As Canadians embark on a new year — the third in a row to be marked by the designation of a global pandemic — many find themselves asking a familiar question: “When will COVID-19 end?”
In December, optimism for a “normal” holiday season was once again overshadowed by a sudden resurgence of cases fuelled by the Omicron variant, forcing several provinces to implement stricter public health restrictions and prompting record case counts not yet seen during the pandemic.
But, despite the looming threat of Omicron, Canada’s top doctor says she remains hopeful going into the new year—one she hopes will allow us to live more comfortably with the virus that has long disrupted life as we know it.
“It’s true that nobody can really have a crystal ball, but I think it’s just a reminder that we’re not in the same place as we were last year,” Dr. Theresa Tam told CTV National News during a year-end interview.
“So much has happened [over the last] 12 months to put us, I think, and I’m still a much better spot than we were a year ago.”
Canada has come a long way in its pandemic response over the last 12 months.
This time last year, we had just started to vaccinate high-risk individuals against COVID-19. Today, Canada boasts one of the highest vaccination rates in the world with more than 82 per cent of the population vaccinated with at least one dose.
With the emergence of new variants like Delta and Omicron, we also learned a lot more about how the virus works, leading to the development of better treatment and diagnostic tools and an evolving understanding of important public health measures such as masking.
And although Tam admits she cannot offer Canadians a clear view of when the pandemic will end, she says these developments will help better manage future waves of the virus without as much disruption.
“Every pandemic comes to an end throughout history. So, at some point, the virus activity will become more predictable,” Tam said.
“I think that in the coming months we might begin to see a little bit more predictability and also be able to protect our high-risk populations so that we can learn to live with this virus more… but I still think that in the next year, we still have to be vigilant and be able to adapt and be flexible as needed.”
THE EVOLVING SCIENCE OF VACCINES: ARE BOOSTERS HERE TO STAY?
Omicron’s spread has also sparked a massive booster shot campaign, with thousands of Canadians lining up to get their third jab, bringing up questions like, “What does it mean to be fully vaccinated?” and, “Will I need multiple booster shots to protect myself?”
In December, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization strongly recommended that booster shots be administered to Canadians aged 50 and older and those in high-risk groups to strengthen the body’s immune response against COVID-19.
But the science surrounding vaccines, Tam says, is evolving as rapidly as the virus itself.
“After one dose, we knew we had to have a second dose, and we had a stretch interval in Canada for that second dose, so we didn’t know the duration of protection of that second dose, as well as what happens when the virus evolves,” she explained.
“Now we’ve learned a little bit more, and that boosters are needed because antibody levels can wane over time. But the good news, I think, in the emerging science is that two doses likely protect you against severe outcomes and that’s almost the most important marker that we should be looking for.”
Tam notes that boosters will also wane over time, but the hope is that it recharges your immune system to further protect against severe outcomes, taking pressure off of the health-care system.
“There’s a possibility that we would need some sort of vaccination on an ongoing basis, but maybe not everyone will need it. Maybe not every year. The timing of those are still unknown,” she added.
When it comes to the availability of booster shots—a factor handled individually by the provinces—Tam urged Canadians to be patient when facing long line-ups or booking delays.
“This is what I would call an ultramarathon—it’s not even a marathon anymore. The whole system is taxed… but people are still trying their hardest to provide vaccines and other supports for the population,” she said.
“Vaccinators are not that easy to come by either. They’re tired. And so, I think if people can line up in an orderly fashion, we’ll get everybody boosted in a relatively short period of time.”
At the same time, World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus recently warned that “we will not boost our way out of this pandemic,” saying it is of the utmost importance that we get first and second doses to those who have not yet had them.
Throughout the pandemic, Canada has provided vaccines and financial support to other countries through global efforts like the COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative, which pools funds from wealthier countries to buy vaccines for low and middle-income countries.
So far, Canada has donated more than 9.2 million surplus vaccine doses through COVAX and over 762,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean through direct bilateral agreements. Still, there are calls to do more as Canada’s vaccine reserve fills up.
When asked about Canada’s efforts to provide vaccines to other countries, Tam agreed that every developed country should be providing vaccines to low income countries, but maintained that boosters are important for Canadians, especially those in higher risk groups.
“I think it Canada is taking a very reasonable approach. And we’ve we kind of have to do both… even though we’re in a developed country, it’s in a very fragile state and we got to do all that we can to minimize the severe outcomes and protect our tired and stressed healthcare system,” Tam said.
WHAT ABOUT RAPID TESTS?
Also in short supply are rapid antigen tests (RATs), a tool many provinces have pivoted towards amid the Omicron surge as provincial testing centres hit capacity.
The fast-acting tests that provide results in as little as 15 minutes have become highly sought after amid the Omicron surge as Canadians try to navigate the holiday season safely. In provinces like Ontario and Alberta, rapid testing kits were made free to each household, but supplies quickly ran out sparking outrage about supply.
But Tam says while there is a definite use-case for rapid tests, they are not an infinite resource or a fix-all.
“I think we’re all learning how to use these tests wisely. Some of the most important [reasons] to do a rapid test is to keep schools and essential workplaces functioning and targeting them to protect the high-risk health-care workers, the long-term care [workers] and the visitors to those places are really vital,” she said.
“I think it is difficult when people can’t find a test before they socialize. But we do have to really retain those rapid tests for those who need them the most.”
Tam also notes that rapid tests are only considered an added layer of protection against infection, not a guarantee.
“If you get a negative rapid test just remember this is more like a yellow light, it doesn’t mean that you’re free of the virus, particularly something that spreads as quickly as the Omicron virus. You have to test very frequently in order to be able to detect if you have been infected in between the tests,” she explained.
Despite some provinces doling out free rapid test kits to families over the holidays, Tam says she isn’t sure that providing rapid tests to every Canadian household, like they do in the U.K., would be the best use of supplies.
“If you look at the United Kingdom, they use more rapid tests, but that hasn’t necessarily reduced the health impacts. In Canada, we’ve actually done better overall in terms of our severe outcomes and number of deaths,” she said.
“So even though the U.K. deployed a lot of rapid tests, it has not meant that the impact of COVID is any less on them. So again, we have to use these tests as an additional layer but as a means to just cast off the other layers of protection.”
Despite the sharp rise in cases, Tam says the Omicron variant is teaching us yet another important lesson about how COVID-19 may evolve, noting “there are definitely more positive things awaiting us ahead.”
“We have to remain optimistic. Nobody wants this pandemic that keeps carrying on, everyone is tired, but you know, we can’t do anything except for maintain that hope.”
MONTREAL – The employers association at the Port of Montreal has issued the dockworkers’ union a “final, comprehensive offer,” threatening to lock out workers at 9 p.m. Sunday if a deal isn’t reached.
The Maritime Employers Association says its new offer includes a three per cent salary increase per year for four years and a 3.5 per cent increase for the two subsequent years. It says the offer would bring the total average compensation package of a longshore worker at the Port of Montreal to more than $200,000 per year at the end of the contract.
“The MEA agrees to this significant compensation increase in view of the availability required from its employees,” it wrote Thursday evening in a news release.
The association added that it is asking longshore workers to provide at least one hour’s notice when they will be absent from a shift — instead of one minute — to help reduce management issues “which have a major effect on daily operations.”
Syndicat des débardeurs du port de Montréal, which represents nearly 1,200 longshore workers, launched a partial unlimited strike on Oct. 31, which has paralyzed two terminals that represent 40 per cent of the port’s total container handling capacity.
A complete strike on overtime, affecting the whole port, began on Oct. 10.
The union has said it will accept the same increases that were granted to its counterparts in Halifax or Vancouver — 20 per cent over four years. It is also concerned with scheduling and work-life balance. Workers have been without a collective agreement since Dec. 31, 2023.
Only essential services and activities unrelated to longshoring will continue at the port after 9 p.m. Sunday in the event of a lockout, the employer said.
The ongoing dispute has had major impacts at Canada’s second-biggest port, which moves some $400 million in goods every day.
On Thursday, Montreal port authority CEO Julie Gascon reiterated her call for federal intervention to end the dispute, which has left all container handling capacity at international terminals at “a standstill.”
“I believe that the best agreements are negotiated at the table,” she said in a news release. “But let’s face it, there are no negotiations, and the government must act by offering both sides a path to true industrial peace.”
Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon issued a statement Thursday, prior to the lockout notice, in which he criticized the slow pace of talks at the ports in Montreal and British Columbia, where more than 700 unionized port workers have been locked out since Nov. 4.
“Both sets of talks are progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved,” he wrote on the X social media platform.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Employers and the union representing supervisors embroiled in a labour dispute that triggered a lockout at British Columbia’s ports will attempt to reach a deal when talks restart this weekend.
A spokesman from the office of federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon has confirmed the minister spoke with leaders at both the BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514, but did not invoke any section of the Canadian Labour Code that would force them back to talks.
A statement from the ministry says MacKinnon instead “asked them to return to the negotiation table,” and talks are now scheduled to start on Saturday with the help of federal mediators.
A meeting notice obtained by The Canadian Press shows talks beginning in Vancouver at 5 p.m. and extendable into Sunday and Monday, if necessary.
The lockout at B.C. ports by employers began on Monday after what their association describes as “strike activity” from the union. The result was a paralysis of container cargo traffic at terminals across Canada’s west coast.
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint against the employers for allegedly bargaining in bad faith, a charge that employers call a “meritless claim.”
The two sides have been without a deal since March 2023, and the employers say its final offer presented last week in the last round of talks remains on the table.
The proposed agreement includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term along with an average lump sum payment of $21,000 per qualified worker.
The union has said one of its key concerns is the advent of port automation in cargo operations, and workers want assurances on staffing levels regardless of what technology is being used at the port.
The disruption is happening while two container terminals are shut down in Montreal in a separate labour dispute.
It leaves container cargo traffic disrupted at Canada’s two biggest ports, Vancouver and Montreal, both operating as major Canadian trade gateways on the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
This is one of several work disruptions at the Port of Vancouver, where a 13-day strike stopped cargo last year, while labour strife in the rail and grain-handling sectors led to further disruptions earlier this year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
