The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern):
6:20 p.m.
Alberta is reporting 351 new COVID-19 cases and four new deaths associated with the virus.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical health officer, encouraged people in a tweet to “continue to make safe, responsible choices” as Alberta relaxes some restrictions that were imposed in December.
Starting tomorrow, in-person dining can resume in restaurants, one-on-one fitness training with an instructor can take place, and some sports activities can resume for youth.
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5 p.m.
Ontario is logging its first case of the COVID-19 variant that originated in Brazil.
Toronto Public Health identified the case today, along with an instance of the virus variant first found in South Africa.
The city says the patient identified with the variant from Brazil recently returned from travelling to that country and is now in hospital.
It says the diagnosis of the variant originating in South Africa involves a patient with no recent history of travel.
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4:10 p.m.
Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one new confirmed case of COVID-19.
The latest diagnosis involves a female in the Eastern Health region under 19 years of age.
The source of the infection is under investigation, with health officials saying there will be an update.
The province also noted that risks of exposure at the Bigs Restaurant in Mount Pearl, N.L. — which earlier had an exposure warning for January 21st to February 4th — is now deemed “very low.”
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3 p.m.
Saskatchewan has recorded three new deaths among COVID-19 patients, as well as 194 new cases of the virus.
The province says in its daily COVID-19 update that due to weather issues, the number of vaccines it has administered this weekend is lower than planned.
The entire province is now under an extreme cold warning from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Saskatchewan reports that 774 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered yesterday, and that 95per cent of the doses it has received have been administered to date.
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2 p.m.
Manitoba has 80 new cases of COVID-19 as of this morning and four new deaths.
Provincial officials report that all four of the people who died were in the Winnipeg health region and were over 70.
The province says there are now 3,256 active COVID-19 cases in Manitoba.
There are 263 people in hospital, 38 of whom are in intensive care.
The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 6.1 per cent provincially and 3.8 per cent in Winnipeg.
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12:30 p.m.
Nova Scotia has dropped to just eight active cases of COVID-19, with just one new infection being reported today.
The case is in the province’s central zone and is related to travel outside of Atlantic Canada, with the patient currently self-isolating.
Premier Stephen McNeil says it’s good to see the low number, but he cautioned people to keep Super Bowl gatherings small.
Nova Scotians are also being strongly encouraged to seek asymptomatic COVID-19 testing, particularly if they have had several social interactions even within their own circles.
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12:20 p.m.
Public Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting seven new cases of COVID-19 today, with the total number of active cases falling to 203 across the province.
They also say an outbreak of COVID-19 at an Edmundston seniors home has been brought under control.
The provincial officials say in a news release the outbreak began on Jan. 20 at Le Pavillon Le Royer, following a confirmed COVID-19 case at the facility.
In total, the outbreak consisted of only one case, and the release says all staff and residents of the facility were re-tested several times to confirm the end of the spread.
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—11:15 a.m.
More than 10,000 Quebecers have now died from COVID-19.
The province reached the sobering figure today as it reported 32 additional deaths due to the pandemic, for a total of 10,031.
Quebec also passed the 270,000-case mark with the addition of 1,081 new infections.
Hospitalizations declined by 19 to 963, with 158 people in intensive care, which is one less than the day before.
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11 a.m.
Ontario is reporting 1,489 new COVID-19 infections today along with 22 new deaths linked to the virus.
Hospitalizations in the province fell below 1,000, with 926 people receiving treatment for COVID-19.
Provincial data shows 335 of those patients are in intensive care and 233 are on ventilators.
The latest figures come a day before schools are set to reopen across much of the province and the government prepares to formally unveil plans for gradually easing restrictions on businesses.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2021.
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.
