The head of Ontario’s vaccine task force will leave his job in the coming weeks, Premier Doug Ford said Monday.
The news about retired general Rick Hillier comes with Ontario reporting an additional 1,268 COVID-19 cases, and the province’s vaccine booking system launching both by phone and online for those over the age of 80.
During the province’s news conference Monday, Ford said Hillier will only be around “for a couple more weeks,” as his Order in Council is running out.
“I tried to get him to renew it, but as he said, ‘Doug, I did the job I came for, and we got everything set up,'” said Ford, who indicated he agreed with that sentiment.
In a statement issued Monday afternoon, Ford spokesperson Ivana Yelich said Hillier’s contract expires on March 31.
“The general was tasked with overseeing the development of Ontario’s vaccine rollout plan and associated infrastructure,” she said. “The plan and infrastructure are now in place, and the province is administering more and more vaccines each day.”
Thousands of people logged on to Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine booking system within minutes on Monday morning, with many reporting long wait times and error messages.
Toronto nurse Stephanie Prosper told CBC News this morning she was able to get onto the system and fill out the required information by 8:05 a.m. — just five minutes after the government website and an accompanying phone line officially went live.
She had been trying to book vaccine appointments online for her aunt, uncle and their neighbour, who are all seniors living in Niagara.
By then, there were already 10,000 people ahead of her in the queue, with her wait time estimated to be “more than an hour.”
Prosper, who works in a COVID-19 assessment centre, said she is worried about people navigating the site who aren’t tech savvy.
“A lot of the seniors don’t really have computers, some of them don’t have family members to help them,” she told Metro Morning host Ismaila Alfa on Monday morning.
Ford said Monday he was a little nervous when the new system launched, but that thus far he’s happy with what he’s seen, with more than 45,000 people booked.
“I was just praying all night this thing wasn’t going to crash,” Ford said, while promising to “iron out” any issues.
WATCH | Premier addresses problems with vaccination bookings:
Ontario Premier Doug Ford promised to tackle a series of reported delays in the new COVID-19 vaccine booking system after touting its success for booking hundreds of people every hour. 0:48
Reports of error message
Some who used the site shared their successes on social media, while others complained of attempting to book appointments online, only to get an error message informing them that “the form has been tampered with.”
Sue Gowans, a Toronto resident hoping to book an appointment for an elderly relative, said she received the error message.
She then called the phone line for the portal, where she was transferred to the booking system for the Niagara Public Health Unit. After waiting for someone to pick up, she was then told they couldn’t book an appointment for her.
“This has escalated to ridiculous,” Gowans wrote in a message to CBC Toronto.
Website fails with ‘form has been tampered with’ 🙁
In a statement, the Eastern Ontario Health Unit said it has been told by the province that some clinic locations have yet to be entered into the system.
“If someone gets a message saying ‘Form has been tampered with,’ this is a technical problem that the province is working to resolve as quickly as possible,” the statement reads.
Only try to book an appointment if you’re eligible, province warns
Ford said Sunday it’s crucial that only eligible residents make use of the system. For now, that group consists solely of those 80 and older.
While many of Ontario’s 34 public health units have already established their own systems for booking vaccination appointments, the provincial portal will now either enhance or fully replace those setups in many areas.
In addition to allowing vaccine-seekers to book their shots, the portal also provides instructions on how to schedule appointments based on protocols in place in each specific health unit.
The province said people who are eligible to get vaccinated can book online here, while those wishing to schedule by phone can call 1-888-999-6488.
First and second vaccination appointments will be arranged at the same time, the government said, noting people will be asked to provide their provincial health card details, birth date, postal code and email address or phone number.
Ford said the booking system will be open to other age groups in April as part of the next phase of Ontario’s vaccine rollout.
“Everyone will have their chance to get vaccinated, but we’re prioritizing our most vulnerable,” he said.
Vaccines rolling out at quarter of Ontario’s capacity: Ford
The launch of the provincial portal marks the latest step in Ontario’s mass immunization drive, which introduced new elements targeting some 60- to 64-year-olds in recent days.
Both pilot projects will see eligible residents receive shots of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine.
Ontario has the resources to administer 4.8 million vaccines per month, said Ford, but the rollout is running at about a quarter of that capacity because of limited supply. He said the province needs more vaccines.
“The infrastructure is in place, and I can tell you folks we are ready,” he said.
According to the ministry, health units across Ontario administered 33,198 vaccines yesterday. A total of 287,283 people in Ontario have now been given both shots of a vaccine.
9 straight days of more than 1,000 new cases
This is the ninth straight day Ontario has reported more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases. The seven-day average now stands at 1,350.
Monday’s new cases include 366 in Toronto, 220 in Peel Region and 147 in York Region.
The Ontario Hospital Association said in a statement Monday the province is now in the midst of a third wave of the virus, citing data from Ontario’s Science Advisory Table.
Provincial Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said at a press conference Monday that Ontario could be in a “slight undulation,” or a smaller wave, but the province is monitoring the situation.
“You can always tell when you’re in it after it’s over,” he said.
The province also said Monday COVID-19 has been linked to nine additional deaths.
Officials say 699 people are being treated in hospital for COVID-19, an increase of 98 from Sunday.
Of the patients currently in hospital, 298 are in intensive-care units. However, data provided by Critical Care Services Ontario, which provides a more up-to-date look at critical care data, shows there are now 349 people in intensive care.
Other public health units that saw double-digit increases in cases were:
Hamilton: 71
Thunder Bay: 61
Ottawa: 57
Durham Region: 53
Halton Region: 47
Simcoe Muskoka: 33
Sudbury: 33
Niagara: 27
Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District: 19
Waterloo Region: 18
Brant County: 17
Lambton: 14
Eastern Ontario: 13
Windsor-Essex: 10
Labs also confirmed 70 more cases linked to the variant first identified in the United Kingdom, bringing the total thus far to 1,106.
Ontario’s lab network completed 33,875 test samples since the last update and logged a test positivity rate of 3.8 per cent.
Ontario also reported an additional 110 school-related cases on Monday. Of those, 91 were among students, 15 were among staff, and four were reported among individuals not identified by the province.
EDMONTON – The legendary k.d. lang got the band back together at the Canadian Country Music Association awards show.
Lang teamed up with the Reclines for the first time in 35 years to belt out “Big Boned Gal” from their last album together in 1989.
Clad in a blue and green western-style dress, lang strut across the stage in Edmonton to embody the “big boned gal from southern Alberta.”
The awards show saw Alberta’s MacKenzie Porter and Ontario’s Josh Ross take home hardware for being best female and male artists of the year.
Ross also won entertainer of the year and single of the year for “Trouble.”
Ontario artist Jade Eagleson won album of the year for “Do It Anyway.”
The James Barker Band from Woodville, Ont., won fans’ choice and group of the year.
During their acceptance speech, frontman Barker hinted at new music and a possible tour in 2025.
Ross says he and his band play roughly 150 shows every year and are never home, but says taking home entertainer of the year made the hard work worth it.
Porter won for female artist of the year and top video for “Chasing Tornadoes.”
The female artist win ends the five-year streak of Tenille Townes being awarded the coveted hardware.
Porter had been nominated seven times previously for the award in the past decade but hadn’t won until now.
The artist from Medicine Hat, Alta., says it takes a lot of hard work and hustle to succeed as a female in the country music industry and gave a shout out to her fellow singers and her newborn daughter.
Joining the two artists in the winners’ circle was Ontario singer-songwriter Owen Riegling, who won for breakthrough artist of the year.
The show began with American artist and co-host Thomas Rhett being dubbed an honorary Canadian by Edmonton Oilers players Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl.
Rhett donned an Oilers jersey that was gifted to him by the pair.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
EDMONTON – Ontario country artist Jade Eagleson has won album of the year at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Association Awards in Edmonton.
The singer from Bailieboro, Ont., was up for six awards alongside Alberta’s MacKenzie Porter.
Eagleson took home album of the year for “Do It Anyway” and says he’s thankful to his wife and management team for helping him reach the level he’s at.
The James Barker Band from Woodville, Ont., also won fans’ choice and group of the year at the award show, held in Edmonton.
During their acceptance speech, frontman Barker hinted at new music and a possible tour in 2025.
Another Ontario crooner, Josh Ross, has taken home a trio of awards, receiving entertainer of the year, male artist of the year and single of the year.
He says he and his band play roughly 150 shows every year and are never home, but says taking home entertainer of the year makes the hard work worth it.
Porter took home female artist of the year, ending the five-year streak of Tenille Townes being awarded the coveted hardware.
Porter had been nominated seven times previously for the award in the past decade but hadn’t won until tonight.
The artist from Medicine Hat, Alta., says it takes a lot of hard work and hustle to succeed as a female in the country music industry and gave a shout out to her fellow singers and her newborn daughter.
Joining the two artists in the winners’ circle was Ontario singer-songwriter Owen Riegling, who won for breakthrough artist of the year.
The show began with American artist and co-host Thomas Rhett being dubbed an honorary Canadian by Edmonton Oilers players Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl.
Rhett donned an Oilers jersey that was gifted to him by the pair.
The return of k.d. lang and the Reclines was expected to be a highlight of the show.
The appearance will mark the first time the Alberta songstress has teamed up with the band in 35 years and is tied to lang’s induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
The awards show is back in Alberta’s capital for the first time since 2014. It was held in Hamilton last year and in Calgary in 2022.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
VANDERHOOF, B.C. – British Columbia Conservatives are promising changes they say will bring more stability to the province’s struggling forest industry.
Leader John Rustad announced his plan for the sector a week before the official launch of the provincial election campaign, saying a Conservative government would do away with stumpage fees paid when timber is harvested and instead put a tax on the final products that are produced.
Rustad said Saturday that under a provincial Conservative government, a small fee may be charged upfront, but the bulk would come at the end of the process, depending on what type of product is created.
He also promised to review how wildfires are managed, as well as streamline the permit process and review what he calls the province’s “uncompetitive cost structure.”
“British Columbia is by far the highest cost producers of any jurisdiction in North America. We need to be able to drive down those costs, so that our forest sector can actually be able to do the reinvestment, to be able to create the jobs and make sure that they’re still there to be able to support our communities,” he said.
The governing New Democrats meanwhile, say eliminating stumpage fees would inflame the softwood lumber dispute with the United States and hurt forestry workers.
In a statement issued by the NDP, Andrew Mercier, the party’s candidate in Langley-Willowbrook, said Rustad failed to support the industry when he was in government under the former BC Liberals.
“Not only will Rustad’s old thinking and recycled ideas fail to deliver, his proposal to eliminate stumpage would inflame the softwood lumber dispute — punishing forestry workers and communities,” Mercier said, accusing Rustad of ignoring the complexity of the challenges facing the industry.
The softwood lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada stretches back decades. In August, the U.S. Department of Commerce nearly doubled duties on softwood lumber.
International Trade Minister Mary Ng has said Canada has taken steps to launch two legal challenges under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
Rustad said a provincial Conservative government would push hard to get a deal with the United States over the ongoing dispute “whether it’s with the rest of Canada or by itself.”
He said his party’s proposed changes are in the name of bringing “stability” and “hope” to the industry that has seen multiple closures of mills in rural communities over the last several years.
Most recently, Canfor Corp. decided to shutter two northern British Columbia sawmills earlier this month, leaving hundreds of workers unemployed by the end of the year.
According to the United Steelworkers union, Canfor has closed 10 mills in the province since November 2011, including nine in northern B.C.
Jeff Bromley, chair of the United Steelworkers wood council, said Saturday the idea of changes in favour of taxing the final product has been floated in the past.
He said the finer details of the Conservative plan will be important, but that the system needs to be improved and “new ideas are certainly something I’d be willing to entertain.”
“Something needs to happen, or the industry is just going to bleed and wither away and be a shadow of its former self,” Bromley said.
“Politics aside, if (Rustad) can come up with a policy that enables my members to work, then I would be supportive of that. But then I’m supportive of any government that would come up with policies and fibre for our mills to run. Period.”
When Canfor announced its latest closures, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said the sector was a “foundational part” of the province and the current NDP government would work to support both local jobs and wood manufacturing operations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024
