Cnada column for Sunday, Oct. 11/20
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
Health and political authorities are urging Canadians to stay at home and keep family gatherings small this Thanksgiving weekend due to the pandemic.
A recent spike in positive cases in Canada’s largest cities is causing concern, especially in Ontario and Quebec where stringent lock downs of businesses have been enacted.
Canadians area being urged to keep their activities for Thanksgiving on Monday to just those living in the same house or apartment.
Renewed measures include closing restaurants and bars serving liquor earlier and prohibiting dining in. Schools and day-care centers remain open.
Ontario is at a record 939 new daily cases with tighter measures in Toronto, neighboring Peel Region and Ottawa while Quebec has consistently been above 1,000 new cases a day.
“Canada is at a tipping point in this pandemic,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
He announced emergency payments for food banks, groups serving vulnerable communities and businesses that are having trouble paying their rent.
“I know this is discouraging, especially going into Thanksgiving weekend, but remember this: when things were at their bleakest during the first wave, Canadians pulled together and flattened the curve,” he said.
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The restaurant owned by hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky in Toronto has closed after 27 years in business.
The landmark in Toronto’s Entertainment District served up sports bar staples and attracted sports celebrities and movie stars.
Known as the “Great One,” Gretzky announced its impending closing last summer to make way for a high-rise condo development.
The restaurant served its final beer and wings on Thursday in the space that was filled with memorabilia providing “an incredible inside look into the remarkable life of Number 99 on and off the ice,” said Toronto Sun’s
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News in brief:
- Two federal by-elections to fill vacancies in the House of Commons will be held on Oct. 26. Prime Minister Trudeau said the votes will take place in two Toronto districts despite the ongoing pandemic. They are to replace former Liberal finance minister Bill Morneau and Liberal Member of Parliament Michael Levitt.
- The Green Party of Canada has selected Toronto’s Annamie Paul to be its new leader. She won in the eighth round of voting defeating Dimitri Lascaris. Paul, who is black and Jewish, said she is a descendant of slaves and an ally of those and Indigenous people who are fighting for justice.
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Facts and figures:
The Canadian dollar is higher at 76.2 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.31 Canadian before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is unchanged at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.
Canadian stock markets are higher with the Toronto index at 16,562 points and the TSX Venture index 732 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is steady at $1.03 a liter (Canadian) or $3.91 for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto Max: (Oct. 6) 4, 5, 9, 19, 28, 34 and 44; bonus 8. (Oct. 2) 7, 12, 16, 26, 40, 45 and 49; bonus 20.
Lotto 6/49: (Oct. 7) 4, 5, 12, 13, 18 and 19; bonus 34. (Oct. 3) 12, 22, 24, 37, 39 and 43; bonus 16.
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Regional briefs:
- Lawyer Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, 43, has been named the new leader of the separatist Parti Quebecois. The party is in fourth place in Quebec and its history includes bringing the province to within a few thousand votes of separating from Canada in 1995. “The dream is not over; it’s about to be renewed,” he said.
- Boys at several Quebec high schools wore skirts to school to protest against sexism and discrimination against women. The movement in Montreal and on the South Shore followed a wave of Instagram posts to support the cause. “This is to fight against the hypersexualization of women’s bodies, to allow them to wear what they want and break the codes of our society,” student Colin Renaud, 15, said.
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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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