Canada receives more vaccine doses from the U.S.; won't budge on border reopening

    Canada column for Sunday, June 20/21

    THE CANADIAN REPORT

   By Jim Fox

    On the day when Canada received another one-million doses of Moderna vaccine from the United States, calls are growing to reopen the land border.

   Despite that, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he is taking a cautious approach for when more Canadians are fully vaccinated, now at 20 percent, and is keeping the border closed at least until July 21.

   Canada’s government Procurement Minister Anita Anand thanked the Biden administration and Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman for the shipment.

   At the same time as the shipment arrived, politicians and tourism groups from the U.S. and Canada took part in a panel discussion saying it’s time to reopen the border.

   The restrictions due to the pandemic prohibit non-essential travel and have been in place since March 2020.

    New York Congressman Chris Jacobs said a reopening would require approval by both countries and  a plan.

   He said he was “heartened” to hear of the shipment of vaccines being sent to Canada and hoped it may help accelerate progress at the border.

   ---

    Air Canada is recalling 2,600 laid-off workers as travel demand increases and those whose flights were canceled are getting refunds.

   Canada’s largest airline said workers, including flight attendants, will return in stages this month and next.

   The recall is due to expected demand growing as vaccinations increase and virus cases drop while the government eases travel restrictions, said spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick.

   As part of a $5.9-billion aid package from the Canadian government, the airline was to refund flights and vacation packages that were canceled. The deadline for refund applications is July 12.

    ---

    News in brief:

   - A massive construction project to revitalize the Center Block of Canada’s Parliament buildings is expected to take until 2030 and cost up to $5 billion. Work on the complex is well underway and while it “remained beautiful to look at its facilities were critically outdated and systems were failing,” said Rob Wright, Assistant Deputy Minister. The buildings contain 20,000 heritage assets, including 400 historic windows, 250 stained glass windows and85 paintings, frescoes, and murals.

   - Canada’s largest lottery jackpot has reached its cap of $70 million along with 70 individual prizes of $1 million. A bonus with the Canada lotteries is that the winnings are paid in full and not subject to taxes. The Lotto Max is a record $140 million and has two draws a week with tickets costing $5 for three lines of seven numbers.

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     Facts and figures:

   Canada’s dollar is lower at 81 cents U.S. and a U.S. dollar returns $1.23 in Canadian funds before exchange fees.

   The Bank of Canada key interest rate is steady at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.

   Canadian stock markets are mixed, with the Toronto index higher at 20,141 points and the TSX Venture index down to 948 points.

   The average price for gas in Canada is higher at $1.32 a liter (Canadian) or $5.01 for a U.S. gallon.

   Lotto Max: (June 15) 2, 8, 12, 13, 14, 36 and 43; bonus 29. (June 11) 20,  21, 25, 33, 38, 44 and 45; bonus 22.

   Lotto 6/49: (June 16) 16, 23, 32, 33, 37 and 45; bonus 3. (June 12) 11, 20, 22, 33, 41 and 49; bonus 34.

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    Regional briefs:

   - A wealthy Vancouver couple was fined $1,150 each after spending $10,000 to fly to a remote Yukon community to jump the line for an early COVID vaccine. Rodney and Ekaterina Baker were fined for failing to self-isolate for 14 days and giving misleading statements to authorities. Chief Judge Michael Cozens said their actions in January were “cavalier” and “thoughtless,” violating the territory’s Civil Emergency Measures Act. The couple has since each donated $5,000 to the global vaccine sharing effort known as COVAX.

   - Cecile Klein is Canada’s oldest person, celebrating her 114th birthday in Montreal, her hometown. She has lived through two pandemics in her lifetime and is among the top 20 oldest people in the world. The five generations of her family celebrated at an outdoor garden party and via Zoom videoconferencing. “Don’t sweat the small things” is her secret to long life.

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 Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com

Airport anti-virus measures to be relaxed in Canada

    Canada column for Sunday, June 13/21

    THE CANADIAN REPORT

   By Jim Fox

    The Canadian government is relaxing anti-virus measures imposed on people flying home.

   Fully vaccinated Canadian citizens and permanent residents who test negative for COVID-19 will soon be exempt from two weeks in quarantine on their return.

   Now incoming air travellers must spend three days at a government-approved quarantine hotel at their expense.

   They also must complete two weeks of self-isolation at their destination and take a second test on the eighth day after arrival – that will no longer be required of fully vaccinated people.

   Beginning next month, those inoculated at least 14 days before entering the country will be able to avoid staying in a hotel.

   They must still isolate until the test comes back negative but can resume activities.

   ---

    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it a “terrorist attack” after a young man allegedly mowed down a Muslim family, killing four in London, Ontario.

   A massive vigil at the London Muslim Mosque attracted 10,000 people including Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford who both denounced racism.

   The family of five was out for a walk on a hot Sunday evening when police said a pickup truck jumped the curb and ran into them in what they allege was a hate-motivated attack.

   Killed were Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, their daughter Yumna, 15, and grandmother Talat Afzaal, 74.

   The couple’s son, Fayez, 9, was the lone survivor and remains in a hospital with serious injuries.

   Facing murder charges is Nathaniel Veltman, 20, a part-time farm worker.

   “Their lives were taken in a brutal, cowardly and brazen act of violence,” Trudeau said.

    ---

    News in brief:

   - The statue of Egerton Ryerson has been toppled and become headless by protesters upset over his role in establishing former residential schools to Canadianise native children. Demonstrators protested outside the university named after Ryerson in downtown Toronto. This followed the finding of mass graves of 215 Indigenous children at an old school site in Kamloops, British Columbia.

   - Canada’s central bank is keeping its trend-setting interest rate unchanged at 0.25 percent where it has been since the onset of the pandemic. The strategy is to keep the rate there until the economy has recovered. That rebound would likely happen in the second half of next year, it said. Inflation should stay around three percent through the summer due to higher gas prices.

   ---

     Facts and figures:

   Canada’s dollar is higher at 83 cents U.S. and a U.S. dollar returns $1.21 in Canadian funds before exchange fees.

   The Bank of Canada key interest rate is steady at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.

   Canadian stock markets are higher, with the Toronto index at 20,049 points and the TSX Venture index 979 points.

   The average price for gas in Canada is higher at $1.31 a liter (Canadian) or $4.97 for a U.S. gallon.

   Lotto Max: (June 8) 1, 9, 14, 24, 26, 37 and 42; bonus 29. (June 4) 2, 3, 16, 28, 31, 42 and 47; bonus 12.

   Lotto 6/49: (June 9) 1, 3, 15, 26, 28 and 39; bonus 10. (June 5) 13, 15, 22, 42, 45 and 46; bonus 14.

   ---

    Regional briefs:

   - Canada is anticipating an above-normal number of Atlantic hurricanes this season. As many as five storms are expected to be major compared to the average of three, said Bob Robichaud of the Canadian Hurricane Center. A major hurricane is one with sustained winds of at least 110 mph (178 km/h). About one-third of named storms find their way into Canadian waters, he added. This year’s first storm will be called Ana.

   - Jenica Atwin, New Brunswick Member of Parliament, has “crossed the floor” to leave the Green party and become a Liberal. She said she took the action due to strife among the Greens over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The former teacher who helped run an Indigenous education center “stands with Palestine and condemns the unthinkable airstrikes in Gaza.”

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 Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com

Grim secrets revealed about the horrors oformer Aboriginal shools in Canada

    Canada column for Sunday, June 6/21

    THE CANADIAN REPORT

   By Jim Fox

    The horrible truth has come out about Canada’s former Aboriginal schools with the discovery of the mass graves of 215 children in British Columbia.

   The shocking discovery has led to demands for an apology from the Roman Catholic Church and police investigations nationally to see if there are more graves elsewhere.

   The Epekwitk Mi’kmaq Chiefs said they found the remains at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School that operated between 1890 and 1978, housing as many as 500 children at a time.

   Canada’s residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples with the goal of assimilating them into society.

   The network of 132 schools was funded by the federal Department of Indian Affairs and administered by Christian churches and housed150, 000 children taken from their parents between 1857 and 1996.

   A national outcry with the public display of 215 pairs of children’s shoes followed along with demands the government investigate the grounds of other schools for unmarked graves.

   ---

    The Canadian government is increasing the fines for people who ignore the mandatory quarantine hotel program when flying back to Canada.

   A violation of the Quarantine Act now has a maximum fine of $5,000, up from $3,000.

   This is for travelers who have refused to submit to the quarantine process.

   That involves taking a COVID-19 test at the airport and then staying in a designated hotel for up to three days to await the result at a cost of up to $2,000.

   The Public Health Agency of Canada said 798 fines were issued between Feb. 22 and May 7 in Ontario and British Columbia.

    ---

    News in brief:

   - A plan to offer Canadians surplus vaccine has been approved for special clinics to be set up in the auto tunnel linking Windsor, Ontario and Detroit. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens’s idea was to hold COVID-19 vaccination clinics in the tunnel using Detroit supplies about to expire as his city awaits more from the Canadian government. This arrangement will allow Canadians to avoid crossing into the U.S. and face quarantine on their return.

   - Canada’s economy lost 68,000 jobs in May due to lockdowns to slow the spread of the pandemic. Statistics Canada said the job losses followed 207,000fewer jobs in April and left the unemployment rate relatively steady at 8.2 percent last month.

    ---

     Facts and figures:

   Canada’s dollar is lower at 82 cents U.S. and a U.S. dollar returns $1.16 in Canadian funds before exchange fees.

   The Bank of Canada key interest rate is 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.

   Canadian stock markets are higher, with the Toronto index at 19,941 points and the TSX Venture index 969 points.

   The average price for gas in Canada is steady at $1.30 a liter (Canadian) or $4.94 for a U.S. gallon.

   Lotto Max: (June 1) 6, 20, 21, 28, 38, 43 and 47; bonus 40. (May 28) 7, 18, 22, 40, 44, 46 and 50; bonus 5.

   Lotto 6/49: (June 2) 1, 13, 22, 32, 33 and 39; bonus 48. (May 29) 11,18,19, 27, 34 and 46; bonus 42.

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    Regional briefs:

   - Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, the home of Canadian Confederation from 1864, no longer has its controversial statue of Sir John A. Macdonald. The statue of Canada’s first Prime Minister was removed from a downtown intersection on orders from city council. This was in response to recent revelations about Canada’s residential school system and his endorsement of the program.

   - The cross-country rivalry continues as the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League won their first-round playoff series against the Toronto  Maple Leafs. True to their words, Toronto Mayor John Tory and Montreal’s Valerie Plante had a side bet. Toronto will fly the Canadiens’ flag outside city hall . Tory is also sending along a gift box including a back  bacon sandwich from Carousel Bakery at the St. Lawrence Market and six-pack of beer from Great Lakes Brewery.

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 Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com

Canada denies U.S. thought that the land border will reopen soon

    Canada column for Sunday, May 30/21

    THE CANADIAN REPORT

   By Jim Fox

    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is dismissing reports that the land border between Canada and the United States will reopen soon.

   He was reacting to a report quoting “anonymous sources” with U.S. Customs and Border Protection that the one-year-old closing, except for essential travel, would end by June 22 – its current cut-off date.

   Nothing has changed, Trudeau said, and insisted that won’t happen until 75 percent of Canadians have been vaccinated.

   “Conversations are ongoing constantly with the U.S. administration because there is much eagerness to get back to normal on all sides,” Trudeau added.

   Canada is now outpacing the U.S. in the number of people who have received at least one dose at 53.5 percent while some 40 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated, compared with less than 5 percent of Canadians.

   Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said it’s time to develop a plan to re-open the border including the U.S. “doing more to help Canadians get their hands on second doses of the vaccine.”

   ---

    Most Canadians believe a COVID vaccine passport should be required for travel.

   An Angus Reid poll showed 76 percent of Canadians would support mandatory vaccination proof for travel to the United States.

   That number jumps to 79 percent favoring vaccine proof for international travel.

   The survey also found people are less interested in a vaccine passport for everyday activities at home including going to restaurants or movie theaters.

   Sixty-nine percent want to see vaccine passports required at large public gatherings such as concerts or other events with more than 50 people.

    ---

    News in brief:

   - An advisory panel report is calling for the Canadian government to end quarantine hotels for air travellers, saying they just aren’t working. The government has been ordering three-day quarantine stays in designated facilities for air travellers returning to Canada. Some people have avoided the inconvenience and expense of the hotel stays by paying fines of up to $3,000. Others are flying to U.S. airports near the Canadian border and ending the trip home by land without a quarantine stay. 

   - Restarting the Canadian economy could face struggles as an expected rise in interest rates would temper the amount of stimulus from the Liberal government budget. Budget officer Yves Giroux also said that rising price pressures and expected increases in interest rates could add to federal costs. He expects it would create 89,000 more jobs by the end of 202 and predicts the Bank of Canada will raise its trendsetting interest rate before the end of 2022 from 0.25 per cent where it has been since March 2020.

    ---

     Facts and figures:

   Canada’s dollar is steady at 83 cents U.S. and returns $1.21 in Canadian funds before exchange fees.

   The Bank of Canada key interest rate is 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.

   Canadian stock markets are higher, with the Toronto index at 19,786 points and the TSX Venture index 957 points.

   The average price for gas in Canada is slightly lower at $1.30 a liter (Canadian) or $4.94 for a U.S. gallon.

   Lotto Max: (May 25) 6, 9, 11, 19, 24, 38 and 46; bonus 18. (May 21) 5, 6, 25, 31, 32, 44 and 48; bonus 39.

   Lotto 6/49: (May 26) 7, 10, 20, 38, 45 and 49; bonus 26. (May 22) 7, 13, 14, 34, 37 and 45; bonus 29.

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    Regional briefs:

   - Canadian homeowners can cash in with a federal government program that offers grants for energy-efficient home upgrades. The Canada Greener Homes Program offers homeowners up to $5,000 toward the installation of such energy-saving projects as improved insulation and roof panels, high-efficiency water heaters and heating equipment and solar panels. It includes up to $600 for energy audits.

   - The flag of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia is flying on top of Mount Everest. It was placed on the tallest mountain in the world by dentist Kevin Walsh of Windsor. The mountaineer successfully reached the top of Everest after years of planning and preparation. He was joined by his climbing group and began the final ascent in the dark.

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    Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com

Land border between U.S. and Canada still locked tight

    Canada column for Sunday, May 23/21

    THE CANADIAN REPORT

   By Jim Fox

    We hear you knocking but you can’t come in, Canada says as it continues to lock up its land border with the U.S. for at least another month.

   Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the time is still not right during the pandemic to ease restrictions at the 5,400-mile border.

   Despite protests from U.S. border senators including New York’s Chuck Schumer, Trudeau said the border, closed for the past year, will remain closed to nonessential travel until at least June 21.

   Any decision to reopen the land border would depend on vaccination rates while people arriving by air require negative COVID-19 tests and a quarantine period.

   Meanwhile, three of Canada’s largest provinces – Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan – have started to ease restrictions and restart the economy.

   And Manitoba is reopening schools on Monday with all in-classroom learning and no virtual studies at home.

   The provinces will reopen in stages starting this weekend with outdoor activities including sports and golf as well as boating and outside visits.

    ---

    It has been learned the reason for the sudden departure of Major-General Dany Fortin as head of Canada’s vaccine rollout was an allegation of sexual misconduct.

   Reports say the alleged incident happened 33 years ago when Fortin was attending the Royal Military College in Quebec.

   The military is investigating the complaint and would decide whether criminal charges should be laid.

   Prime Minister Trudeau said he was informed of the situation “a number of weeks ago,” but had little information as it is a military investigation.

   Through a lawyer, Fortin said he “vigorously and categorically denies this allegation.”

   His job is now being handled by Brigadier-General Krista Brodie.

    ---

    News in brief:

   - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Quebec has the right to modify the Canadian Constitution to support its French language and heritage. The province has proposed language law reform to affirm that Quebec is a nation and its official language is French. Trudeau said both things “have already been recognized by the federal government.”

   -  Canada is toughening its mortgage test requirements over fears homeowners are piling up too much debt. The Bank of Canada said many households have taken on large mortgages compared with their income, “limiting their flexibility to deal with an unforeseen financial shock like the loss of a job.” Total household debt has increased by four percent since the start of the pandemic. The percentage of costly loans of more than 4.5-times a household’s income, have risen above the peaks seen five years ago, the bank said.

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     Facts and figures:

   Canada’s dollar is steady at its higher rate of 83 cents to the U.S. dollar that returns $1.21 in Canadian funds before exchange fees.

   The Bank of Canada key interest rate is 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.

   Canadian stock markets are higher, with the Toronto index at 19,525 points and the TSX Venture index at 946 points.

   The average price for gas in Canada is up to $1.31 a liter (Canadian) or $4.97 for a U.S. gallon.

   Lotto Max: (May 18) 5, 9, 18, 27, 32, 38 and 40; bonus 34. (May 14) 3, 18, 19, 24, 26, 27 and 45; bonus 20.

   Lotto 6/49: (May 19) 12, 21, 25, 40, 42 and 49; bonus 45. (May 15) 3, 6, 12, 28, 39 and 46; bonus 5.

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    Regional briefs:

   - The magic has dimmed a little as all 18 Disney Stores in Canada are closing this summer. They’ve been in business for 30 years but the company said it needs to shut 60 stores in Canada and the U.S. to “significantly reduce its brick-and-mortar footprint.” The Canadian stores are in Ontario, with five in Toronto, Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba. Online shopping is still available and merchandise at other retailers and theme parks.

   - The Lung Association of Prince Edward Island is hoping smokers will take the bait and trade their cigarettes for lobster in its annual Smoke Free Now challenge. Smokers need to sign up to go without a smoke for a month through June 22. The prize is a gift card for $30 worth of lobster or other seafood, said the association’s Julia Hartley.

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    Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com