EDMONTON —
Two days after Alberta recorded a record number of daily COVID-19 cases, Premier Jason Kenney was focused on highlighting more recent data that he said shows public health restrictions are working.
“It looks like we’ve flattened the curve. Not time yet to celebrate but the important thing is we’ve stopped the growth,” said Kenney, who was visibly pleased to see lower than usual case numbers for the second straight day.
Speaking to CTV News Edmonton anchor Geoff Hastings during a half-hour long year-end interview, the premier answered a range of mostly pandemic-related questions, including about his government’s handling of the COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, unflattering poll numbers and Alberta’s vaccine rollout.
THE UP-AND-DOWN CURVE
The day of the interview, Wednesday, Dec. 16, Alberta announced 1,270 new cases of COVID-19.
The day before, it was 1,338. The positivity rate was 7.3 per cent after reaching double digits in early December. It was a pair of encouraging days following a Monday that saw the province announce 1,887 new cases, a single-day record (note: Monday’s number was later reconciled to 1,865). The week before fluctuated, averaging 1,658 cases per day.
For Kenney, it’s a sign that public health restrictions, the most stringent of which were introduced eight days before the interview, have been effective. But it’s the restrictions Kenney announced Nov. 24, which included a ban on indoor social gatherings, that he said is leading to the recent decrease in cases.
“We’re heading in the right direction, based on the policies that we adopted in November,” he said.
Kenney has faced widespread criticism, including from Alberta physicians, for not adopting stricter measures sooner. Doctors said the delay caused a preventable increase in COVID-19-related hospital and intensive care admissions — the latter of which have surged nearly 500 per cent since November 1.
On Dec. 7, the day before the newest measures were announced, Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said she found steadily rising COVID-19 numbers “extremely troubling” and that the Nov. 24 measures were “unlikely to be sufficient to bend the curve downwards.”
Nine days after those comments, Kenney, who acknowledges the criticism he has received, said he believes his government acted in a timely fashion.
“I think the current plateauing of numbers confirms that we did,” said Kenney.
The next day, Alberta recorded 1,571 cases, an increase from the day before.
SLIPPING POPULARITY
Asked about recent polls that show his popularity second lowest among premiers in Canada, Kenney said he does not get distracted by polling and that he believed the numbers are a result of a “complex public opinion environment.”
“In most of the provinces you’ve got people who are pro restriction,” said Kenney.
“Here we’ve got a very large chunk of the population who are opposed to any of the restrictive measures that we’ve taken.”
Asked if he would do anything differently regarding the pandemic response plan, Kenney mentioned two things:
The premier regrets classifying businesses as ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’ back in March, saying it was a mistake that only benefitted large box stores. Kenney has publicly expressed this regret on multiple occasions.
That was the premier’s immediate response when asked whether he will be receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
“But I’ll take my turn, when it comes up, probably, with the general population,” he said.
Currently, Alberta is projecting to vaccinate the general population in the fall, but the ability to procure the requisite doses is in the hands of the federal government.
Still, Kenney is optimistic the timeline will move up.
“There is a good chance that we’ll be able to accelerate the vaccine program. There are a number of other vaccines that are in development and undergoing trials. If they succeed, and they are then approved by Health Canada, we’ll be getting more vaccines, more quickly.”
Kenney said a group of “hardcore anti-vaxxers” is telling him to take the vaccine immediately to prove it’s not dangerous, something he is not willing to jump the queue to do.
“I think it’s important for those who are skeptical to know that we’re not going to coerce people into taking the vaccine,” he said.
“So, we’ll be changing the law in February to remove the power of mandatory vaccination, just to try to relieve some of the political pressure coming from folks who are against vaccines.”
2021
Staring down a projected $21.8-billion deficit due to what Kenney calls the “triple whammy” of the pandemic, global economic factors, and a decline in energy prices, the premier is still feeling optimistic about next year.
“There’s going to be a lot of pent up energy, a lot of savings, and people are going to want to go out there and spend and support those businesses that have been struggling,” Kenney predicted.
“And I really believe you’re going to see, especially in the latter half of 2021, a strong recovery in our economy.”
Kenney believes the continued vaccine rollout will trigger a “psychological shift” in behaviours as we head towards the fall of 2021.
“I think the vaccines showing up now before Christmas shows people that the end is within sight.”
Watch the full interview with Premier Kenney later this month on CTV News and CTVNewsEdmonton.ca.
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.
