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COVID: Canada's new border measures take effect – CTV News

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Certain travellers will now have an easier time entering Canada as the country relaxes more of the border measures initially put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.

In effect as of at 1 a.m. EDT on April 25, the changes pertain to those who are fully vaccinated, as well as children regardless of their vaccination status. International travellers will also notice updated requirements on providing a quarantine plan following their arrival in Canada.

Below is everything travellers need to know about Canada’s updated border restrictions.

WHO IS IMPACTED AND HOW?

Children aged five to 11 who are travelling with a fully vaccinated parent or guardian will no longer be required to complete a COVID-19 test prior to entering Canada, regardless of whether the child is unvaccinated. This is according to an announcement made by the Public Health Agency of Canada on April 22.

Children under the age of five won’t be required to complete a pre-entry COVID-19 test either, and are exempt for vaccination requirements. Travellers aged 12 and older who are either partially vaccinated or unvaccinated will still need to perform a COVID-19 test prior to entering Canada by land, air or water.

WILL YOU NEED TO QUARANTINE OR WEAR MASKS AFTER TRAVELLING?

As a result of the changes, certain travellers are no longer required to prepare a plan to quarantine for 14 days after arriving in Canada. This applies to travellers aged 12 and older who are fully vaccinated, as well as children aged five to 11 who are travelling with a parent or guardian who is fully vaccinated.

Those with a valid medical contraindication to COVID-19 vaccines won’t be required to provide a quarantine plan when entering Canada either. Additionally, if a traveller starts to show symptoms of COVID-19 or tests positive after arriving in Canada, those travelling in the same group will not be required to quarantine, according to the new measures.

The federal government has also dropped its requirement for those entering the country to monitor for and report any COVID-19 symptoms they experience. Those travelling from abroad also won’t be required to keep a list of close contacts and places visited for the first 14 days after their arrival in Canada.

Canadian adults and children aged five and older who are fully vaccinated are no longer expected to wear a mask in public spaces for 14 days following their arrival in Canada. However, children aged five to 11 who are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated must continue to wear masks in public settings, such as school, for 14 days after entering Canada.

All travellers are also still required to wear a mask while travelling on federally-regulated modes of transportation, such as a plane or train, regardless of whether they are vaccinated.

WHAT MEASURES ARE STILL IN EFFECT?

Vaccine and mask mandates for anyone travelling by plane, train or cruise ship to Canada remain in effect, federal public health officials have said.

“Right now, of course within the Canadian context, Omicron BA.2 is going strong… I think it’s one of the least intrusive measures but adds definitely another layer of protection,” Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said when discussing the mask mandate on April 22.

Those looking to enter Canada who are not fully vaccinated are still required to perform a COVID-19 molecular test once they arrive, and on the eighth day of their 14-day quarantine. Fully vaccinated travellers arriving in Canada will also continue to be subject to random testing, but are no longer required to quarantine while waiting for results if they are selected. The government’s mandatory random testing program is in effect in four major international airports across Canada, located in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.

All travellers are also still expected to use the ArriveCAN app or webpage to submit necessary travel information, including their proof of vaccination. These details must be provided within 72 hours before arriving in Canada. Any travellers who fail to comply could be fined $5,000.

With files from CTV’s Rachel Aiello and The Canadian Press.

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

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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 Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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