Alberta yet again surpassed record high COVID-19 cases on Sunday, with another 1,584 people testing positive, 319 people in hospital and 60 in intensive care.
It’s the fifth time Alberta has reported more than 1,000 cases in a single day — the first time was one week ago.
By comparison, Ontario — which has three times the population of Alberta — reported 1,534 new cases on Sunday. Quebec, which has twice the population of Alberta, reported 1,154 new cases.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, had said Friday that the impact of the new restrictions — put into place last Friday — would start to be seen this weekend. Instead, cases have continued to hit record highs.
Alberta reported no new deaths on Sunday. The total deaths in the province remains at 471.
The province said the woman in her 20s who died lived in the south zone and had comorbidities, but declined to share any further details, citing patient confidentiality.
There are more than 4,600 active cases in Calgary and more than 5,400 active cases in Edmonton.
Pfizer said Friday it is asking U.S. regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine, starting the clock on a process that could bring limited first shots as early as next month.
Alberta Health says the median time between identifying a positive case and notifying close contacts is between seven and 10 days.
First Nations in Alberta are seeing the highest number of COVID-19 cases compared with reserves in other parts of Canada.The latest data shows 860 cases since the pandemic hit — the next closest is Manitoba with 710, according to Indigenous Services Canada.
Alberta hospitals are tightening restrictions on visitors as the second wave of infections hits, with patients in all hospitals now limited to one or two designated family or support people for their entire stay.
From last Friday to Nov. 27, in much of the province, the government suspended indoor group fitness programs, team sports and group performance activities, and reduced operating hours for restaurants, bars and pubs in much of the province.
Canadians travelling to Hawaii this winter will be allowed to avoid quarantine so long as they show proof of a negative COVID-19 test, under new rules announced Thursday.
(CBC)
What you need to know today in Alberta
As of 12:50 p.m. ET Sunday, Canada’s COVID-19 case count stood at 328,402, with 52,624 of those considered active cases. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 11,443.
Dr. Joe Vipond, an emergency doctor and clinical associate professor at the University of Calgary, said with an eight per cent hospitalization rate and 3.5 per cent mortality rate — that could mean 106 new hospitalizations and 46 deaths from Saturday’s newly reported cases alone.
This week has set multiple records for the province, which only surpassed 1,000 daily new cases for the first time on Nov. 14. The province’s deadliest day was Monday, when 20 more deaths were reported. It also surpassed 10,000 active cases for the first time — the number of active cases now sits at 11,274.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, had said Friday that the impact of the new restrictions — put into place last Friday — would start to be seen this weekend. Instead, cases have continued to hit record highs.
Nine more people have died, bringing the total deaths in the province to 471. The deaths include a woman in her 20s — just three deaths of people in their 20s have been reported in the province, and none younger than their 20s.
Pfizer said Friday it is asking U.S. regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine, starting the clock on a process that could bring limited first shots as early as next month and eventually an end to the pandemic — but not until after a long, hard winter.
Should ongoing trials for COVID-19 vaccine candidates continue successfully, Alberta expects it will receive around 686,000 doses early in the new year of the Pfizer vaccine and 221,000 of the Moderna vaccine.
Speaking Friday at a press conference, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said the situation in Alberta was “grim” and noted that two individuals in their 30s were among the deaths announced during this past week.
“Having a chronic medical condition is very common,” she said. “These conditions include things like high blood pressure and diabetes. In Alberta, almost one quarter of all adults over the age of 20 have a chronic condition. That is almost 800,000 people.”
Tyler Shandro said Tuesday he is in favour of all resources that help in the fight against the pandemic, but reiterated the federal app isn’t a good fit for Alberta.
Alberta and British Columbia are the only provinces that have not signed onto the federal app, COVID Alert, which has been downloaded well over five million times.
The Opposition accuses Shandro of refusing to adopt the federal app because of long-standing personal and political friction between United Conservative Premier Jason Kenney and Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
AHS says the number of “unknown sources” of transmission among active cases on Wednesday was 76 per cent. But Hinshaw has said we should not be looking at active cases for unknown source cases. Hinshaw has said older data sets are more accurate because they have had more time to contact trace those cases. The province ultimately can’t identify the sources in almost one in three cases, she said.
As of Nov. 15, about 40 per cent of cases were linked to households or social gatherings or private events, she said. Another 10 per cent were linked to continuing care centres, four per cent to child care or K-12 schools, and three per cent to acute-care outbreaks.
Temporary new provincial restrictions kicked on Nov. 13. Until Nov. 27, indoor group fitness programs, team sports and group performance activities are suspended in Edmonton and surrounding areas, Calgary and its area, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray and Red Deer.
All restaurants, bars, lounges and pubs in Calgary and Edmonton and other areas under enhanced status (areas with more than 50 active cases per 100,000 people) must stop liquor sales by 10 p.m.
Premier Jason Kenney urged Albertans in any area under enhanced measures to not to have social gatherings in their homes.
WATCH | What is a ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown and does it work?
Worksites in the province’s oilsands are dealing with multiple outbreaks. As of Thursday morning, there were six active outbreaks at oilsands sites, with 10 active cases tied to those outbreaks.
Over the course of the pandemic there have been roughly 258 cases of COVID-19 linked to oilsands work sites in Wood Buffalo, according to Alberta Health.
Canadians travelling to Hawaiithis winter will be allowed to avoid quarantine so long as they show proof of a negative COVID-19 test, under new rules announced Thursday.
Air Canada and the Calgary-based WestJet made the arrangements with Hawaii, which will come into effect in December.
David Ige, governor of the state, said Canada represents the second-largest international market for the islands.
This map shows the active cases count in different health zones of Calgary and area on Nov. 19. (Evelyne Asselin/CBC)
Here is the regional breakdown of active cases reported on Sunday:
Calgary zone: 4,614, up from 4,394 reported on Saturday.
Canada’s COVID-19 case count — as of Friday evening — stood at 320,719, with 52,739 of those considered active cases. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 11,334.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday warned that a “normal Christmas” this year is “right out of the question” with cases of COVID-19 surging around the country.
National modelling predicts a worst-case scenario of 60,000 cases per day by the end of the year, according to modelling charts prepared by the Public Health Agency of Canada and seen by CBC News.
British Columbia has brought in wide-ranging new rules for controlling the spread of COVID-19, including mandatory masks in indoor public and retail spaces and restricting social gatherings to household members only for everyone across B.C.
Meanwhile, Toronto and the neighbouring Peel Region are going back into lockdown, as of Monday. Several other regions of Ontario will move to higher restriction levels.
Ontario reported another 1,534 cases of COVID-19 and 21 more deaths on Saturday.
In Atlantic Canada, new restrictions are coming into effect starting Monday for most of the Halifax region, and will remain in place until at least Dec. 21.
New Brunswick reported 23 new cases on Saturday.
Quebec reported 1,154 new cases and 23 more deaths on Sunday. The latest major outbreak in the province is at a Quebec City convent, where 39 nuns and 43 workers at the Soeurs de la Charité in suburban Beauport have tested positive.
Manitoba introduced new COVID-19 restrictions on Thursday that ban people from having anyone inside their home who doesn’t live there, with few exceptions, and businesses from selling non-essential items in stores.
The province reported 387 new cases on Saturday, and 10 additional deaths.
Within weeks of the coronavirus pandemic being declared, one premier after another made tough promises to stop price gouging on essential products. Yet, CBC’s Marketplace has learned that despite tens of thousands of reported complaints, little legal action has been taken across the country.
Marketplace reached out to all provinces and territories and was told consumer complaints to government only led to one business being charged. It’s unclear how many, if any, charges were laid by local bylaw officers.
Self-assessment and supports:
With winter cold and influenza season approaching, Alberta Health Services will prioritize Albertans for testing who have symptoms, and those groups which are at higher risk of getting or spreading the virus.
General asymptomatic testing is currently unavailable for people with no known exposure to COVID-19.
Those who test positive will be asked to use the online COVID-19 contact tracing tool, so that their close contacts can be notified by text message.
The province says Albertans who have returned to Canada from other countries must self-isolate. Unless your situation is critical and requires a call to 911, Albertans are advised to call Health Link at 811 before visiting a physician, hospital or other health-care facility.
If you have symptoms, even mild, you are to self-isolate for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms, until the symptoms have disappeared.
The province also operates a confidential mental health support line at 1-877-303-2642 and addiction help line at 1-866-332-2322, both available 24 hours a day.
Online resources are available for advice on handling stressful situations and ways to talk with children.
There is a 24-hour family violence information line at 310-1818 to get anonymous help in more than 170 languages, and Alberta’s One Line for Sexual Violence is available at 1-866-403-8000, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.
The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.
Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.
The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.
Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”
“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.
“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”
Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.
The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.
It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.
Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.
It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.
“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.
Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.
The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.
Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.
The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.
“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.
Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.
“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.
“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”
Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.
On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.
That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.
Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”
“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.
“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”
French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.
“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.
“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
