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Toronto's top doctor says COVID-19 numbers sound 'blunt warning' as city logs record 761 new cases – CP24 Toronto's Breaking News

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Toronto’s top doctor says the latest COVID-19 data collected for the city should send an urgent warning to residents to change their behaviour.

Toronto reported 761 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, breaking the previous record of 643 set just a day earlier on Monday.

“Today’s case counts are a blunt warning,” Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa said in a statement. “COVID-19 continues to spread easily and widely.”

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De Villa pointed out that younger adults (people between the ages of 20 and 49) account for more than half (57 per cent) of today’s new cases, including 167 people in their 20s, 154 people in their 30s and 112 people in their 40s.

“It is a warning that everyone at every age shares the risk of infection, just as all of us have the ability to reduce the risk through the actions and choices we take in the next several weeks,” de Villa said.

She said data gleaned from the city’s newly launched Source of Infection Survey, given to those who test positive for the virus, are also shedding light on where people are getting infected.

One on five respondents confirmed that they had been part of a gathering of fewer than 10 people either in their own home or in someone else’s home during the period when they acquired COVID-19.

“While most cases reporting close contact with a known COVID-19 case identified their spouse or partner (21 per cent) as the case, the next most common relationships reported were friends (16 per cent) and co-workers (16 per cent),” de Villa said. “In total, 35 per cent of cases reporting close contact indicated that their close contact with known cases were only non-household contacts.”

She said the latest data underscores the importance of limiting contact with those outside of your household in order to contain the spread of the virus. She noted that some of the cases reported today would have acquired their infections prior to new lockdown restrictions placed on the city a week ago.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Toronto also climbed by 13 Tuesday to 258. One more patient with COVID-19 entered the Intensive Care Unit, for a total of 49.

While the province reported a slightly lower number of new cases (727) for Toronto Tuesday, the discrepancy arises from the fact that the city and the province use different data entry systems, each with their own cut off time for reporting cases.

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Economy grows more than expected, keeping the Bank of Canada 'on its toes' – Financial Post

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January GDP strongest monthly growth in a year

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The Canadian economy surprised to the upside in January, posting its strongest monthly growth in a year, which could keep the Bank of Canada “on its toes,” say economists.

Real gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the value of goods and services produced during a specific time frame, edged up by 0.6 per cent in January, according to Statistics Canada, beating analysts’ expectations of 0.4 per cent. The agency also expects a 0.4 per cent rise in GDP during February.

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“To put that two-month flurry of growth into perspective, the combined one per cent gain is as much as the economy grew in the entire 12 months of 2023,” Bank of Montreal chief economist Douglas Porter said in a note. “After a prolonged lull through much of last year … the economy looks to have caught some strong tailwinds early this year.”

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The rise in GDP was due to broad-based growth in 18 of the 20 sectors measured by Statistics Canada.

The public sector, which includes education, health care and social assistance and public administration, increased 1.9 per cent in January, following two consecutive monthly declines. Education, which grew by six per cent, was the largest contributor to the country’s growth as activity rebounded from strikes by public sector workers in Quebec late last year.

Manufacturing fully recouped December’s decline in growth with a 0.9 per cent rise in January. A sudden drop in temperature in mid-January in parts of Canada contributed to increased activity in the utilities sector, which rose by 3.2 per cent, its highest growth rate since January 2022.

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The real estate and rental sector grew for a third consecutive month — by 0.4 per cent — on higher resale activity. The Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton-Burlington and most markets in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe contributed to the growth.

The information and cultural services sector, which includes the motion picture and sound recording industry, also grew for the third consecutive month, as activity continued to ramp up following the end of a strike by the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists in November.

These “robust” figures could pose a difficult challenge for the Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Marc Ercolao said in a note.

While the central bank has received “solid evidence” in the past two months that inflation is cooperating, “strong GDP data prints” such as today’s will “keep them on their toes,” said Ercolao, who expects the first interest rate cut to take place in July.

On the labour front, Statistics Canada said there were 632,100 job vacancies in January, down 34,800, or 5.2 per cent, from November. Vacancies in the manufacturing sector declined by 10.2 per cent to 37,500, the lowest level since September 2017.

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Monthly payroll increases were recorded in 13 of 20 sectors, led by retail trade, manufacturing and finance. But these gains were offset by a 0.3 per cent decline in construction.

The number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employers, as measured by payroll employment, rose for the first time in the retail trade after four consecutive monthly declines.

Despite the strong start to the year, some economists expressed caution, especially regarding February’s GDP estimate.

Claire Fan, an economist at the Royal Bank of Canada, said the “substantially stronger-than-expected” numbers are partially driven by one-off factors such as the ending of the Quebec teachers’ strike, so growth isn’t likely to be sustained in the coming months.

“We’ve learned to take the advance estimates (February) with a grain of salt as they have been highly revision prone,” she said, while retaining RBC’s assessment of a weak economic backdrop.

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BMO’s Porter said Canada experienced something similar last year when GDP stalled after a strong start to the year.

“There could be a serious issue with seasonality here, especially in light of much milder winters recently,” he said.

Despite the increase in GDP, most economists have stuck to their previous predictions that June will be when the Bank of Canada issues its initial interest rate cut.

• Email: nkarim@postmedia.com

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Former crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

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Bankman-Fried, 32, sentenced for fraud on customers of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded.

Former crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in United States federal prison for stealing $8bn from customers of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan handed down the sentence at a Manhattan court hearing on Thursday after rejecting Bankman-Fried’s claim that FTX customers did not actually lose money and accusing him of lying during his trial testimony.

A jury found Bankman-Fried, 32, guilty on November 2 on seven fraud and conspiracy counts stemming from FTX’s 2022 collapse in what prosecutors have called one of the biggest financial frauds in US history.

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“He knew it was wrong,” Kaplan said of Bankman-Fried before handing down the sentence. “He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught. But he is not going to admit a thing, as is his right.”

Bankman-Fried stood with his hands clasped before him as Kaplan read the sentence.

Kaplan said the sentence reflected “that there is a risk that this man will be in position to do something very bad in the future. And it’s not a trivial risk at all.”

Prior to sentencing, Bankman-Fried stood and apologised. “A lot of people feel really let down. And they were very let down. And I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about what happened at every stage,” he said.

“My useful life is probably over. It’s been over for a while now, from before my arrest.”

Sam Bankman Fried
Sam Bankman-Fried, centre left, is escorted out of Magistrate Court following a hearing in Nassau, Bahamas, Dec. 19, 2022 [File: Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo]

Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey, reporting from New York, said that Bankman-Fried could have received up to 110 years behind bars for his crimes and that the 25-year sentence was less than the 40-50 years that prosecutors were seeking.

“Given the scale of this crime, one of the largest frauds in history, the judge took a very strong stance but also showed some flexibility… perhaps based on the arguments made by Bankman-Fried’s lawyers and his family that he had always intended to do good”, she said.

Bankman-Fried had billed himself as a proponent of effective altruism – finding the best way to help other people, in particular by donating all or part of one’s wealth to charity rather than, say, volunteering at a soup kitchen.

When the cryptocurrency world lurched into crisis in the spring of 2022, he bought shares in the troubled platform BlockFi and another troubled company, Voyager.

However, prosecutors have said the responsible image he cultivated concealed his years-long embezzlement of customer funds.

“The defendant victimised tens of thousands of people and companies, across several continents, over a period of multiple years. He stole money from customers who entrusted it to him” prosecutors said in a court filing.

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Gas prices in the Thompson Okanagan jumped by 7 cents a litre, days before the next carbon tax increase – Vernon News – Castanet.net

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Some area gas stations are not waiting until April 1 to crank up the price of gas.

On April Fools Day, the federal Liberals will be increasing the controversial carbon tax, which will directly impact the price at the pump.

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However, overnight, several Thompson Okanagan gas stations have already increased the price, selling the liquid gold for 174.9.

In January, gas was selling for a ‘mere’ 143.9 cents a litre. The latest hike is a whopping 31-cent-a-litre increase in just three months.

And the price of petrol is guaranteed to go up again when the carbon tax increase is implemented on Monday.

Kelowna drivers are also paying more at the pump today, with the majority of stations raising the price to 174.9.

As of 9:30 Thursday morning, the Co-op stations on Rutland and Sexsmith roads were at 168.9 as was the Costco gas station.

Several Vernon stations are holding at 167.9.

In Penticton, motorists are also paying more, with the price at the majority of stations hitting the 174.9 mark.

Kamloops drivers are also taking a hit to the wallet with gas in the Thompson community also selling for 174.9.

The Kamloops Costco was the cheapest in the city at 161.9 cents a litre.

Enderby continues to have some of the cheapest gas in the region at 165.9, however the Esso in Tappen has them all beat at 157.9.

Gas in Vancouver has crested the $2 a litre mark, sitting at 202.9 cents a litre.

And as usual, Calgary motorists are paying significantly less than their BC counterparts, filling up for 154.9 cents a litre.

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