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Filipino workers at meatpacking plant tied to Canada's biggest COVID-19 outbreak feel unfairly blamed – CBC.ca

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Arwyn Sallegue, an employee of Cargill’s meat-packing plant in High River, Alta. — where 558 workers have confirmed cases of COVID-19 — said he’s noticed an upsetting trend online.

Cases connected to the Cargill meat plant outbreak have increased dramatically over the past two weeks. As of Friday, there were 558 cases in workers from the plant, with 798 total cases linked to the coronavirus outbreak. It’s the largest outbreak linked to a single site in Canada.

“I see a bunch of [comments] blaming us [for the outbreak], because they said it’s in the households,” he said.

“We cannot blame anybody. Everyone’s a victim. Nobody wants to become sick and ill.” 

Sallegue, who is a permanent resident of Canada, tested positive for COVID-19 on April 23 and has been in self-isolation. The same day, his father, Armando Sallegue, visiting Canada from the Philippines, also developed symptoms. He, too, was confirmed to have the virus.

“He’s only a visitor here, and he doesn’t have any health-care coverage,” Sallegue said. “He was hardly breathing. He went to the ICU.”

Arwyn Salleague’s father, Armando Sallegue, who is visiting Canada from the Philippines, is in an intensive care unit after testing positive for COVID-19. (Arwyn Sallegue)

Elma Ton, whose husband works at Cargill, said she also has been disappointed to see comments online, specifically those that disparage multiple Filipino families living under one roof.

“I feel bad. Because instead of helping [the Filipino community], supporting them, understanding them, they’re still making fun of us,” Ton said.

“Filipinos are known to have strong family ties. So as much as possible, we love to live together.”

Lisa Degenstein, who works for the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society in High River, said she had heard of similar comments targeting the Filipino community over the past number of days.

“There’s something a little disturbing happening, a bit of community backlash happening. People say, ‘Hey, don’t you work at Cargill?'” she said. “And isn’t it a lot easier to look at someone who isn’t white and start making assumptions.”

Feeling blamed

One employee at the Cargill plant, a woman of Vietnamese background in her sixties, has died. 

Employees at the facility have accused the company of ignoring physical-distancing protocols — citing “elbow-to-elbow” working conditions — and of trying to lure them back to work from self-isolation. 

A separate outbreak at the JBS meat processing plant in Brooks now has seen 156 cases in workers from the plant, with two deaths — a worker and an individual linked to the outbreak. That plant remains open, operating at one shift per day.

A big chunk of the workforce at the Cargill facility are Filipino, some of whom are temporary foreign workers (TFWs) and others who are permanent residents. Employees interviewed estimated 60 to 80 per cent of the workforce is Filipino.

Cesar Cala with the Philippines Emergency Response Taskforce — a network of volunteers that seeks to support crises in the Filipino community — said many in the community are afraid to speak out about their experiences, especially TFWs whose stay in Canada is linked to their employment at these facilities.

Cesar Cala, a volunteer with the Philippines Emergency Response Taskforce, said many Filipinos feel like they’re being singled out and blamed for the crisis at Cargill. (Cesar Cala)

But this has posed a challenge, as Cala said many in the community feel as though their concerns were not taken seriously.

“Many Filipino workers and residents sent a letter to the company asking that the plant be closed so that safety measures could be put in place, but no actions were taken,” Cala said. 

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That letter was signed by more than 250 Filipino residents and sent April 12 — a day before 38 cases were confirmed by the union — calling for the plant to be closed for two weeks.

The plant remained open for the rest of the week, and 358 cases were confirmed five days later.

‘Several pieces of this puzzle’

On April 18, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Devin Dreeshen, along with Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, and other health officials, participated in a telephone town hall with Cargill workers. Dreeshen said he was confident the plant was safe.

Two days later, Cargill announced it would shut down the facility temporarily after it was announced that a worker had died.

“The situation got worse, and what [the Filipino community is] hearing from officials is that they are the ones spreading the virus,” Cala said.

Hinshaw has said that many cases at the Cargill facility were likely exposed to COVID-19 weeks ago, and many factors have been identified that contributed to the spread. 

Employees continued to carpool to work after safety measures were introduced at the plant, Hinshaw said, and some employees of continuing care centres with outbreaks also lived in large households with Cargill workers.

Many family members living in those households also don’t have enough space to self isolate, she said.

“There seems to be several pieces of this puzzle, and the challenge has been to put all of those pieces together,” Hinshaw said Monday. “I would say that plant shutdown is not a single, only factor in this.”

Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Friday that there is no reason to assume that everyone connected with Cargill is infected with COVID-19. (Art Raham/CBC)

Later in the week, Hinshaw said those affected by the outbreak deserved support, and should not be restricted from accessing businesses like grocery stores or banks.

“There is no reason to assume that everyone connected with that facility is infected,” she said. “The people who are affected by this outbreak are experiencing many difficulties, and they need support and compassion as we work to stop further spread.”

Challenges and frustrations

Cala said the realities of transportation and housing are out of the control of many employees at these facilities. Having sent a letter voicing their concerns before numbers of confirmed cases skyrocketed, Cala said they now feel they have been unfairly blamed.

“That’s why I think it’s important that public leaders need to speak out and say, no, this is our common, collective issue, it’s not an issue of the Filipino community,” Cala said. “No one is covering their backs. It’s more like, ‘Hey, you’re partly to blame for this.’ That’s not very good to hear.”

Cargill is one of the two primary beef suppliers for McDonald’s Canada, and normally processes about 4,500 cattle per day at this time of year. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Daniel Sullivan, a spokesperson with Cargill, said the company was working with health officials and community organizations to provide further support for TFWs and other employees.

“Our workers have been deemed essential – like healthcare workers and first responders – and we are committed to supporting them,” he said in an email to CBC News. “It is important to know that all TFWs are union members with the same wages and benefits as other workers in our facilities.”

Sallegue, still in self-isolation as he awaits news on his father in ICU, said he hopes that foreign workers can receive the support they need.

“Only thing I’m feeling right now is, we need support. We are here to work, to contribute and help,” he said. “I hope you will not blame our community.”

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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