Ontario moved into the next step of its reopening plan on Wednesday, just hours before health officials reported the lowest single-day case number the province has seen since Sept. 10.
The province on Wednesday reported 14 additional deaths and 184 new cases of COVID-19.
The update came a day after the province’s top doctor said he’d prefer to wait a full 21 days before rolling back restrictions further.
“The two- to three-week cycle is very important to maintain so that we do the opening of Ontario in a stepwise manner, always going forward and not having to take a step back,” Dr. Kieran Moore said on Tuesday.
Moore made the comments at his first pandemic briefing since he officially took over as Ontario’s chief medical officer of health.
Ontario has surpassed COVID-19 vaccination targets for entering the second step of its reopening plan, which will allow more outdoor activities and more indoor services like haircuts to resume on Wednesday.
More than 77 per cent of people had at least one vaccine dose as of Tuesday morning and 37 per cent were fully vaccinated.
The province set 21 days between each step of its economic reopening to observe public health trends and allow vaccines to take full effect. It moved up the second step of the plan by a few days based on vaccination rates and other positive COVID-19 trends.
Ontario has also passed the goal set for entering the third step of the reopening plan, which would further expand capacity for indoor gatherings.
But Moore, like his predecessor Dr. David Williams, maintained on Tuesday that vaccination isn’t the only metric. He advised proceeding with caution with the more infectious delta variant spreading.
Waterloo Region not moving to Step 2
People with one vaccine dose are less protected against that variant and it’s contributed to local infection spikes in Grey Bruce and Waterloo Region. Waterloo won’t reopen with the rest of the province on Wednesday as it manages the rise in infections.
Moore said he’s watching the variant’s impact locally and internationally and that reopening must be done cautiously to avoid losing progress made in the fight against the virus so far.
“It is a difficult adversary. It’s aggressive. It wants to spread rapidly,” he said of the variant.
“We need to be prudent and we need that 21 days to be able to understand the impact of opening on our communities.”
-From The Canadian Press and CBC News last updated at 10:20 a.m. ET
What’s happening across Canada
WATCH | Masks still matter due to more transmissible delta variant, expert says:
Masks are our ‘last line of defence’ against the highly transmissible COVID-19 delta variant as Canada opens up, says respirologist Dr. Samir Gupta. (Ben Nelms/CBC) 1:39
As of 12:15 p.m. ET, Canada had reported 1,415,060 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 7,260 considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 26,291. More than 37.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far across the country, according to CBC’s vaccine tracker.
In Quebec on Wednesday, health officials reported 126 new cases of COVID-19 and three additional deaths.
Newfoundland and Labrador, meanwhile, reported one new case of COVID-19 on Wednesday, a day before the province begins welcoming more travellers from Canada.
The updates in New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador came as Nova Scotia moved into Phase 3 of its reopening plan, which includes further opening to travellers seeking to come into the province from outside Atlantic Canada.
Across the North, there were no new cases reported in Nunavut on Wednesday. Health officials in the Northwest Territories and Yukon had not reported figures for the day.
However, Yukon’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Brendan Hanley said in a statement Tuesday that the territory is in a “new phase of the pandemic” as officials reported another 10 COVID-19 cases and one additional death.
In the Prairie provinces, Manitoba on Tuesday reported no new deaths and 61 new cases of COVID-19. Saskatchewan, meanwhile, reported two additional deaths and 52 additional cases of COVID-19.
WATCH | Laina Tuckanow lost her mother and grandmother to COVID-19 and says for her, life will never be normal again:
While many Canadians are celebrating a return to normal, for many the pain is still too raw. Laina Tuckanow lost her mother and grandmother to COVID-19 and says for her, life will never be normal again. 2:44
“Across the board, our numbers are moving in the right direction,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Tuesday, ahead of a broader reopening later this week.
“Cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and our positivity rate are the lowest they’ve been since last summer, early fall.”
British Columbia will move to Step 3 of its pandemic reopening plan on Thursday, lifting the provincial mask mandate and government state of emergency declaration. The news came as B.C. reported 29 new cases and no new deaths on Tuesday.
-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 12:15 p.m. ET
What’s happening around the world
People crowd the Shimulia ferry terminal to leave the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, ahead of a lockdown set to start on July 1. (Mahmud Hossain Opu/The Associated Press)
As of early Wednesday morning, more than 181.8 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported around the world, according to data published by Johns Hopkins University in the United States. The reported global death toll stood at more than 3.9 million.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Australian officials extended lockdown and physical distancing measures to more of the country on Wednesday, with four major cities already under a hard lockdown in a race to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious delta coronavirus variant.
Bangladesh is deploying army troops from Thursday to enforce a strict lockdown amid a record spike in coronavirus cases driven by the delta variant first detected in India, the government said on Wednesday.
“No one will be allowed go out except in case of an emergency during this period,” the government said in a statement, warning that army troops alongside law-enforcement agencies would be deployed to enforce the lockdown.
In the Americas, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says the CDC is leaving it up to local officials to set guidelines for mask-wearing as the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus surges in areas with low vaccination rates.
Walensky said Wednesday on NBC’s Today show that “we’ve always said that local policymakers need to make policies for their local environment,” but added CDC guidelines broadly indicate those who are vaccinated don’t need to wear masks.
Health officials in Los Angeles County are recommending people wear masks indoors in public places regardless of their vaccination status. Separately, the World Health Organization has reiterated its longstanding recommendation that everyone wear masks to lessen the spread of the coronavirus.
In Africa, the Tunisian government on Tuesday extended the hours of night curfew in an effort to stop the rapid spread of COVID-19, as the North African country reached a daily record of cases since the start of the pandemic last year.
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday imposed a dusk to dawn curfew, banned inter-city travel and cut business hours with immediate effect in response to increasing coronavirus infections.
Roofing Rolling Mills workers refill oxygen tanks to be distributed to various hospitals in Uganda, free of charge, at their factory in Namanve, Wakiso, Uganda, on Tuesday. The factory refills 350-400 oxygen tanks daily, following a surge in COVID-19 cases within the country and lack of oxygen at different hospitals. (Badru Katamba/AFP/Getty Images)
In Europe, Greece will allow people fully vaccinated against the coronavirus inside restaurants without masks, the government said, as part of measures to boost inoculation rates.
Russia will fail to vaccinate 60 per cent of its population by the autumn as planned due to sluggish demand for the shots, the Kremlin said, after the country recorded its highest number of daily deaths from the virus.
In the Middle East, Oman said it was expanding its vaccination drive to anyone over the age of 18, as it accelerates what has been the slowest rollout in the Gulf.
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
