Canada reported 2,554 new cases of the novel coronavirus Friday, setting another record high for daily reported infections.
Friday’s total — only surpassed by the case count on May 3 which was inflated due to a delay in reporting in Quebec — brings the number of COVID-19 cases in Canada to 177,931.
Records for daily reported coronavirus infections have been broken every day over the past eight days except for Wednesday, which saw 1,795 new infections.
Canada also added another 28 deaths from the virus on Friday, though 18 in Quebec had occurred at an unknown date.
The fatalities bring Canada’s death toll to 9,585, while more than 149,500 people have recovered from the virus and over 9.7 million tests have been administered.
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1:38 Coronavirus: Trudeau says feds will double contribution to nation’s food banks
In a tweet Friday, Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said that an average of 71,664 people have been tested daily over the past week, 2.5 per cent testing positive.
At a press conference Friday, Tam cited new modelling that showed that an acceleration of the pandemic in Canada unless Canadians reduced their contact with others.
The modelling suggested that cumulative cases of the virus could range between 188,150 to 197,830 by Oct. 17, while the country’s death toll could be as high as 9,800.
In an announcement Friday, the Canadian government also vowed to create and revamp business support programs to keep businesses afloat amid the surge of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a press conference Friday that Ottawa was planning to provide a wage subsidy program that will cover up to 65 per cent of eligible costs through December and a rent support program for commercial tenants, among other updates to bolster Canada’s economic response to the virus.
Quebec reported the highest increase in new COVID-19 cases on Friday, with 1,102 new cases. Another 22 deaths were also announced by the province on Friday, though only four had occurred in the last 24 hours.
2:24 Coronavirus: Toronto officials welcome return to stage 2 despite some uncertainty of rules
Coronavirus: Toronto officials welcome return to stage 2 despite some uncertainty of rules
Friday’s data pushes the province’s total coronavirus cases to 84,094 and its deaths to 5,936 — the highest among all provinces in Canada.
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Ontario added 939 new cases on Friday, its highest-ever daily increase in new infections since the start of the pandemic. Friday’s cases bring the province’s total confirmed cases to 57,681, while another five new deaths bring the death toll to 2,997.
As case numbers continued to surge across in the province, Ontario announced several temporary measures under modified Stage 2 plans for parts of Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa on Friday in a bid to slow the spread of the virus.
Alberta announced 277 new COVID-19 infections on Friday, raising its total lab-confirmed cases to 19,995. One new death was also announced on Friday, though health authorities removed two fatalities originally thought to be COVID-19 related from the province’s death toll.
Alberta’s death toll from the virus now stands at 282, while a total of 17,488 patients have since recovered.
British Columbia reported 119 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, raising its total confirmed cases to 9,999. A further 186 people are also considered “epidemiologically-linked,” by the province, which are patients who exhibit typical coronavirus symptoms and are close to confirmed cases, but were never formally diagnosed.
2:07 Coronavirus: Adapting to new ways of working
Coronavirus: Adapting to new ways of working
Four of the cases announced Friday were classified as epi-linked. No new deaths were announced by the province on Friday, with B.C.’s death toll standing at 245.
Saskatchewan added 22 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday — its highest daily increase in new infections since Aug. 15.
The province’s number of lab-confirmed cases now sits at 2,034, and its death toll at 24. A total of 1,871 patients have also recovered from the virus.
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Manitoba added 84 new cases on Friday, raising the province’s total number of infections to 2,428 — of which an unknown number are considered probable cases.
The province’s death toll from the virus now stands at 30, after three people were confirmed to have died from the virus Thursday.
3:31 Coronavirus: Modified stage 2 implemented in Toronto, Ottawa and Peel Region
Coronavirus: Modified stage 2 implemented in Toronto, Ottawa and Peel Region
Newfoundland and Labrador added two new cases on Friday, raising its total infections to 279. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I. reported no new cases of the virus Friday.
Worldwide, cases of the virus have surpassed 36.7 million according to a running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. More than 1,064,000 people have succumbed to the virus globally.
— With files from the Canadian Press and Global News’ Kerri Breen.
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.
