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Canadian business community largely supportive of vaccine passport system – CTV News

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TORONTO —
The Canadian business community appears to be largely supportive of the Quebec government’s move to impose the country’s first vaccine passport system.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says vaccine passports or digital vaccination certificates would help to prevent future waves of the pandemic from forcing a resurgence of financially disastrous lockdowns by enabling those with low risk to participate in events, move freely and go about their daily lives.

“Absent that, what you have is people being held hostage,” chamber president Perrin Beatty said in an interview before the province announced the new system to curb the spread of COVID-19.

He noted that 80 per cent of Canadians over the age of 12 have already demonstrated their willingness to get vaccinated, but that’s too low to achieve herd immunity.

“The private sector, like Canadians as a whole, is diverse — but one thing in which the private sector is very much united is that we can’t afford to go into more across-the-board lockdowns.”

Quebec announced last week that it would require Quebecers as of September to show proof of vaccination in order to access non-essential services in parts of the province where COVID-19 transmission is high.

Premier Francois Legault said the province appears to be entering a fourth wave of rising infections and that he doesn’t plan to return to lockdowns.

Not all provinces agree: Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated Thursday that the province isn’t planning to introduce a “vaccine passport” system allowing access to certain activities, and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has also rejected the concept.

Increasing the rate of vaccination would be ideal, Beatty said, but certificates could also help to protect people’s health without inflicting major social and economic damage on the country from the Delta variant and other potential variants.

Beatty said the chamber’s goal is to prevent mass lockdowns by controlling the risks posed by the Delta and other potential variants.

He said digital certificates would also be critical for international travel to provide proof of status for other countries that want to ensure visitors meet their vaccination requirements. Paper documents could easily be forged so machine-readable documents are needed that meet globally accepted standard, Beatty noted.

“I’m fully vaccinated. But if I were attending a concert, I would feel an awful lot more comfortable knowing the people I was jammed in with have themselves been vaccinated.”

The Toronto Region Board of Trade last month called on the Ontario government to introduce a vaccine passport system for non-essential business activity.

CEO Jan De Silva said it’s a personal decision to get vaccinated, but accessing major events and indoor dining requires moral responsibility. Small businesses cannot afford another lockdown, she said.

Digital certification would also help to assure employees and customers that it’s safe to return to work or visit places of business said Beatty, with rapid testing as a supplement.

He said vaccine passports aren’t dissimilar to the Nexus Pass, a voluntary system that allows Canadian and American travellers to cross the border more rapidly.

A recent Leger survey found that 58 per cent of Canadians and 37 per cent of Americans support imposing a vaccine passport for all essential and non-essential activities.

And nearly 78 per cent of business members surveyed by the Montreal Board of Trade support the use of a vaccine passport, says the group’s president.

“It’s a clear signal from the private sector that they see the vaccine passport as a tool that should be used. And of course, in their view, it’s because you do not want to have to close down the economy again,” said board president Michel Leblanc.

The group has been studying the issue for months but Leblanc said the benefits of the passports crystallized during the Stanley Cup finals, when Montreal Canadiens fans were limited in number during home games while the Tampa Bay Lightning arena was full.

The passports could help to ensure that people attending sporting events, movie theatres, bars or places that attract large crowds are fully vaccinated, he said.

The board of trade was among those pressing the Quebec government to put a passport system in place.

France is adopting a vaccine-passport system and New York City plans to require people to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before they can dine indoors at restaurants, see shows or go to gyms. The system will be phased in over several weeks in August and September.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he supports Quebec’s move to introduce a passport system, though he has said each province must decide for itself.

The federal government is reportedly working on secure vaccination certification for international travellers.

While Canada’s large business lobbies are pushing for change, many industry groups are at the early stages of studying the issue.

“We’re very much in the position of gathering intelligence at this point,” said Denise Allen, head of the Food Processors of Canada.

“We’re careful to observe that the rise in Delta variants clearly necessitates us to stay vigilant on promoting vaccine acceptance.”

Allen added that there are deep concerns about how civil liberties could be curtailed by passport vaccine requirements and how the passport system would work, whether it would be accepted throughout the world and how it would be managed.

The use of vaccine passports might be helpful in some circumstances but not in the retail setting which is far less discretionary and scheduled and attracts families with children under the age of 12 who cannot currently be vaccinated, says the Retail Council of Canada.

The group’s concern about vaccine passports is very similar to masking rules.

“It would be very difficult for business to be the vaccine police, just as it was at the time very difficult for them to be the masking police,” said spokeswoman Michelle Wasylyshen.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2021.

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RCMP end latest N.B. search regarding teenage girl who went missing in 2021

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BATHURST, N.B. – RCMP in New Brunswick say a weekend ground search for evidence related to the disappearance of a teenage girl in 2021 didn’t reveal any new information.

In an emailed statement, the RCMP said 20 people participated in the search for evidence in the case of Madison Roy-Boudreau of Bathurst.

The release said the search occurred in the Middle River area, just south of the girl’s hometown.

Police have said the 14-year-old’s disappearance is being treated as a homicide investigation.

The RCMP said the search “did not reveal any new information regarding the circumstances of her disappearance.”

There are no plans for another search until police receive a tip or a lead pointing to a new search area.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

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Man Tasered after trespassing in Victoria school, forcing lockdown

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VICTORIA – A middle school in Victoria was forced into a lockdown after a man entered the building without permission, and police say they had to use a stun gun to make an arrest.

Victoria police say officers received multiple calls around noon on Monday of an unknown male entering Central Middle School, leading staff to set off emergency procedures that put the building under lockdown.

Police say its emergency response team arrived within minutes and found the suspect, who “appeared to be in a drug-induced state,” in the school’s library.

A statement from police says the suspect resisted arrest, and officers had to use a Taser to subdue the man.

He’s being held by police and has been assessed by emergency medical staff.

Police say the man was not armed and there were no continuing safety concerns for students and staff following the arrest.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

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B.C. Greens’ ex- leader Weaver thinks minority deal with NDP less likely than in 2017

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VANCOUVER – Former B.C. Green leader Andrew Weaver knows what it’s like to form a minority government with the NDP, but says such a deal to create the province’s next administration is less likely this time than seven years ago.

Weaver struck a power-sharing agreement that resulted in John Horgan’s NDP minority government in 2017, but said in an interview Monday there is now more animosity between the two parties.

Neither the NDP nor the B.C. Conservatives secured a majority in Saturday’s election, raising the prospect of a minority NDP government if Leader David Eby can get the support of two Green legislators.

Manual recounts in two ridings could also play an important role in the outcome, which will not be known for about a week.

Weaver, who is no longer a member of the Greens, endorsed a Conservative candidate in his home riding.

He said Eby would be in a better position to negotiate if Furstenau, who lost her seat, stepped aside as party leader.

“I think Mr. Eby would be able to have fresh discussions with fresh new faces around the table, (after) four years of political sniping … between Sonia and the NDP in the B.C. legislature,” he said.

He said Furstenau’s loss put the two elected Greens in an awkward position because parties “need the leader in the legislature.”

Furstenau could resign as leader or one of the elected Greens could step down and let her run in a byelection in their riding, he said.

“They need to resolve that issue sooner rather than later,” he said.

The Green victories went to Rob Botterell in Saanich North and the Islands and Jeremy Valeriote in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky.

Neither Botterell nor Valeriote have held seats in the legislature before, Weaver noted.

“It’s not like in 2017 when, you know, I had been in the (legislature) for four years already,” Weaver said, adding that “the learning curve is steep.”

Sanjay Jeram, chair of undergraduate studies in political science at Simon Fraser University, said he doesn’t think it’ll be an “easygoing relationship between (the NDP and Greens) this time around.”

“I don’t know if Eby and Furstenau have the same relationship — or the potential to have the same relationship — as Horgan and Weaver did,” he said. “I think their demands will be a little more strict and it’ll be a little more of a cold alliance than it was in 2017 if they do form an alliance.”

Horgan and Weaver shook hands on a confidence-and-supply agreement before attending a rugby match, where they were spotted sitting together before the deal became public knowledge.

Eby said in his election-night speech that he had already reached out to Furstenau and suggested common “progressive values” between their parties.

Furstenau said in her concession speech that her party was poised to play a “pivotal role” in the legislature.

Botterell said in an election-night interview that he was “totally supportive of Sonia” and he would “do everything I can to support her and the path forward that she chooses to take because that’s her decision.”

The Green Party of Canada issued a news release Monday, congratulating the candidates on their victories, noting Valeriote’s win is the first time that a Green MLA has been elected outside of Vancouver Island.

“Now, like all British Columbians we await the final seat count to know which party will have the best chance to form government. Let’s hope that the Green caucus has a pivotal role,” the release said, echoing Furstenau’s turn of phrase.

The final results of the election won’t be known until at least next week.

Elections BC says manual recounts will be held on Oct. 26 to 28 in two ridings where NDP candidates led B.C. Conservatives by fewer than 100 votes after the initial count ended on Sunday.

The outcomes in Surrey City Centre and Juan de Fuca-Malahat could determine who forms government.

The election’s initial results have the NDP elected or leading in 46 ridings, and the B.C. Conservatives in 45, both short of the 47 majority mark in B.C.’s 93-seat legislature.

If the Conservatives win both of the recount ridings and win all other ridings where they lead, Rustad will win with a one-seat majority.

If the NDP holds onto at least one of the ridings where there are recounts, wins the other races it leads, and strikes a deal with the Greens, they would have enough numbers to form a minority government.

But another election could also be on the cards, since the winner will have to nominate a Speaker, reducing the government’s numbers in the legislature by one vote.

Elections BC says it will also be counting about 49,000 absentee and mail-in ballots from Oct. 26 to 28.

The NDP went into the election with 55 ridings, representing a comfortable majority in what was then an 87-seat legislature.

Jeram, with Simon Fraser University, said though the counts aren’t finalized, the Conservatives were the big winners in the election.

“They weren’t really a not much of a formal party until not that long ago, and to go from two per cent of the vote to winning 45 or more seats in the B.C. provincial election is just incredible,” he said in an interview Monday.

Jeram said people had expected Eby to call an election after he took over from John Horgan in 2022, and if he had, he doesn’t think there would have been the same result.

He said the B.C. Conservative’s popularity grew as a result of the decision of the BC Liberals to rebrand as BC United and later drop out.

“Had Eby called an election before that really shook out, and maybe especially before (Pierre) Poilievre, kind of really had the wind in his sails and started to grow, I think he could have won the majority for sure.”

He said he wasn’t surprised by the results of the election, saying polls were fairly accurate.

“Ultimately, it really was a result that we saw coming for a while, since the moment that BC United withdrew and put their support behind the conservatives, I think this was the outcome that was expected.”

— With files from Darryl Greer

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.



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