Canada column for Sunday, Nov14/21
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
Canadian “snowbirds,” the human kind, lined up for hours in many cases in the past week after the land border between the United States and Canada finally reopened to non-essential travel after 19 months last Monday.
The pandemic-imposed closing by the U.S. and Canadian governments kept visitors away from their winter homes and vacations primarily in Florida as well as in other warmer and sunnier climates.
The border had been closed to non-essential travel since March 2020 but there are still conditions now.
Those crossing by cars, trucks and motorhomes who are 18 and older and fully vaccinated and younger travelers are allowed to cross.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says be prepared to present vaccination documentation, upon request.
On the return to Canada, travelers must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test that could cost up to $$300 taken within 72 hours of their return flight or arrival at the land border.
However, fully vaccinated Canadians returning can skip Canada’s 14-day quarantine rule.
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A British Columbia doctor has diagnosed one of his patients with climate-change illness.
Family physician Dr. Kyle Merritt working at the Kootenay Lake Hospital said it’s time to recognize this as part of a medical finding.
The woman in her 70s has congestive heart failure and diabetes that were made worse from last summer’s unrelenting heat wave and wildfires in western Canada.
The heat wave led to 595 deaths in British Columbia where it had been naturally air-conditioned previously.
“We are actually starting to see the health effects of climate change now – it’s not just something that is going to happen in the future,” he said.
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News in brief:
- Public health units are reporting an increase in COVID-19 cases and hospital occupancy in Canada. Cases in Ontario, Canada’s most-populous province with 15-million people, could reach 200daily hospital cases by early in the New Year. All but eight of Ontario’s 34 public health units saw a surge in cases from Oct. 26 to Nov. 8, with Sudbury seeing the biggest growth in infections and renewed lockdowns. Group gatherings without taking precautions and not wearing masks are cited with the major causes of the latest spread with more than 600 new daily cases up from 400 in the province. Eighty-eight percent of eligible Ontarians have received at least one vaccine shot.
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Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is lower at 79 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.25 in Canadian funds, before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s 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 21,691 points and the TSX Venture index 1,011 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is steady at $1.46 a liter (Canadian) or $5.54 for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto Max: (Nov. 9) 2, 8, 16, 17, 19, 26 and 42; bonus 41. (Nov. 5) 2, 10, 11, 17, 19, 32 and 42; bonus 41.
Lotto 6/49: (Nov. 10) 2, 7, 18, 19, 23 and 25; bonus 43. (Nov. 6) 14, 16, 28, 39, 41 and 47; bonus 37.
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Regional briefs:
- Valerie Plante has won a second term as mayor in Montreal, easily defeating main competitor Denis Coderre. She campaigned on the need for more social housing, the battle against climate change and improving public security.
- Scavengers are on a treasure hunt, picking through the debris on beaches in northern Vancouver Island. That’s where only four of the 109 cargo containers that fell off a container ship last month have washed ashore. As well, the Canadian Coast Guards says clean-up crews removed 44 refrigerators and other debris from a beach near Shuttleworth Bight in Cape Scott Provincial Park. It’s believed that most of the containers that fell from the MV Zim Kingston during a storm have sunk.
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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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