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Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Wednesday – CBC.ca

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The latest:

As the European Union surpassed the toll of 500,000 people lost to the virus, the EU Commission chief said Wednesday that the bloc’s much-criticized vaccine rollout could be partly blamed on the EU being over-optimistic, over-confident and plainly “late.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen defended the EU’s overall approach of trying to beat the pandemic with a unified vaccine plan for its 27 nations, even if she admitted mistakes in the strategy to quickly obtain sufficient vaccines for its 447 million citizens.

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“We are still not where we want to be. We were late to authorize. We were too optimistic when it came to massive production and perhaps we were too confident that what we ordered would actually be delivered on time,” von der Leyen told the EU plenary.

Despite weeks of stinging criticism as the EU’s vaccine campaign failed to gain momentum compared to Britain, Israel and the United States, the three main parties in the legislature stuck with von der Leyen’s approach of moving forward with all member states together.

“The key decisions were right,” said Manfred Weber, the leader of the Christian Democrat European People’s Party.

The Socialists and Democrats party leader Iratxe Garcia said that, “Fiasco, catastrophe, disaster: they ring very true to our citizens,” but also said her party will stick with von der Leyen on the bloc moving together. “Criticism is necessary but with a constructive spirit.”

Von der Leyen’s assessment came as the bloc’s death toll passed a landmark of 500,000, a stunning statistic in less than a year that fundamentally challenges the bloc’s vaunted welfare standards and health-care capabilities.

It came as the bloc was fighting off the remnants of a second surge of COVID-19 that has kept communities from Portugal to Finland under all kinds of lockdown, curfews and restrictions as authorities race to vaccinate as many people as possible.

A health-care worker wishes farewell to a patient at the Portimao Arena sports pavilion, which was converted into a field hospital for COVID-19 patients, at Portimao, in the Algarve region of Portugal, on Tuesday. (Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images)

The last official weekly figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control are only expected on Thursday, but Johns Hopkins University produced a daily tally showing how the mark stood at 500,809 on Wednesday.

In comparison, the United States, with a population of 330 million, leads the world per nation with more than 468,000 deaths.

Von der Leyen stuck with her promise to have 70 per cent of the EU’s adult population vaccinated by the end of summer and blamed big pharmaceutical companies for not keeping vaccine production up with scientific advances.

“Indeed, industry has to match the groundbreaking pace of science,” von der Leyen said. “We fully understand that difficulties will arise in the mass production of vaccines. But Europe has invested billions of euros in capacities in advance, and we urged the member states to plan the vaccine rollout. So now we all need predictability.”

-From The Associated Press, last updated at 6:30 a.m. ET


What’s happening in Canada

WATCH | COVID-19 spike in N.L. sparks concern about provincial election:

A significant spike in COVID-19 cases in Newfoundland and Labrador has led to additional restrictions in some areas and is raising concerns about what it means for the upcoming provincial election. 1:54

As of early Wednesday morning, Canada had reported 810,796 cases of COVID-19 — with 39,178 considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 20,909.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, health officials reported 30 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the province’s second-highest single-day total in the pandemic to date.

“We can now say with certainty that we have community transmission in the metro region, and we will inevitably see more cases in the coming days,” Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said Tuesday.

The government moved to implement a “circuit-breaker” shutdown for businesses like bars, cinemas and fitness studios in the St. John’s region to deal with the sudden outbreak.

The province, which as of Tuesday had 57 active cases, is in the midst of an election campaign, with voters set to choose a new provincial government on Saturday.

Across the rest of Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick reported 15 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, while health officials in both Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia reported just one case.

In Quebec, officials reported 826 new cases of COVID-19 and 32 additional deaths on Tuesday. Hospitalizations continued to trend downward, with the province listing 940 people as being in hospital with 145 in intensive care units.

Ontario, meanwhile, reported 1,022 new cases of COVID-19 and 17 additional deaths. Hospitalizations stood at 909, with 318 COVID-19 patients in the province’s ICUs, according to a provincial dashboard.

WATCH | Some Ontario ski hills can reopen as early as this week under new restrictions:

Some ski hills are reopening as early as this week as the province starts to gradually scale back pandemic restrictions — but it isn’t exactly business as usual. Greg Ross explains what public health measures are in place. 1:59

In the Prairie provinces, Manitoba reported 75 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and three additional deaths. Saskatchewan, which reported 80 additional cases and five deaths, said it will use age to determine who in the general public will be first in line to be vaccinated against COVID-19 once more supply becomes available.

Alberta reported 195 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 additional deaths on Tuesday. Meanwhile, in British Columbia, health officials said progress is being made in pushing back the spread of the virus as it announced 435 new cases and four additional deaths.

There were no new cases of COVID-19 reported in Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut on Tuesday.

WATCH | Ottawa won’t ask thousands to repay CERB over confusion:

Hundreds of thousands of self-employed Canadians will not have to give back the Canada emergency response benefit they received because of the confusion over income eligibility criteria. Some say the income threshold wasn’t clear and others say they received incorrect information from the CRA. 1:58

Here’s a look at what’s happening across the country:

-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 7 a.m. ET


What’s happening around the world

A nurse passes vials to another nurse through plastic sheeting dividing the sterile and non-sterile areas of a coronavirus ward at Sakura General Hospital in Oguchi, Japan on Wednesday. (Carl Court/Getty Images)

As of early Wednesday morning, more than 106.9 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, with 59.8 million of the cases listed by Johns Hopkins University considered recovered or resolved. The global death toll stood at more than 2.3 million.

BioNTech said it has started manufacturing its COVID-19 vaccine at a new site in Germany, an important step toward increasing global supplies of one of the main vaccines against the coronavirus. The German company that partnered with Pfizer to produce the first vaccine approved for use in Europe and the U.S., said Wednesday that it has started the manufacturing process in Marburg by producing mRNA, the active pharmaceutical ingredient of the product.

The company said that quality tests will be performed internally and externally before the vaccine is released, and the new facility’s production processes will need approval from the European Medicines Agency so that the vaccine can be shipped. The first vaccines manufactured in Marburg, which is in central Germany, are scheduled for distribution in early April.

The site, which BioNTech purchased from Switzerland’s Novartis, will be able to produce up to 750 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine per year once fully operational.

LISTEN | 2 doctors, including one working in South Africa, talk about the emerging concerns around vaccines and variants:

The Current21:46Vaccine concerns in South Africa

South Africa is facing another hurdle in its fight against COVID-19 after a new study suggested the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is largely ineffective against the dominant variant spreading in that country. Dr. Rinesh Chetty, who works on the front lines of the pandemic in Durban, South Africa, weighs in on the findings. And Dr. Gerald Evans, an infectious disease specialist at Queen’s University and the Kingston Health Sciences Centre, tells us what it means for Canada’s vaccination efforts. 21:46

In Africa, South Africa’s health minister said the country will begin administering the unapproved Johnson & Johnson vaccine to its front-line health workers next week. The workers will be monitored to see what protection the J&J shot provides from COVID-19, particularly against the variant dominant in the country.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said Wednesday that South Africa scrapped its plans to use the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine because it “does not prevent mild to moderate disease” of the variant dominant in South Africa.

Mkhize asserted that the J&J vaccine, which is still being tested internationally, is safe. He said those shots will be followed by a campaign to vaccinate an estimated 40 million people in South Africa by the end of the year. The minister said the country will be using the Pfizer vaccine and others, possibly including the Russian Sputnik V, Chinese Sinopharm and Moderna vaccines.

Ghana’s parliament has been suspended for at least three weeks following a surge in coronavirus cases among parliament members and staff.

Speaker Alban Bagbin announced the suspension late Tuesday, saying that at least 17 members of parliament and 151 staffers have tested positive for the virus. He has urged lawmakers and other parliament staffers to get tested.

Meetings, however, will continue of the parliament appointments committee to nominate ministry posts for the administration of President Nana Akufo-Addo, who was re-elected in December.

Ghana’s Health Services confirmed that there have been 73,003 cases and 482 deaths in the West African nation since the outbreak began last year.

In the Americas, U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday he agreed with a proposal by Democratic lawmakers that would limit or phase out stimulus payments to higher-income individuals as part of his $1.9-trillion coronavirus relief bill.

Asked at the beginning of a meeting with business leaders whether he supported the proposal, which would send $1,400 stimulus checks to Americans earning up to $75,000 in income and households making up to $150,000, Biden said, “Yes.”

The president said he had been in touch with Republican leaders about the package.

The Chicago Teachers Union has approved a deal with the nation’s third-largest school district to get students back to class during the coronavirus pandemic, union officials announced early Wednesday.

The vote by the union’s roughly 25,000 members ends the possibility of an immediate teacher lockout or strike. The agreement follows months of negotiations — which had intensified in recent weeks — with plans that included more teacher vaccinations and metrics to allow school closures when COVID-19 infections spike.

Peru launched its COVID-19 vaccination campaign with newly arrived doses of China’s Sinopharm vaccine this week.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Cambodia launched its coronavirus inoculation drive on Wednesday, using 600,000 vaccine doses donated by China, with the sons of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen and government ministers among the first recipients.

New Zealand will first administer COVID-19 vaccines to quarantine personnel, front-line health workers and airline staff, as the government formally approved its use on Wednesday.

In Europe, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday announced a full lockdown in the capital Athens and the surrounding region to curb a resurgence in coronavirus cases and ease pressure on badly stretched health services.

Spain on Tuesday passed three million coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic and extended controls along its 1,200-km border with Portugal until March 1.

In the Middle East, Iran launched a coronavirus inoculation campaign this week among health-care professionals with recently delivered Russian Sputnik V vaccines as the country struggles to stem the worst outbreak of the pandemic in the Middle East. The death toll in Iran is nearing 59,000. 

-From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 8:25 a.m. ET

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1 dead, 2 critically injured after car crash in Montreal

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Montreal

Three people are in hospital with critical injuries after their vehicle crashed into a tree. Police believe they might be connected to two drive-by shootings that took place early Thursday morning.

2 drive-by shootings also took place overnight

an SPVM car near a taped-off crime scene
Montreal police are investigating a car crash possibly linked to two drive-by shootings. (Mathieu Wagner/Radio-Canada)

Urgences-santé say one person died and two others were critically injured after their vehicle hit a tree in the Rosemont neighbourhood.

Montreal police believe the crash may be linked to two drive-by shootings early Thursday morning.

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The first happened around 5 a.m. on Pie-IX Boulevard. Police say a car was shot at repeatedly and the driver, a 41-year-old man, was injured in the upper body. He was transported to hospital, but his life is not in danger, say police.

Shortly afterward, shots were reported in the Plateau Mont-Royal borough, near the intersection of Saint-Joseph Boulevard and Henri-Julien Avenue. No one was injured.

Police say they are investigating to determine if there is a connection between the collision and the shootings. Montreal police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant says it’s possible those in the vehicle were involved in the shootings.

The province’s independent police watchdog is now involved.

with files from Chloë Ranaldi

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Pakistan airline crew sought asylum in Canada: spokesperson – CTV News

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Typically, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendants who arrive in Toronto stay at a hotel overnight, meet back up with their crew the next day and then fly to their next destination.

But increasingly often, PIA attendants aren’t showing up, the airline says. According to PIA, at least eight flight attendants disappeared over the last year and a half.

They have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.

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Increased occurrences

Abdullah Hafeez Khan said at least eight flight attendants “have gone missing” after flying to Pearson International Airport in Toronto. He said these incidents have been happening over the last 10 years, but are now occurring more frequently.

“Since probably October of 2022, the number of the people that have opted asylum has increased tremendously,” Khan said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca from Karachi, Pakistan, where the airline is based.

“None of those crew members that disappeared in the last one-and-a-half years have come back. So they were granted asylum for one way or the other, and that probably has encouraged others to do so.”

The missing employees were fired immediately and lost their company benefits, Khan said.

Why did they flee?

Khan said he could only speculate as to why the flight attendants would flee.

The Canadian government underscored the volatile situation in Pakistan, warning in a travel advisory of a “high threat of terrorism,” along with threats of civil unrest, sectarian violence and kidnapping.

“The security situation is fragile and unpredictable,” the Canadian travel advisory reads. “Incidents are typically attributed to extremism, ethnic divisions, sectarian strife, regional political disputes and the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.”

It added that many deaths and injuries have occurred from bombings, shootings and other terrorist attacks at a wide range of targets.

Since Khan isn’t in contact with any of the missing employees, he says, he assumes they decided to seek asylum in Canada for economic and social reasons.

“So I naturally assumed that all of them have been given asylum because I don’t think they would be living there illegally,” he said, adding they may already have family connections in Canada who can support them.

In this June 8, 2013, photo, a Pakistan International Airlines plane moments before take off from the Benazir Bhutto airport in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

‘PR crisis’

Khan called the flight attendants’ disappearances a “PR crisis” for PIA that is “bad” for business amid a crew shortage.

The airline is in talks with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Pakistani law enforcement agencies to potentially create a “legal safeguard” to curtail flight crew from seeking asylum, he said.

When asked about the PIA flight attendants’ disappearances, Erin Kerbel, spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, said the department couldn’t comment on specific cases due to privacy legislation.

In response to questions about PIA’s claim that discussions are underway about the issue, a spokesperson for the CBSA said it could not confirm any information.

“The Canada Border Services Agency does not provide comment or details on specific individuals, including any discussions that would take place with airline companies, as an individual’s border and immigration information is considered private and protected by the Privacy Act,” Maria Ladouceur said in an email to CTVNews.ca.

Since the crew members’ disappearances, Khan said, the airline has “done numerous things to curtail that.”

For instance, the airline is only staffing Toronto-bound flights with crew members who have “established linkages” in Pakistan, such as children, spouses or parents, as well as those who have worked in the organization for more than 15 years.

The airline avoids sending to Toronto those who are single or don’t have established family ties in Pakistan, he said.

Khan said he and the airline are no longer in contact with the flight attendants because, they discovered, they usually change their phone numbers soon after disappearing in Toronto.

Who disappeared?

The PIA flight attendants who vanished in Canada are seasoned pros in their late 30s or 40s, some of whom have worked for the airline for as long as two decades, Khan said.

“There was never any sign from them that they would seek something like that,” he said. “So that is something that is bothering us in the matter because working with people who have been working with you for a long time and then something happens like this is pretty unexpected.”

In one of the latest cases in February, the crew members were waiting to take the bus back to the airport from the hotel in Toronto and one of the flight attendants didn’t show up, Khan said.

The airline was unable to reach the flight attendant on her cellphone or hotel landline so, Khan says, they asked hotel management to check if she was OK.

“When the crew went there, she left her uniform there with a note saying, ‘Thank you PIA,'” Khan said, which he interpreted as a genuine sentiment of gratitude for her more than 15 years of service with PIA rather than a taunt.

Khan said the crew members who disappeared were “family values people” who had good careers in Pakistan.

Asylum policies

Individuals can make a refugee claim in Canada at a port of entry upon arrival or online if they are already in Canada, according to the Canadian government’s website.

Canadian immigration or border officials will determine if the person is eligible for a hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board. All claimants must undergo health and security screenings, the government says.

If eligible to make a claim in Canada, refugee claimants can access social assistance, education, health services, emergency housing and legal aid pending a decision on their claim. Most can apply for a work permit after a medical examination.

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Alberta's population surges by record-setting 202,000 people: Here's where they all came from – CBC.ca

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Alberta smashed population-growth records in the past year, mainly due to people moving to the province from across Canada and around the world.

The province’s population surged to just over 4.8 million as of Jan. 1, according to new estimates released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

That’s an increase of 202,324 residents compared with a year earlier, which marks — by far — the largest annual increase on record.

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Alberta also broke a national record in 2023 for interprovincial migration, with a net gain of 55,107 people.

“This was the largest gain in interprovincial migration nationally since comparable data became available in 1972,” Statistics Canada said in a release.


Most of the interprovincial migrants came from Ontario and British Columbia.

Statistics Canada estimates that 38,236 Ontarians moved to Alberta last year, versus 14,860 Albertans who moved to Ontario, for a net gain of 23,376 people.

Similarly, an estimated 37,650 British Columbians moved to Alberta, compared to 22,400 Albertans who moved to B.C., for a net gain of 15,250.


All told, interprovincial migration accounted for 27 per cent of Alberta’s population growth over the past year.

That put it just ahead of permanent immigration, which accounted for 26 per cent, and well ahead of natural population increase (more births than deaths), which accounted for eight per cent.

The largest component, however, was temporary international migration.

Non-permanent residents from other countries accounted for 39 per cent of the province’s population growth in the past year, reflecting a national trend.


Canada’s population reached 40,769,890 on Jan. 1, according to Statistics Canada estimates, which is up 3.2 per cent from a year ago.

“Most of Canada’s 3.2-per-cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration in 2023,” Statistics Canada noted.

“Without temporary immigration, that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths), Canada’s population growth would have been almost three times less (1.2 per cent).”

Alberta’s population, meanwhile, grew by 4.4 per cent year-over-year.

Alberta now represents 11.8 per cent of the country’s population, its largest proportion on record. 

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