Premier Jason Kenney said his province has passed the peak of Omicron infections and that new hospitalizations due to the virus are coming down.
“The threat of COVID-19 to public health no longer outweighs the hugely damaging impact of health restrictions on our society, on people’s mental health, on their emotional wellbeing, on our broader social health,” he said during an afternoon briefing.
“Now is the time to begin learning to live with COVID.”
Step 1, which takes effect in Alberta tonight at 11:59 p.m., will remove the restrictions exemption program — which mandated people to show proof-of-vaccination. Restrictions on food and beverages at entertainment venues will be removed and all capacity limits will be ended except at large capacity venues (500+).
As of next Monday, almost all restrictions on kids will be lifted — including masks in schools for kids in grades K-12. Outside of school, kids 12 and under will be exempt from mask mandates.
Phase 2 would take effect March 1, provided hospitalizations are still trending downward, and would include removing all indoor masking, lift all gathering limits for indoors and outdoors, and remove the work-from-home order.
Alberta currently has the highest daily case positivity rate nationally, with 36.4 per cent of all PCR tests coming back positive.
Several provinces, including Quebec and Saskatchewan, announced plans Tuesday to further ease COVID-19 restrictions in the coming days and weeks. (CBC/Radio-Canada)
The Quebec government says most COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted across the province by March 14 — except for mask mandates and the vaccine passport system.
Premier François Legault announced a road map today that begins Saturday, when all limits on indoor private gatherings will be removed. (Though public health recommends having at most 10 people present.)
By Feb. 21, entertainment and sports venues can open at 50 per cent capacity and fully reopen on Feb. 28. The Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens, can reopen fully on March 14.
Bars and casinos will reopen as of Feb. 28 at half capacity and increase to full capacity by mid-March.
Legault, however, says his government isn’t ready to lift mask mandates or end the vaccine passport system, both of which will remain until at least March 14.
WATCH | Premier Legault says Quebec is taking a ‘calculated risk’ with reopening plans:
Almost all restrictions in Quebec to be lifted by March 14, Legault says
10 hours ago
Duration 2:02
Calling it a ‘calculated risk to learn to live with the virus,’ Quebec Premier François Legault outlined a series of dates to lift COVID-19 restrictions, with almost all being eliminated by mid-March. 2:02
Beginning Monday, Saskatchewan will no longer require COVID-19 vaccine passports. It is also ending its indoor mask mandate at the end of the month.
Premier Scott Moe said Tuesday that providing proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to enter businesses, like restaurants, had helped in the fight against spread of the virus. But he said it also created deep divisions in the province — in effect “two classes of citizens.”
“The benefits of this policy no longer outweigh the costs,” said Moe, adding people should be able to choose whether they get vaccinated or not.
WATCH | There is no better public health intervention than proof-of-vaccine requirement, says Sask. doctor:
Sask. doctor says lifting proof-of-vaccine measure too rushed
7 hours ago
Duration 4:51
The decision to end proof-of-vaccination in Saskatchewan is coming too soon, says Dr. Alexander Wong, an infectious diseases specialist in Regina. He suggested it is more likely due to political pressure. 4:51
Other provinces have said they are also looking at lifting their COVID-19 measures.
King says the news should not be seen as a declaration that the pandemic is over, and some restrictions may remain in certain locations, such as hospitals.
WATCH | Prime Minister Trudeau says everyone is sick of restrictions, and vaccines are the way out:
Trudeau says ‘government has been focused every step of the way on following the best science’
9 hours ago
Duration 1:02
The prime minister says he understands the frustration over vaccine mandates but insists that the only way out of the pandemic is through mandates and vaccinations. 1:02
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said team competition within leagues or regions can resume Monday. Tournaments are still not permitted, but single games can occur.
Also effective Monday, formal gatherings will be able to increase to 50 per cent of a venue’s capacity. Informal gatherings will remain within a person’s group of 20 close, consistent contacts.
Starting Monday, restaurants, bars, theatres, bingo halls and other performance spaces can operate at 50 per cent capacity, provided physical distancing can be maintained. Gyms, fitness facilities and arenas can also operate at 50 per cent capacity with distancing.
Restrictions for faith-based groups in the province are being loosened as of Saturday, allowing churches that require the province’s vaccination passport to operate at 50 per cent capacity and 25 per cent capacity if not using the passport.
-From The Canadian Press and CBC News last updated at 7:30 p.m. ET
Students push to freeze grades because of learning disruptions
16 hours ago
Duration 2:02
There’s a growing push among high school students to freeze their grades where they were before the winter break, to level the playing field for those whose schooling was disrupted by a switch back to virtual learning. 2:02
With lab-based testing capacity deeply strained and increasingly restricted, experts say true case counts are likely far higher than reported. Hospitalization data at the regional level is also evolving, with several provinces saying they will report figures that separate the number of people in hospital because of COVID-19 from those in hospital for another medical issue who also test positive for COVID-19.
For more information on what is happening in your community — including details on outbreaks, testing capacity and local restrictions — click through to the regional coverage below.
In Central Canada, promoters of Quebec’s most popular festivals want the government to let them know what COVID-19 health orders they’ll face this summer, fearing the restrictions are affecting the city’s international reputation.
The province on Tuesday reported 56 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus and a 45-patient drop in COVID-19 hospitalizations, with 2,380 people remaining in hospital.
In Ontario, where visitor restrictions for long-term care eased slightly this week, health officials on Tuesday reported 42 additional deaths and said the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 stood at 2,254 — up by 99 from a day earlier.
In Atlantic Canada, Prince Edward Island’s chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, reported the death of one person over the age of 80 — the 13th COVID-19-related death in the province since the pandemic began.
Morrison said nine people are hospitalized with the disease, a decrease of two from Monday, and one patient is in intensive care. There are five other people in hospital who were admitted for other reasons but later tested positive for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the head of Nova Scotia’s cancer care program is warning that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are causing serious backlogs in the health system that could take years to clear.
“Even if COVID suddenly disappears tomorrow, it will take years to catch up with the backlog and to rebuild the system,” Dr. Helmut Hollenhorst said. Staff availability and lack of intensive care unit beds have been an issue in the most recent wave, he said Monday.
Provincial health officials on Tuesday reported 91 people were being treated in designated COVID-19 units in hospital — unchanged from Monday — including 14 in ICU.
In New Brunswick, six more people have died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 269 since the start of the pandemic. Health officials reported 151 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, unchanged from Monday, with 17 in intensive care.
Manitoba reported two additional deaths Tuesday. There are currently 697 people in hospital being treated for COVID-19, including 40 in the ICU.
Alberta had 1,623 people in hospital with COVID-19 Tuesday, including 129 in ICU. An additional 13 people have died from the virus.
In the North, the Canadian Red Cross has sent six nurses to Nunavut as the territory continues to experience its worst outbreak of COVID-19 to date. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Michael Patterson says COVID-19 has reached Resolute Bay, with four presumptive cases of COVID-19 in the High Arctic community of about 200 people.
There are currently 366 cases of COVID-19 in Nunavut, while 19 people have been hospitalized and one person has died during this wave.
Yukon health officials on Tuesday reported four people were in hospital being treated for COVID-19.
“After two of the most difficult years in our history, we know people are exhausted and families are feeling stretched,” Premier John Horgan said in a news release.
“That’s why our focus has been, and will continue to be, on investing to help make life better for people.”
The province reported 986 people in hospital with COVID-19 Tuesday, including 146 in the ICU.
-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 8 p.m. ET
What’s happening around the world
As of Tuesday evening, more than 400.3 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.7 million.
In the Americas, the governors of four U.S. states announced plans Monday to lift statewide mask requirements in schools by the end of February or March, citing the rapid easing of COVID-19’s Omicron surge.
The decisions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Oregon were announced as state and local governments grapple with which virus restrictions to jettison and which to keep in place. The changes also come amid a growing sense that the virus is never going to go away and Americans need to find a way to coexist with it.
Meanwhile, California announced plans to end its indoor masking requirement for vaccinated people next week, but masks will still be the rule for schoolchildren in the nation’s most populous state.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, seen in this 2021 photo taken in a Pre-K classroom, is moving away from mandatory masks in the state’s classrooms. (Mary Altaffer/The Associated Press)
In Africa, Ugandan authorities are seeking to legally mandate vaccines in draft legislation aimed at boosting the East African country’s drive to inoculate more people against COVID-19. The bill, which is subject to changes as it faces scrutiny by a parliamentary health committee, proposes a six-month jail term for failure to comply with vaccination requirements during disease outbreaks. Alfred Driwale, a public official who leads Uganda’s vaccination efforts, said he supports the proposed changes to the country’s public health law.
Attempts by Ugandan officials in recent months to enforce limited mandates have been unsuccessful. A vaccine requirement for people using public transport failed to be implemented amid opposition from operators.
In Europe, Sweden has decided to lift entry restrictions for foreign nationals travelling to the country from Nordic countries and the rest of the European Union and European Economic Area from Wednesday.
Meanwhile, several German states are planning to loosen coronavirus restrictions despite rising infections, officials said.
In the Asia-Pacific region,China has ordered inhabitants of the southern city of Baise to stay home and suspended transportation links amid a surge in COVID-19 cases at least partly linked to the Omicron variant. Classes have been suspended, non-essential businesses closed and mass testing of residents ordered. Restaurants are only permitted to serve takeout.
Traffic lights have been switched to red only, to remind drivers to stay home. As of Tuesday, 135 cases had been reported in the city — at least two of them found to be Omicron, health authorities said. The city has become the latest to be placed under lockdown in keeping with China’s “zero-tolerance” approach to the pandemic. The policy requires strict measures be applied even when only a small number of cases have been found.
In the Middle East, health officials in Iran on Tuesday said 114 people had died from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, with 38,757 additional cases reported.
-From Reuters, CBC News and The Associated Press, last updated at 8 p.m. ET
EDMONTON – The legendary k.d. lang got the band back together at the Canadian Country Music Association awards show.
Lang teamed up with the Reclines for the first time in 35 years to belt out “Big Boned Gal” from their last album together in 1989.
Clad in a blue and green western-style dress, lang strut across the stage in Edmonton to embody the “big boned gal from southern Alberta.”
The awards show saw Alberta’s MacKenzie Porter and Ontario’s Josh Ross take home hardware for being best female and male artists of the year.
Ross also won entertainer of the year and single of the year for “Trouble.”
Ontario artist Jade Eagleson won album of the year for “Do It Anyway.”
The James Barker Band from Woodville, Ont., won fans’ choice and group of the year.
During their acceptance speech, frontman Barker hinted at new music and a possible tour in 2025.
Ross says he and his band play roughly 150 shows every year and are never home, but says taking home entertainer of the year made the hard work worth it.
Porter won for female artist of the year and top video for “Chasing Tornadoes.”
The female artist win ends the five-year streak of Tenille Townes being awarded the coveted hardware.
Porter had been nominated seven times previously for the award in the past decade but hadn’t won until now.
The artist from Medicine Hat, Alta., says it takes a lot of hard work and hustle to succeed as a female in the country music industry and gave a shout out to her fellow singers and her newborn daughter.
Joining the two artists in the winners’ circle was Ontario singer-songwriter Owen Riegling, who won for breakthrough artist of the year.
The show began with American artist and co-host Thomas Rhett being dubbed an honorary Canadian by Edmonton Oilers players Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl.
Rhett donned an Oilers jersey that was gifted to him by the pair.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
EDMONTON – Ontario country artist Jade Eagleson has won album of the year at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Association Awards in Edmonton.
The singer from Bailieboro, Ont., was up for six awards alongside Alberta’s MacKenzie Porter.
Eagleson took home album of the year for “Do It Anyway” and says he’s thankful to his wife and management team for helping him reach the level he’s at.
The James Barker Band from Woodville, Ont., also won fans’ choice and group of the year at the award show, held in Edmonton.
During their acceptance speech, frontman Barker hinted at new music and a possible tour in 2025.
Another Ontario crooner, Josh Ross, has taken home a trio of awards, receiving entertainer of the year, male artist of the year and single of the year.
He says he and his band play roughly 150 shows every year and are never home, but says taking home entertainer of the year makes the hard work worth it.
Porter took home female artist of the year, ending the five-year streak of Tenille Townes being awarded the coveted hardware.
Porter had been nominated seven times previously for the award in the past decade but hadn’t won until tonight.
The artist from Medicine Hat, Alta., says it takes a lot of hard work and hustle to succeed as a female in the country music industry and gave a shout out to her fellow singers and her newborn daughter.
Joining the two artists in the winners’ circle was Ontario singer-songwriter Owen Riegling, who won for breakthrough artist of the year.
The show began with American artist and co-host Thomas Rhett being dubbed an honorary Canadian by Edmonton Oilers players Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl.
Rhett donned an Oilers jersey that was gifted to him by the pair.
The return of k.d. lang and the Reclines was expected to be a highlight of the show.
The appearance will mark the first time the Alberta songstress has teamed up with the band in 35 years and is tied to lang’s induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
The awards show is back in Alberta’s capital for the first time since 2014. It was held in Hamilton last year and in Calgary in 2022.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
VANDERHOOF, B.C. – British Columbia Conservatives are promising changes they say will bring more stability to the province’s struggling forest industry.
Leader John Rustad announced his plan for the sector a week before the official launch of the provincial election campaign, saying a Conservative government would do away with stumpage fees paid when timber is harvested and instead put a tax on the final products that are produced.
Rustad said Saturday that under a provincial Conservative government, a small fee may be charged upfront, but the bulk would come at the end of the process, depending on what type of product is created.
He also promised to review how wildfires are managed, as well as streamline the permit process and review what he calls the province’s “uncompetitive cost structure.”
“British Columbia is by far the highest cost producers of any jurisdiction in North America. We need to be able to drive down those costs, so that our forest sector can actually be able to do the reinvestment, to be able to create the jobs and make sure that they’re still there to be able to support our communities,” he said.
The governing New Democrats meanwhile, say eliminating stumpage fees would inflame the softwood lumber dispute with the United States and hurt forestry workers.
In a statement issued by the NDP, Andrew Mercier, the party’s candidate in Langley-Willowbrook, said Rustad failed to support the industry when he was in government under the former BC Liberals.
“Not only will Rustad’s old thinking and recycled ideas fail to deliver, his proposal to eliminate stumpage would inflame the softwood lumber dispute — punishing forestry workers and communities,” Mercier said, accusing Rustad of ignoring the complexity of the challenges facing the industry.
The softwood lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada stretches back decades. In August, the U.S. Department of Commerce nearly doubled duties on softwood lumber.
International Trade Minister Mary Ng has said Canada has taken steps to launch two legal challenges under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
Rustad said a provincial Conservative government would push hard to get a deal with the United States over the ongoing dispute “whether it’s with the rest of Canada or by itself.”
He said his party’s proposed changes are in the name of bringing “stability” and “hope” to the industry that has seen multiple closures of mills in rural communities over the last several years.
Most recently, Canfor Corp. decided to shutter two northern British Columbia sawmills earlier this month, leaving hundreds of workers unemployed by the end of the year.
According to the United Steelworkers union, Canfor has closed 10 mills in the province since November 2011, including nine in northern B.C.
Jeff Bromley, chair of the United Steelworkers wood council, said Saturday the idea of changes in favour of taxing the final product has been floated in the past.
He said the finer details of the Conservative plan will be important, but that the system needs to be improved and “new ideas are certainly something I’d be willing to entertain.”
“Something needs to happen, or the industry is just going to bleed and wither away and be a shadow of its former self,” Bromley said.
“Politics aside, if (Rustad) can come up with a policy that enables my members to work, then I would be supportive of that. But then I’m supportive of any government that would come up with policies and fibre for our mills to run. Period.”
When Canfor announced its latest closures, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said the sector was a “foundational part” of the province and the current NDP government would work to support both local jobs and wood manufacturing operations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024
