Canada reported 2,122 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday, of which 2,049 were diagnosed in the last 24 hours.
It was the highest daily case total Canada has seen, though 2,777 cases were recorded on May 3 due to Quebec adjusting its total by more than 1,300 because of a computer issue.
However, testing has increased dramatically since then, with Canada administering 101,985 tests on Friday compared to the 29,855 on May 3.
A total of 89 deaths were also reported by health authorities across the country, of which only eight had occurred in the last 24-hours.
The virus has now claimed the lives of 9,409 people in Canada, while a total of 162,490 infections have been identified across the country.
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A total of 137,614 patients have since recovered from the virus as of Friday, and over 8.9 million tests have been administered.
1:54 Coronavirus: Ottawa revises border restrictions for compassionate visits by foreign nationals
Coronavirus: Ottawa revises border restrictions for compassionate visits by foreign nationals
In an update Friday, Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam warned of the country’s continued increase in new COVID-19 cases, with Canada averaging 1,634 new cases every day over the past week.
“Accelerated epidemic growth, particularly in high-incidence areas of Quebec and Ontario, is driving the ongoing increase,” said Tam at a press conference Friday.
“New cases reported from these provinces account for almost 80 per cent of the national case count. More recently, we are seeing an increase in severe outcomes of COVID-19, which we’re keeping a really close eye on.”
2/3 Recently we’re seeing an ↑ in severe outcomes of #COVID19, incl. a weekly average of >500 in hospital on any given day. In the past 7 days, an average of 10 deaths were reported daily. We are monitoring these indicators closely.
Quebec announced the highest increase in COVID-19 cases among all provinces Friday, with 1,052 newly confirmed infections. The new case data, which brings Quebec’s total infections to 76,273, is the highest increase in lab-confirmed infections since the province reported an additional 1,110 cases on May 1.
Another seven deaths were also reported by authorities in the provinces, though they had occurred sometime in September. The province remains the hardest-hit area in Canada, and has seen a total of 5,857 fatalities to date.
Ontario added 732 new coronavirus cases and 76 more deaths on Friday, though 73 of the infections and 74 of the fatalities had occurred over the spring and summer and were added as a result of a data cleanup.
The data brings the province’s total infections to 52,980, and its death toll from the virus to 2,927. A total of 44,850 patients have since recovered from the virus. in Ontario.
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Manitoba announced 43 new cases on Friday. The province, which has to date seen 21 deaths from the virus, now has 2,072 COVID-19 cases — of which an unknown number are considered probable cases.
Alberta reported 122 new COVID-19 infections on Friday, bringing its total lab-confirmed cases to 18,357. Another three deaths were reported by health authorities Friday, raising the official death toll to 272.
Saskatchewan added 13 new cases during their daily update Friday, increasing its overall virus cases to 1,940. The province’s death toll stands at 24. Friday marks the third day in a row the province recorded a double-digit increase of new cases.
British Columbia announced 161 new cases on Friday. The cases include two that are considered “epidemiologically-linked,” which are patients who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms and were in close proximity to people who tested for the virus, but were never diagnosed.
The province has seen a total of 9,212 lab-confirmed cases and another 169 that are considered “epi-linked.” Another three deaths were reported Friday, raising the death toll to 238.
0:49 Coronavirus: Trudeau says Feds to add $600 million to business relief fund
Coronavirus: Trudeau says Feds to add $600 million to business relief fund
Nova Scotia reported one new case on Friday, raising its total COVID-19 infections to 1,089. No other provinces in Atlantic Canada reported additional infections on Friday, however.
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Global deaths linked to the virus have since surpassed 1 million, according a running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Over 34.4 million have been diagnosed with the disease worldwide.
The U.S., India and Brazil continue to lead in both cases and deaths.
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.
