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Gyms closed, no in-person dining as tough restrictions come into effect in Halifax area – CTV News Atlantic

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HALIFAX —
Starting Thursday, most Halifax and Hants County residents won’t be able to dine at their favourite restaurant or work out at the gym, and they could see lineups at their local grocery store.

At 12:01 a.m., the Nova Scotia government implemented sweeping measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  

The measures will see the end of in-person dining at restaurants, while public libraries, museums, gyms, yoga studios and casinos will close in parts of Halifax and Hants County.

On Thursday, the province reported 114 active cases of the novel coronavirus, with most cases confirmed among people between the ages of 18 and 35 in the Central Zone.

After months of low case numbers, Nova Scotia has seen a spike in cases this month, with 148 cases of COVID-19 recorded since Nov. 1. 

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang recently confirmed there is community spread in the Halifax area, and Nova Scotia Health has issued a number of advisories this month, warning of potential exposures at dozens of locations in the region — mostly restaurants and some gyms.

As a result, the province has introduced the tough restrictions in an attempt to curb the rise in COVID-19 infections.

“New restrictions have come into effect today in much of Halifax Regional Municipality and parts of Hants County to help us to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Premier Stephen McNeil in a news release.

“Please make yourself familiar with the new restrictions. We all have a responsibility to follow public health measures and keep each other safe.”

Patrick Sullivan, CEO of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, believes the province has struck a good balance with the latest lockdown.

“I think we’re definitely concerned some businesses may not be able to survive a second lockdown,” said Sullivan. “However, if we can get through this quickly, if everyone jumps on board and we have the massive testing that we seem to be having now, and if people slow down their social activities, hopefully we can get out of this relatively unscathed.”

HOW WILL THE RESTRICTIONS AFFECT ME?

As of 12:01 a.m. Thursday, the following measures will apply for two weeks in the western and central Halifax areas, which the province defines as HRM from Hubbards to, and including, Porters Lake and communities up to Elmsdale and Mount Uniacke in Hants County:

  • The gathering limit in public is five, or up to the number of members of an immediate family in a household.
  • Face masks must be worn in common areas of multi-unit residential buildings, such as apartment buildings and condos.
  • Restaurants and licensed establishments are closed for in-person dining. They may still provide takeout and delivery.
  • Retail stores must restrict shoppers and staff to 25 per cent or less of allowable capacity.
  • Wineries, breweries and distilleries cannot hold tastings or in-person dining and must follow retail rules in their stores. Delivery and curbside pickup are allowed.
  • Organized sports, recreational, athletic, arts and cultural activities and faith-based activities are paused.
  • Profit and non-profit fitness and recreational facilities are closed.
  • Libraries and museums are closed. This includes the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
  • The casino and First Nations gaming establishments are closed.
  • Stronger enforcement of illegal gatherings. Each person who attends an illegal gathering could be fined $1,000.

The restrictions will continue for two weeks until midnight Dec. 9, but they could be extended.

Staff, volunteers and designated caregivers at long-term care facilities in HRM will undergo voluntary, bi-weekly testing, starting Friday.

Schools, after-school programs and childcare will remain open. Certain personal service businesses, such as hairstylists, estheticians and nail salons, in western and central HRM can continue, except for procedures that cannot be done while a patron is wearing a mask.

NEW RESTRICTIONS ACROSS NOVA SCOTIA

As of 12:01 a.m. Thursday, the following new restrictions apply across Nova Scotia, in all zones:

  • No visitors, except for volunteers and designated caregivers, will be allowed in long-term care facilities, adult residential centres and regional rehabilitation centres licensed by the Department of Community Services.
  • Sports teams are restricted to local or regional play only.

NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL

Nova Scotians are being urged to avoid non-essential travel in and out of the western and central Halifax Regional Municipality.

They are also being asked to avoid travelling to other Atlantic provinces for non-essential reasons.

PROVINCE OFFERS GRANT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT BUSINESSES

The province is offering a one-time grant of up to $5,000 to support businesses in HRM and Hants County that have been ordered to close under the new restrictions.

The grant will support small, independently owned dine-in restaurants, bars, and fitness and leisure establishments affected by the new measures.

“I don’t think it’s going to be the solution that’s going to have people feeling easy, but it will certainly cover some of their overhead during these next couple weeks,” said Nova Scotia Business Minister Geoff MacLellan.

Businesses must be in operation as of March 15, 2020 and have total annual sales of between $25,000 and $300,000

Eligible businesses will receive a one-time grant of 15 per cent of their average monthly gross revenues for April 2019, or from February 2020 if it is a new business, up to a maximum of $5,000.

Businesses must experience a revenue decrease of 30 per cent or more in November as a result of the public health order or expect at least a 30 per cent decrease in revenues in December 2020 resulting from the new measures put in place this week. 

The grant can be used for any operational expense such as wages, supplies and other costs.

This program is funded through the Nova Scotia COVID-19 Response Council with the program funds of $50 million announced in March. 

The application process will open in the coming weeks.

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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.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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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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