Eight new deaths were also reported Thursday — five of them in Alberta — bringing the death toll to 9,163. There have now been a total of 134,827 lab-confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus to date, 118,990 of whom have fully recovered.
Thursday saw British Columbia report a new record high in daily cases with 139, although no new deaths have occurred since Wednesday. There have now been 6,733 confirmed cases and 213 deaths, while an additional 97 cases are considered “epidemiologically linked.”
The province — once seen as a success story in managing the pandemic — is continuing to see a troubling growth in cases that began in August, prompting new restrictions on some businesses.
2:42 Dr. Henry lays out rules for B.C. school COVID-19 outbreaks
Dr. Henry lays out rules for B.C. school COVID-19 outbreaks
Alberta announced 113 new cases and five deaths, including a man in his 20s — the second time a patient that young has died in the province. Those deaths bring the death toll to 253, out of a total of 15,304 cases.
Saskatchewan and Manitoba reported six and 15 new cases, respectively, with no new deaths in either province. Saskatchewan has seen 1,676 cases and 24 deaths to date, while Manitoba’s total now sits at 1,378 cases and 16 deaths.
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Ontario saw an increase of 170 cases Thursday and a new death, bringing the province’s total cases to 43,855 with 2,814 deaths. Thursday marked the 15th day in a row with daily case counts over the 100 mark, after a brief period slightly below.
The highest new case tally was once again in Quebec, with 188 cases — still far below the peak of the pandemic but higher than the slight rise in cases between July and August. Two new deaths were also announced, taking the death toll to 5,773, out of a total of 64,244 cases.
Finally, New Brunswick reported another new case, taking its total to 193 with two deaths to date.
None of the other Atlantic provinces nor the three territories reported new cases Thursday.
Students across Canada will be fully back to class by the end of this week, worrying some officials about a further rise in cases. Some provinces that have seen classes resume have announced cases in schools, including Quebec and Alberta.
3:38 Coronavirus: Ford calls for more federal fines under Quarantine Act
Coronavirus: Ford calls for more federal fines under Quarantine Act
Canada’s chief health officer Dr. Theresa Tam has said it’s “inevitable” that more cases will be seen as in-class learning continues.
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On Thursday, the governor of the Bank of Canada said while the country’s economy is showing signs of recovery, that progress could be threatened by a slower rebound for women, youth and low-wage workers.
Tiff Macklem told the Canadian Chamber of Commerce that women and young people are more likely now to be permanently laid off from their jobs due to the pandemic. People permanently laid off take on average twice as long to return to work as people on temporary layoff, Macklem says, risking long-term damage to their jobs prospects and a lasting drag on earnings specifically for youth.
The pandemic is continuing to exact a toll on the rest of the world, forcing many countries into recessions and contributing to the largest economic downturn since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
Worldwide, just over 28 million people have been infected with COVID-19, over 906,000 of whom have died as a result, according to public health data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The United States continues to be the hardest hit country on Earth with over 6.3 million cases and 191,000 deaths. India recently overtook Brazil for the second most infected country. Both nations have over 4 million cases, although Brazil’s death toll far outpaces India’s, with 129,000 deaths to just over 75,000.
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.
