Canada column for Sunday, Nov. 1 /20
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
Health authorities say Canadians are doing too much up-close socializing that’s causing the pandemic to reach concerning levels.
As a result, Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said people must cut their contacts by a quarter to control the COVID-19 outbreak.
Government forecasts indicate that at current rates of socializing, Canada could see COVID-19 case counts increase to 8,000 a day within a month or so while fewer contacts could drop that number to below 2,000.
After curbing the number of cases over the summer, “letting down our guard and letting this virus win is not an option,” Tam said.
Further restrictions and business closings might be needed in communities where the virus is surging, she said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he believes Canada can curb the swell of infections without again imposing sweeping shutdowns.
Across Canada, there have been 10,110 deaths, 232,000 coronavirus cases and 193,937 recoveries.
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Former federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau has been cleared by the federal ethics watchdog of failing to disclose a gift from WE Charity.
Ethics commissioner Mario Dion says he accepts that Morneau “genuinely believed” he had paid the total cost of two trips he and family members took in 2017 to view WE’s humanitarian projects in Ecuador and Kenya.
Morneau had since repaid $41,000 in expenses for the trips offered by the charity.
Still under examination is a potential conflict by Prime Minister Trudeau whose family members received speaking fees from the charity that had been hired for lucrative government work.
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News in brief:
- Two Calgary Facebook users are seeking damages on behalf of hundreds of thousands of Canadians whose personal data may have been improperly used for political purposes. The class-action lawsuit by Saul Benary and Karma Holoboff seeks the Federal Court to grant $1,000 for each of the 622,000 Canadians whose information was shared with others through a digital app. They also seek to have the social-media company bolster its security practises and comply with federal privacy law.
- Canada’s central bank has left its trend-setting interest rate unchanged at 0.25 percent. The Bank of Canada suggests cheap money could remain until 2023 “until inflation gets back to two percent and stays there and until the economic slack is absorbed.”
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Facts and figures:
The Canadian dollar is lower at 75 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.33 Canadian before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate steady at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.
Canadian stock markets are lower with the Toronto index at 15,580 points and the TSX Venture index at 683 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is lower at $1 a liter (Canadian) or $3.80 for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto Max: (Oct. 27) 2, 9, 11, 29, 33, 39 and 44; bonus 15. (Oct. 23) 2, 8, 20, 21, 29, 34 and 37; bonus 41.
Lotto 6/49: (Oct. 28) 2, 3, 16, 25, 34 and 46; bonus 49. (Oct. 24) 4, 9, 17, 20, 26 and 31; bonus 34.
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Regional briefs:
- Canada has extended its ban on cruise ship visits until the end of February. Transport Minister Marc Garneau said cruise ships cannot sail in Canadian waters as well as smaller vessels in Arctic coastal waters due to the pandemic. Canada banned cruise ships with overnight accommodation for at least 500 passengers in mid-March. Several ships have resumed operations or planned to by the end of the year.
A British Columbia man wasn’t happy drinking Canada Dry as he won a class-action lawsuit for $200,000 from the beverage maker. The company agreed to pay the settlement brought by Victor Cardoso who said he was misled by marketing suggesting the soda had medicinal benefits. The marketing saying the beverage is made from “real ginger” was false and it contained none aside from small amounts of ginger derivatives, he said.
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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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