What a difference a few months make. Over the summer, Canadians were riding high on the notion they had flattened the curve. In comparison, COVID-19 infections in the neighbouring United States had spiked to new highs.
Then the fall arrived, and coronavirus case numbers in Canada started to surge.
In response, the European Union removed Canadians from its list of approved travellers on Thursday. Also, U.S. President Donald Trump made a point of noting Canada’s COVID-19 “flare-ups” in a recent speech.
Now, Canada must face an uncomfortable fact: while we’re still faring better than many countries, we’ve lost our coveted image as a nation widely recognized as having flattened the curve.
The turn of events is a reminder that the stealth coronavirus can rebound at any moment, and no country can rest on its laurels in its battle with COVID-19.
WATCH | Trump takes note of Canada’s COVID-19 problems:
During his first public event since he was diagnosed with COVID-19, U.S. President Donald Trump said Canada and other countries are experiencing ‘flare-ups’ of the virus. 0:22
“Just because we got through the first wave didn’t mean that we were prepared for what was to come,” said Ashleigh Tuite, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto.
“I think we got a little bit smug in terms of comparing ourselves to the United States.… I think maybe it adds a sense of complacency.”
EU change of heart not surprising, expert says
Back in June, Canada got a big vote of confidence when European countries began reopening their borders. The EU placed Canada on a list of just 14 countries whose citizens EU officials recommended should be welcome in the 27-nation bloc.
The U.S. didn’t make the cut.
Based on the EU’s recommendation, many member countries flung open their doors to Canadian travellers — with no restrictions.
But that may now change as the EU has officially removed Canada from its approved travel list. The EU said it based its revised list on a number of factors, including COVID-19 case counts and containment efforts.
Global health specialist Steven Hoffman said the EU’s change of heart isn’t surprising because Canada has entered the second wave of the virus.
Over the past month, COVID-19 infections in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta have soared to record highs.
“Our numbers are getting worse and so it makes sense that countries are reacting,” said Hoffman, a professor of global health, law and political science at Toronto’s York University.
What happened?
Health experts have offered up a myriad of reasons why Canada’s COVID-19 case numbers have climbed since the summer. First, there was the inevitable rise in cases as provinces eased lockdown restrictions in the spring and summer.
Also, some provinces struggled to keep up contact tracing and testing as COVID-19 cases began to mount.
“The testing, the tracing just wasn’t up to the job in terms of handling these larger numbers of people,” said Tuite. “As a result, the whole system got bogged down.”
But Hoffman said that Canadians shouldn’t get too distraught over the EU decision because Canada is still faring better than Europe.
“In Europe, we’re seeing quite the acceleration to the point where it’s quite scary,” said Hoffman. He added that Europe currently isn’t a good travel destination.
“If Canadians want to be protected from this pandemic … I would recommend they stay right where they are in Canada.”
Trump highlighted Canada’s problems in a speech earlier this month.
“All over the world, you see big flare-ups,” he told a crowd of supporters. “Big flare-ups in Canada, very big flare-up.”
This is in sharp contrast to the summer when Canadian COVID-19 case numbers remained low while U.S. infections spiralled out of control. The jarring difference inspired many Canadians to chastise the U.S. on social media for not being able to control the virus. Some even suggested that Canada build a wall.
But times have changed. The U.S. infection rate is still far above Canada’s rate, but some provinces are now rivalling U.S. states once considered hot spots.
According to New York Times data on Thursday, Quebec’s COVID-19 infection rate over the past seven days is nearing Florida’s rate and has surpassed the rate in Arizona and California. Manitoba’s rate is hovering close to that of California’s.
But Hoffman said Canada can still lay claim to the country where both Canadians and Americans would rather be — when it comes to batting the virus.
“I think every American wishes they were living in Canada right now, because our numbers and our ability to contain this outbreak is far better than what we’ve seen from the United States.”
He also suggested that Canada’s slipping COVID-19 status doesn’t constitute a crisis, but instead it’s a wake-up call to ramp up our efforts.
“This represents a warning for why we need to take this pandemic seriously,” said Hoffman. “We are maybe at this turning point for whether the second wave of this outbreak will be like the first one, or will it be a lot worse?”
Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.
“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.
“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.
Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.
Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.
Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.
The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.
As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”
“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.
The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.
Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.
The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.
“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”
Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.
“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.
“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.
“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
