The traditional Boxing Day shopping frenzy which sees scores of deal seekers flood downtown shops and malls will be noticeably quiet this year as a province-wide lockdown takes effect Saturday morning.
The measures, which were announced five days ago, are an effort by the Ford government to bring soaring COVID-19 cases under control.
Toronto and Peel Region are no strangers to the province’s grey-lockdown measures, with York Region, Windsor-Essex and Hamilton having recently been added to the list. But as of Saturday, those rules will apply all across Ontario.
That means all non-essential businesses will be closed to in-person shopping, indoor dining is also off limits and no indoor organized public events or social gatherings, except with members of the same household. Weddings, funerals and other religious services can only have 10 people regardless if they are indoor or outdoor.
Essential businesses that remain open will have strict capacity limits while restaurants will be permitted to offer take-out and delivery. Indoor sports facilities and personal care services, including salons, are all shut.
The province has announced it will offer a grant to some small businesses with a minimum of $10,000 to help offset losses.
Northern Ontario, where there are currently fewer cases, will see lockdown restrictions eased on January 9 while southern Ontario will have to wait until at least January 23.
The lockdown is also providing an extended winter break for schools as classes will move to online learning for the first week of the new year. Elementary students won’t be back for in-person learning until January 11 while high school students will continue remote learning until at least January 25.
The government says child care will remain open for the duration of the province-wide shutdown. But, during the time when elementary schools are operating virtually, “licensed child care centres and authorized recreation and skill-building providers will be prohibited from serving school-aged children.” Before and after school programs will also be shut down during the period of January 4 to 8.
Dr. Adalsteinn Brown, co-chair of the province’s COVID-19 science advisory table, has said anything less than a four-week lockdown will not work, based on the experience of other jurisdictions.
The latest virus projections in Ontario indicate the province’s ability to control the spread of COVID-19 is “precarious.” Data from health advisers concluded that tough lockdowns lasting a month or more could cut the number of daily cases to less than 1,000.
If Ontario’s COVID-19 case rate continues to grow between one and three per cent, the province will have 3,000 to 5,000 daily cases by the end of January, it indicates.
It also shows that under all scenarios the province will see 300 intensive care unit beds filled within 10 days – double the 150-bed threshold at which surgeries must be cancelled.
On Thursday – the last time the province updated its COVID-19 case count – a record 2,447 new cases of coronavirus were reported. Just under 1,000 people were hospitalized with the virus – 277 of them in the ICU.
WHAT’S OPEN
Schools, childcare centres, pharmacies, doctors, and dentist offices will be staying open during the lockdown
Essential services such as supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, hardware stores, discount and department store-type retailers, LCBO and beer stores and safety supply stores will also be open. There will be a 50 per cent capacity limit for in-person shopping, which means there could be lineups to get into these places.
Vet services will remain open
Motor vehicle sales are permitted by appointment only
Garden centres and plant nurseries are open by appointment only unless outdoor curbside pickup or delivery is available to the public
Outdoor markets are allowed with current public health measures
CLOSED WITH NO EXCEPTIONS
Hair salons and barber shops
Nail salons
Tattoo parlours
Casinos, bingo halls and gaming establishments
Amusement parks
Strip clubs, bathhouses and sex clubs
Museums, galleries, science centres, zoos and aquariums
CLOSED BUT WITH EXEMPTIONS
No indoor organized public events or social gatherings of any kind are allowed except with members of the same household. Outdoor gatherings, where physical distancing can be maintained, are limited to 10 people
Funerals, weddings, religious services There is a limit of 10 people both indoors and outdoors as long as physical distancing can be maintained. The Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto says it is suspending public masses for the duration of the lockdown, however, churches will remain open for private prayer.
Restaurants, bars, food/drink establishments Indoor and outdoor service is prohibited but establishments can offer take out, drive through and/or delivery which includes the sale of alcohol.
Retail malls
Curbside pickup or delivery only for non-essential businesses; no in-person shopping
Essential businesses located within malls are permitted to be open with 50 per cent capacity limits
Food courts are open for take-away service only
Two-metres of physical distancing must be maintained while standing in line
Sports and recreation facilities, gyms, fitness centres
All gyms are closed
All indoor facilities such as courts, pools and rinks are closed
Indoor team and individual sports are prohibited, including training. Exemptions are in place for high performance and pro league teams/athletes
Community centres and multi-purpose facilities are allowed to be open for such things as child care services
Outdoor sports, classes and amenities are limited to 10 people
Meeting and Event spaces These spaces are closed with exemptions for court and government services while mental health and addiction support services are limited to 10 people.
Movie theatres/cinemas Only drive-in theatres/cinemas are permitted.
Cannabis Cannabis dispensaries can only offer curbside pickup. No in-person shopping.
Driving instruction In-person instruction is not allowed; virtual instruction is permitted.
Horse racing No races are allowed, only training.
Housekeeping, maids, nanny services, babysitters, maintenance services All of these are permitted with public health measures.
Hotels, motels Hotels and motels can remain open but pools, fitness centres and meeting rooms are all closed
Libraries
Curbside delivery and pick-up permitted
May be open for permitted services such as daycare
No classes allowed
Nightclubs Nightclubs can only remain open if they offer take-out, drive through or delivery of food/drink service.
Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
