The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern):
2:50 p.m.
Newfoundland and Labrador is down to just five active cases of COVID-19 after a weekend without any new infections.
All five are in the eastern zone of the province, meaning much of the province outside of the Avalon peninsula currently has no active cases.
Meanwhile, Labrador-Grenfell Health will start vaccinations for first responders Monday after the rest of the province held clinics for these groups over the past week.
Pre-registration is underway for people 70 years of age and older for vaccinations.
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2:40 p.m.
New Brunswick is stepping up a program to vaccinate high school teachers against COVID-19.
It’s expected that this week 4,500 staff from high schools provincewide will receive a first dose at a clinic in one of 16 locations.
Schools will be closed to students on the days that local clinics are being held to allow for high school staff to be vaccinated and plan for the full return to school.
The province reported one new case of COVID-19 today, with 49 active cases in the province.
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2:20 p.m.
Manitoba is reporting seven additional deaths in people with COVID-19, some of which date back as far as November.
The province’s daily pandemic update explains that the deaths were reported to public health officials this month.
Today’s update says there were 90 new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba as of 9:30 this morning.
Manitoba’s five-day test-positivity rate is five per cent provincially and 3.6 per cent in Winnipeg.
There are 135 people in hospital who either have COVID-19 or had it but are no longer infectious.
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11:15 a.m.
Quebec is reporting 648 new cases of COVID-19 as well as five more deaths linked to the pandemic.
Three people died in the last 24 hours, while the other two died between March 14 and 19.
Hospitalizations declined by four to 501, but the number of people in intensive care increased by three to 102.
Health workers gave 28,543 doses of vaccine on Saturday, for a total of 944,793 since immunizations got underway.
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10:50 a.m.
Six new cases of COVID-19 are being reported in Nova Scotia today as March break winds down in the province.
Four of the cases are in the province’s central zone, which includes the Halifax area, and two are in the eastern zone.
All of the infections are related to travel or previous cases, with those infected going into self isolation.
As of today, Nova Scotia has 21 active cases of COVID-19.
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10:45 a.m.
Ontario is reporting 1,791 new COVID-19 cases and 18 more virus-related deaths today.
Toronto and nearby Peel Region — two COVID-19 hot spots — account for nearly half of the new infections.
Looser pandemic measures allowing restaurants to open their patios took effect in both regions yesterday.
Ontario’s immunization campaign is set to ramp up tomorrow, with the provincial vaccine booking portal slated to start taking appointments from those 75 or older.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 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.
