Canada added 4,253 more COVID-19 cases today as the country stopped just short of hitting another grim milestone amid the pandemic.
As of Saturday evening, Canada’s coronavirus death toll stood at 19,942 after another 148 fatalities were announced, with the country set to pass the 20,000 mark Sunday.
Saturday’s data brings the country’s total caseload to 774,722, of which 700,924 have recovered. In total, over 21,973,000 tests and 952,212 vaccines have also been administered.
The new cases came amid further warnings from the country’s top doctor, who urged against easing the strict provincial health measures put in place over the holidays to ease the spread of the virus.
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2:36 COVID-19 fatigue fueling acts of defiance
COVID-19 fatigue fueling acts of defiance
In a statement Saturday, Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said the country’s trend in cases could quickly reverse due to “elevated daily case counts and high rates of infection” in all age groups.
“Likewise, outbreaks continue to occur in high-risk populations and communities, including hospitals and long term care homes, correctional facilities, congregate living settings, Indigenous communities, and more remote areas of the country,” Tam’s statement read.
3/3 With still elevated daily case counts and high rates of infection across all age groups, the risk remains that trends could reverse quickly and some areas of the country are seeing renewed/increased activity. https://t.co/yXZJfjTw6f
“These factors underscore the importance of sustaining public health measures and individual practices and not easing restrictions too fast or too soon. This is particularly important in light of the emergence of new virus variants of concern that could rapidly accelerate transmission of COVID-19 in Canada.”
Tam’s warning comes as the premier of the province hit the hardest by the pandemic, Quebec, hoped to ease such restrictions in just over a week. One strain, first detected in the U.K., was identified as the cause of a deadly outbreak at long-term care home in Ontario.
Several provinces and territories did not release new COVID-19 data on Saturday, however, painting a limited snapshot of the virus’ spread across the country.
Ontario added another 2,063 cases on Saturday, as well as 73 more deaths.
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In Quebec, another 46 fatalities were announced. To date, the province has recorded the highest death toll among all regions in Canada, with a total of 9,763. Another 1,367 infections were reported in the province as well.
Saskatchewan added another 260 cases and eight deaths, while Manitoba reported another 166 infections and two new fatalities on Saturday.
Alberta’s case total numbered at 123,747 Saturday after another 383 infections were announced. Eleven more deaths were also recorded in the province.
22:15 Vexing Vaccine Issues
Vexing Vaccine Issues
In Atlantic Canada, several provinces also reported new infections. Nova Scotia added three more cases on Saturday, while New Brunswick reported 12 infections, as well as one more death.
Newfoundland and Labrador did not add any new cases while Nunavut reported just one.
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To date, cases of the novel coronavirus continue to increase across the world, with a total of 102,505,074 infections according to Johns Hopkins University. The death toll from the disease now stands at 2,217,579 globally, with the U.S., Brazil and India continuing to lead in both cases and fatalities.
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.
