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Canada adds 2,206 new coronavirus cases, marking highest daily increase yet – Global News
Canada reported 2,206 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, marking the country’s highest single-day increase since the pandemic began.
The new cases bring Canada’s total case count to 168,784.
Provincial health authorities also said another 23 people have died after testing positive for COVID-19.
However, not all of the deaths occurred in the last 24 hours.
Canada has now seen 9,504 deaths associated with the respiratory illness.
The new infections come as Canada’s Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said provinces must “test smartly” as they work to stave off the second wave of the virus.
“We have to test smartly, obviously making sure right now if there is congestion, et cetera, that those with symptoms or those who have a risk of exposure be the ones lining up and not just (those who are) worried,” she said.
In Ontario, 615 new cases of the virus were reported on Monday, and health authorities said five more people had died.
The new deaths bring the province’s death toll to 2,980.
However, 46,360 people have recovered after contracting the virus and 4,127,315 have been tested in Ontario.
Meanwhile, in Quebec, 1,191 new infections were reported, bringing the province’s total case count to 79,650.
Monday marked the fourth straight day the province’s daily case count topped 1,000.
Health authorities also reported six more deaths, two of which occurred in the last 24 hours.
A total of 66,180 have recovered from the virus in Quebec, while 2,480,577 tests have been administered.
In Manitoba, 51 new cases were detected, but health officials said the death toll remained at 23.
Since the pandemic began, the virus has infected 2,191 people in the province.
A total of 1,429 have recovered from COVID-19 and 193,699 tests have been conducted in Manitoba.
Saskatchewan saw nine new cases of the virus on Monday, but the province’s death toll remained at 24, health officials confirmed.
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The new infections bring the province’s total case count to 1,968.
So far, 1,801 people have recovered from COVID-19 in Saskatchewan, and 202,136 people have been tested for the virus.
Meanwhile in Alberta, 218 new cases of the virus were reported, and health authorities said eight more people had died since Friday, bringing the province’s death toll to 280.
However, 16,872 have recovered after contracting the virus and 1,424,946 have been tested.
Health officials in British Columbia reported 120 new cases of COVID-19 were detected, and said four more people had died over the last three days.
The new cases bring the province’s case load to 9,563. So far 242 people have died in B.C.
In all, 600,443 tests for the virus have been administered and 8,115 have recovered from infections.
In New Brunswick, two new cases of the virus were detected, but no new deaths have occurred.
Since the pandemic began, 196 people have recovered from COVID-19 infections in the province, while 80,455 tests have been administered.
No new cases were reported in Nova Scotia on Monday, and health officials said the death toll remained at 65.
A total of 1,021 people have recovered after contracting the respiratory virus, and 98,698 tests have been conducted in Nova Scotia.
Newfoundland did not report any new cases of the virus or deaths associated with COVID-19 either.
So far, 44,296 people have been tested for the virus in Newfoundland, and 269 people have recovered after falling ill.
Prince Edward Island (PEI) did not release any new COVID-19 data on Monday, however, two new cases reported on Sunday brought the province’s total case count to 61.
The island has not yet seen a death related to the virus, and 58 of the confirmed cases are considered to be resolved.
To date, 35,433 people have been tested for COVID-19 in PEI.
Territories
Health officials in the Yukon said no new cases of the virus were detected on Monday, adding that all 15 cases in the territory are considered to be resolved.
Since the pandemic began, 3,488 people have been tested for the virus.
No new cases of the virus were detected in the Northwest Territories either.
What’s more, all five confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the territory are considered to be resolved.
So far, 5,393 tests for the virus have been administered.
Nunavut has confirmed nine positive cases of COVID-19 at the Hope Bay gold mine in the western part of the territory.
The Nunavut government announced the positive cases in a news release Monday evening.
Another four presumptive positive cases have also been identified and are pending testing at a lab in southern Canada.
Last week, the territory declared eight presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 at the mine.
According to the release, release the government is still working to determine whether the cases at the mine will count as the first in the territory.
Global deaths near 1,040,000
Since the virus was first detected late last year, it has infected 35,346,526 people around the world, according to a tally from John’s Hopkins University.
As of 7:30 p.m. ET, the virus had claimed 1,039,199 lives globally.
The United States remained the epicentre of the virus on Monday, with more than 7.4 million cases.
The virus has killed 210,109 people in the U.S. so far.
— With files from Global News’ Emerald Bensadoun and The Canadian Press
© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
News
New Peggys Cove bylaw brought in amidst complaints of unfairness – CBC.ca
Peggys Cove now has a new bylaw to guide development and protect the iconic fishing village’s heritage, but some say the process to create those rules was unfair.
After more than two years of consultation and five different drafts, this week the province approved a new land-use bylaw that will replace one from 2003.
It aims to preserve the “authentic, traditional fishing village” spirit of the cove, while allowing commercial uses where residents can benefit financially from the thousands of tourists who flock to see the area and lighthouse.
But Paul Paruch is one of many who have voiced concerns about conflicts of interest with the Peggy’s Cove Commission, which led the process with support from Upland Planning consultants.
“[I’m] very disappointed, let down,” Paruch said Thursday.
Paruch and his wife, Claire, had hoped to see their property zoned commercial, as Claire has run a hotdog stand there for years. The couple bought a home there with plans to retire and also rent it out, Paruch said, which would also not be allowed.
The new bylaw addresses everything from dwelling size to regulations on building materials. It also has turned many residential lots along Peggys Point Road into mixed-use “core” zoning that would allow for commercial, residential and community purposes.
Vendors and buskers are no longer allowed in the cove, unless they’re accessory to a special event.
Brian Cottam said the new bylaw is a major blow for him and his wife, Kelly Westhaver. Although an early draft of the bylaw zoned their land at 173 Peggys Point Road as commercial, that changed to residential after other residents voiced concerns about having that zoning so close to the lighthouse.
A sale of $1.3 million fell through on the land because a core designation was a condition of the purchase, Cottam said.
“This sale was going to allow us the ability to relax a little and enjoy life, but that has been stripped away,” he said in an email.
Bylaw ‘effectively expropriates’ private land: lawyer
Another property owner, Eleanor McCain, will be getting the commercial zoning she pushed for to allow for new businesses.
However, a lawyer for McCain did raise concerns about how the conservation zone was applied to the rocky waterfront side of her client’s land and many others in the cove. Nancy Rubin of Stewart McKelvey said in a letter to the commission the move “effectively expropriates” private land without any evidence of why it was needed or if it was based on any scientific studies.
Paruch, Cottam and McCain have argued the commission members who run their own commercial enterprises, or are connected to businesses in the cove, are in direct conflicts of interest. The commission is made up of residents, the sitting councillor and representatives from the province to make decisions on changes in the area.
Three commission members must be from the community, but where there’s about 40 permanent residents, it is hard to avoid friendships and family ties.
The Nova Scotia ombudsman’s office is investigating the commission following recent complaints. Both Paruch and Cottam said they had hoped this independent report would lead to the province rejecting the proposed bylaw.
But John Campbell, a lifelong cove resident and owner of the Sou’wester Restaurant in the village and other properties, said the bylaw strikes the right balance.
“I think overall it’s going to be a good thing, but you know when you go through a process like this, not everybody’s going to be happy,” Campbell said.
Campbell said he’s become an “easy target” for the arguments around conflicts of interest, as his daughter Nicole Campbell is commission chair. He said he didn’t get everything he wanted in the new bylaw, pointing out that his request for land to be zoned commercial near the lighthouse was refused.
Campbell agreed that something should change with the makeup of the commission to avoid conflicts in the future, but more analysis should be done on what the fairest approach is.
“It’s a very unique place, Peggys Cove, and you know it’s good to have discussions about it,” Campbell said. “It’s my community that I grew up in, and my closest friends are in, and you know I feel like I could make a living there.”
Economic Development Minister Susan Corkum-Greek said she has faith in the commission’s process, and nothing in the draft report from the ombudsman prevents her from approving the bylaw.
She said the province is also looking at modernizing the legislation governing the commission and the area.
“I think this is an important step, but … it is a first step,” Corkum-Greek told reporters Thursday.
The bylaw will see a new development officer appointed to handle permits and variance requests, while anyone who wants to change their zoning can apply to the commission.
News
Ontario Legislature keffiyeh ban remains, though Ford and opposition leaders ask for reversal – CBC.ca
Keffiyehs remain banned in the Ontario Legislature after a unanimous consent motion that would have allowed the scarf to be worn failed to pass at Queen’s Park Thursday.
That vote, brought forth by NDP Leader Marit Stiles, failed despite Premier Doug Ford and the leaders of the province’s opposition parties all stating they want to see the ban overturned. Complete agreement from all MPPs is required for a motion like this to pass, and there were a smattering of “nos” after it was read into the record.
In an email on Wednesday, Speaker Ted Arnott said the legislature has previously restricted the wearing of clothing that is intended to make an “overt political statement” because it upholds a “standard practice of decorum.”
“The Speaker cannot be aware of the meaning of every symbol or pattern but when items are drawn to my attention, there is a responsibility to respond. After extensive research, I concluded that the wearing of keffiyehs at the present time in our Assembly is intended to be a political statement. So, as Speaker, I cannot authorize the wearing of keffiyehs based on our longstanding conventions,” Arnott said in an email.
Speaking at Queen’s Park Thursday, Arnott said he would reconsider the ban with unanimous consent from MPPs.
“If the house believes that the wearing of the keffiyeh in this house, at the present time, is not a political statement, I would certainly and unequivocally accept the express will of the house with no ifs, ands or buts,” he said.
Keffiyehs are a commonly worn scarf among Arabs, but hold special significance to Palestinian people. They have been a frequent sight among pro-Palestinian protesters calling for an end to the violence in Gaza as the Israel-Hamas� war continues.
Premier calls for reversal
Ford said Thursday he’s hopeful Arnott will reverse the ban, but he didn’t say if he would instruct his caucus to support the NDP’s motion.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Ford said the decision was made by the speaker and nobody else.
“I do not support his decision as it needlessly divides the people of our province. I call on the speaker to reverse his decision immediately,” Ford said.
PC Party MPP Robin Martin, who represents Eglinton–Lawrence, voted against the unanimous consent motion Thursday and told reporters she believes the speaker’s initial ruling was the correct one.
“We have to follow the rules of the legislature, otherwise we politicize the entire debate inside the legislature, and that’s not what it’s about. What it’s about is we come there and use our words to persuade, not items of clothing.”
When asked if she had defied a directive from the premier, Martin said, “It has nothing to do with the premier, it’s a decision of the speaker of the legislative assembly.”
Stiles told reporters Thursday she’s happy Ford is on her side on this issue, but added she is disappointed the motion didn’t pass.
“The premier needs to talk to his people and make sure they do the right thing,” she said.
Stiles first urged Arnott to reconsider the ban in an April 12 letter. She said concerns over the directive first surfaced after being flagged by members of her staff, however they have gained prominence after Sarah Jama, Independent MPP for Hamilton Centre, posted about the issue on X, formerly Twitter.
Jama was removed from the NDP caucus for her social media comments on the Israel-Hamas war shortly after Oct. 7.
Jama has said she believes she was kicked out of the party because she called for a ceasefire in Gaza “too early” and because she called Israel an “apartheid state.”
Arnott told reporters Thursday that he began examining a ban on the Keffiyeh after one MPP made a complaint about another MPP, who he believes was Jama, who was wearing one.
Liberals also call for reversal
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie also called for a reversal of the ban on Wednesday night.
“Here in Ontario, we are home to a diverse group of people from so many backgrounds. This is a time when leaders should be looking for ways to bring people together, not to further divide us. I urge Speaker Arnott to immediately reconsider this move to ban the keffiyeh,” Crombie said.
Stiles said MPPs have worn kilts, kirpans, vyshyvankas and chubas in the legislature, saying such items of clothing not only have national and cultural associations, but have also been considered at times as “political symbols in need of suppression.”
She said Indigenous and non-Indigenous members have also dressed in traditional regalia and these items cannot be separated from their historical and political significance.
“The wearing of these important cultural and national clothing items in our Assembly is something we should be proud of. It is part of the story of who we are as a province,” she said.
“Palestinians are part of that story, and the keffiyeh is a traditional clothing item that is significant not only to them but to many members of Arab and Muslim communities. That includes members of my staff who have been asked to remove their keffiyehs in order to come to work. This is unacceptable.”
Stiles added that House of Commons and other provincial legislatures allow the wearing of keffiyehs in their chambers and the ban makes Ontario an “outlier.”
Suppression of cultural symbols part of genocide: MPP
Jama said on X that the ban is “unsurprising” but “nonetheless concerning” in a country that has a legacy of colonialism. “Part of committing genocide is the forceful suppression of cultural identity and cultural symbols,” she said in part.
“Seeing those in power in this country at all levels of government, from federal all the way down to school boards, aid Israel’s colonial regime with these tactics in the oppression of Palestinian people proves that reconciliation is nothing but a word when spoken by state powers,” she said.
Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, said on X that it is “deeply ironic” on that keffiyehs were banned in the Ontario legislature on the 42nd anniversary of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“This is wrong and dangerous as we have already seen violence and exclusion impact Canadians, including Muslims of Palestinian descent, who choose to wear this traditional Palestinian clothing,” Elghawaby said.
Arnott said the keffiyeh was not considered a “form of protest” in the legislature prior to statements and debates that happened in the House last fall.
“These items are not absolutes and are not judged in a vacuum,” he said.
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Best in Canada: Jets Beat Canucks to Finish Season as Top Canadian Club – The Hockey News
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Best in Canada: Jets Beat Canucks to Finish Season as Top Canadian Club The Hockey News
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