Canada column for Sunday, Jan.9/22
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
Two of Canada’s largest airlines, Air Canada and West Jet, have canceled more than 500 flights in the past week that include sun destinations in Florida and the Caribbean.
As well, “leisure airline” Air Transat has cut about 30 percent of its flights for the next two months.
Airlines cite a big drop in demand, both consumer and business, over the “ongoing impact of the Omicron pandemic variant and urgings by the Canadian government to avoid non-essential travel and other restrictive measures.
Air Canada Vacations is the latest to say it is suspending flights to Sun destinations from Jan. 24 until April 30 over the pandemic fallout.
WestJet cut 15 percent of its scheduled flights through to the end of January over a high proportion of flight crews calling in sick due to Omicron virus.
Toronto-based Porter Airlines is also reviewing cutbacks to its flight schedules, said spokesman Brad Cicero, due to the “evolving progression” of the virus.
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New Year’s revelers partying to the extreme on a Montreal-to-Cancun, Mexico charter flight could face jail time and thousands of dollars in fines.
Defying pandemic lock-down rules, curfews and urgings to avoid non-essential travel, the group could be seen in videos without masks vaping, dancing, drinking and crowd surfing on the Sun Wing flight.
The government’s Transport Canada bureau is investigating the violations of the passengers for ignoring public health measures and if their actions endangered others.
Sunwing canceled their return flight and other Canadian airlines barred them from boarding to go home while two of the revelers stayed in quarantine in Mexico with COVID-19.
Their actions are a “slap in the face” to defy health rules in an outbreak and putting passengers, airline workers at risk by “being completely irresponsible,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
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News in brief:
- With Toronto and Vancouver house prices hitting $1.2 million on average, there are calls for a speculation tax to help bridge the affordability gap. Across Canada, the average price has increased to $720,000 with more than 630,000 houses sold in the past year. Vancouver based think-tank Generation Squeeze says there should be new tax on homes worth $1 million and up.
There have also been suggestions of extra taxes on vacant houses, flipping properties and foreign investors.
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Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is steady at 79 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.265 in Canadian funds, before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate remains steady at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.
Canadian stock markets are lower with the Toronto index at 21,089 on Friday while the TSX Venture index is at 907 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is higher at $1.425 a liter (Canadian) or $5.41 for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto Max: (Jan. 4) 7, 8, 13, 20, 25, 26 and 48; bonus 36. (Dec. 31) 7, 25, 30, 35, 38, 40 and 49; bonus 27.
Lotto 6/49: (Jan. 5) 2, 5, 8, 29, 36 and 45; bonus 23. (Jan. 1) 7, 8, 15, 17, 19 and 33; bonus 6.
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Regional briefs:
- The Public Health Agency of Canada reports there were 292,204 new cases of the virus, an increase of 65 percent in the past week. Across the country, there were 271 deaths, an increase of 94 percent. Hospitalizations are 81-percent higher with intensive care beds up 34 percent. Hot spots with many more outbreaks continue to be Quebec and Ontario. Many cases are blamed on “lockdown fatigue” and younger Canadians loosening up their social circles and close-quarter settings.
- Deaths include Prince Edward Island musician Koady Chaisson, part of the Canadian musicJuno-winning three-man band the East Pointers. He was 37 and no cause of death was given. Quebec filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallee, director of Big Little Lies and Dallas Buyers Club, died at age 58. He also directed the Oscar-nominated film Wild and HBO’s Sharp Objects.
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