The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern):
8:00 p.m. A curfew intended to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Quebec is now in effect.
The new measure was announced earlier this week by Premier Francois Legault and kicked in at 8 p.m.
Under the terms of the curfew, most Quebec residents could face fines of up to $6,000 if they go out into the streets between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. for the next four weeks.
There are exemptions in place for certain groups such as essential workers.
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6 p.m.
Alberta is reporting 31 new deaths due to COVID-19 and 989 more cases of the virus.
The province’s chief medical officer of health says there are 827 people in hospital — 132 of whom are in intensive care.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw says there are some positive signs in the province, but the virus is still spreading so people must remain vigilant.
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5 p.m.
Saskatchewan is reporting 332 more cases of COVID-19 and seven added deaths today.
As it stands, there are nearly 3,200 active cases of the virus in the province.
Health officials say 179 people are hospitalized with the virus, including 30 in intensive care.
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3:50 p.m.
Manitoba is reporting seven new deaths from COVID-19 and 203 new cases as of 9:30 a.m.
The province’s daily pandemic update says there are more than 4,600 active COVID-19 cases.
The province says there are 229 people in hospital with active COVID-19, plus another 84 who are no longer infectious but who remain in hospital because they still require care.
The number of patients in intensive care stands at 37.
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3:30 p.m.
Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting three new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total number of active cases in the province to 31.
The province says two cases are in the central zone, with one a close contact of a previously reported case, while the other is related to travel outside of Atlantic Canada.
The last case in the eastern zone is a student at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, and is also related to travel outside of Atlantic Canada.
Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, says the cases among post-secondary students returning to the province serve as a reminder of the importance of public health measures.
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2:45 p.m.
New Brunswick is reporting 30 new cases of COVID-19 today, one of the highest single-day increases since the onset of the pandemic.
The outbreak is spread out across much of the province, with the Fredericton, Edmundston, Campbellton and Moncton regions all reporting the highest number of cases.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s chief medical health officer, encouraged residents to download the COVID alert app.
The number of active cases in New Brunswick is 171.
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11:30 a.m.
Quebec is reporting 3,127 new cases of COVID-19 today hours before a provincewide curfew is set to take effect.
The province is also reporting 41 new deaths related to the virus, 12 of which occurred in the past 24 hours.
Data shows 24 of the deaths took place between Jan. 2 and 7, while five occurred before Jan. 2.
Hospitalizations declined slightly to 1,392 across the province, with 206 patients in intensive care.
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11:05 a.m.
Ontario’s education minister says the province is expanding the list of essential workers eligible to receive free child-care during the time school is taught remotely.
Stephen Lecce says Canada Post staff, workers with the RCMP and Canada Border Services, and workers with homeless shelters and children’s aid societies are among those on the expanded list.
Earlier this week, the province announced online learning would continue until at least Jan. 25 for students across southern Ontario in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The province reported 3,443 new cases of the virus today along with 40 related deaths.
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9:30 a.m.
Quebec’s premier is urging residents to respect a curfew that takes effect tonight and that he argues is necessary to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Francois Legault says the month-long curfew is meant to discourage gatherings he says are responsible for rising case numbers and hospitalization rates.
He calls the measure a “shock treatment” necessary to keep the province from reaching a tipping point that would leave the most seriously ill patients without proper care.
Starting tonight and until at least Feb. 8, most Quebecers are being asked to remain at home between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Residents will receive an emergency alert later today to remind them of the new rules.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 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.
