OTTAWA —
As the government pushes to repatriate Canadians stuck abroad amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is warning that they could be a real danger to the rest of the country.
“They pose a real risk, not just to their neighbours and their loved ones, but to our entire country. We need to ensure and we will ensure that those people are properly isolated,” Trudeau said Thursday, speaking from self-isolation on the front steps of Rideau Cottage.
“We’ve received many, many Canadians who have returned home over the past couple of weeks, there is still a few more to come.”
Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne provided more details on these reparations later the same day, sharing in a press conference that the government has returned “thousands of Canadians” on over 40 flights from roughly 30 countries.
“In coming days, other flights will allow Canadians to return from Peru, Colombia, India, Pakistan, Poland, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, and from various African countries,” Champagne said, speaking in French.
These repatriated Canadians will be forced to follow a strict self-isolation period of 14 days. They must travel straight home from the airport, without any stops to grocery stores, pharmacies or any other public spaces.
When the outbreak first erupted, travel was by far the biggest source of spread for the virus, with the majority of cases tracing back to other countries. However, just over a week ago, community spread increased.
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said at the time that this demonstrated a “fundamental shift” in the transmission of the disease within Canada.
“Cases are almost now an equal mix between travellers who were exposed to the virus outside of Canada and their close contact, as well as cases that were exposed in the community setting in Canada,” said Tam on March 24.
Still, Trudeau maintained that the risk of transmission from Canadians returning from abroad is still a concern.
“Anyone who returns from overseas needs to be quarantined for 14 days, needs to be isolated so that they do not spread COVID-19 in the population.”
For many Canadians fighting to return home, however, they are still grappling with even getting on a plane. One woman, Melissa Chadha, is stranded in India with her husband and infant child. She told CTV News that while the government has provided her family with the option of a special flight home, the above-average $2,900 per person ticket price has left her feeling “bullied.”
The government has offered a $5,000 loan for Canadians who are able to demonstrate they couldn’t obtain the funds for a flight home in order to assist with their repatriation, but Canadians will still be stuck with the bill at the end of the day.
Similar special flight offers are being made to Canadians trapped abroad in other countries, including Peru, Spain, Honduras, Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala.
All of these Canadians will be subject to strict quarantine rules upon their return in a bid to slow the spread of the virus. To date, Canada has recorded over 11,000 cases of COVID-19 and 130 deaths.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
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, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
