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The rules: Orange-zone restrictions come into effect in Ottawa on Tuesday – Ottawa Citizen

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Ottawa’s return Tuesday to the Orange-Restrict zone means that events and social gatherings in private homes, backyards and parks may now include 10 people for indoor gatherings and 25 for outdoor ones.

Organized public events and gatherings taking place in staffed businesses or facilities may now include 50 people indoors and 100 outside.

Meanwhile, indoor religious services, weddings and funerals will be limited to 30 per cent of capacity, while outdoor ones can have a maximum of 100 people.

Here are some of the other restrictions that will be in place:

Gatherings and close contact

Close contact should be limited to those in your household, while 2-metre distancing should be maintained with others. Those living alone can have close contact with only one other household.

Businesses

Businesses must screen employees using the COVID-19 Screening Tool for Workplaces, and post signs at all entrances informing people how to screen themselves.

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They must also limit capacity to ensure people can keep two metres apart, and workers must wear PPE over their eyes, nose and mouth if they come within two metres of anyone not wearing a mask or face covering, or separated by plexiglass. Fitting rooms in stores cannot be adjacent to one another.

Restaurants and bars

Restaurants are limited to 50 people indoors, with no more than four people at any table. Guests must sit at least two metres between tables, and wear masks or other face coverings except when eating or drinking (except for those under the age of two, or those with medical documentation). Guests must also provide their names and contact information.

Establishments must close by 10 p.m., and alcohol cannot be sold after 9 p.m. or consumed after 10 p.m. Buffets are not permitted.

Sports and recreational fitness facilities

Indoor capacity is limited to 10 people per class, and 50 people in areas with weights and exercise machines. Outdoor classes will be limited to 25 people per class. One parent or guardian per child is allowed; spectators are otherwise forbidden.

With some exceptions, masks or face coverings must be worn except when exercising. In classes and areas with weights or exercise equipment, a 3-metre distance must be maintained between others. Names and contact information must also be provided.

Team and individual sports must be modified to avoid physical contact, and leagues can have no more than 50 people.

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There is a 90-minute time restriction on classes and workouts. Outdoor ski, ice and snow amenities will be open.

Meetings and event spaces

Capacity is limited to 50 people indoors per facility, and 100 outdoors, with no more than four per table. Guests must provide their names and contact information, while the time restrictions are the same as those for bars and restaurants.

Personal care services

Oxygen bars, steam rooms, saunas, sensory deprivation pods (other than those for therapeutic purposes), bath houses and other “adult” venues remain closed, as do other services requiring guests to remove their masks or face coverings.

Casinos, bingo halls and gaming establishments

Capacity is limited to 50 people, while table games such as poker, blackjack and roulette are not permitted. Alcohol cannot be served after 9 p.m. or consumed after 10 p.m.

Cinemas

Capacity is limited to 50 people indoors and 100 outside. Masks or face coverings must be worn except when eating or drinking. The above alcohol restrictions apply.

The Mayfair Theatre on Bank Street announced it will reopen on Friday.

Performing arts facilities

Capacity is limited to 50 spectators indoors and 100 outside. There must be a barrier, such as plexiglass, between singers and wind- or brass-instrument players and audience members. The above alcohol restrictions also apply.

Museums and galleries

The Canadian War Museum and the Museum of History have announced their reopenings effective Wednesday. Each will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday, and until 7 p.m. on Thursdays.

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The Museum of Nature has announced it will reopen Thursday. The Canada Science and Technology Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum and the Art Gallery of Canada had not announced reopenings as of Monday.

City of Ottawa services and facilities

The city announced that some of its services and facilities will be open Tuesday, although others won’t resume until Feb. 22, and there may be limitations, such as face-to-face services available only by appointment.

Here’s how city facilities and services will start opening up again:

Recreation and Culture

The following activities and programs will resume on Feb. 16:
-Public and lane swims at select pools
-Aquafitness programs
-Weight and cardio rooms will reopen with capacity limits
-Sport activities with capacity limits and physical distancing measures
-Older adult programming
-Public skating at select arenas will start on Feb. 20

Reservations for these activities can be made on ottawa.ca beginning Feb. 14 at 6 p.m.

Recreation services will restart gradually at some locations. Access to most activities will require reservations. Visit ottawa.ca/recreation for more information on activities, locations, facility and rink rentals, reservations and COVID-related protocols and restrictions.

Skating on the outdoor refrigerated rinks will continue by reservation only, with a maximum capacity of 25 skaters.

Other recreation and arts programming and activities will be announced in the coming weeks.

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Community outdoor rinks

The Ottawa Public Health directive keeps outdoor skating rink capacity at 25 skaters and 12 for puddle rinks.

With non-contact sports scrimmages and play permitted, skaters may bring hockey sticks and equipment on the ice as long as rink capacity and physical distancing requirements are observed.

Masks must be worn within 15 metres of the edge of the rink and are highly recommended while skating.

Sledding hills

The capacity at gathering points at the top and bottom of sledding hills will remain at a maximum of 25 people, and two-metre physical distancing must be maintained at all times.

Facility rentals

Select City rental spaces will be available to accommodate up to a maximum of 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors, provided the space allows for adequate physical distancing of at least two metres.

Counter services

In-person services will reopen on Feb. 22, but clients can start reserving appointments as of Feb. 16.

Service Ottawa – Client Service Centres and Building Code Services

City Hall and Ben Franklin Place (100 Centrepointe Dr.) Client Service Centres and Building Code Services counters will be open by appointment only. Visit ottawa.ca for the list of in-person service offerings.

Residents must make an appointment for the Client Service Centre by using the online booking tool on ottawa.ca. Residents without internet access can reserve times by calling 3-1-1 and choosing option six. Requests for same-day appointments will be subject to availability.

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Building Code Services will continue to support application submissions by mail and electronically at buildingpermits@ottawa.ca.

Employment and Social Services and Rent Supplement Program Office

Limited counter and document drop-off services will be available weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at all four centres: 370 Catherine St., Mary Pitt Centre (second floor west, 100 Constellation Dr.), 2020 Walkley Rd. and 2339 Ogilvie Rd.

For all other services, staff will provide both telephone and email support from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

The Mary Pitt Centre location will be the only location for limited counter and document drop-off services for the Rent Supplement Program from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays. The staff will continue to provide telephone and email support on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Business Licensing Centre

The Business Licensing Centre at 735 Industrial Ave. will continue operations on Feb. 22 and will offer all categories of business licences and pet registration by appointment.

To make an appointment, email businesslicensing@ottawa.ca / permisdentreprise@ottawa.ca or call 613-580-2424, extension 12735.

Ottawa Public Library Branches

All 28 Ottawa Public Library branches are offering curbside service. The Ottawa Public Library is assessing which services it will be able to offer under the Orange category. Visit BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca for service updates. The website also offers access to digital resources and requests for library items.

City Archives

The City’s Central Archives at the James K. Bartleman Centre at 100 Tallwood Dr. will resume in-person appointments to visit the Reference Room on Feb. 23. Clients may make reservations beginning Feb. 16 by emailing archives@ottawa.ca or by calling 613-580-2857.

Parking enforcement

All residential on-street parking restrictions will resume on Feb. 22. Warnings will be handed out between Feb. 16 and Feb. 21.

With files from Joanne Laucius.

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Japan’s SoftBank returns to profit after gains at Vision Fund and other investments

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TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.

Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.

Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).

SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.

The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.

WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.

SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.

SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.

SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.

The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.

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Yuri Kageyama is on X:

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Trump campaign promises unlikely to harm entrepreneurship: Shopify CFO

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Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.

“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.

“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”

Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.

On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.

If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.

These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.

If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.

However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.

He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.

“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.

Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.

The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.

Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.

Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.

Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.

Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.

Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”

In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.

“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:SHOP)

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RioCan cuts nearly 10 per cent staff in efficiency push as condo market slows

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TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.

The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.

The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.

RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.

The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.

RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:REI.UN)

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