Federal officials say they’re pushing manufacturers to accelerate shipments of more COVID-19 vaccine doses as calls grow to lock down more parts of the country for the holidays.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada is running ahead of schedule in its vaccine rollout, which is set to ramp up next month with scheduled deliveries of 125,000 Pfizer-BioNTech doses per week, for a total of 500,000 doses in January.
Trudeau told reporters that 200,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will arrive next week. And pending Health Canada approval, he said 168,000 doses of Moderna’s vaccine candidate will be shipped by the end of the year.
The federal government is also investing about $9 million through the National Research Council of Canada to support the development of treatments for COVID-19 and other viral infections, Trudeau said. The funding will go to four Canadian companies working on therapies, including two in Montreal and two in Vancouver.
But even as Canada’s immunization campaign steams ahead, Trudeau warned that vaccines won’t reach the broader population fast enough for a Christmas miracle, urging Canadians to limit the size of their holiday celebrations.
“As much as many of us want to see our loved ones this Christmas … we also want to be able to see them and give them big hugs next Christmas.”
Procurement Minister Anita Anand said Friday that Canada is on track to receive 255,000 doses from Pfizer-BioNTech in December, up from an expected 249,000 doses.
“In the last two weeks, Canada has aggressively pursued, negotiated, received and administered early doses of the very first COVID 19 vaccine in this country,” Anand told a news conference.
“We are in constant contact with our suppliers, and these increased numbers reflect our negotiations.”
Massachusetts-based biotech firm Moderna also revealed that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which is expected to soon be authorized in Canada and the U.S., can now be shipped without it needing to be frozen.
The development looks to ease the logistics of getting the vaccine to remote locations, a Moderna spokeswoman said.
Previously, it was believed the vaccine had to remain frozen to at least -20 C until shortly before use, but the company said it can now safely transport liquid doses as refrigerated at between 2 C and 8 C.
But Anand noted that the new requirements don’t apply to vaccine storage, saying the government is still working to procure freezers to store them once they arrive at their destination, when Health Canada gives the regulatory all-clear.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, also said Friday that health-care workers should check Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine vials for extra doses before throwing them out.
Tam said the manufacturer has confirmed that some vials contain more than the five doses of 0.3 ml indicated on the label.
She said this excess provides a “buffer zone” to account for potential losses that can occur during storage, preparation and injection of the vaccine.
“I haven’t got on-the-ground information as to whether someone is able to get six versus five doses,” she said. “But the bottom line is don’t throw it away after five doses … check to see if there’s another dose.”
Tam said Canada’s COVID-19 caseload continues to rise, with an average of more than 6,650 infections reported daily over the past seven days.
The number of people experiencing severe illness is also on the rise, she said, with an average of 4,000 patients being treated in hospital over the past week, including 650 in critical care and 115 deaths reported each day.
Tam said the rapid spread of the virus continues apace in many parts of the country, and she worries the holiday season will only accelerate that trajectory.
“I believe that in many areas of the country, stricter measures should be put in place as soon as possible,” she said.
Ontario is set to reveal new measures Monday as the province extended its lockdowns in two COVID-19 hotspots.
Premier Doug Ford said Friday that restrictions set to expire next week in Toronto and Peel Region will remain in place, and his government will contemplate new measures during emergency talks on COVID-19 this weekend.
Ontario reported 2,290 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 40 new deaths due to the virus.
– with files from Mia Rabson
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 18, 2020.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
