Canada column for Sunday, Feb. 13/22
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
After two weeks of blockading Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, to protest vaccine mandates, truckers now face stiff fines and time in jail if they don’t remove their “freedom rally” from downtown streets and U.S.-Canada land border crossings.
In what started out as a virus mandate-protest to “take back their freedom,” it became a demand for Canada’s government to be overthrown.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in an emotional address there appears to be one alternative – a court injunction with fines up to $100,000 and a year in jail.
This is the third weekend of the parked convoy of hundreds of big rigs and thousands of people who have taken over Ottawa.
It has grown to include blockades of the Canada-U.S. border’s Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario along with other smaller crossings.
This has led to layoffs at the many auto plants and demands from the U.S. government to do something quickly.
The protesters say they will remain until their anarchist demands are met, including dropping all vaccination mandates.
So far donations to support the truckers in the “freedom rally” protest – many from Americans – have topped $18 million, now under court review.
“We’ve heard you; now go home,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the protesters at a news conference but he still refuses to meet with them.
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The Canadian government plans to announce changes to COVID-19 measures at its borders in the next week.
The announcement by Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos comes as Canada still advises against non-essential international travel.
The worst of the latest wave of the pandemic is over and “measures will be tweaked accordingly,” he said.
He’s expected to remove mandatory pre-arrival PCR COVID testing for Canadians who are fully vaccinated and who travel outside the country.
Now anyone travelling within Canada by plane, passenger train or boat must be vaccinated against COVID-19 and international travellers are subject to COVID test requirements.
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News in brief:
- Quebec is changing its isolation guidelines for those who caught COVID-19 in its fifth wave and believe they’ve caught it again. Quebec Public Health says contact with a positive case makes it unlikely they have been reinjected at this time. The new guidelines apply to people showing symptoms now or have been in contact with someone who has it. Quebec also has a new COVID-19 self-assessment tool to help people determine whether someone needs to isolate. These people don’t need to isolate unless they have a fever and should do so until they have been fever-free for 24 hours.
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Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is higher at 78 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.28 in Canadian funds, before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is unchanged at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.
Canadian stock markets are higher, with the Toronto index at 21,450 while the TSX Venture index was 866 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is at a record high at $1.55 a liter (Canadian) or $5.89 for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto Max: (Feb. 8)16, 29, 32, 34, 38, 39 and 47; bonus 18. (Feb. 4) 5, 15, 19, 22, 37, 46 and 47; bonus 1.
Lotto 6/49: (Feb. 9) 12, 14, 19, 28, 32 and 36; bonus 17. (Feb. 5) 2, 9, 12, 14, 23 and 24; bonus 10.
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Regional briefs:
- A huge avalanche blocked a major highway in British Columbia. Traffic was stopped for several days after the snow cascade on Highway 37A near Stewart. There were no injuries but the province has had several avalanches in recent weeks with one death and two people seriously injured in the Whistler area.
- Pandemic restrictions were given as the reason Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour will bypass Canada next month. John’s website expressed “great regret” for the cancellation of four shows in Toronto and Montreal. Ontario and Quebec limit venues to 50 percent seating capacity but plan to lift their limits on March 14 after the show dates. Shows planned for Toronto and Vancouver in the fall are still planned.
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thecanadareport.blogspot.com
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