The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern):
3 p.m.
Saskatchewan is reporting four new deaths and 264 new cases of COVID-19 today.
Two of those who died were people in their 50s in the Far North West region, while the other two were in their 80s — one in the Regina zone and the other in the province’s southeast.
Saskatchewan’s daily COVID-19 update says the province has 2,413 active infections.
It says the seven-day average of new cases in Saskatchewan is 226, or 18.4 new cases per 100,000 people.
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2:40 p.m.
Manitoba is reporting the deaths of four people with COVID-19, including a man in his 40s and a woman in her 50s.
The province says in its daily COVID-19 update that 82 new cases of the virus have been identified.
The update says there are 259 people in hospital, 101 of whom have active COVID-19 and 158 who are no longer infectious but who still need active care.
It also notes a COVID-19 outbreak has been declared in the dialysis unit at St. Anthony’s General Hospital in The Pas, in northwestern Manitoba.
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2:20 p.m.
The Alberta government says it will allow limited school and team sports for children and teens to resume on Monday.
The province says in a news release that starting Feb. 8, children and youth will be allowed to take part in “lessons, practices and conditioning activities for indoor and outdoor team-based minor sports and athletics.”
Late last month the province said children’s sport and performance activities could resume Feb. 8 at off-site facilities, but that they had to relate to school activities, such as physical education classes.
At that time, Premier Jason Kenney said that some COVID-19 public health measures were being eased due to lower hospitalization numbers.
Today’s announcement states participants must be 18 years old or younger, excluding coaches or trainers, and notes all games are still prohibited.
There’s also a 10-person maximum, including coaches and trainers, and participants must maintain physical distancing from each other at all times.
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1:25 p.m.
Health authorities in Newfoundland and Labrador are confirming three new cases of COVID-19 in the province today.
They say two of the infections are linked to travel, including a Quebecer who came to the province for work.
There are 17 active cases but no one in hospital, with 391 people deemed recovered.
Officials are advising against large gatherings ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl LV, asking people to keep to their close contacts and being mindful of the risks of holding gatherings of a maximum of 20 people, permitted under public health rules.
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1 p.m.
New Brunswick is reporting two deaths attributed to COVID-19 and 12 new infections in the province.
Health authorities say the deaths are both in the Edmundston area and include a resident in their 80s at the Manoir Belle Vue, a nursing home, and a person in their 60s.
Of the 12 new cases, ten are in the Edmundston area, which remains under lockdown.
Eight people are in hospital, with two in intensive care.
The province has now reported 20 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic and 1,337 confirmed cases with 1,095 recoveries.
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11:30 a.m.
There are no new cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia today, and provincial health officials say the number of active infections in the province has dropped by one to seven.
Premier Stephen McNeil says in a statement he’s proud of Nova Scotians efforts to keep cases low and is telling them to remain vigilant as new measures easing restrictions don’t go into effect until Monday.
Those new measures, in effect until March 7, include an increase in gathering limits to 150 people outdoors and to 50 per cent of an indoor venue’s capacity to a maximum of 100 people.
Retail and fitness businesses will be able to welcome up to 75 per cent of their legal client capacity.
A total of 17,295 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Nova Scotia, including 4,681 second doses.
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11:15 a.m.
Quebec is reporting 1,204 new cases of COVID-19 and 27 further deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including nine in the previous 24 hours.
The province’s Health Department is reporting 58 fewer patients in hospital for a total of 982, along with 159 patients requiring intensive care, a drop of nine.
The province administered 4,373 COVID-19 vaccine doses Friday for a total of 253,904.
Quebec has 268,977 confirmed infections and 9,999 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, with 246,695 people considered recovered.
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11 a.m.
Ontario is reporting 1,388 new cses of COVID-19 today along with 45 new associated deaths.
Virus-relatd hospitalizations in the province stand at 1,021, with 325 patients in intensive care and 228 on a ventilator.
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 455 new cases in Toronto, 288 in Peel and 131 in York Region.
Those regions are expected to be the last to reopen their economies under a provincial plan that’s set to be announced early next week.
The Canadian Press has learned that Premier Doug Ford is set to reveal details on Monday, but a senior government source says four regions with low case counts may be able to start easing restrictions on businesses as early as Wednesday.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2021.
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.
