8.
If we maintain our current rate of contacts, the epidemic is forecast to resurge, and a decrease of 25 per cent would mean that the spread would come under control “in most locations,” according to the presentation delivered by Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam and Deputy Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo.
Tam is calling on people to avoid gatherings with people outside of their “consistent, trusted contacts” and to take all other social interactions virtual, limit non-essential outings as much as possible, and in scenarios where physical distancing can’t be maintained with people outside of your household, wear a mask. She also suggested some workplaces have more to do to ensure their employees who may have come back into workspaces over the last few months have enough safeguards in place to protect staff.
“Right now, our most powerful tool remains social distancing… In communities where cases are rising quickly, we need to keep our contacts as limited as possible. This is what it will take to slow the spread of the virus,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the press conference. “So when you’re thinking of seeing people outside your household, ask yourself: ‘Is this absolutely necessary?’ I know the situation is frustrating. I know it’s hard, but it is temporary. If we work together, cases will go down again.”
Asked whether it’s time for more widespread closures to get the second wave under control, Trudeau said that despite the increase in cases, some regions are seeing the spread slow due to more targeted measures, negating a large-scale shutdown.
“It takes time… but it is going to take weeks and months,” he said.
As of the modelling being released there have been a total of 228,542 confirmed cases nationwide over the course of the pandemic, and by the end of next week that number is on track to increase to between 251,800 and 262,000 cases.
There have been a total of 10,074 deaths recorded due to COVID-19, and that metric is also on track to grow considerably in the next several days, with the new figures projecting between 10,285 and 10,400 deaths by Nov. 8.
As has been the case throughout the health crisis, the incidence rate varies across provinces and territories, but generally over the last two weeks higher rates of infection are being reported, COVID-19 patients are being hospitalized at higher rate than was seen over the summer, and deaths are “gradually” increasing.
Over the past week, Canada has seen an average of 30 deaths per day. The current average age of death for people dying due to COVID-19-related illness is 84 years old in Canada, but ranges from ages 19 to 107.
Currently, the average test positivity rate is approaching 4 per cent nationally, and the number of health regions reporting more than 50 cases per 100,000 have nearly doubled in last few weeks, with 34 regions currently experiencing this rate.
Rates of Canadians under the age of 40 contracting the virus remain the highest, but an increase in new cases is occurring across age groups. Outbreaks are also continuing to be reported in the highest rates at long-term care and retirement residences; at schools and child-care centres; and as a result of social gatherings such as weddings, funerals and informal family or community celebrations.
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.
