Toronto Animal Services (TAS) is urging residents to not approach, touch, or feed racoons after one critter was recently seen wandering around a supermarket in Toronto’s west end.
This warning comes after a recent increase in the number of service requests for sick and injured wildlife, which TAS said is “partially a result of a distemper outbreak within Toronto’s raccoon population.”
Believed to be a continuation from a notable spate of cases seen last fall, they said that this latest outbreak is due to the mild winter.
Cases of distemper are now spreading into wards in the city’s west and north ends, Jasmine Herzog-Evans, manager of TAS’ enforcement and mobile response unit, told CTV News Toronto.
Herzog-Evans noted that this outbreak is not uncommon among the city’s raccoon population and is something that occurs every two to three years, adding that while so far there are no reported cases in the pet population, service requests for sick and injured wildlife are significantly up.
From Jan. 1 to April 20, TAS said it received 3,601 service requests, compared to 719 service requests for the same period in 2022. Comparatively, during the distemper outbreak this fall (from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022), Toronto Animal Services got 3,722 service requests for sick and injured raccoons.
Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) is generally present in the raccoon population and those who have it may “approach people or curl up to sleep in open areas in close proximity to people.” Raccoons with this fatal virus tend to “act disoriented or lethargic, may appear blind and confused, wander aimlessly or become aggressive if cornered.”
A notable mucus discharge is also often be present around the eyes and nose of racoons with the illness and sick animals may experience coughing, tremors, seizures, or chewing fits, the city said.
And while CDV cannot be transmitted to human beings, dogs can contract it if they have not been vaccinated or if they come into contact with an infected animal. raccoon.
To help keep people and pets safe, the City of Toronto is reminding people to never feed or interact with wildlife, even if an animal seems tame or sick, always keep a dog on a leash or supervised in off-leash areas, make sure their pets’ vaccinations are up to date, not feed pets, including leaving pet food out as it will attract raccoons and wild animals, properly dispose of waste in parks and at home, and wildlife-proof their homes and yards.
Residents can contact 311 if they see a raccoon or other wildlife displaying abnormal behaviour.
It is not known if the trash panda spotted strolling in a local grocery store has distemper, however their behaviour is out of the ordinary.
Customer Alex Chow, who took a short video of the animal inside the Loblaws at 650 Dupont St. and posted it to Twitter, said he kept a safe distance from the animal just in case it was sick or injured.
In his 32-second clip, the racoon is seen walking in and around cashier stalls at the front of the store.
“It was quite the novelty,” he told CP24.com on Monday morning.
“It’s not every day that you see a racoon strolling in a supermarket.”
Loblaws, in an email to CP24.com, confirmed that a raccoon stopped by its Dupont location, adding “after a short time, (it) was “safely ushered out with the help of staff and customers.”
HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.
Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”
Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.
The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.
Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
