Ont. sees fewer than 1000 new COVID-19 cases for 3 consecutive days but variants 'a significant threat,' Yaffe says - CP24 Toronto's Breaking News | Canada News Media
Despite a “demonstrative” improvement in the number of daily COVID-19 cases reported in Ontario in recent days, residents in the province need to be “cautious and aware” as variants of concern continue to circulate, the coordinator of Ontario’s pandemic response says.
Health officials say Ontario saw fewer than 1,000 new COVID-19 infections on both Monday and Tuesday as daily case counts continue to trend downward in the province.
Ontario reported 904 new COVID-19 cases today along with 964 new infections yesterday with about 27,000 tests completed over the past 24 hours and a little over 30,000 tests processed one day prior.
While Ontario has seen the number of new infections dip below the 1,000 mark on multiple occasions over the past month, the province has conceded that the totals on those days were likely artificially low due to data reporting issues by Toronto Public Health.
The case counts on Monday and Tuesday appear to be the first time since November that daily totals have dropped below 1,000 with complete data included.
Of the new cases reported in the province today, 320 are from Toronto, 154 are from Peel Region, and 118 are from York Region.
The province said there were 251 new cases of COVID-19 in Toronto on Monday.
On multiple days over the past couple of weeks, Toronto has seen a steep decline in the number of reported daily cases, sliding to as low as 112 last Thursday. The drop has been attributed to a data cleanup as the public health unit migrates to the provincial system.
In the province’s recent daily epidemiological summaries, officials have cautioned that case counts could still fluctuate due to “data quality checks and remediation activities” following Toronto’s migration.
The Ministry of Health says the provincewide positivity rate today is now 3.3 per cent, on par with the rate reported last Tuesday.
According to the province, 742 COVID-19 patients are currently in hospital with 292 of those people in intensive care, down from 909 and 318 respectively just seven days ago.
The Ministry of Health notes that more than 10 per cent of hospitals did not submit data to the province today.
The rolling seven-day average of new cases now stands at 1,034, down from 1,367 one week ago, and active infections in Ontario have declined from nearly 14,000 last week to 11,604.
Another 26 virus-related deaths were confirmed in Ontario over the past two days, including six involving residents of long-term care homes.
“Clearly there is improvement, clearly there is demonstrative change in the numbers but… we have to continue to be cautious and aware,” Dr. Dirk Huyer, Ontario’s chief coroner and coordinator of the province’s pandemic response, said at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.
“We’ve talked about a decreased number of people who have died but people are still continuing to die.”
Restrictions eased in most regions of Ont.
The recent decline in novel coronavirus cases in Ontario has prompted the Ford government to ease restrictions in many parts of the province. As of 12:01 a.m. today, many businesses, including restaurants, gyms, and hair salons, reopened in the vast majority of regions in the province after the Ontario government reinstated its reopening framework last week.
Niagara Region is the only area that has been placed in the grey zone, the most restrictive category of the province’s colour-coded system, while Toronto, York Region, Peel Region, and the North Bay Parry Sound District Public Health Unit have been left out of the framework altogether due to high levels of community transmission of COVID-19.
The province has said that the remaining regions will likely be reintroduced to the framework next week.
Citing concerns with the ongoing spread of more transmissible COVID-19 variants in the community, officials in Toronto and Peel Region have indicated that they would like to be placed in the grey ‘lockdown” zone of the province’s colour-coded system.
But York Region’s medical officer of health has said he believes his region should ease restrictions even further. Dr. Karim Kurji, York Region’s top public health doctor, told CP24 on Monday that he wants the region to enter the red “control” zone next week, which would allow many businesses, including restaurants and gyms, to open with reduced indoor capacity.
Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s associate chief medical officer of health, said Tuesday that a final decision has not yet been made about where the regions will be placed in the framework or whether the province still plans to keep stay-at-home orders in place beyond next week.
When asked about the possibility of people in lockdown zones visiting areas with fewer restrictions, Yaffe said she is hopeful that won’t happen.
“I think that the last time there was a concern around this was pre-Christmas, where as I recall York Region still had open shopping malls and Toronto and Peel didn’t. So I think people were doing their shopping, they were excited for Christmas. In a way, it was understandable (but) unfortunate that they did travel,” she said.
“I am very much hoping that now it’s not a holiday period, people understand that all these measures have had a very promising effect but if we let loose, we are going to see another pandemic wave, and possibly worse, now with the variants.”
She noted the province is keeping a close eye on the situation and if there are concerns, stay-at-home orders can be reintroduced.
Yaffe called the variants of concern “a significant threat” and urged people not to see this easing of some restrictions as “permission to start gathering with your friends and coworkers.”
“While there is reason for some optimism, we must continue exercising caution given the rates in many health units remain high and the emergence of the variants,” she said.
The numbers used in this story are found in the Ontario Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Daily Epidemiologic Summary. The number of cases for any city or region may differ slightly from what is reported by the province, because local units report figures at different times.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
