Canada column for Sunday, April 11/21
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
Americans should “avoid all travel to Canada,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests to avoid the risks of COVID-19.
The unprecedented warning across the longest undefended border in the world by the CDC goes on to suggest this applies to those who are even fully vaccinated against the virus.
“Because of the current situation in Canada, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants and should avoid all travel to Canada,” the CDC said on its website.
Even vaccinated travelers “may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants,” it added
The center said Canada is ranked as a Level 4 health risk due to high levels of the virus and low vaccination rates.
Canada is coping with a problem of delays in receiving vaccines and an efficient rollout of who should get them first.
The number of new cases across Canada reached a high of 9,255 while the nation works to stop or slow the spread of multiple variants.
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The Canadian government is preparing to count how many people are living in the county in a census next year.
It will “paint a portrait of Canada’s population and the places where we live,” said Statistics Canada, the agency in charge.
The data will help planning for schools, daycare, housing, hospitals, emergency services, roads, public transportation, and employment skills training, it said.
The current population is 37.6-million people.
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News in brief:
- Canada will remember Prince Phillip as a man of “great service to others,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said of the Duke of Edinburgh’s passing. A frequent visitor to Canada and husband to Queen Elizabeth II, he was 99. “It was with deep sadness that I learned of his passing, Trudeau said. He was Colonel in Chief of six Canadian military units, honorary general of the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, and honorary admiral of the Royal Canadian Navy.
- Canada’s central bank has again kept its trend-setting interest rate at 0.25 percent. It suggested it will stay there until the economy recovers and inflation is back at two percent, not likely until 2023. The Bank of Canada said the more transmissible variants of COVID-19 are the biggest risk to an economic recovery and could “restrain growth and add choppiness to the recovery.” The Canadian economy added 303,000 jobs last month as virus restrictions eased
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Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar returns 79.83cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar is worth $1.255 Canadian before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada key interest rate remains at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.
Canadian stock markets are mixed, with the Toronto index up at 19,228 points and the TSX Venture index down at 960 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is lower at $1.23 a liter (Canadian) or $4.67 for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto Max: (April 6) 2, 14, 24, 25, 35, 44 and 45; bonus 11. (April 2) 30, 32, 33, 34, 37, 45 and 49; bonus 25.
Lotto 6/49: (April 7) 23, 31, 34, 38, 39 and 41; bonus 12. (April 3) 12,13,19, 35, 42 and 47; bonus 28.
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Regional briefs:
- The little piece of France – the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Newfoundland – wants to end the virus-enacted border closing. Residents of this last piece of French territory in North America, are cut off from the world due to travel restrictions. With virus numbers low, they want to join the Atlantic bubble set to open on April 19. This will allow quarantine-free travel between Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland/ Labrador.
- The Liberals claimed a slim majority in Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial election, as voters returned Premier Andrew Furey with 48 percent of the vote. The election had been delayed and due to virus outbreaks. The election costs both Conservative Leader Ches Crosbie and New Democratic Leader Alison Coffin their jobs. The Liberals took 22 of the legislature’s 40 seats after the 10 weeks of electoral delays.
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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