'Tuesday is V-Day': COVID-19 vaccine task force leader says Ont. is ready to start inoculations - CTV News | Canada News Media
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'Tuesday is V-Day': COVID-19 vaccine task force leader says Ont. is ready to start inoculations – CTV News

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TORONTO —
The head of Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine task force says the province is ready to begin its first COVID-19 vaccinations on Tuesday ahead of the arrival of 30,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine across the country.

Retired Canadian Armed Forces Gen. Rick Hillier told CTV News Channel on Sunday that Ontario has a plan in place to start vaccinating health-care workers immediately, while maintaining the second dose required for the vaccine’s efficacy.

“Tuesday is V-Day, Vaccination Day, and in Toronto and in Ottawa we’ll start with a vaccination of 1,500 people from those 3,000 doses and the reason we are doing it that way is to absolutely ensure that we have the second dose,” Hillier explained.

The first vaccines arriving in the province will be given at the Ottawa Hospital and the University Health Network in Toronto. The doses are going to health-care workers providing care in long-term care homes and other high-risk settings.

Hillier said the vaccine task force “would love” to vaccinated everyone in Ontario, but given the limited number of doses currently available, decided these areas hit hardest by the coronavirus should get the vaccines first.

“We are reacting to the delivery schedule when we get the vaccines, what quantities they arrive in, and that’s going to take place again throughout 2021,” he said. “We’ll get to the most vulnerable as quickly as we possibly can and then fan our work out from there.”

Despite only being able to vaccinate 1,500 of the 15 million people living in Ontario, Hillier said the first round of shots will help the province expand its vaccine rollout as more doses become available.

“What we want to do is really learn from this program, learn from the smaller doses, get more in December, learn from that, get through the speed bumps and be ready for the much greater numbers that we’ll see in January, February, right through to June, and later summer,” Hillier said.

He added that the province expects there to be some hiccups with the administering of the first doses such as communicating on vaccine storage and distribution, but said Ontario “will get through them.”

“This is a massive program; it’s the biggest vaccination program in history. There will be speed bumps, we’ll learn from them, and our commitment is on the other side of the bump we’ll be better and more efficient than we are on this side of the bump,” Hillier said.

VACCINE LOGISTICS

Hillier said the Ontario government will be setting aside the required second dose of the vaccine for those who are vaccinated first, but says it “comes down to the individual” to return after the 21 days for the second shot.

He explained that the first round of vaccinations are by appointment only, and those booked will automatically be scheduled for a follow-up appointment for the second dosage.

“When you leave you’ll have a piece of paper saying, ‘here is my second appointment to come back,’ and so then the individual has a responsibility to come back also,” Hillier said.

He added that these first doses are specifically for those in Ottawa and Toronto, and health-care workers from other regions will not be permitted to travel to these areas in hopes of getting a shot.

Hillier said Ontario is expected to receive 2.4 million vaccines in the first quarter of 2021 from Pfizer and Moderna allowing the province to expand its inoculations then, but the specific timing of the arrival of those doses is unknown.

With Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate having yet to be approved, Hillier said the province does not yet know what to expect in administering and storing that vaccine. However, he acknowledged that distribution will be easier with the Moderna vaccine as it does not require freezing temperatures to maintain efficacy, unlike Pfizer’s.

“Moderna gives us flexibility, it will allow us to distribute much more widely, and as the numbers build up the doses that we receive, we’ll start getting out to the population,” he said.

Hillier said once Moderna’s vaccine is cleared by Health Canada, health-care workers will be able to go into long-term care homes and isolated communities to vaccinate residents. He said it is important that those who plan to administer inoculations in these vulnerable populations must first and foremost be vaccinated themselves.

“We want to ensure that anybody that goes in there has received a vaccination so we’re laying out our plan now for that in detail. We want to identify people, get them vaccinated so we don’t visit a tragedy upon one of those isolated communities accidentally by taking the COVID-19 virus with us,” Hillier said.

While the province has vaccine rollout plans in place, Hillier said the average Ontarian shouldn’t plan to get vaccinated anytime soon.

“The first quarter of 2021, we’re going to be focused on those in most vulnerable circumstances and the health-care workers,” Hillier said. “That’s 1.2 million people in Ontario in those categories, and we will not be able to do all of them, even in the first quarter as we see now with the delivery schedules.”

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Carry On Canadian Business. Carry On!

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business to start in Canada

Human Resources Officers must be very busy these days what with the general turnover of employees in our retail and business sectors. It is hard enough to find skilled people let alone potential employees willing to be trained. Then after the training, a few weeks go by then they come to you and ask for a raise. You refuse as there simply is no excess money in the budget and away they fly to wherever they come from, trained but not willing to put in the time to achieve that wanted raise.

I have had potentials come in and we give them a test to see if they do indeed know how to weld, polish or work with wood. 2-10 we hire, and one of those is gone in a week or two. Ask that they want overtime, and their laughter leaving the building is loud and unsettling. Housing starts are doing well but way behind because those trades needed to finish a project simply don’t come to the site, with delay after delay. Some people’s attitudes are just too funny. A recent graduate from a Ivy League university came in for an interview. The position was mid-management potential, but when we told them a three month period was needed and then they would make the big bucks they disappeared as fast as they arrived.

Government agencies are really no help, sending us people unsuited or unwilling to carry out the jobs we offer. Handing money over to staffing firms whose referrals are weak and ineffectual. Perhaps with the Fall and Winter upon us, these folks will have to find work and stop playing on the golf course or cottaging away. Tried to hire new arrivals in Canada but it is truly difficult to find someone who has a real identity card and is approved to live and work here. Who do we hire? Several years ago my father’s firm was rocking and rolling with all sorts of work. It was a summer day when the immigration officers arrived and 30+ employees hit the bricks almost immediately. The investigation that followed had threats of fines thrown at us by the officials. Good thing we kept excellent records, photos and digital copies. We had to prove the illegal documents given to us were as good as the real McCoy.

Restauranteurs, builders, manufacturers, finishers, trades-based firms, and warehousing are all suspect in hiring illegals, yet that becomes secondary as Toronto increases its minimum wage again bringing our payroll up another $120,000. Survival in Canada’s financial and business sectors is questionable for many. Good luck Chuck!. at least your carbon tax refund check should be arriving soon.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca

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Imperial to cut prices in NWT community after low river prevented resupply by barges

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NORMAN WELLS, N.W.T. – Imperial Oil says it will temporarily reduce its fuel prices in a Northwest Territories community that has seen costs skyrocket due to low water on the Mackenzie River forcing the cancellation of the summer barge resupply season.

Imperial says in a Facebook post it will cut the air transportation portion that’s included in its wholesale price in Norman Wells for diesel fuel, or heating oil, from $3.38 per litre to $1.69 per litre, starting Tuesday.

The air transportation increase, it further states, will be implemented over a longer period.

It says Imperial is closely monitoring how much fuel needs to be airlifted to the Norman Wells area to prevent runouts until the winter road season begins and supplies can be replenished.

Gasoline and heating fuel prices approached $5 a litre at the start of this month.

Norman Wells’ town council declared a local emergency on humanitarian grounds last week as some of its 700 residents said they were facing monthly fuel bills coming to more than $5,000.

“The wholesale price increase that Imperial has applied is strictly to cover the air transportation costs. There is no Imperial profit margin included on the wholesale price. Imperial does not set prices at the retail level,” Imperial’s statement on Monday said.

The statement further said Imperial is working closely with the Northwest Territories government on ways to help residents in the near term.

“Imperial Oil’s decision to lower the price of home heating fuel offers immediate relief to residents facing financial pressures. This step reflects a swift response by Imperial Oil to discussions with the GNWT and will help ease short-term financial burdens on residents,” Caroline Wawzonek, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance and Infrastructure, said in a news release Monday.

Wawzonek also noted the Territories government has supported the community with implementation of a fund supporting businesses and communities impacted by barge cancellations. She said there have also been increases to the Senior Home Heating Subsidy in Norman Wells, and continued support for heating costs for eligible Income Assistance recipients.

Additionally, she said the government has donated $150,000 to the Norman Wells food bank.

In its declaration of a state of emergency, the town said the mayor and council recognized the recent hike in fuel prices has strained household budgets, raised transportation costs, and affected local businesses.

It added that for the next three months, water and sewer service fees will be waived for all residents and businesses.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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U.S. vote has Canadian business leaders worried about protectionist policies: KPMG

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TORONTO – A new report says many Canadian business leaders are worried about economic uncertainties related to the looming U.S. election.

The survey by KPMG in Canada of 735 small- and medium-sized businesses says 87 per cent fear the Canadian economy could become “collateral damage” from American protectionist policies that lead to less favourable trade deals and increased tariffs

It says that due to those concerns, 85 per cent of business leaders in Canada polled are reviewing their business strategies to prepare for a change in leadership.

The concerns are primarily being felt by larger Canadian companies and sectors that are highly integrated with the U.S. economy, such as manufacturing, automotive, transportation and warehousing, energy and natural resources, as well as technology, media and telecommunications.

Shaira Nanji, a KPMG Law partner in its tax practice, says the prospect of further changes to economic and trade policies in the U.S. means some Canadian firms will need to look for ways to mitigate added costs and take advantage of potential trade relief provisions to remain competitive.

Both presidential candidates have campaigned on protectionist policies that could cause uncertainty for Canadian trade, and whoever takes the White House will be in charge during the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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