Some Canadian transit agencies are quietly taking steps to protect customers against the novel coronavirus that’s been sounding alarm bells around the world.
Several say they have stepped up efforts to clean vehicles and stations and switched to more aggressive anti-microbial cleansers as a precaution.
Public transit services say there is still no need for concern even as the number of Canadians diagnosed with the virus known as COVID-19 continues to climb.
Health officials have recorded at least 30 cases in the country so far, with Ontario reporting the highest number at 20.
One regional transit provider operating a heavily travelled bus and rail network in southern Ontario says it has already documented one instance of an infected passenger travelling on one of its vehicles.
Metrolinx spokeswoman Anne Marie Aikins says long-lasting disinfectant spray was tested on one of its GO Transit trains recently, and is being rolled out to the entire network after a patient who tested positive for COVID-19 used one of its vehicles to travel home from the airport.
Aikins said the product primarily targets bacteria and mould rather than viruses, but the company views it as a sensible precaution.
“We think it’s just incumbent on us to do whatever we can to protect our staff and our customers,” she said.
2:49 Tips for avoiding community transmission of COVID-19
Tips for avoiding community transmission of COVID-19
Aikins said the presence of an infected passenger was not unexpected and could happen again as the outbreak runs its course, but the company is prepared.
Aikins said the bus on which the patient travelled has also been taken out of service for thorough decontamination. All other vehicles and terminals are being subjected to more regular cleaning, she said, adding hand sanitizer is also being made more widely available to passengers.
Similar measures are being taken at the Toronto Transit Commission, said spokesman Stuart Green.
Railings and other regular points of contact in TTC stations are getting daily wipedowns rather than weekly, he said, adding a disinfectant wipedown has also been added to the daily bathroom-cleaning routine.
Story continues below advertisement
Similar measures are in place on the transit provider’s subways, buses and streetcars, he said, adding the company is also considering switching to a long-lasting disinfectant.
Green said the TTC’s action plan is based on advice from Toronto Public Health, which along with comparable agencies across the country has described the risk of contracting the virus as very low.
“Right now they’ve told us that what we’re doing is fine,” he said, “so we’re comfortable that we’re doing all we need to do now.”
0:46 COVID-19: WHO says coronavirus is more deadly than the flu
COVID-19: WHO says coronavirus is more deadly than the flu
Transit agencies in Montreal and Vancouver said they, too, are taking cues from public health officials, who have long maintained that individual measures such as washing hands regularly, covering coughs and sneezes and staying home if ill offer the most effective protection from the virus.
“Provincial Health Services says the risk to the public and staff remains low and it has not directed us to make any operational changes at this time,” said a statement from Vancouver’s TransLink. “We are working closely with Provincial Health Services Authority to monitor this situation.”
The Societe de Transport de Montreal said it’s urging passengers and staff to observe recommended hygiene protocols, but offered no other details.
The outbreak of COVID-19, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has sickened tens of thousands of people around the world. The global death toll has climbed over 3,100, but Canadian authorities have not reported any fatalities.
Story continues below advertisement
Almost nine times more cases were reported outside China than inside it between Sunday and Monday, according to the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The organization, however, has not classified the outbreak as a pandemic, and Ghebreyesus said on Monday that there’s still time to contain the spread of the virus.
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.
