This is an unprecedented time for Canadians and everybody around the world. As the novel coronavirus spreads, every day brings to the fore new questions, new concerns and a cascade of unfiltered information from all corners of the globe.
Global News wants to help Canadians from all walks of life aggregate and understand the latest about COVID-19 — from parents worried about their children being out of school to those caring for higher-risk people, and those who may now be out of work or suddenly without income — with special news presentation Coronavirus: Canada in Crisis. It will air across the country on Monday, March 23 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, 9 p.m. CT, 8 p.m. MT and 11 p.m. AT on Global.
Global National anchor Dawna Friesen will be joined by Global Toronto anchor Farah Nasser to take a close look at the hard facts, but also the human side of the story. Global News is comprised of individuals whose lives have been upended by the pandemic, and who work hard to carry on just like you. We too want to analyze and understand how coronavirus is impacting our lives, and what we can all do together as a community to cope, heal and move forward.
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Canadians as a whole need to be informed and aware; we are here to do our utmost to assure that.
Over the last few weeks, both Friesen and Nasser have been helping Canada navigate through unprecedented news coverage amid the pandemic. While on the frontlines, the two journalists have provided the most up-to-date and accurate information to people whose first priority is looking to make sure their families and neighbourhoods are safe.
“We’re all adapting our lives, finding ways to cope, worrying about our health and finances and wondering when this will all end,” said Friesen. “This is a war without a human enemy, and we’re seeking straight talk and honest answers about what we can do to get through this.”
“There isn’t anyone in the country whose life has not been changed by this crisis,” agreed Nasser. “From a positive case in our newsroom, to completely changing how we tell you the news – we’re no different.
“In this special I’ll be joining Dawna Friesen from self-isolation, bringing you stories of Canadians from coast to coast, to show each other we’re not alone in this.”
Friesen will speak to medical experts Dr. Bruce Aylward, senior advisor to the Director-General of the World Health Organization, and Dr. Michael Gardam, Chief of Staff at Toronto’s Humber River Hospital.
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Coronavirus: Canada in Crisis seeks to guide the country through the facts about coronavirus and explore exceptional personal stories of those impacted.
As part of the special, a Global News personality will publicly confirm their positive COVID-19 diagnosis and share how the virus has affected them and their reporting.
“This is the biggest story of our time. As a trusted news source, it is more important than ever for Global News to distribute important health, safety and economic information and help the country separate qualified facts from fiction,” said Kenton Boston, VP National and Network News, Global News. “Coronavirus: Canada in Crisis will both analyze the facts and show how families nationwide have been impacted through powerful human stories.”
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Coronavirus: Canada in Crisis airs across Canada on Monday, March 23 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, 9 p.m. CT, 8 p.m. MT and 11 p.m. AT on Global. It will also stream live on Global’s official YouTube channel.
Stream free 24/7 local and national Global News content exclusively on the new Global TV App, available now on iOS, Android, Chromecast and at watch.globaltv.com. Global News programming is also available through all major TV distributors, including: Shaw, Shaw Direct, Rogers, Bell, Videotron, Telus, Cogeco, Eastlink, and SaskTel and the new STACKTV, streaming on Amazon Prime Video Channels.
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Concerned about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing – very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. And if you get sick, stay at home.
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.
