Federal health officials appear to have warned in early February, as the novel coronavirus spread globally, that Canada did not have the resources to enforce a quarantine order on travellers returning from China’s Hubei province.
Federal, provincial and territorial health departments agreed not to order tens of thousands of travellers arriving in Canada from China to quarantine in February in order to reduce pressure on public health resources, according to a memo addressed to Health Minister Patty Hajdu and signed by the Public Health Agency of Canada’s president and chief public health officer.
The memo was included in roughly 1,000 pages of documents shared by public health officials with the federal health committee last month.
5:45 Coronavirus outbreak: Federal ministers outline process for new mandatory quarantine practices
Coronavirus outbreak: Federal ministers outline process for new mandatory quarantine practices
In it, officials said there were roughly 20,000 passengers coming into Canada from China every week and that attempting to enforce or track a mandatory quarantine on them would be unrealistic.
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“If this approach were to be extended to China, it would be unsustainable given the volume of travellers,” the memo explained.
“A voluntary self-isolation places less pressure on public health resources.”
The senior public servants also agreed, at the time, that “most individuals” would respect requests to self-isolate after receiving a handout from officials at the airport.
“Canadians may question a voluntary approach since there is no ability to enforce or ensure compliance,” said the memo.
“However, there is anecdotal evidence that individuals who have returned from Hubei are already self-isolating. We could expect that most individuals would be compliant, given concern and anxiety associated with the coronavirus.”
Asked about that advice from federal health officials and why the federal government didn’t do more to bolster public health resources at that time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded: “We recognized early on that this was a challenge and we did take many measures to try and control or prevent or ensure that Canada was less vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19 that we were seeing elsewhere in the world.”
“With hindsight, I’m sure there are lots of things that we could have done differently, could have done differently, but I can tell you that every step of the way, we took the advice of our medical professionals and our public health experts seriously and did as best we could,” the prime minister said during a news conference Wednesday about Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“I’m sure there will be many many people reflecting on different countries’ responses and what we need to do to ensure we’re even better prepared next time.”
The memo sent to Hajdu was prepared following a briefing delivered by the country’s top public health officials to their managers in health departments across Canada about how to address the growing crisis.
The memo said that enforcing the Quarantine Act would require more resources for local public health units so they could “undertake active monitoring of each individual,” as well as an emergency order.
A month later, on March 25, the federal government made an emergency order under the Quarantine Act that required any traveller entering Canada by air, sea or land to quarantine for 14 days, whether they were experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or not.
The government has asked all residents, regardless of travel history, to stay home except for essential trips and to keep a two-metre distance from other people when they are out in public.
1:22 Coronavirus outbreak: Trudeau says everyone must use good judgment during pandemic
Coronavirus outbreak: Trudeau says everyone must use good judgment during pandemic
Trudeau was asked by a journalist at his daily briefing on Wednesday whether there are any further tools he would consider using to enforce social distancing or punish those who break the rules.
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He said the government is continually evaluating the situation.
“Unfortunately we do see that there are some people who are not choosing to follow these instructions,” he said.
“We continue to impress upon everyone that we need to do what is necessary to get through this as quickly and safely as possible. We will continually work with cities and jurisdictions on measures they may feel are necessary.”
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
