TORONTO —
Reported daily COVID-19 caseloads in Canada could reach unprecedented highs later this month if current levels of virus transmission are not reduced, new federal modelling data shows.
On the eve of the Labour Day weekend, chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam took aim at young adults, describing an “urgent need” for more people between the ages of 18 and 39 to get vaccinated in order to prevent a rapid worsening of Canada’s COVID-19 situation.
“The moment you get people back indoors … we will see accelerations,” she said Friday at a press conference.
Data released by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) shows that 74 per cent of those between the ages of 18 and 29 and 77 per cent of those in their 30s have been fully vaccinated, versus 82 per cent of those in their 40s and even higher percentages of older age groups.
In addition, Tam said, those younger adults “continue to have the highest rates of infection,” in part because they are more likely to have close contact with people outside their household for work-related or recreational reasons.
There is also a regional disparity in vaccination rates. While 84 per cent of eligible vaccine recipients across Canada have received two doses, the rate is only 78 per cent in Alberta and 76 per cent in Saskatchewan.
From mid-July to mid-August, Tam said, the COVID-19 infection rate was 12 times higher among the unvaccinated than the vaccinated, and the hospitalization rate was 36 times higher.
PHAC estimates that 5.2 million eligible Canadians have not yet received any COVID-19 vaccination, while another 2.5 million are only considered partially vaccinated.
“The bottom line is that millions of people across Canada remain unvaccinated and at high risk of COVID-19 infection and severe illness outcomes,” Tam said.
A BLEAK FALL FORECAST
Tam also called on all Canadians to limit their contacts as summer comes to a close, sending many back to schools and workplaces.
“Right now is not the time to gather in huge numbers with people that are not in your household, without taking significant layers of protection,” she said.
However, the chief doctor repeatedly emphasized that the country still has a “window of opportunity” to avoid skyrocketing case counts and an overwhelmed health-care system later this month, suggesting that renewed provincial restrictions could have an impact.
“Of course we can do something about a resurgence, and I’ve seen provinces do that,” she said.
The PHAC modelling data suggests that if public health measures are able to reduce the level of transmission across the country by 25 per cent, the fourth wave of the pandemic could soon plateau at a lower daily infection rate than the peaks of the second and third waves.
Source: Public Health Agency of Canada
PHAC reports that Canada is experiencing “ongoing rapid acceleration” of COVID-19 activity, including in cases causing severe illness. Tam said that the number of new hospitalizations related to COVID-19 in Canada has more than doubled since the last modelling was released on July 30, and is now above 1,200 per day.
She attributed the increase in virus activity to slow vaccine uptake and an “earlier than expected reopening” in some parts of the country.
There is not yet any indication that the fourth wave is resulting in an increase in deaths among COVID-19 patients, the data shows.
Source: Public Health Agency of Canada
FIRST BRIEFING SINCE ELECTION CALLED
Friday was the first time Tam or other PHAC officials directly addressed reporters since the federal election was called in mid-August. Such press conferences had been a regular occurrence prior to the election.
The modelling was initially slated to be released without a press conference, in what would have been a departure from PHAC’s usual practice. The agency reversed course on that decision last week, amid questions about changing communications strategy during the federal election.
Asked about the reversal, Tam said that she had been communicating with the public during the election campaign through written press releases and her social media accounts, and hinted that there will be more press conferences to come.
“Given where the epidemic is heading, I expect to be providing regular briefings to all of you,” she said.
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.
