Two Canadians who were aboard a cruise ship that was refused entry to several countries before docking in Cambodia last week received an unusual greeting when they returned to Canada Sunday: border agents were waiting at their gate, requesting they don masks.
Stephen Hansen and his wife were among 271 Canadians who had been stuck aboard the Westerdam cruise ship that eventually docked in Cambodia on Friday, allowing passengers to disembark.
But not long after, an 83-year old American passenger tested positive for COVID-19, the coronavirus, raising concerns that other passengers could have been infected. Initially, Holland America, which operates the cruise, said there was no one was sick on its ship.
At Vancouver International Airport, the Hansens, of Surrey, B.C., were asked to wear masks, but weren’t told to isolate themselves.
“We were asked a few questions and filled out an immigration form, and they very nicely helped us bypass the usual lineups and let us out the door,” Hansen said.
‘We’re feeling fine’
Now, Canadian health officials are asking passengers who were on the Westerdam and who are returning to Canada to isolate themselves for 14 days after they return, and to report to local public health authorities within 24 hours to be monitored for symptoms of the COVID‑19
In a statement Sunday, Tammy Jarbeau, a spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada said Westerdam passengers will undergo further examination and screening.
The statement said Canadian passengers from the MS Westerdam were identified so that they would be screened when they returned to Canada. The Canadian passengers will be asked to inform authorities where they will be, so public health authorities can follow up.
The statement said some travellers returned before these measures were put in place. Health officials and the Canada Border Services Agency are working together to identify those individuals who will be contacted, the statement said.
Cruise didn’t go as planned
The Westerdam cruise ship left Hong Kong on February 1, with several stops planned before ending in Japan. But the ship was turned away by five different countries over fears of the coronavirus.
It wasn’t the vacation Hansen was expecting. “It was supposed to be a 30-day bucket list tour,” he said Sunday.
“It wasn’t as planned or hoped for but I guess in another way it’s the journey of a lifetime so lots of stories.”
Stephen Hansen and his wife aboard the Westerdam cruise ship. The couple says apart from being stuck at sea, the cruise was great. (Submitted by Stephen Hansen)
Hansen said he didn’t know that an American woman had the virus until he landed in Canada on Sunday, and spoke with CBC News at the airport.
“I guess on the one hand it’s upsetting because to know that there was one case but we’re feeling fine, we’ve had health scans, temperature scans and we don’t have any concerns for our own health.”
The ordeal ended for most passengers when Cambodia agreed to let guests disembark on Friday..One of the passengers who got off the ship was an American woman who then flew to Malaysia. She has since tested positive for COVID-19 and that has posed a concern for health experts concerned about the spread of the illness.
Passenger John Miller from Seattle, Wash., is overwhelmed with excitement as he disembarks from the MS Westerdam cruise ship after being stranded for two weeks. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
University of Toronto infectious disease researcher Dr. Anna Banerji told CBC Sunday afternoon that passengers should be quarantined.
Banerj said the use of quarantine has proved effective in the past, including during the SARS outbreak, and said it should be used until a vaccine can be made for the virus.
“It’s concerning to me that there’s a passenger on this cruise line that tested positive for coronavirus and the fact that this cruise line was not quarantined that makes other passengers at risk.”
Watch | Canadian health officials urge Westerdam passengers to stay in their homes:
Canadian passengers who were stuck at sea on the Westerdam cruise ship are starting to come home but after an American passenger tested positive for the coronavirus, Canadian health officials want everyone who was on the ship to self-quarantine. 2:21
He said he’s just glad to be back on Canadian soil. He and his wife had to go through at least three countries before going to Vancouver and worried immigration officials might stop them.
“It felt a little bit like that movie Argo where you’re trying to get the Iranian hostages out.”
Hansen had praise for the crew on board and said apart from being stuck at sea and having “mounting anxiety,” during the ordeal the rest of the trip was great.
Holland America said in a statement no other guests or crew have reported symptoms of the illness. The company said passengers who’ve already returned home will be contacted by health officials.
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.
