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Coronavirus: B.C. highways, ferries busy Easter long weekend despite calls to stay home – Global News

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B.C. health officials have clearly stated that they want British Columbians to stay home during the Easter long weekend to combat the novel coronavirus crisis, but there are concerns that some people aren’t getting the message.

“Don’t travel this weekend,” Health minister Adrian Dix said.

“If you are going to Sechelt or going to Gibsons every Easter for 15 years, take this year off. If you’re going to go to your second home, don’t go this weekend.

“This is the weekend to stay close to home.”

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1:37
B.C. top destinations urge travelers to stay home this long weekend


B.C. top destinations urge travelers to stay home this long weekend

Despite the warning, ferries and roadways appeared busier than normal on Thursday with boats, trailers and motor homes on the move ahead of the long weekend.


READ MORE:
Alberta, B.C. officials urge residents to stay home over Easter long weekend

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There was no shortage of vehicles at Horseshoe Bay and Tsawwassen Ferry terminals.

BC Ferries has significantly reduced the number of sailings on all routes amid the COVID-19 crisis. It is also legally required to reduce by 50 per cent the maximum number of passengers that may be carried onboard to support the two-metre physical distancing rule.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: BC Ferries to slash service levels by half, lay off up to 1,400 workers

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What sailings there were, did appear to be busy Thursday.

The 9 p.m. sailing from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay was 95 per cent full and the 7:30 p.m. sailing to the Southern Gulf Islands was 99 per cent full. Those numbers refer to the number of vehicles boarding the vehicle and not the number of passengers.


READ MORE:
BC Ferries to start screening passengers for COVID-19

Coastal and island communities have called on tourists and vacation property owners to stay home.

“I understand 25 cars came off this afternoon — two were locals, 23 were not local,” Galiano Island resident Jane Wolverton said Thursday.

“When you have such a small population everybody knows everybody.”

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READ MORE:
Okanagan residents urged to stay away from backcountry during coronavirus pandemic

B.C.’s top doctor says this Easter weekend is far from a traditional holiday weekend.

“This is a really important time for us and everybody this weekend we need to stay close to home,” provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said. “We need to be kind and unwind in our own home with our family.”






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Search and rescue teams issue Easter long weekend warning


Search and rescue teams issue Easter long weekend warning

Staying at home also means staying out of the backcountry, but with sun in the forecast for B.C.’s south coast search-and-rescue groups are worried about a spike in calls.

“People are still heading out into the wilderness and every time someone gets into trouble it puts a group of individuals at risk,” BC Search and Rescue Association senior director Dwight Yochim said.


READ MORE:
B.C. couple flouts quarantine rules, highlighting gaps in COVID-19 enforcement

Starting Friday, B.C. officials will be at the border to enforce strict new measures.

The provincial government now legally requires all travellers entering B.C. from outside Canada to submit a 14-day self-isolation plan.

People will need to prove they have a place to stay and a way of getting things like groceries without going out. Travellers without an isolation plan will be taken to a quarantine area, possibly a hotel.

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Health minister reminds British Columbians to ‘stay home this weekend’


Health minister reminds British Columbians to ‘stay home this weekend’

Officials will also check up on people during their isolation to make sure they’re following that plan.

While health officials say there are encouraging signs that B.C. is “bending” the curve of COVID-19 cases, Dix says now is not the time for people to relax social-distancing measures.

“We need to keep doubling down,” he said. “We need to be all-in this weekend.”

–With files from Jennifer Palma and Richard Zussman

© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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Japan’s SoftBank returns to profit after gains at Vision Fund and other investments

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TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.

Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.

Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).

SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.

The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.

WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.

SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.

SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.

SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.

The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.

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Trump campaign promises unlikely to harm entrepreneurship: Shopify CFO

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Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.

“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.

“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”

Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.

On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.

If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.

These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.

If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.

However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.

He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.

“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.

Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.

The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.

Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.

Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.

Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.

Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.

Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”

In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.

“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:SHOP)

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RioCan cuts nearly 10 per cent staff in efficiency push as condo market slows

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TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.

The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.

The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.

RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.

The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.

RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:REI.UN)

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