Starting Friday, Ontario will enter Step 3 of its reopening plan ahead of schedule, arguably the province’s most ambitious step toward reopening since the pandemic’s third wave subsided.
The move will see a number of indoor venues open their doors, while restrictions on gathering sizes in many places will be increased.
While COVID-19 restrictions continue to loosen in both provinces, there are differences in the rules depending on which side of the border you’re on.
Here is a guide to the rules affecting Ottawa and Gatineau, as of Friday.
Gatherings inside/outside at private residences
In Ottawa, a maximum of 25 people will be allowed to get together inside private homes for parties and other occasions when the province enters Step 3. For backyards and balconies, gathering limits increase to a maximum of 100 people from different households.
In Gatineau, people are allowed to have up to 10 people, or all the occupants from three different households, at private indoor gatherings. A maximum of 20 people are allowed to gather outdoors.
The Quebec government recommends people who are not fully vaccinated wear a mask when they are within one metre of others.
(Leah Hansen/CBC News)
Restaurants, bars and nightclubs
Starting Friday, indoor dining and drinking at restaurants and bars will be allowed in Ottawa for the first time in several months. The province has set no limit on the number of people allowed per table or in the restaurant, as long as physical distancing can be maintained between different groups. Restaurants can offer buffet service.
Nightclubs with dance floors can also reopen with capacity limits indoors set at 25 per cent capacity to a maximum of 250 people. The province says patrons are exempt from physical distancing requirements when dancing, but that face coverings must be worn.
In Gatineau, a maximum of 10 people, or the occupants from three different households, can sit at the same table inside restaurants and bars.
At bars and breweries, customers must remain seated at their tables, except when they are going to the washroom, which means no mingling. Dancing and singing, including karaoke, isn’t permitted at the moment.
Another major difference is that alcohol sales must stop at midnight in Gatineau, whereas in Ottawa and the rest of Ontario, establishments can serve alcohol until 2 a.m. as per normal.
Gyms, sport and fitness facilities
People looking to work out, play sports or attend fitness classes indoors in Ottawa will be able to do so as of Friday. Indoor capacity at sport and fitness facilities like gyms will be capped at 50 per cent.
For the first time in months, spectators will be permitted at indoor sports and recreational facilities, with capacity limited to 50 per cent to a maximum of 1,000 people. Spectator limits at outdoor facilities with fixed seating will be 75 per cent of their usual capacity to a maximum of 15,000 people. At outdoor events without fixed seating, the capacity will be 75 per cent to a maximum of 5,000 people.
Gyms in Ottawa can reopen on Friday when Ontario moves to Step 3 of its COVID-19 reopening plan. (AP)
In Gatineau, people can already work out inside a gym and do other training activities at fitness centres either individually or in pairs. Lessons may be provided to individuals and to groups of no more than 25 people, while maintaining physical distance.
Fifty players are now allowed for outdoor sports and recreational activities in Quebec, including guided lessons and training. This number excludes any officials, staff or volunteers. Organized games and matches as well as leagues, competitions and tournaments are also permitted, with 50 spectators allowed to watch the same match or game.
For indoor sports, the limit is 25 players and 25 spectators.
(Leah Hansen/CBC News)
Cinemas
Movie theatres in Ottawa will be able to reopen with a maximum capacity of 50 per cent inside each auditorium with a cap of 1,000 people within the entire building. All moviegoers will be required to wear masks when they aren’t sitting down.
Quebec allows a maximum of 250 people inside each auditorium, or up to 3,500 people if the room can be divided into areas of 250 people each. People from different households must have an empty seat between them and face coverings are also required.
Starting Friday, cinemas in Ottawa can operate at a maximum capacity of 50 per cent inside each auditorium and a cap of 1,000 people within the entire building. (CBC/Evan Mitsui)
Live performances and large events
Ottawa’s performing arts venues, including concert venues like the National Arts Centre and theatres, are limited to 50 per cent capacity, with a cap of 1,000 people indoors.
Outdoor concert venues and theatres can host audiences at 75 per cent capacity or 15,000 people outdoors for events with fixed seating. For unseated events, spectators permitted at a maximum capacity of 75 per cent or 5,000 people.
In Gatineau, auditoriums and indoor stadiums with assigned seating are allowed to present shows and sporting events before an audience of up to 3,500 people. Spectators must be subdivided into sections with a cap of 250 people and one seat must remain empty between people from different households.
Masks are mandatory in indoor events, but may be removed once seated.
Outdoor events are allowed to start admitting up to 3,500 attendees while enforcing physical distancing between people from different households and with no separate sections.
Festivals and major outdoor events where spectators are standing or sitting with no assigned seating can be held, subject to compliance with specific health measures.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
