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Canada's population growth 'essentially stopped' from July to October due to COVID-19: StatCan – CTV News

Published

4 years ago

December 19, 2020

TORONTO —
A Statistics Canada report says that Canada’s population growth has “essentially stopped” due to COVID-19, with our population only going up by 2,767 from July 1 to October 1 — virtually zero per cent.

The report states that those numbers represent the “lowest quarterly growth since at least January 1, 1946,” which is the point at which comparable national data become available.

“In March, Canada implemented restrictions on international travel due to COVID-19,” the report says.

“The largest demographic impact on the total population came from losses in international migration.”

Canada welcomed 40,069 immigrants in the first quarter of 2020, which is 61.4 per cent less than the same period in 2019 – but reported a net loss of almost 66,000 non-permanent residents, the report says. International students were also unable to bolster population numbers like usual due to border restrictions.

The report did not come as a surprise to Toronto immigration lawyer Nastaran Roushan, who noted that “Canada has been relying on immigration to grow its population for years,” in a phone interview with CTV News.ca Friday.

What did strike Roushan was how unprepared the Canadian government was to deal with the logistics of border restrictions and the impact on immigration.

“The first thing I noticed was how unprepared the government was, in particular the Immigration Department was for this sort of issue,” Roushan said. “Not that anyone could really predict a pandemic, but… in terms of electronics and technology they could have had in place that would have alleviated a lot of the issues that we saw.”

Roushan said the biggest culprit was visa office delays, as most locations shut down operations during lockdowns.

“None of this would have been such a big issue if everything was electronic and applications could continue to process,” she said.

The ripple effect of border closures, travel restrictions and visa office delays has hit immigrants hard, Roushan said.

“The stories have been heartbreaking,” she said. “We’ve heard of families that have been separated, people who are waiting for spousal applications to be processed…people who sold their properties and were ready to immigrate here and then suddenly they weren’t allowed to come. My worry is that people won’t follow through with immigrating to Canada and that would definitely have an adverse impact on the economy.”

Refugees and asylum seekers have also been left exposed by Canada’s COVID-19 response, Roushan said, which feed the country’s population levels.

“Refugees are a much more vulnerable groups than the immigrant population and refugee claims have pretty much narrowed down to a trickle now. And that’s a huge concern because you can only use the pandemic as a reason for not processing refugee claims and not allowing people to claim asylum for so long,” she said.

“The more the pandemic goes on, the less we can make that justification.”

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RCMP arrest second suspect in deadly shooting east of Calgary

Published

13 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.

Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.

Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.

Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.

Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.

RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.

Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.

“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.

But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.

“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.

While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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26-year-old son is accused of his father’s murder on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast

Published

14 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.

Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.

The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.

It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.

Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.

The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Metro Vancouver’s HandyDART strike continues after talks break with no deal

Published

14 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.

Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”

However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.

McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”

About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.

McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.

He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.

The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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