EDMONTON —
Health Canada’s approval of a label change on Pfizer’s BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is frustrating, Alberta’s health minister said Tuesday, but the province does have the syringe supply to extract a sixth dose most of the time.
Health Canada announced Tuesday morning it had decided it was possible to consistently and safely extract six full doses per vial after reviewing data from Pfizer.
To extract six doses, however, administrators need to use a low dead-volume syringe. The one-millilitre syringe keeps a smaller amount of liquid in the hub of the syringe after a shot is given, minimizing waste.
Alberta government and medical officials had urged Health Canada not to follow in the steps of the United States and Europe, which agreed to the change in January, saying administrators weren’t able to extract a sixth dose every single time.
“It is frustrating. I think we made it clear to the federal government and Health Canada that everybody gets the best training, that everybody is using the right syringe, we’re only going to get that sixth dose 75 per cent of the time, max,” the province’s health minister Tyler Shandro told media on Tuesday.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw said on Tuesday she had confidence Alberta would be able to administer six doses “much closer to 100 per cent” of the time with help from Health Canada and Alberta Health Services to procure more one-millilitre syringes.
She told reporters Alberta’s previous statistic was based on the available syringes it had to use, including the typical three-millilitre syringe.
“With that particular technology ofthe low dead space small volume syringes, that will enable us to pull the sixth dose out more regularly. And again, those syringes were not in large supply previously, which impacted our ability to pull out that sixth dose in a consistent way.”
While the change comes into effect immediately, Canada’s shipments from Pfizer this week will still be calculated at five doses per vial.
Future shipment allocations will be adjusted to six doses per vial, meaning a shipment of what was originally counted as 336,000 doses the week of Feb. 15 is now being considered a shipment of around 400,000.
Shandro said, “The federal government has contracted out on the basis of doses, not vials, so it means that the provinces are going to end up not getting as many doses, I think.”
‘NO SHORTAGE’: SHANDRO
Health Canada says it has been assured there is enough “overfill” in each vial to ensure six full doses can be extracted, but noted “the right technique and syringe” are needed.
Alberta’s supplies of the one-millilitre syringe – of which there was a shortage at the end of January, necessitating the use of other syringes by vaccine administrators – have been restocked, Shandro and Alberta Health Services said on Tuesday.
“AHS has procured them. My understanding is there is no shortage in Alberta of those syringes and we ware going to have the syringes that we need,” Shandro commented.
AHS spokesperson Kerry Williamson couldn’t confirm administrators were exclusively using one-millilitre syringes in its vaccine program, but did say AHS was expecting more deliveries in the future.
“We’re going to continue to commit to Albertans we’re going to get their vaccines to them as quickly as possible,” Shandro said. “We are going to make sure we continue focusing on the smallest amount of waste as possible.”
Alberta is expecting a shipment of 7,800 doses of Pfizer product this week.
More than 120,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in the province as of Feb. 7. That includes two doses given to some 29,000 Albertans who have been fully immunized.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
