Once Phase 2A is complete, the province will shift to Phase 2B — likely in April — which would open eligibility for adults with severe underlying conditions
Author of the article:
Stephanie Babych
Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw.Photo by Chris Schwarz/Government of Alberta
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Alberta has laid out its plan for the next stages of vaccine eligibility, as another 65 variant cases of COVID-19 were detected in the province Monday.
Appointments for Phase 2A of the province’s vaccine rollout opened Monday morning, with 8,000 eligible Albertans signing up for their time slots within the first several hours. Bookings through Alberta Health Services for those eligible will expand to include Albertans born in 1948 or earlier and First Nations, Métis and Inuit individuals born in 1963 or earlier at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
Phase 2A will continue expanding until bookings are available for Albertans born between 1947 and 1956, and Indigenous individuals born in 1971 or earlier. As well, staff and residents of licensed seniors supportive-living facilities who were left out of the first phase will be eligible.
More than 437,000 Albertans qualify for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines under Phase 2A.
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“I’m so grateful for everyone who is signing up. I know many others are eager for their turn, and we were asking everyone to please be patient,” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, during Monday’s press conference.
Once Phase 2A is complete, the province will shift to Phase 2B — likely in April — which would open eligibility for adults with severe underlying conditions. Hinshaw said they have carefully considered the list of qualifying conditions and released the full list on Monday, which is available at alberta.ca/covid19-vaccine.
The list includes chronic heart disease, vascular disease, asplenia or dysfunction of the spleen, diabetes, immunosuppression, pregnancy, severe mental illness, substance use disorders, learning disabilities, and organ, bone marrow or stem cell transplant recipients. Chronic kidney, liver, neurological and respiratory diseases also made the list.
Each of these conditions has specific stipulations that are listed online. For example, mild or well-controlled asthma isn’t considered a severe underlying condition of respiratory disease.
However, people with underlying conditions will not need a note from a doctor or pharmacist when they book or attend their appointment.
“We will be operating on the honour system, which is the same approach being taken by Ontario and other provinces,” said Hinshaw.
She encourages people to consult with their doctor or pharmacist if they have any questions about whether or not they qualify.
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Phase 2C is expected to launch in late April, Hinshaw said, as she provided updated information about those who will be eligible in this stage.
Included in this phase are residents and support staff at specific congregate living and work settings that are at risk for outbreaks, including correctional facilities, homeless shelters, meat-packing plants and group homes. This would include front-line police, transport and court sheriffs who work closely with eligible congregate populations.
Health-care workers such as pharmacists, dentists and other regulated health-care professionals, including students undertaking placement practicums in clinical areas and health-care workers on First Nation reserves, will also become eligible. And the vaccine will also be offered to caregivers of Albertans who are most at risk of severe outcomes such as designated family or support people of those in long-term care and up to two caregivers for children under 16 who have chronic conditions but can’t receive the vaccine themselves.
“Together, these phases represent a vast group of Albertans. More than 660,000 Albertans will be eligible under Phase 2B and another 400,000 will be able to book in Phase 2C,” said Hinshaw.
It will take some time to provide a vaccine to everyone who wants one in these stages, Hinshaw said.
“Vaccines save lives and their benefits far outweigh any risks. I continue encouraging everyone to book an appointment to be immunized,” she added.
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“Until then, we must continue protecting each other. We must not let our guard down.”
Alberta detects 65 variant cases, 255 people in hospital
Alberta detected another 65 variant cases on Monday, all of them the B.1.1.7 strain that was first identified in the United Kingdom.
This brings the total of B.1.1.7 cases in the province to 967, while there have been 16 cases of the B.1.351 variant identified in South Africa and two of the P.1 strain discovered in Brazil.
Of the 985 variant cases reported to date, 474 remain active.
Alberta reported 364 new cases, which came from 6,618 tests for a positivity rate of about 5.5 per cent. There are 4,811 active cases provincewide.
The province’s R-value averaged 1.07 last week, meaning the transmission rate was increasing.
As of Monday, there were 255 people in hospital, including 42 in intensive-care units. This a slight increase from the 248 hospitalizations and 38 ICU admissions reported the day before.
Three COVID-19 deaths were reported Monday, including a woman in her 90s from the Calgary zone, a man in his 60s from the South zone and a man in his 80s from the Edmonton zone. The provincial death toll sits at 1,949.
Alberta has now administered 368,124 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and 91,593 people have received both shots.
Alberta Health Services transitioned bookings for the AstraZeneca vaccine through its Health Link’s phone line only until supply is fully depleted. Bookings remain open for Albertans born between 1957 and 1961 and Indigenous individuals between 1972 and 1976.
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Germany joined others in Europe pausing their use of the AstraZeneca vaccine over reports of blood clots in some recipients, even though European regulators say there’s no evidence the shot is to blame.
Health Canada regulators are constantly analyzing all the available information about vaccines and have guaranteed those approved in Canada are safe for use, Trudeau told reporters in Montreal.
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Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
After a long day at a work event in July, Kathryn Kozody was relieved when she spotted a car with a lit-up taxi sign.
She thought it was odd when the driver told her she’d have to pay her fare with a debit card. Still, a tired Kozody hopped in the car.
“I was like, ‘Fine, it’s kind of weird, but let’s go home,'” said Kozody, who lives in Calgary.
Nothing else seemed off — until the next day when she discovered that almost $2,000 was missing from her bank account. On top of that, her debit card had someone else’s name on it.
Kozody concluded that the taxi driver was a fraudster who, during the debit card transaction, recorded her PIN, stole her card and handed her back a fake.
“I started freaking out,” she said. “It’s terrifying when they have your debit card.”
It took Kozody about two weeks to get her money back from her bank, and she’s still rattled by the experience.
The day after taking what she thought was a ride in a taxi, Kathryn Kozody of Calgary found out someone had withdrawn almost $2,000 from her bank account. (James Young/CBC News)
“It really felt like an invasion of privacy and a violation to be a victim of this scam,” she said. “I really don’t want it to happen to anybody else.”
The taxi scam isn’t new; Toronto and Montreal have been seeing it for years. But the crime is becoming more widespread.
This summer, police in Calgary,Edmonton and at least five cities in southern Ontario, including Kingston and Ottawa, posted warnings online that they had received multiple reports of the scam.
Police and the Canadian Taxi Association say the fraudsters have a helping hand: with the click of a button, they can purchase a generic — but official looking — taxi roof sign on e-commerce sites like Amazon.
Edmonton Police posted this alert on Facebook in July, warning people about an ongoing taxi scam. The city’s police department says that it received about 10 reports of the scam that month. (Edmonton Police/Facebook )
“They do have a moral responsibility to at least sell the signs to individuals that are properly licensed,” said association president Marc André Way.
However, the U.S.-based company continues to sell the product to all customers.
“These lights are legal to sell in Canada,” Amazon told CBC News in an email.
‘Eye-popping’ numbers
The taxi scam has several variations but typically ends the same way: the victim pays with a debit card, then the scammer secretly steals it and hands the victim a similar but fake card. Shortly thereafter, money disappears from the victim’s account.
Ron Hansen, deputy chief of police in Sarnia, Ont., said his department received 12 reports of the scam in July, with one victim losing $9,900.
Toronto police report that since June 2023 the department has received 919 reports of the taxi scam, totalling $1.7 million in losses.
Jessica Chin King of Toronto said after a recent cab ride, she got a suspicious activity alert from her bank. She learned $600 had been withdrawn from her account. (Craig Chivers/CBC)
The numbers are “eye-popping,” said Toronto police detective David Coffey.
“When they do get a victim, they are quick to go right into the bank accounts. They’re quick to empty them out.”
Jessica Chin King of Toronto said just 15 minutes after a recent cab ride, she got a suspicious activity alert from her bank. Turns out, $600 had been withdrawn from her account.
“I was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that just happened.’ I was in shock,” said Chin King, whose bank later reimbursed the cash.
She said she too was fooled by the taxi sign atop the car.
“I was in the car with somebody who wasn’t a taxi driver. Anything could have happened,” she said. “I was thankful that it was only my bank [account] that was compromised.”
Taxi light for $35 on Amazon
CBC News bought a taxi sign from Amazon for $35. It has a magnetic strip on the bottom, so it easily sticks to the top of a car.
To power the light, an attached wire can be run through the driver’s window and plugged into the car’s auxiliary power outlet, also known as the cigarette lighter outlet.
The taxi association says licensed taxi drivers typically get their roof signs from speciality suppliers, and they are hardwired to the car — not powered via the cigarette lighter.
“When you see that … it’s obvious that it’s not a legitimate taxi,” said Way, the association president.
“This is not a safe, practical way to distribute the trusted ‘Taxi’ signs,” he wrote.
CBC News ordered this $35 taxi sign on Amazon. The attached wire can be run through the driver’s window and plugged into the car’s auxiliary power outlet, while the lights for licensed drivers are hardwired into the vehicle. (Sophia Harris/CBC News)
But Amazon told Way — and CBC News — the signs will remain on its site, because the company isn’t breaking any rules.
“It’s going to be quite difficult, I think, for anyone to stop Amazon from selling a product that is perfectly legal to sell,” said Toronto criminal lawyer, Daniel Goldbloom. “It’s true that these taxi signs can be used to commit scams, but kitchen knives can be used to commit murder — and we don’t stop retailers from selling those.”
But Way isn’t giving up hope.
He says the taxi association also plans to ask other online retailers, such as Temu and eBay, to stop selling the taxi signs and will lobby provincial governments for legislation that regulates the sale of the product.
However, Coffey said he believes the best way to fight the taxi scam is to educate people about it.
“Never, never give another person control of your debit card,” the detective said.
Victims Chin King and Kozody also want to spread the word.
“The more people know, the less likely it is to happen again to somebody else,” Kozody said.
