Another COVID-19 exposure occurred on a flight to Kamloops last weekend.
The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control on Friday added six more Vancouver flights to its COVID-19 public exposures list, including an Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Kamloops on Oct. 24.
The public health agency is warning passengers who recently travelled aboard the following Air Canada flights that they may have been exposed to the virus.
Oct. 23 - Air Canada flight 123, Toronto to Vancouver (Affected rows 26-30)
Oct. 24 - Air Canada flight 215, Calgary to Vancouver (Affected rows 24-29)
Oct. 24 - Air Canada flight 8198, Vancouver to Kamloops (Affected rows 8-14)
Oct. 25 - Air Canada flight 248, Vancouver to Edmonton (Affected rows 16-22)
Oct. 25 - Air Canada flight 855, London to Vancouver (Affected rows 18-23)
Oct. 28 - Air Canada flight 551, Los Angeles to Vancouver (Affected rows 22-28)
The update comes following Thursday's additions to the BCCDC's list, which included the flights:
Oct. 18 - Air Canada 8209, Vancouver to Prince George (Affected rows 8-14)
Oct. 18 - Air Canada 8575, Saskatoon to Vancouver (Affected rows 1-4 and 12-14)
Oct. 25 - Air Canada 192, Victoria to Toronto (Affected rows 1-4)
The health agency asks any passengers who travelled on a domestic flight flagged for carrying a COVID-19 case to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days following their potential exposure.
Any passengers who have travelled outside of Canada, meanwhile, are required to self-isolate and self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days upon their arrival. The government continues to discourage international travel at this time.
Any returning travellers who develop symptoms following their arrival in Canada should get tested for COVID-19. These individuals will also be required to self-isolate for a minimum of 14 days from their arrival date, or 10 days after onset of symptoms, whichever is longer.
While self-monitoring for symptoms of COVID-19— i.e. fever, cough, chills, sore throat, loss of sense of smell or taste and many more—individuals should take and record their temperature daily, and avoid taking fever-reducing medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen if possible, for 14 days following their return to Canada or last known exposure to a confirmed COVID-19 case. The average normal body temperature taken orally is about 37°C, according to the BCCDC.
For more information about self-monitoring and self-isolation, head to the BCCDC's website.
Vale is reporting a presumptive positive case of COVID-19 at the Voisey's Bay mine site in northern Labrador. (Vale)
Vale is reporting a presumptive positive case of COVID-19 at the Voisey's Bay mine site in northern Labrador, with the Department of Health working to compete additional testing.
In a statement to CBC News Saturday, a spokesperson for the company, which owns the mine, said that an asymptomatic person entered the site on Monday, passed all normal screening protocols and began showing symptoms of the virus on Wednesday, before immediately being placed in isolation.
A subsequent test Friday returned a presumptive positive result. The case is considered presumptive until it can be confirmed by public health.
Vale said it is working closely with public health officials to determine the number of close contacts.
The statement from the company said the individual who tested positive remains in isolation and is doing well, with the onsite medical team providing assistance.
According to Saturday's COVID-19 news release from the provincial health department, the man is between 20 and 39 years old and is a resident of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Nunatsiavut Government also issued a statement Saturday morning and said it was informed by Vale of the presumptive positive case. Nunatsiavut said the risk to its beneficiaries is believed to be low.
The health department said public health officials met with the company Saturday morning, and additional testing will be done at the Public Health Microbiology Laboratory to confirm the positive case.
As a result of the case being a presumptive positive, the province continues to have only three active cases.
In all, 52,445 people have now been tested across the province for COVID-19 — that's an additional 300 tests in the last 24 hours.
The province's total COVID-19 caseload remains at 291 as a result of the presumptive positive, with 284 people recovering since March.
CALGARY --
Loblaw and Sobeys, the two companies that own and operate most of the major supermarkets in Alberta, have confirmed 11 new cases of COVID-19 in locations in Calgary and area this week.
On its website, Loblaw said seven workers at various locations in Calgary as well as a No Frills store in High River, tested positive this week:
Team member at Merv's No Frills, 4501 17 Ave. S.E., tested positive on Oct. 31 (last day worked was Oct. 27)
Team member at Andrew & Jessica's No Frills, 1103 18 St. S.E., High River, Alta., tested positive Oct. 31 (last day worked was Oct. 28)
Team member at Shoppers Drug Mart, 6455 Macleod Tr. S., tested positive Oct. 31 (last day worked was Oct. 27)
Two team members at Real Canadian Superstore, 540 Third St. S.E., tested positive Oct. 31 (last day they worked were Oct. 25 and 26)
Two team members at Shoppers Drug Mart, 3012 17 Ave. S.E., tested positive Oct. 30 (last day they worked were Oct. 24 and 25)
Loblaws says it is continuing to work with public health officials during the pandemic and has taken precautions to protect their workers and customers.
"In all of our stores, we encourage our colleagues and employees to wear masks, particularly where physical distancing is not always possible. Many local government authorities have mandated that our staff and customers wear masks within our stores," the company said in a statement.
A full list of stores where mandatory mask rules are in place is available online.
Three of the new cases are in Calgary while the fourth involved a worker at an IGA in Claresholm, Alta.
Team member at Sobeys, 20 McKenzie Towne Ave. S.E., tested positive Oct. 27 (last day worked was Oct. 23)
Team member at IGA, 4920-First St. W., Claresholm, Alta., tested positive Oct. 30 (last day worked was Oct. 25)
Team member at Safeway, 3550-32 Ave. N.E., tested positive Oct. 30 (last day worked was Oct. 22)
Team member at Safeway, 1200-37 St. S.W., tested positive Oct. 30 (last day worked was Oct. 23)
"We will continue to update (advisories) to be transparent with you where we have been notified of cases of COVID-19 in our stores," Sobeys wrote in a statement.
"Where required, we will communicate with customers who have shopped in the impacted location, with store signage, outlining our steps to manage the situation."
No personal information about the employees, including in what areas they worked in the stores, is being released out of a respect for the privacy of those workers and their families.
Alberta's data system will be undergoing some maintenance over the weekend, meaning no new numbers will be reported this weekend or on Monday. Data updates are set to resume on Tuesday.
Starting next Monday (Nov. 2), the COVID-19 symptom list for Albertans under the age of 18 is changing. Runny nose and sore throat will be removed from the list of symptoms that require mandatory isolation for children.
Alberta reported 622 new cases on Friday, bringing the total active cases in the province to 5,172 — another new high after hitting record numbers nearly every day for the past week.
Five more people have died, bringing total deaths in the province to 323.
There are 140 people in hospital, 25 of whom are in intensive care.
If you're wondering how to handle Halloween this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, here are some ideas on how to trick-or-treat, give out candy or celebrate in a different way — without the fear of catching or spreading the coronavirus.
The province has brought in new mandatory limits of 15 people at most social gatherings in Edmonton and Calgary.
The province is also recommending voluntary measures in both cities: wearing non-medical masks in all indoor work settings, except where people are alone in an office or cubicle, or a barrier is in place, and limiting themselves to no more than three cohorts.
It also recommends that people in Edmonton and Calgary limit themselves to no more than three social cohorts.
(CBC)
What you need to know today in Alberta:
Alberta set another record on Friday with 5,172 active cases of COVID-19, an increase of 251 from the day before.
The death toll now sits at 323, up five from Thursday.
Five more deaths were reported on Friday. They involved:
A man in his 70s from Edmonton zone, not linked to continuing care.
Two men, one in his 80s and another in his 90s, linked to the outbreak at the Edmonton General Continuing Care Centre in Edmonton.
A man in his 80s linked to the South Terrace Continuing Care Centre in Edmonton Zone.
A man in his 70s linked to the outbreak at the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary.
Starting Monday, the COVID-19 symptom list for Albertans under the age of 18 is changing. Runny nose and sore throat will be removed from the list of symptoms that require mandatory isolation for children.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said the changes to the symptom list are intended to get children and teenagers back into child care or classrooms as quickly and safely as possible, while minimizing the risk of COVID-19.
In the last week, she said, more than 3,400 children and youth who were tested for COVID-19 reported having a sore throat. Just over 700 of them had a sore throat as their only symptom, and less than one per cent of their tests came back positive.
Meanwhile, the number of cases of COVID-19 among school-aged children in Alberta has again surged to a new high, while the number of kids and teens being tested continues to decline.
Data from Alberta Health shows the number of new daily cases has continued to rise among five- to nine-year-olds and has again shot up, especially, among 10- to 19-year-olds.
Over the past week on record, an average of 85 cases were recorded per day among school-aged kids and teens.
Alberta has reported a total of 27,664 cases since the pandemic began. Before this past week, which set new records on multiple days in a row, the highest active case total was 3,022, which was reported on April 30 at the peak of the first wave.
The active case rate per 100,000 people is 130.8 in Calgary and 185 in Edmonton.
A snapshot of the active COVID-19 cases by health district in Calgary as of Oct. 28. (CBC)
A new temporary measure, which caps attendance at 15 for events where people will be "mixing and mingling" like parties and baby showers, applies in the Calgary and Edmonton areas.
The province is also recommending two voluntary measures in both cities: wearing non-medical masks in all indoor work settings, except where people are alone in an office or cubicle, or a barrier is in place, and limiting themselves to no more than three cohorts.
A spokesperson for Correctional Service Canada told CBC News they don't believe the infected employees were in close contact with any of the inmates.
An outbreak at the Calgary Correctional Centre has gotten bigger, according to new numbers provided by Alberta Health Services. As of Friday, 104 inmates and 20 staff members have tested positive.
Albertans have been administered more than 597,000 doses of the flu shot so far this year, an increase of more than 50,000 when compared to the same time period last year.
"Thank you for doing your part to help stop the spread of influenza, and helping our health system stay focused on the pandemic response," Hinshaw said Thursday.
Health officials have said this year it is more important than ever to get the flu shot because of the pandemic.
Here's the regional breakdown of active cases reported on Friday.
Edmonton zone: 2,312, an increase from 2,277 the day before.
Calgary zone: 2,034, an increase from 1,879 the day before.
North zone: 353, an increase from 325 the day before.
South zone: 276, an increase from 256 the day before.
Central zone: 178 an increase from 162 the day before.
Dr. Neil Collins gives CBC Calgary's Rob Brown an update on the hospital capacity in the city. 4:50
What you need to know today in Canada:
As of 11:20 a.m. ET on Saturday, Canada had 234,083 confirmed or presumptive coronavirus cases, with 28,230 of those active. Provinces and territories listed 195,719 as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 10,134.
On Friday, health officials in Canada reported a record-breaking number of new cases, totalling 3,457.
Manitoba saw 480 new cases on Friday, representing its highest single-day spike. Winnipeg will be placed under "red alert" pandemic restrictions starting on Monday.
Saskatchewan reported 82 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, breaking the record for the highest single-day jump in new cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
The province will receive about 453,000 in total, with a little less than half of that order expected to arrive by the end of this week. That means Quebec will receive about 37 per cent of the 1.2 million kits being deployed across Canada by the federal government.
With winter cold and influenza season approaching, Alberta Health Services will prioritize Albertans for testing who have symptoms, and those groups which are at higher risk of getting or spreading the virus.
General asymptomatic testing is no longer available to anyone, but voluntary asymptomatic testing is available to:
School teachers and staff.
Health-care workers.
Staff and residents at long-term care and congregate living facilities.
Any Albertans experiencing homelessness.
Travellers requiring a test before departure.
Additional groups can also access asymptomatic testing if required.
The province says Albertans who have returned to Canada from other countries must self-isolate. Unless your situation is critical and requires a call to 911, Albertans are advised to call Health Link at 811 before visiting a physician, hospital or other health-care facility.
If you have symptoms, even mild, you are to self-isolate for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms, until the symptoms have disappeared.
The province also operates a confidential mental health support line at 1-877-303-2642 and addiction help line at 1-866-332-2322, both available 24 hours a day.
Online resources are available for advice on handling stressful situations and ways to talk with children.
There is a 24-hour family violence information line at 310-1818 to get anonymous help in more than 170 languages, and Alberta's One Line for Sexual Violence is available at 1-866-403-8000, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
CALGARY --
Health officials in Alberta have set out clear guidelines for residents to follow for Halloween, but Airbnb has taken a harder line with anyone planning to rent their properties out for events.
As soon as Alberta's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, announced that the spookiest season of the year could move ahead without a problem, many Albertans turned to their schedules to find out where they could celebrate the season.
However, with the pandemic continuing in the province, officials say strict rules must remain in place.
"Halloween gatherings must adhere to all of the public health measures in place," said Tom McMillan, assistant director of communications for Alberta Health in an email to CTV News.
"If they are at a restaurant or pub, they must follow the public health guidance and limits in place. If they are at a household or other setting, there is a 15-person limit in Calgary and Edmonton."
That means, as long as business owners play ball, costume contests and other events can go ahead without any problems.
That doesn't mean the fun will be limitless on Saturday night, McMillan says.
"The limit applies to social gatherings are characterized by people from multiple cohorts coming together for the purpose of social activity, with people moving freely to associate, mix or interact with other cohorts; having two-way conversations amongst members from multiple cohorts; and sharing food, laughing and group activities."
Those who do break the rules could face enforcement under the Public Health Act by any police agency in the province of Alberta.
"Complaints can also be directed to the Alberta Health Services for an investigation. The first focus will always on public education and to work with owners/operators before moving to enforcement action, which could ultimately include fines up to $1,000," McMillan says.
AIRBNB CONTINUES BAN ON ONE-DAY BOOKINGS
Airbnb issued a reminder to all of its clients who were planning to post their properties for rent for a one-day period in order to help crack down on parties and events that could encourage the spread of COVID-19.
"The great majority of guests are respectful of our hosts’ homes and neighbors, and we understand that this initiative will disrupt many one-night reservations that might not have led to parties. This action is designed to help protect our hosts and the communities they live in," the company said in a release.
The prohibition from Airbnb also capped occupancy at 16 people, which includes both overnight guests and visitors.
The province says evidence shows 45 per cent of current active cases in Alberta have come from household gatherings and private events.
Alberta Health has set out more specific rules regarding Halloween on its website, but the core principles of the guidelines are the same as they've always been during the pandemic – wash your hands often, use hand sanitizer and, if you're feeling sick, stay home.
Rising cases of #COVID19AB can affect all of us. We must protect our health system from being overwhelmed & essential services being impacted. Please stick to all the health measures this weekend, including the gathering limits in #YEG & #YYC. Let's all protect each other.
As the owner of a beauty shop catering to Black hair, Nichola Lorimer is used to explaining her business to people who are unfamiliar with the products and services she offers.
But when the 37-year-old Edmonton entrepreneur, who goes by NiLo, inquired about a commercial mortgage, she didn't expect the conversation would fixate on a derogatory racial term.
"I was explaining the type of business that I do, that it's a niche market, that I work with natural hair only. He asked if this is a 'nappy hair' business specifically," she said when recalling her phone conversation with the bank representative.
"'Is this like a business for nappy girls? Like nappy hair girls?' I was stunned."
The term was used historically to describe the tightly coiled texture of Black hair and was often associated with derogatory caricatures and portrayals of Black natural hair.
The Cost of Living ❤s money — how it makes (or breaks) us. Catch us Sundays on CBC Radio One at 12 p.m. (12:30 p.m. NT). We also repeat the following Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. in most provinces.
Lorimer said she tried to explain why the term was offensive, but the bank employee did not apologize and then ended the conversation.
After she filed a complaint, the bank reviewed a recording of the phone call and issued a letter of apology, which CBC News has seen, and wrote the incident did not represent the financial institution's philosophy. But the damage was already done.
I think there's a banking industry that may have been built around a more homogeneous, likely white society.- Nichola Lorimer, Edmonton-based entrepreneur
Lorimer said she felt the bank fundamentally didn't understand her business case nor did it care to.
The entrepreneur said the bank did not focus on the shop's real estate.
"I think that it's reflective of a lack of policy," she told CBC Radio's Cost of Living. "I think there's a banking industry that may have been built around a more homogeneous, likely white society."
Lorimer ended up postponing her plan for a mortgage.
Black-owned businesses face 'rudeness and bias'
Poor customer service and cultural insensitivity are common barriers facing Black entrepreneurs who turn to commercial banks for financing, said Caroline Shenaz Hossein, associate professor of business and society at York University in Toronto.
"It is just so perplexing the level of rudeness and bias that is occurring against people for simply wanting to get their projects funded," said Hossein, whose research includes financial exclusion.
"It's kind of an interrogation of questions that really does make them feel badly or feel that the kinds of business they are doing are not worthy of financing."
Caroline Shenaz Hossein, associate professor of business and society at York University, says many Black entrepreneurs are turning to alternative forms of financing due to negative experiences at commercial banks. (Submitted by Caroline Shenaz Hossein)
Barriers to financing
While some financing barriers are cultural, others are physical.
A 2010 geographic analysis of banks in Winnipeg, Toronto and Vancouver revealed that although commercial banks are abundant in affluent neighbourhoods, they're much scarcer and sometimes absent in low-income neighbourhoods with high concentrations of racially diverse residents.
In 2015, when asked how the City of Toronto can support Black-owned businesses, around half of Black respondents identified "accessing financing" as the top issue.
The problem was also flagged in an earlier study published in 2001, which found Blacks in Toronto were more likely to start their own businesses due to racism in the workplace.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, met with Black entrepreneurs while unveiling plans on Sept. 9 to provide greater support for their businesses. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press)
New federal loan program
The federal government has acknowledged these systemic barriers. In early September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Ottawa would partner with eight major financial institutions to introduce a $221-million loan program aimed at helping Black entrepreneurs.
Participating lenders include RBC, BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC, National Bank, TD, Vancity and Alterna Savings. Together, those institutions committed to contributing more than half of the money to set up the new Black business loan fund.
While Hossein applauded this effort, she said she's concerned the program won't address the existing culture within banks that perpetuates financial exclusion.
"How are [the banks] going to be reformed by … coming together [with the government] to provide more money?" said Hossein.
She called it a temporary measure to "satisfy or appease the Black community" by offering loans at market rates.
A more holistic approach, according to advocacy groups such as Democracy Watch, would be for banks to track and publicly disclose their loan data based on gender, race and income, in order to better reflect the communities they serve.
Several banks, including RBCand BMO, have acknowledged the problem and announced steps they've taken to address it, including more inclusive hiring practices and funding for programs such as legal defence initiatives and community building.
Liberal MP Greg Fergus said officials are working on how a program to help Black entrepreneurs will work. (Patrick Louiseize/CBC)
Dozens of Black-owned businesses contacted by The Cost of Living said they would like to find out more about the latest federal program.
Liberal MP Greg Fergus, who chairs the Parliamentary Black Caucus, said he expects the loans to start flowing during the first quarter of 2021.
"What happens now is that the officials go back and start working [on] how do they involve Black entrepreneurs, business owners, Black-led organizations to design the program," he said.
Passing as white and getting 'dealt with in a different way'
Black business owner Tanya Reddick said she'll conduct business on the phone as much as possible to avoid interacting with bank employees in person until alternatives such as the federal funding are available.
Reddick, who runs a burrito stand at the Halifax Forum Farmers' Market, said she gets better customer service when the representative on the other end thinks she's white — an error that she said representatives often make over the phone.
Tanya Reddick, left, co-owns a food business in Halifax and is trying to secure a loan to buy a food truck, but she's not impressed with the response from banks. (Submitted by Tanya Reddick)
"I sound as though I'm white," said 46-year-old Reddick, who is a descendant of Africville residents, a displaced community in Halifax with roots tracing back centuries to Black Loyalists and former slaves.
"When you sound that way, [then] you show up at the bank, literally the smile comes off a person's face, and you get dealt with in a different way."
Ben Kisimolo had a similar experience in Calgary recently when he showed up in person after booking a business loan application appointment with a major financial institution.
Ben Kisimolo runs a music and apparel startup in Calgary and said people online or on the phone often assume he’s white because he owns a business. (Submitted by Ben Kisimolo)
"She was happy when I talked to her on the phone. I can hear she was happy and excited to go through the process," recalled the 26-year-old, who runs a music and apparel startup in Alberta. "And then I got there. She said, 'Oh, are you Ben?' Yep, it's me.'
"Her vibe completely changed. I knew already I wasn't going to get anything. And for sure, I was right."
Many people think the business is owned by a white person. They're like, 'Oh, you're a Black person who's 26? You cannot be doing something like this.'- Ben Kisimolo, Calgary-based business owner
Kisimolo, who was born in Congo and raised in Montreal, said people in Western Canada often misidentify his accent as French Canadian over the phone.
"Many people think the business is owned by a white person," he said. "They're like, 'Oh, you're a Black person who's 26? You cannot be doing something like this.'"
Hiring 'white fixer' to get ahead
Recently, Reddick started networking with other Black-owned businesses in Nova Scotia and said one solution she's heard repeatedly is the idea of a "white fixer."
The practice involves hiring a white person to conduct business on behalf of and represent the Black entrepreneur.
"They'll hire white lawyers, or they'll have other representatives within their company that are white and they'll send them to basically close the deal," said Reddick.
"This is what we have to do to get ahead."
Charline Grant, right, runs a basketball academy in York Region, Ont., and recently started the Banking While Black podcast to shed light on systemic racism in Canada’s banking sector. (Submitted by Charline Grant)
For Charline Grant, 46, any trip to the bank turns lengthy with numerous lines of questioning and multiple ID verifications.
"I already know my account is going to be flagged. All my cheques are going to be held for the next six months. I'm only going to be allowed to withdraw $500 cash per day," said Grant.
"They're not used to seeing me, a Black person like myself coming into a bank with a complex banking issue and complex business issue. Because that's not the narrative that's told about us. Therefore, I must be wrong, and they must be right."
Special rate for 'hockey clients'?
Grant runs three successful businesses with her husband, Garth, in Woodbridge, Ont., including a construction company, a human resources consultancy and a basketball academy.
When setting up an account for their latest basketball training school, Grant asked a bank employee about a special monthly rate reserved for community-based businesses.
"He said, 'No, that is for our hockey clients,'" Grant said. "And I said, 'I'm sorry, what? When you said that, does that sound ridiculous to you? When you say hockey clients, what do you mean?'"
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Since the May 25 death in police custody of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Grant said there's been an awakening among Black business owners to the damaging effects of systemic racism in the banking sector.
"Because banking is so personal and it's money, a lot of people don't share their experiences," she said. "We've actually started a podcast, and we're calling it Banking While Black, which we're sharing our individual experiences, and we're getting others to call in and share.
"That's what we're going to use to let others know this is what the Black community goes through when we go to the bank. This is the level on which we are treated."
Banking barriers hurt economy, innovation
Joycelyn Dottin, 43, who started a private Facebook support group for Black business owners that has 400 members, said there's a cumulative cost to all these negative experiences.
"I can say one word: tired," said Vancouver-based Dottin, who sells her graphic designs through websites such as Threadless.
"If there was a word count search that I could do in my Facebook group, the word is tired. We're tired. Tired of fighting, tired of working harder than everyone else just so that we're accepted."
Banking barriers can also stifle innovation, and it means the economy loses out on creativity, said York University's Hossein.
"When we think about the systemic exclusion that's occurring against Black entrepreneurs and business people … we will lose talent. We're going to lose a lot of our creative people who are trying to grow an economy in new and exciting ways," said Hossein.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
At an Oct. 30 press conference, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that the province's health table is looking at ways to ease restrictions on businesses in Peel (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon), Toronto, York and Ottawa in the not-too-distant future.
The restrictions, which came into effect in Peel on Oct. 10 after a record number of new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the region, prohibited restaurants and bars from offering indoor dine-in service and forced gyms to close completely.
Today, Ford signalled that the province is looking at reopening shuttered or restricted businesses in modified Stage 2 regions when the 28-day rollback expires on Nov. 6. He also suggested that health experts are looking at taking a more “surgical approach” to setting restrictions, adding that some parts of Toronto have much higher case counts than others.
That statement came one day after Ford talked about the impact on Caledon, a Peel town with a low case count that was tossed into Stage 2 simply because it was part of the Peel Public Health unit.
Mississauga city councillors have also called for a more data-focused approach, arguing that blanket restrictions across Peel are harming businesses in wards with low case counts and driving residents to nearby Halton to eat-in and workout.
The data also suggests that Ontario has, so far, avoided a worst-case scenario in terms of hospitalizations and deaths.
While the restrictions have been in effect for almost three weeks in Peel, Toronto and Ottawa, a high number of new cases are being reported every day—particularly in Toronto and Peel.
According to Health Minister Christine Elliott, Ontario recorded 896 new cases of COVID-19 on Oct. 30, with 314 new cases reported in Toronto, 173 in Peel, 115 in York Region and 92 in Ottawa.
The recent uptick in cases has been attributed to private indoor gatherings over the Thanksgiving long weekend.
Public health officials, including Peel Medical Officer of Health Dr. Lawrence Loh, have encouraged families to exercise precautions this weekend in order to prevent a Halloween-related surge in new cases.
Earlier this month, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Williams recommended against trick-or-treating in Peel and other hotspot regions but stopped short of calling for an outright ban. Loh and other officials have cautioned against Halloween parties and gatherings and have asked people to celebrate only with members of their immediate households.
As of now, private gatherings are restricted to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
Nova Scotia reported two new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, both related to travel outside Atlantic Canada.
Both cases were identified in the Northern Zone. One individual has been self-isolating as required. The other was not required to self-isolate under the Health Protection Act, but did so once symptoms started to develop, according to a news release.
Essential workers who must enter Nova Scotia for work are exempt from the requirement to self-isolate.
Nova Scotia Health also warned the public Friday of three potential exposures to COVID-19 in the last week.
Two were on recent Air Canada flights to Halifax. The other was at a gas station restaurant just outside Debert, N.S.
Air Canada Flight 7488 on Oct. 25 departed from Montreal at 7:15 p.m. and arrived in Halifax at 9:50 p.m. AT.
Public health is advising passengers in rows 21 to 27 in seats D, E and F to monitor for COVID-19 symptoms. It's anticipated anyone exposed to COVID-19 on that flight could develop symptoms up to Nov. 8.
Air Canada Flight 622 on Oct. 27 departed from Toronto at 6:40 p.m. and arrived in Halifax at 9:40 p.m. AT.
According to a news release, the passenger moved throughout the plane, so public health is advising all passengers on that to flight monitor for COVID-19 symptoms, which could develop up to Nov. 10.
Public health also advised of a potential exposure to COVID-19 at the Glenholme Loop Petro Pass Restaurant on Highway 104, between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. AT on Oct. 25. Anyone there during that time is asked to monitor for symptoms, which could develop up to Nov. 8.
Six active cases in Nova Scotia
The province also renewed its state of emergency. That comes into effect at noon on Nov.1 and runs until noon on Nov. 15, unless the province extends or terminates it.
Nova Scotia Health completed 950 tests on Thursday. As of Friday afternoon, there were six active cases in the province. No one was in hospital related to COVID-19.
To date, Nova Scotia has had 1,104 positive cases and 65 deaths.
The latest numbers from around the Atlantic Bubble are:
New Brunswick reported one new case Friday. There are 39 active cases in the province.
Newfoundland and Labradorreported no new cases Friday. There are three active cases in the province.
Canada’s economy recorded what are likely its last strong months of growth in August and September, as the country braces for an end-of-year slowdown.
Gross domestic product expanded 1.2 per cent in August, Statistics Canada said Friday in Ottawa. The agency also released a preliminary estimate for September, which showed a 0.7 per cent expansion -- a fifth straight month of historically elevated readings as the economy rebounded from a sharp contraction from the COVID-19 lockdowns.
With September figures in, the data suggest the economy grew 10 per cent in the third quarter, the agency said, implying about 46 per cent growth on an annualized basis -- which would be an all-time high.
“The numbers are solid overall,” David Doyle, an economist at Macquarie Capital Markets, said by email.
But things will get much slower from here. This week the Bank of Canada projected annualized growth of only one per cent in the final three months of the year, and reiterated expectations for a drawn out recovery over the next several quarters.
Canada’s currency appreciated slightly on the report, rising 0.2 per cent to $1.3295 against the U.S. dollar at 9:07 a.m. Toronto time. The yield on government two year bonds was little changed at 0.25 per cent.
The numbers suggest economic activity in September was about 96.1 per cent of output levels in February.
Economists were expecting 0.9 per cent growth in August, according the the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey.
Warmer weather, lower virus counts and mass re-openings encouraged a surge in retail spending between July and September. In addition, pent-up demand for housing led to a boom in construction and real estate in the third quarter.
The September reading is still a “solid starting point” for the fourth quarter, Derek Holt, an economist at Bank of Nova Scotia, said by email. He estimates a fourth-quarter gain of 3.5 per cent annualized, compared with the Bank of Canada’s one per cent estimate.
The Alberta government says it's prepared to give billions of dollars to lure investors willing to build or expand petrochemical facilities in the province, part of what it says is a push to be a top global player in the field.
In a news release introducing the new Alberta Petrochemicals Incentive Program, the government says it hopes to grow the sector by more than $30 billion by 2030 and compete with jurisdictions across Asia, the Middle East and the U.S. areas of the Gulf of Mexico.
"On top of our existing petrochemical producers and all the companies that feed in and support them, we have a multi-generational supply of natural gas, an experienced workforce, and one of the lowest tax rates in North America," said Dale Nally, the associate minister of natural gas and electricity, in the news release.
"By launching this program, Alberta moves towards achieving the goal of becoming one of the most attractive investment opportunities for petrochemicals in the world."
The details
The program would offer grants of up to 12 per cent of eligible capital costs for new projects in the province. That money will be offered only in the final stages of construction in order to ensure projects are already built.
The minimum investment required to be eligible is $50 million, with no upper limit, and the project must consume natural gas, natural gas liquids or petrochemical "intermediaries," and create new and permanent jobs in the province.
The window for applications on projects between $50 million and $150 million will be open for five years, and 10 years for projects over that threshold.
Hydrogen projects
Hydrogen facilities will be eligible for the grants and there is no cap on the number of projects.
"Alberta has the potential to become a major player in low-carbon hydrogen and sustainable plastics production, but we'll only get there if we have a competitive edge over other jurisdictions," said Doug Schweitzer, the minister of jobs, economy and innovation, in the news release.
The government estimates it could create over 90,000 direct and indirect jobs and bring in $10 billion for the government if it hits the target of growing the sector by $30 billion.
On Friday, the Globe and Mail reported that the province was in talks with a private firm from Saudi Arabia to build a $5-billion petrochemical facility in Alberta.
"From Day 1, we have said that we are going to seek out international investors to create jobs in Alberta. We are pleased to see that interest has been expressed by a number of global companies from different regions," said Jennifer Henshaw, a spokesperson for Nally, in response to questions about the Globe article.
"We hope to have more to say in the months to come but cannot comment any further at this time due to confidentiality and commercial sensitivities."
The gas-rich province of Alberta will help cover the capital costs of new petrochemical plants, a move that pushes back against the federal government’s efforts to cut the use of plastic.
Once a plant is built and running, companies can apply for grants worth 12 per cent of capital costs, according to a statement Friday by the provincial government. The program aims to attract tens of billions of dollars in new investment to the petrochemical industry in an attempt to diversify the Alberta economy away from oil and gas, it said.
The push for a bigger petrochemical sector is potentially at odds with an effort by Justin Trudeau’s government to reduce plastic consumption, including the phasing out of single-use items such as plastic straws and plates.
“We’re disappointed by the federal government’s decision,” Dale Nally, Alberta’s associate minister of natural gas and electricity, said in a phone interview. “If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that plastic has a role in keeping us safe.”
Pandemic Plastic
The downturn in energy demand has focused the Alberta government on diversifying away from raw oil and gas extraction. New investment in the province’s oil sands has dried up and the unemployment rate was 11.7 per cent in September.
Trudeau’s plastics ban joins governments in Europe, India and California that are motivated by concern about plastic waste filling the world’s oceans and killing wildlife. But reducing plastic use has been complicated by the pandemic, which brought plastics back into favor as manufacturers ramped up production of disposable gloves, masks, wipes, bottles of hand sanitizer and other safety items.
Alberta sees advanced, modern forms of recycling as the answer to plastic pollution, not bans, Nally said. The province’s vast reserves of natural gas and natural gas liquids make it a competitive place for petrochemical makers, but “incentives” are needed because competing jurisdictions on the U.S. Gulf Coast and elsewhere offer their own incentives to lure them, he said.
Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper reported Friday that the province is in talks with a Saudi Arabian company to build a new petrochemical facility.
The Canadian economy grew in August as real gross domestic product rose by 1.2 per cent in August, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
That marked the fourth straight month of growth following the steepest drops on record back in March and April amid pandemic lockdowns. August's figure was down from the 3.1 per cent expansion seen in July.
The August number was still ahead of what forecasters had been expecting. According to financial data firm Refinitiv, economists had been predicting growth of 0.9 per cent for the month.
Despite the recent string of growth, overall economic activity is still about five per cent below February's pre-pandemic level, Statistics Canada said.
September growth is forecast
Preliminary information from Statistics Canada indicates real GDP was up 0.7 per cent in September, with increases seen in the manufacturing and public sectors, as well as in mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction.
"This advanced estimate points to an approximate 10 per cent increase in real GDP in the third quarter of 2020," Statistics Canada said. Back in the second quarter, the country's GDP shrank by 11.5 per cent in the three-month period between April and June.
Assuming the economy contracts in October and November as a result of a resurgence of coronavirus cases, fourth-quarter GDP looks likely to undershoot the Bank of Canada's "tepid" forecast for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of one per cent, said CIBC Capital Markets senior economist Royce Mendes.
"It appears that the economy was slowing more than expected heading into the fourth quarter, and the most likely outcome now suggests that GDP barely advanced during the period," Mendes said in a commentary.
BMO chief economist Doug Porter said the way forward has been deeply clouded by the second wave and renewed restrictions, so growth will cool considerably in the fourth quarter.
"However, we suspect that with ongoing massive fiscal support, less restrictions than earlier, and, simply, that consumers and businesses have learned to operate in this new environment, the late-year setback should be relatively mild," Porter said. "In fact, we continue to expect modest growth overall for [the fourth quarter]."
A truck pulling an Amazon Prime branded cargo container waits beside the entrance gate at Amazon.com Inc.'s new fulfillment center in Kolbaskowo, Poland, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018.
Bartek Sadowski | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Amazon's fourth-quarter guidance for operating profit was so wide you could drive a delivery truck through it.
The online retailer said in its earnings report on Thursday that operating income for the last three months of the year will be between $1 billion and $4.5 billion. That incorporates roughly $4 billion of costs tied to Covid-19 for things like testing, cleaning, extending employee breaks and social distancing measures.
That $3.5 billion difference between the high and low end of the guidance range leaves a lot for investors to consider. Last year, Amazon baked a $1.7 billion gap into its fourth-quarter operating profit forecast. In 2018, the difference was $1.5 billion.
Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said on the call with analysts that every fourth quarter carries uncertainties because of the holidays and volatile weather patterns. It's by far the biggest period of the year for the company by revenue, and this year is expected to be Amazon's first quarter ever to surpass $100 billion in sales.
But the end of 2020 is particularly unpredictable. Prime Day, Amazon's annual mega-shopping event, was pushed back from July to October this year as the company adjusted to the strains of the coronavirus. The election is next week, and control of the White House and Senate are up in the air. Facebook and Walmart are even predicting possiblecivil unrest around the election results, which may take a long time to be finalized. The economy grew at its fastest pace ever in the third quarter, but coming off the worst quarter in history.
"There's a whole host of conditions that generally come to bear in Q4," Olsavsky said. "I think the fact that Covid is dwarfing all of those is causing a lot of uncertainty."
Amazon shares dipped almost 2% in extended trading even though the company reported better-than-expected revenue and profit. Amazon said sales in the fourth quarter will be between $112 billion and $121 billion, compared to analysts' average estimate of $112.3 billion, according to FactSet. Analysts were expecting operating profit of $5.8 billion.
Olsavsky reeled off a number of areas where Amazon is investing, primarily to meet consumer demand. The company continues to open up facilities and bolster its transportation capacity. It's also rapidly hiring, bringing on 100,000 people in October alone. He said Covid-related costs will rise from $2.5 billion in the third quarter to $4 billion in the fourth period.
There were also savings, including $1 billion on travel so far this year and lower marketing expenses, Olsavsky said. But they're not enough to offset the added costs, he added.
"Once the pandemic is over and hopefully that's soon, these should be costs that don't recur," Olsavsky said.
The surge in growth Facebook saw at the start of the coronavirus pandemic appears to be slowing down. User growth in the United States in Canada — the company’s most lucrative ad market — has declined, Facebook reported as part of its third-quarter earnings.
The company now has 196 million users in North America, down slightly from 198 million last quarter. In a statement, the company said the decrease was expected, and could continue through the end of the year.
“As expected, in the third quarter of 2020, we saw Facebook DAUs and MAUs in the US & Canada decline slightly from the second quarter 2020 levels which were elevated due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Facebook wrote in a press release. “In the fourth quarter of 2020, we expect this trend to continue and that the number of DAUs and MAUs in the US & Canada will be flat or slightly down compared to the third quarter of 2020.”
Facebook lost users in the US this quarter + company expects it will lose more next as people get back to more "normal" use post-COVID pic.twitter.com/fWPn2b60zc
The company had previously reported a large surge in growth at the start of the year due to widespread coronavirus lockdowns. Facebook isn’t seeing the same slowdown everywhere, though, and the social network is continuing to add new users in Asia and its “rest of world” markets. The company also continued to tout its “family of apps” metrics, which combines Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. That number rose to 2.54 billion “daily active people” in September, according to the company.
The slowdown also doesn’t seem to have affected Facebook’s revenue, which was up to $21.4 billion for the quarter, an increase of 22 percent from last year and better than analyst expectations for the company. Facebook reported more than $18 billion in ad revenue last quarter, despite a well-publicized advertiser boycott.
During a call with analysts, CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized Facebook’s work to prepare for the upcoming election, and said he’s worried about the possibility of “civil unrest” after election day. The company has taken numerous steps over the last several weeks and months to prepare for the election, like banning political ads after election day and cracking down on QAnon.
“I'm worried that with our nation so divided and election results potentially taking days or weeks to be finalized, there is a risk of civil unrest across the country,” Zuckerberg said.
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The surge in growth Facebook saw at the start of the coronavirus pandemic appears to be slowing down. User growth in the United States in Canada — the company’s most lucrative ad market — has declined, Facebook reported as part of its third-quarter earnings.
The company now has 196 million users in North America, down slightly from 198 million last quarter. In a statement, the company said the decrease was expected, and could continue through the end of the year.
“As expected, in the third quarter of 2020, we saw Facebook DAUs and MAUs in the US & Canada decline slightly from the second quarter 2020 levels which were elevated due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Facebook wrote in a press release. “In the fourth quarter of 2020, we expect this trend to continue and that the number of DAUs and MAUs in the US & Canada will be flat or slightly down compared to the third quarter of 2020.”
Facebook lost users in the US this quarter + company expects it will lose more next as people get back to more "normal" use post-COVID pic.twitter.com/fWPn2b60zc
The company had previously reported a large surge in growth at the start of the year due to widespread coronavirus lockdowns. Facebook isn’t seeing the same slowdown everywhere, though, and the social network is continuing to add new users in Asia and its “rest of world” markets. The company also continued to tout its “family of apps” metrics, which combines Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. That number rose to 2.54 billion “daily active people” in September, according to the company.
The slowdown also doesn’t seem to have affected Facebook’s revenue, which was up to $21.4 billion for the quarter, an increase of 22 percent from last year and better than analyst expectations for the company. Facebook reported more than $18 billion in ad revenue last quarter, despite a well-publicized advertiser boycott.
During a call with analysts, CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized Facebook’s work to prepare for the upcoming election, and said he’s worried about the possibility of “civil unrest” after election day. The company has taken numerous steps over the last several weeks and months to prepare for the election, like banning political ads after election day and cracking down on QAnon.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
