Canada added a record-breaking number of new coronavirus cases on Friday, as provinces and territories tallied more than 3,400 infections.
Friday’s data brings Canada’s total COVID-19 number of cases to 231,753. Another 36 deaths were also reported, with the country’s death toll now standing at 10,110.
Though 156 of the 3,452 cases announced Friday were historical rather than newly diagnosed, the number of cases reported over the last 24 hours shatters the Oct. 25 record of 3,004 new cases.
To date, more than 11.5 million tests for the virus have been administered across the country, while over 193,900 patients have recovered from COVID-19.
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At a press conference in Ottawa Friday, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam unveiled new modelling on the pandemic’s trajectory.
According to Tam, the pandemic could be brought under control if Canadians were to reduce their contact with each other by 25 per cent.
“If we increase, or if even maintain our current rate of contact, the epidemic in Canada is forecast to continue increasing steeply,” Tam said.
The modelling also suggested that Canada’s death toll from the virus could potentially reach 10,400 by Nov. 8, with the country’s case total ranging between 251,800 and 262,000 by then.
0:52 Coronavirus: Tam says increasing number of outbreaks linked to superspreader events
Coronavirus: Tam says increasing number of outbreaks linked to superspreader events
Several provinces reported record-breaking numbers of new cases during their daily COVID-19 updates on Friday.
Alberta reported a new daily high case case count of 622 on Friday, as well as another five deaths. The data bring the province’s total COVID-19 infections to 27,664 and its death toll to 323. This is the first time the province has surpassed over 600 new cases in a 24-hour period.
Manitoba recorded a staggering 480 new infections Friday. The total more than doubles the previous record of 193 cases, which was set just a day earlier. An unknown number of the province’s cases are considered probable, however.
The cases, which were announced along with three more deaths, bring the province’s total diagnosis count to 5,374. The Winnipeg area has been moved to level red under the province’s COVID-19 response system in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
0:53 Coronavirus: WHO says number of people experiencing long-term effects of COVID-19 ‘not yet clearly defined’
Coronavirus: WHO says number of people experiencing long-term effects of COVID-19 ‘not yet clearly defined’
Ontario added 896 cases of the virus on Friday, along with nine more deaths. The province’s total number of COVID-19 infections now stands at 74,715 confirmed cases, and its death toll stands at 3,127.
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Quebec announced 952 new cases on Friday, though 156 were previously unreported infections from before July 27. The cases bring the province’s total number of infections to 104,952.
Another 18 deaths were also reported by the province Friday, though only four had occurred in the past 24 hours. Quebec remains Canada’s hardest-hit province, with its death toll from the virus standing at 6,231.
Yukon reported its first ever coronavirus-related death on Friday as well. To date, a total of 23 people have been diagnosed in the territory, though 17 have recovered.
Atlantic Canada also saw several new cases on Friday, with New Brunswick adding one infection and Nova Scotia reporting two new cases during their daily updates.
Over 45,466,000 people have been infected with the virus worldwide, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. To date, over 1,186,900 lives have been claimed by the virus, with the United States, Brazil and India leading in both cases and deaths globally.
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.
