Several Canadian provinces broke record daily coronavirus caseloads as the country added another 6,886 infections on Christmas Eve.
The new case data tallied from the provincial and territorial governments Thursday pushes Canada’s total cases to 534,816. Another 122 fatalities from the virus were recorded on Thursday as well, with the country’s death toll standing at 14,719. To date, over 443,000 patients have since recovered from the virus, while 17,723,000 tests have been administered.
In his annual Christmas message, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged that this wasn’t the holiday season Canadians were hoping to experience.
“This isn’t the holiday season we wanted, I know,” Trudeau said in Christmas greeting video posted to Twitter.
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Merry Christmas! I know things are different this year, and there aren’t any dinners to host or parties to go to, but we can – and should – still give thanks for everything that unites us. My family and I are wishing you and your loved ones the very best. https://t.co/wjbRQw5Gbapic.twitter.com/ukif9IZkLT
Trudeau’s Christmas message also comes amid an early present — the arrival of the first doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine. The vaccines’ arrival comes just a day after Health Canada authorized its use for Canadians above the age of 18.
The first doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in Canada. These are part of the 168,000 doses we’ll be getting before the end of the month, and part of the 40 million doses we’re guaranteed from Moderna overall. pic.twitter.com/eKhQ6v8xSA
Moderna’s vaccine is now the second approved for use in Canada, joining the one from Pfizer-BioNTech which was approved earlier this month. A total of 168,000 Moderna vaccine doses, which are due to be administered primarily in long-term care homes and in rural areas due to its less stringent transport requirements, are scheduled to be delivered by the end of December.
Ontario reported a record breaking 2,447 new infections Thursday, as well as 49 more deaths from the virus. The province’s previous daily infection record stood at 2,432 just a week ago.
In Quebec another 2,349 cases were announced, marking the third day the province hit a new record. Another 46 deaths were reported in the province hardest hit by the pandemic, with its total caseload and death toll standing at 185,872 and 7,913, respectively.
4:50 The year that changed everything
The year that changed everything
Alberta added 1,100 new cases on Thursday while B.C. announced another 579.
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Saskatchewan’s total cases now stands at 14,255 after 154 infections were added Thursday. Manitoba added another 243 cases Thursday, which pushed its provincial total to 23,624 — of which an unknown number are considered probable.
3:22 Health Canada approves Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine
Health Canada approves Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine
Several provinces reported new cases in Atlantic Canada. New Brunswick added two more, P.E.I. another three and Nova Scotia tallied another seven infections. Newfoundland and Labrador did not announce any new cases during its update Thursday.
Both the Yukon and Nunavut added one additional case on Thursday as well.
Worldwide, over 79,327,000 people have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Over 1.74 million people have also succumbed to the virus, with the U.S., Brazil and India continuing to lead in both cases and deaths.
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.
