Canada is once again extending emergency orders that place restrictions on international travel and make mandatory 14-day quarantines for anyone entering the country during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The orders will be extended for at least another month, the government said.
“Our government is extending the existing restrictions on international travel to Canada by one month — until September 30, 2020 — to limit the introduction and spread of COVID-19 in our communities,” said Public Safety Minister Bill Blair in a Tweet sent out Friday afternoon.
“Canadian citizens and permanent residents returning to Canada will continue to be subject to strict quarantine measures.”
The ongoing restrictions prohibit all non-essential or discretionary travel to Canada from countries other than the United States. This includes any leisure travel, such as vacation and entertainment travel, for non-Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
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Our government is extending the existing restrictions on international travel to Canada by one month – until September 30, 2020 – to limit the introduction and spread of COVID-19 in our communities. (1/2)
Canadians who choose to travel abroad, including to the U.S., will be required to self-isolate upon their return. Essential workers, including health-care professionals, airline crews and commercial truckers will continue to be exempt from quarantine measures.
Friday’s announcement also does not affect the Canada-U.S. land border, which remains closed to all non-essential travel until Sept. 21.
Increase in international air travel
Despite ongoing travel restrictions, the number of international travellers arriving in Canada by air has increased significantly since the first months of the pandemic.
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As Global News reported, the number of international passengers arriving at Canadian airports increased from roughly 15,000 a week in late April, to 45,000 a week by early July.
The most recent statistics, provided by the Canada Border Services Agency, show that roughly 60,000 international passengers arrived in Canada each week during August. This includes travellers on flights from the U.S.
Collin Furness, an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto, has expressed concern about the growing number of international travellers coming to Canada. He believes the government hasn’t done enough to restrict non-essential travel and to clearly define what “essential” travel means.
2:01 Risks of COVID-19 exposure through air travel
Risks of COVID-19 exposure through air travel
The government, meanwhile, says it’s up to individuals to determine what non-essential travel means “based on family or business requirements, knowledge of a country or region, and other factors.”
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And while experts such as Furness have warned against increased non-essential travel, Canadian airlines have pressed the government for fewer restrictions and a loosening of quarantine measures.
Mike McNaney, president of the National Airlines Council of Canada, told Global News on Aug. 14 that he believes Canada should begin taking a “risk-based approach” to reopening the border, rather than having a blanket ban on international travel.
McNaney said other countries, including members of the European Union, have started easing restrictions for countries deemed to be safe and with protocols in place for tracking and monitoring any potential outbreaks of COVID-19.
“We believe the time is appropriate here in Canada for the federal government to also look at that very targeted, specific approach,” McNaney said.
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.
