Over the course of the month of May, three sectors will be allowed some degree of reopening. They are:
Retail stores not in shopping malls.
Retail stores that are in malls but have a direct door to the outside.
Construction and civil engineering.
Manufacturing.
Stores outside of the Montreal region will be permitted to reopen May 4, while those in the Montreal area will reopen May 11.
Construction projects, including road work, will fully resume May 11, with about 85,000 workers expected to be back to work.
Manufacturing companies will be allowed to reopen May 4 with some restrictions: those that have 50 or fewer workers will be allowed to reopen with full staff; those with more than 50 employees will only be allowed to have 50 workers plus 50 per cent of the total number of employees above that for any shift throughout the day.
Construction projects in Quebec will be able to resume in May under the province’s plan to reopen parts of the province’s economy. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)
Legault said the idea is to reopen gradually and follow up to ensure there is no negative impact on infection rates or on hospitals.
And he said people will have to continue to follow physical distancing measures.
“Continue to act as if everybody you meet has the virus.”
WATCH | Legault says the plan is to restart the economy without restarting the pandemic:
Quebec Premier François Legault outlined his government’s plan to reopen the Quebec economy and says physical distancing will continue to be necessary. 1:24
Legault on Monday announced a plan that would allow children in daycare and primary school in most parts of Quebec to head back to class on May 11 — though attendance won’t be mandatory. Daycares and primary schools in the Montreal area would open on May 19.
High schools, CEGEPs and universities will reopen in the fall, Legault said, noting that officials felt primary-aged schoolchildren would benefit the most from additional weeks of class time.
“We will analyze the situation every day and adjust if necessary,” he said. “The watchword here is prudence.”
The province’s top doctor was quick to note that the easing of some restrictions did not mean that people should stop following public health measures and move around widely.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said that the federal government would soon be releasing shared guidelines on how to handle reopening.
“We need common guidelines to make sure that the decisions being taken across the country are grounded in a shared understanding and appreciation of what science and experts are telling us.”
The shared principles, which Trudeau said have been agreed to by the federal, provincial and territorial governments, won’t provide specific dates or measures. Instead, they will serve as a framework around what needs to happen before the economy is gradually restarted.
Federal health officials update projections
Trudeau spoke ahead of a Tuesday afternoon briefing from federal health officials, who delivered revised modelling and forecasts for COVID-19 in Canada.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said that ongoing public health measures, including physical distancing, are critical to staying at the lower end of projections.
“We are making clear progress to slow the spread and bring the epidemic under control thanks to the commitment of Canadians who are following public health advice to protect themselves and others,” she said.
The new modelling shows that while the number of new cases was doubling every three days previously, it is now doubling every 16 days.
Short-term projections predict between 53,191 and 66,835 cases by May 5, and between 3,277 and 3,883 deaths by that date.
Tam said the way the epidemic is unfolding varies across the country, “so when and how control measures are readjusted and are relaxed will need to be decided based on the local epidemiological situation.”
WATCH | Dr. Tam explains what goes into decisions about reopening schools and businesses:
Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, talks about jurisdictions choosing to loosen public health measures to reopen certain facilities, including schools. 2:36
She said the new projections reflect the “heavy toll” COVID-19 is taking on vulnerable populations, including the elderly in long-term care homes and the homeless, and that relaxing controls too quickly will “squander” the efforts to date and put the population at risk of another wave of infection.
“We are actually going to be living with COVID-19 for the near future — and monitoring very carefully, so if there’s any upswing … any cases and contacts have to be identified and managed so you don’t get that upswing again.”
The problem areas continue to be long term care centres which make up 79% of deaths countrywide. Congregate living situations are also problematic. <a href=”https://t.co/1EHv0ARbw0″>pic.twitter.com/1EHv0ARbw0</a>
When asked whether he would send his own kids back to school if he were in Quebec, Trudeau said he would evaluate the situation at the time when schools actually open their doors.
“We know every single week we see changes in how we’re doing, on where there are outbreaks, on equipment and supports available,” he said, noting that he’d want to know what the school itself was planning to do to maintain physical distancing and create safe working conditions.
WATCH | Trudeau talks about Quebec’s plan to reopen some schools:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with reporters on Tuesday. 1:54
Neighbouring New Brunswick, which has had far fewer cases than Quebec, has already loosened some restrictions, including opening some outdoor spaces and allowing people to form “bubbles” of two families.
Prince Edward Island released its plan Tuesday to ease restrictions. Priority non-urgent health-care services are to begin May 1, including elective surgeries, physiotherapy, optometry and chiropractic treatment. Outdoor gatherings of limited size and activities such as fishing and golf will also be allowed.
Saskatchewan has also previously released a five-phase reopening plan, with expected dates attached to the first two phases.
Ontario plan focuses on how not when
Ontario, which unveiled its plan on Monday, didn’t attach any dates to its framework.
Premier Doug Ford said the framework is about how the province will reopen — not when.
“We’re all missing birthdays, religious celebrations and once-in-a-lifetime milestones. These are all too real, a painful loss of memories, and moments taken away by this deadly virus,” Ford said. “But that is why we must continue.”
A slow, methodical and gradual reopening will help the province avoid another period of shutdown, Ford said.
WATCH | Ontario reveals reopening plan, no timeline:
Ontario Premier Doug Ford revealed details of how the province would reduce COVID-19 restrictions and reopen businesses, but without giving any specific timeline. 1:54
Ford said he wants to see the economy “get going” but can’t risk an escalation in cases if the province opens prematurely.
As of 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Canada had 50,026 confirmed and presumptive cases of the novel coronavirus. Provinces and territories listed 19,244 cases as recovered or resolved. A CBC tally of COVID-19-related deaths, which is based on provincial health data, local public health information and CBC reporting, listed 2,958 deaths in Canada and two abroad.
A case tracking site maintained by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University reported more than three million cases around the world, with over 212,000 reported coronavirus-related deaths.
There is no proven treatment or vaccine for the novel virus, which first emerged in China in late 2019. While most cases are moderate or mild, some people — especially the elderly and people with underlying health issues — are at greater risk of severe disease or death. Public health officials in Canada and around the world have cautioned that reported numbers don’t show the full picture, as they don’t reflect people that haven’t been tested or cases that are still under investigation.
Read on for a look at what’s happening in Canada, the U.S. and around the world.
What’s happening in the provinces and territories
In British Columbia, a COVID-19 outbreak in a poultry processing plant in Coquitlam is responsible for the majority of new cases reported by the province. Health Minister Adrian Dix says 39 of the 55 positive tests reported Tuesday are connected to the spread of the virus at Superior Poultry Processors Ltd. Read more about what’s happening in B.C., including a story about how Haida Gwaii communities are ramping up enforcement of a ban on visitors.
Manitoba says it will now test anyone with COVID-19 symptoms to see if they have the virus that causes the disease. Premier Brian Pallister says even people with mild symptoms, such as a runny nose or cough, can be tested. “What we’re looking to do by broadening the intake here, at least in its early days, is focused on giving … Manitobans that confidence that they need to have that they’re not carrying the disease — that when they move around, when they shop, they’re able to do so safely,” he said at a Tuesday morning news conference. Read more about what’s happening in Manitoba.
Ontario reported 525 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, and 59 more deaths, ending three consecutive days of declining numbers of new cases. Hospitalizations went up, but the numbers of people in intensive care and on ventilators declined slightly. Read more about Ontario’s plan to reopen released earlier in the week.
In Quebec, Legaultsays while the number of deaths have risen in long-term care homes, other deaths remain largely stable in the province. He says that’s why the government is moving ahead with a plan to restart the economy and reopen primary schools and daycares. Read more about what’s happening in Quebec, including a story on the province’s push to do more testing.
WATCH | Parents wonder how to keep kids healthy when school resumes:
A pediatrician is worried that sending kids back to school too soon could undo all of the work that has been done to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. 4:06
New Brunswick’s chief medical officer says it’s possible masks become mandatory in some situations as the province moves forward with its reopening plan. “It’s very important that you get used to wearing masks,” Dr. Jennifer Russell said. Read more about what’s happening in N.B.
Newfoundland and Labrador reported no new coronavirus cases again on Tuesday. The province is still working on a reopening plan. “It’s really important that we do it right, and when we are ready we will make that announcement, and it will be soon,” Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald told reporters.Read more about what’s happening in N.L..
WATCH | Why Canada’s top doctor changed her stance on masks:
Part 2 of 3 of Rosemary Barton’s exclusive interview with Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam about Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 3:07
From The Associated Press and Reuters, updated as of 2:45 p.m. ET
U.S. President Donald Trump defended his administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday as he met with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and promised to help states safely begin reopening their economies.
Trump, seated next to DeSantis in the Oval Office, insisted that the United States was doing enough testing to protect Americans reentering the workforce and said he would sign an executive order to address “liability problems” in the nation’s food supply chain. He said the administration was talking to airlines about requiring temperature and virus checks for some travellers as they board flights.
Trump has claimed for weeks now that airlines have been screening passengers, even though they’re not.
And he said the idea of having passengers wear masks sounded “like a good idea.”
U.S. President Donald Trump listens as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis talks about the coronavirus response during a meeting Tuesday in the Oval Office. (Evan Vucci/The Associated Press)
The administration had been sharply criticized for not overseeing widespread testing, but Trump said no amount would ever be good enough for critics in the media.
Florida, with a high population of older Americans vulnerable to the disease, has long been a source of concern, and DeSantis was slower to impose social distancing guidelines than other governors were. But DeSantis, a fellow Republican and close Trump ally, promoted his state’s ability to test its citizens.
According to the Johns Hopkins database, the U.S. surpassed one million cases Tuesday, with more than 57,000 deaths.
What’s happening around the world
From The Associated Press and Reuters, updated at 4 p.m. ET
Italy’s Premier Giuseppe Conte says the risk of a second wave of COVID-19 “is concrete,” as the country moves into a new phase of living “alongside” the coronavirus with the loosening of some lockdown measures starting next Monday. Conte has been visiting some of the hardest-hit communities in the northern region of Lombardy in a sign of institutional support for the sacrifices of medical personnel and solidarity with citizens in their eighth week of total lockdown. The virus continues to spread in Italy, in particular in the north.
Commuters maintaining distance sit next to seats with stickers reading “Please don’t sit here” and “Respect social distancing” in an underground metro line in Milan Tuesday. (Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images)
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says he hopes his country can scrap restrictions on movement by the end of June but warned the path to loosening limits will lead to a “new normal,” with safeguards such as wearing masks and strict hygiene rules staying in place until a vaccine is found. Spain recorded 301 new deaths, official data released on Tuesday show, bringing the total deaths from COVID-19 to 23,822. The country has 210,773 infections of COVID-19 that have been confirmed by the most reliable lab tests.
People queue as they wait to donate blood, at a Red Cross urgent blood drive, as efforts continue to help slowing the spread of the coronavirus disease in Spain. (Jon Nazca/Reuters)
Turkey’s health minister announced 92 new deaths from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, raising the total death toll in the country to 2,992. Fahrettin Koca also reported 2,392 new confirmed infections, bringing the total to 114,653. At least 38,809 COVID-19 patients have recovered, according to data the minister posted on Twitter, including 5,018 who recovered in the past 24 hours. Turkish officials say that the number of daily infections is stabilizing and that the country could transition to normal life after a religious holiday at the end of May.
Employees of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality youth center sews face masks, in Ankara, Turkey Tuesday. (Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images)
Britain is ramping up its coronavirus testing efforts. Health Secretary Matt Hancock says anyone over 65 and their households, and all workers who must leave their homes to work, are now added to the list of those eligible for tests as long as they show symptoms. All hospital patients and staff, as well as nursing home residents and workers, also qualify even if they have no symptoms. Britain is on track to record one of the worst coronavirus death tolls in Europe, after data published on Tuesday showed that fatalities topped 24,000 nine days ago.
Staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland observe a minute’s silence Tuesday to pay tribute to the National Health Service staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak. (Peter Morrison/PA via AP)
In France, lawmakers on Tuesday adopted a government-proposed plan to ease the country’s lockdown, which has been in place since mid-March to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The plan entails the progressive reopening of schools, public transport and other businesses previously deemed non-essential by the government from May 11. However, restaurants, cafes, cinemas and concert halls will remain closed. Public gatherings will be limited to 10 people at a time.
A French doctor wearing a protective suit checks the temperature of a woman in a testing site for COVID-19 in Gouzeaucourt, France Tuesday. (Pascal Rossignol/Reuters)
Russia President Vladimir Putin has extended the nation’s partial economic shutdown through May 11, saying the coronavirus outbreak is yet to reach a peak. Lockdowns imposed by Russian regions have kept most people, except those working in vital industries, at home. Russia has recorded 93,558 coronavirus cases and 867 deaths. Putin has instructed the government to prepare a plan for gradually lifting the lockdown after May 11.
A medical worker wearing protective equipment waits near ambulances, standing in line to deliver patients suspected of being infected with the coronavirus to the admissions department at the Pokrovskaya hospital in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday. (Dmitri Lovetsky/The Associated Press)
In New Zealand, surfers greeted a spectacular sunrise in Christchurch, construction workers purchased their favourite espresso coffees, and some lawmakers returned to Parliament in Wellington on Tuesday, as some aspects of life began returning to normal. The country had been in a strict lockdown for over a month to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but those conditions were eased a little on Tuesday to allow some parts of the economy to restart as new infections wane. New Zealand recorded three new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing its confirmed total to 1,472, including 19 deaths.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand has ‘won the battle’ against the virus but plans a careful, staged return to normal life. 1:23
Hong Kong reported no new coronavirus cases for a third straight day Tuesday and announced a resumption of public services next week and a relaxation of quarantine restrictions on travellers from mainland China. The eased quarantine will apply to students crossing the border daily to attend school in Hong Kong, and travellers deemed economically important to the city. However, an entry ban on non-residents flying into the city has been extended to June 7.
Worshipers wearing face masks to protect themselves from preventing the spread of coronavirus, pray to the King ghost on the outlying Cheung Chau island in Hong Kong to celebrate the Bun Festival Tuesday. (Kin Cheung/The Associated Press)
South Africa — the world’s largest producer of platinum, manganese and chrome ore — is letting its mines run at half-capacity after a national lockdown. The country’s miners are restricting bus loads to mine sites to 20 workers at a time, even though the cages used to transport workers underground hold up to 1,000.
South Africa has more than 4,700 cases and 90 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins tally.
A man in protective clothing addresses locals queueing ahead of food distribution in Alexandra township, South Africa Tuesday. (Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters)
In Peru, prisoners staged a riot to protest their precarious living conditions following the deaths of several fellow inmates from the new coronavirus, but the revolt in itself proved fatal. Nine prisoners were killed. The inmates were shot to death during a clash with authorities at the Miguel Castro Castro prison in Lima a day earlier. Who fired the deadly shots was under investigation. Peru’s overcrowded jails have been hard hit by the coronavirus: At least 13 prisoners have died and more than 500 have been infected. More than 100 workers have also fallen ill.
Inmates hold a sign that reads in Spanish “We want COVID-19 tests, we have the right to live”,” as they gather on a roof during a prison protest at Lurigancho prison in Lima, Peru, Tuesday. (Rodrigo Abd/The Associated Press)
VANCOUVER – A disciplinary investigation has found a former Vancouver police sergeant shared “disrespectful” commentary on a fellow officer’s court testimony about being sexually assaulted by a colleague.
The decision against Narinder Dosanjh, obtained by The Canadian Press, includes the running commentary on the woman’s testimony — apparently written by someone inside the courtroom — that calls her a “bad drunk” and says there was “no way” her case would be proved.
Former New Westminster police chief Dave Jansen, the external officer who rendered the decision against Dosanjh, says his assessment accounts for a culture of treating officers who testify against each other as “rats.”
Former Vancouver constable Jagraj Roger Berar was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to a year in jail for assaulting the woman, who can’t be identified because of a publication ban on her name.
Jansen says in his ruling, dated Oct. 11, that the comments in a Vancouver police group chat appear “supportive” of Berar and reflect “all-too-common myths” about women who make sexual assault allegations.
While Jansen found Dosanjh committed discreditable conduct by sharing the chats, a complaint against a more-senior Vancouver officer who was inside the courtroom, and who the victim and other officers believed wrote the commentary, were not substantiated.
The ruling says Jansen, who retired as New Westminster’s chief constable, would accept submissions before deciding how Dosanjh should be punished.
The woman who was assaulted was the complainant in the disciplinary investigation, and said in an interview she felt “vindicated” by Jansen’s decision because it “truly paints what I’ve been through,” after reporting a fellow officer for sexual assault.
She said many other women in municipal policing fear speaking out about ill-treatment at work, and some have told her about being assaulted and harassed but feared ruining their careers if they complained.
“This decision is important for those women to see,” she said. “It shows the tides are changing. Like, this is the first win I’ve had.”
A spokesman for the Surrey Police Service, where Dosanjh now works, did not immediately answer a question about how he was penalized, and said Dosanjh declined an interview request with The Canadian Press.
In his decision, Jansen said there was an “unfortunate but often pervasive” culture of treating officers who complain as “‘rats’, who betrayed their colleagues.”
“In terms of the messages themselves, Sergeant Dosanjh alleges that they are not degrading, humiliating or derogatory and do not attack the personal character of the complainant. I disagree,” Jansen wrote.
The decision includes a screenshot of the commentary about the complainant, who said the order of the messages appeared to refer to her evidence while she was being cross-examined and suggested the comments were written by someone listening to her testimony.
The commentary on a Vancouver police chat group on the Signal messaging app said the victim “wore a wire twice,” and “admitted in cross to possibly drinking way more alcohol than she originally claimed.”
“Her memory is super hazy and there’s no way you can prove beyond reasonable doubt,” the person wrote.
“And she admitted that she is really bad drunk,” they added.
Another message said it was a “nail in the coffin” of the case that video showed the complainant “cuddling, holding hands” with Berar.
The victim, who became aware of the commentary when a friend in the department showed them to her, was distressed by the messages and disputed their accuracy, said Jansen.
“The comments also appear to reflect some of the all-too-common myths around women making allegations of sexual assault. Some of these myths include the belief that because a victim socialized with the perpetrator, or engaged in some consensual activity with him, therefore she must have consented to the assault,” he wrote.
Jansen’s decision said Dosanjh shared the messages with a fellow officer after getting them from a “VPD chat group that he claims he knew little about, from a co-worker he claims not to be able to identify.”
The decision said other officers believed the commentary was written bya more-senior officer in the department who had been present at the trial, but Jansen said the discreditable conduct complaint against that person was unsubstantiated.
The decision said Dosanjh claimed he was the “fall guy” and “a pawn in a broader game.”
Jansen’s decision said Dosanjh was a senior officer and supervisor who was aware of the “vulnerability of victims of sexual crimes and of the myths that surround sexual assault victims.”
It said Dosanjh’s “distribution of these messages that were disrespectful of an alleged victim of sexual violence who was also a co-worker, should they become public, would likely discredit the reputation of the police force.”
The Vancouver Police Department did not immediately provide comment on Jansen’s decision.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
FREDERICTON – The offspring of beetles imported from British Columbia are ready to take up the fight against an invasive insect that is killing hemlock trees in Nova Scotia.
Last fall and spring, about 5,000 Laricobius nigrinus beetles — affectionately called Lari by scientists — made an overnight journey from the West Coast.
Lucas Roscoe, research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service, says in the fight against the woolly adelgid that is destroying swaths of hemlock trees in Nova Scotia, the first step was to make sure the Lari beetle can survive a Nova Scotia winter.
The one-to-two-millimetre black flying beetles were released across six sites in Nova Scotia that had the woolly adelgids.
In one of the sites, scientists placed cages of imported beetles and about 60 per cent of them were able to survive the winter in Nova Scotia, which Roscoe says is an encouraging rate.
He says the woolly adelgid was first seen in southwestern Nova Scotia in 2017 and the peppercorn-sized insect, aided by climate change, has since spread north.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
Dozens of researchers across Canada, including renowned environmentalist David Suzuki, have joined a growing chorus of voices urging the federal government to halt the importation of an endangered monkey species for medical research in Quebec.
A letter signed by 80 scientists, academics, doctors and students says testing on long-tailed macaques from Cambodia should be banned due to ethical concerns and potential public-health risks.
“A decade ago, chimpanzees, our closest primate relatives, ceased to be used for experimentation because using such animal ‘models’ could no longer be justified from scientific, ethical, and/or financial perspectives,” says the letter addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his environment minister and the premier of Quebec.
The researchers say they are also concerned about “the serious risks of transmission of zoonotic pathogens” that could be associated with transporting macaques.
Their letter urges the federal government to end charter flights that have been bringing the macaques into Canada, and to adopt regulations banning the importation of all primates for biomedical testing.
It’s the latest group to add more pressure on Ottawa to suspend the monkey imports by Charles River Laboratories, a U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant that has a sprawling facility in Montreal.
The company announced in 2023 that it was halting macaque imports into the U.S., after it was subpoenaed in a case that involved the indictment of two senior Cambodian officials over what authorities described as “multiple felonies for their role in bringing wild long-tailed macaques into the United States.”
No charges have been brought against Charles River Laboratories, or any of its officials, and the company has said it will fully co-operate with the U.S. investigation.
At around the same time, imports of monkeys from Cambodia into Canada dramatically surged, with Statistics Canada data showing a 500 per cent increase in 2023 from the year before.
Environment and Climate Change Canada, the federal department responsible for monitoring commercial trade in wildlife, confirmed to the Canadian Press that Charles River Laboratories has imported 6,769 long-tailed macaques into the country between January 2023 and August of this year. The monetary value of these imported macaques is around $120 million dollars, according to Statistics Canada.
The department previously said that officials rigorously and closely inspect imports of foreign animals, including those brought in by Charles River Laboratories, and that all macaque imports so far this year have complied with federal and international wildlife regulations.
The government and the company have both said that no Canadian laws have been broken.
Last month, the Canadian Transportation Authority issued a permit for another shipment on a cargo plane chartered by Charles River Laboratories. A flight tracker shows that a plane with the same flight number as what is shown on the permit departed Phnom Penh, Cambodia last Thursday, and arrived in Montreal on Friday.
Jesse Greener, a professor of chemistry at Laval University who signed the researchers’ letter to the government, said medical technology has developed to a point that makes it unjustifiable for the pharmaceutical industry to continue using live primates for testing.
“The government should take a leadership role and help researchers and surely the private sector to pivot from using these unethical, and I would say old and outdated and unreliable animal models, and embrace these much more efficient and ethical approaches that are … exploding right now,” said Greener, who has done research on methods to replace animals in such experiments.
“It is grotesque,” he said of the animal use. “It is time that we change the page on this chapter of terrible research and commercial activities.”
Canada banned the use of animals for cosmetic testing last year, but it is still legal to use live primates for drug testing purposes.
The federal government said a draft strategy aimed at reducing and replacing the use of animals in drug testing was published in September and open to public consultations for 60 days.
The strategy, which will be revised based on input from researchers, experts and others, is expected to be published in June 2025, it said.
“The government of Canada is committed to advancing efforts to replace, reduce, or refine the use of vertebrate animals in toxicity testing where possible,” Environment and Climate Change Canada said in a statement Tuesday.
Charles River Laboratories previously told The Canadian Press that while it is also committed to reducing its use of live primates, global regulatory bodies require drugs to be tested on animals before they are evaluated in humans.
The company said the use of non-human primates has been vital in developing treatments for various diseases and that the standards it applies in its facilities are exceeding global norms.
Matthew Green, a New Democrat MP who had previously called on the federal government to halt the latest shipment of macaques, said he has “great concern” about importing this exotic animal.
“Generally in Canada, Canadians like to believe that our government has higher regulations and more stringent enforcement protocols when it comes to protecting endangered species, yet this is not the case in comparison to what the United States has done,” he said.
Green and two of his NDP colleagues wrote a letter to three federal ministers last month, demanding an “immediate attention” to the issue.
The Animal Alliance of Canada also sent a letter to the environment minister in August, urging the immediate suspension of monkey importation from Cambodia.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
