An early morning pedestrian walks on the boardwalk in the Beach neighbourhood of Toronto last month.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Latest headlines:
- Feds face grilling over COVID-19 response
- Cargill plans moment of silence for worker who died of COVID-19
- Ontario extends low hydro rates
When will my province re-open? A guide
Are face masks really necessary out in public? What you need to know
9:00 p.m. ET
B.C. Premier Horgan reaches out to NHL to offer place to play if NHL returns
British Columbia Premier John Horgan says he has reached out and offered the NHL a place to play games if the league can find a way to resume its suspended season.
Speaking at a COVID-19 media briefing Wednesday, Horgan said that he has written a letter to both NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and the head of the NHL Players’ Association, Donald Fehr, to let them know that B.C. is “a place to potentially restart the NHL assuming the games would be played without audiences, but instead played for television.”
The NHL, which was forced to pause its schedule March 12 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, has been looking at plans to centralize groups of teams in low-risk centres in hopes of resuming the 2019-20 campaign this summer.
Under one rumoured proposal, fans wouldn’t be allowed in arenas and teams would be sequestered in hotels. There were 189 games left in the regular season when the NHL halted play.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C’s provincial health officer, was asked Monday about Vancouver hosting NHL games with no fans and said: “these are the types of things that we need to think about.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Tuesday that the Maple Leafs’ parent company, MLSE, has been in contact with the province about the possibility of Toronto serving as a so-called “hockey pod” for teams as well should the NHL resume its season.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Bettman spoke last month about Edmonton as another potential hub city.
- Canadian Press
7:30 p.m. ET
Manitoba premier defends universal seniors’ cheque, will donate his
Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister’s office says he will donate to charity a seniors’ cheque his government is awarding to everyone 65 and over.
Pallister, who turned 65 last year, announced universal $200 cheques for seniors earlier this week — a one-time payment to help pay for grocery deliveries and other costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Critics have said the plan is flawed because it gives money to people regardless of income level, including Pallister.
Pallister says an income-based benefit would have taken months to set up, whereas the universal program will see cheques issued very soon to any senior who filed a 2018 tax return.
Pallister was asked by a reporter whether he knew of seniors planning to donate their cheques to charity and whether he would do the same.
The premier didn’t initially answer whether he would donate his money, but his staff later followed up to advise that he will indeed.
- Canadian Press
4:10 p.m. ET
Toronto eyes 50 km of street closures to create space for pedestrians, cyclists
Toronto is promising to move quickly to create more space for cyclists and people walking, a major U-turn after weeks of resisting the sort of mobility changes other cities were instituting in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mayor John Tory announced the changes Wednesday and was backed by the city’s top doctor, Eileen de Villa.
“We know that people can’t stay home forever,” Mr. Tory told an afternoon briefing.
Immediate details of the plan were somewhat slim, but it will include a target of 50 kilometres of slowed residential roads, the temporary closing of some as-yet-unidentified streets adjacent to major parks and an already announced acceleration of the city’s 10-year cycling plan.
For more than a month, pedestrian and safety advocates have called for the city to provide more space for those on foot. Dr. de Villa has consistently voiced concerns that opening up more space on the roads could lead to people gathering in groups.
The reluctance to provide this space has stood in stark and increasing odds with the example of scores of cities around the world. On Wednesday, Mr. Tory defended the city’s previous stance, saying that it was “the right and responsible” position to take at the time.
- Oliver Moore
1:40 p.m. ET
Ontario allowing curbside pickup for retail, reopening of garden, hardware shops
Ontario will allow non-essential retail stores to open for curbside pickup next week, as the province allows for some small steps toward reopening the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Premier Doug Ford says garden centres and nurseries will also be allowed to open on Friday, and hardware stores and safety supply stores will be allowed to reopen on Saturday.
He says those stores will be expected to follow the same public health measures as grocery stores and pharmacies currently do, such as physical distancing, offering contactless payment and sanitizing surfaces.
Ontario also extended its emergency orders today, which include the continued closure of non-essential businesses, as the province reported 412 new cases of COVID-19 and 68 more deaths.
The province also renewed lower electricity rates for residential consumers, farms and small businesses to the end of the month. An initial order from March for off-peak rates to be charged all day had been set to expire this week.
The emergency orders, which were set to expire Wednesday, have now been extended for another two weeks, to May 19.
- Canadian Press
12:10 p.m. ET
Duclos says Canadian Forces deployed in 13 nursing homes
Senior Liberal cabinet minister Jean-Yves Duclos says members of the Canadian Armed Forces have now been deployed to 13 long term care facilities, most in and around Montreal.
Duclos, who is the president of the Treasury Board, says altogether about 1,000 members of the Forces will be deployed to assist, and that seven other sites have been identified for possible assistance from the CAF.
He says further information on where they are going will be released by the military and Quebec government.
The military had earlier said 24,000 personnel were being placed on standby to assist in COVID-19 relief efforts.
- Canadian Press
11:45 a.m. ET
Tam says outbreak slowing nationally despite increase in deaths
The country’s chief public health officer has acknowledged that the number of deaths as a result of COVID-19 in Canada has now exceeded the national projections for potentially 3,883 deaths by May 5.
Just over 4,100 people have died in Canada to date.
Dr. Theresa Tam says the increased number of deaths is due to the tragic fact that those who were infected weeks ago are now coming to the end stages of COVID-19, and are passing away, most often those in long-term care facilities.
But Dr. Tam points out that the epidemic still appears to be slowing down and that the doubling time for infections is now at about 20 days.
- Canadian Press
10:45: a.m ET
Ontario reports latest numbers
Ontario is reporting 412 new cases of COVID-19 and 68 new deaths. That brings the province to a total of 18,722 cases, including 1,429 deaths and 13,222 resolved cases. The province had said it would be doing 16,000 tests a day by now, but fewer than 13,000 tests were completed during the previous day, when Premier Doug Ford was blaming half of Ontario’s regional medical officers of health for low testing rates. - Canadian Press
8:20 a.m. ET
Ontario extends low hydro rates
Ontario is extending a period of lower hydro rates as well as its emergency orders.
The orders, which were set to expire today, include the closure of non-essential businesses, the prohibition of public gatherings of more than five people, and the closure of outdoor amenities such as playgrounds.
They have now been extended for another two weeks, to May 19.
Ontario’s overall declaration of a state of emergency was extended last month to May 12.
The government also says that it will extend lower electricity rates for residential consumers, farms and small businesses to May 31.
An initial order from March for off-peak rates to be charged all day had been set to expire this week. -Canadian Press
6:50 a.m. ET
B.C. to announce reopening plans
British Columbia is expected to announce plans today for a gradual reopening of services, but the provincial health officer warns people should stay in their social “bubble” to prevent a surge of COVID-19 cases.
Earlier this week, Dr. Bonnie Henry said Premier John Horgan will release details of the plan today, which will be aimed at relaxing restrictions to safely increase social and economic contacts.
Henry has said the announcement will include measures for summer sports teams, the retail sector and hair salons, but she wants gatherings to remain small and preferably outdoors.
Henry released data this week showing physical distancing measures that closed schools, restaurants and bars in mid-March helped to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Henry also suggested some measures used in grocery stores could be implemented at other retail outlets and restaurants, and may include limiting the number of people allowed in as well as plastic shields separating workers from customers.
Unlike some other provinces, B.C. did not close several sectors of the economy, allowing garden centres and construction sites to continue operating. -Canadian Press
4:15 a.m. ET
Government faces opposition grilling over COVID-19 response, Commons reconvenes
The Trudeau government is expected to face a grilling today from opposition parties over its handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
A small number of MPs are to convene for a once-a-week, in-person sitting of the House of Commons and they are expected to zero in on the perceived deficiencies of the billions of dollars in emergency aid programs the federal government has implemented to cushion the economic impact of the pandemic.
Among the criticisms, the outraged reaction of Canadian farmers to the $252 million in support announced Tuesday for the agri-food sector — far less than the $2.6 billion deemed necessary by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.
Trudeau will not be in the Commons to deflect the criticism — he is to be at a base in Trenton, Ont., for a repatriation ceremony for the six members of the Forces who died in last week’s helicopter crash off the coast of Greece.
Nor will he be giving his usual morning briefing on the COVID-19 crisis.
The absence of the prime minister and lack of any new announcements will shift the focus from what the government is doing to combat the pandemic to what opposition parties contend it is doing wrong.
A virtual sitting of MPs on Tuesday featured plenty of criticism about the agriculture support program falling short of what’s needed — from all parties.
Both Trudeau and Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau argued that farmers already have a number of existing income stabilization programs to fall back on. Still, Trudeau called the $252 million just an initial investment, indicating that more support is coming.
Farmers have been hit by reduced demand for some of their crops as a result of restaurants being closed since mid-March to curb the spread of the disease. And they’ve had difficulty getting the usual number of needed temporary foreign workers into the country to work on farms.
Beef, pork and poultry producers have been faced with the prospect of having to cull their animals due to reduced capacity at meat processing plants, which have been particularly vulnerable to outbreaks of COVID-19.
In addition to criticism of the support provided so far for farmers, each opposition party has favoured themes they are likely to continue raising.
The Conservatives have lately focused on the $2,000-per-month Canada Emergency Response Benefit for those thrown out of work by the pandemic, arguing that it provides a disincentive to work.
New Democrats have been pointing out the gaps in the CERB and pushing for a universal benefit available to everyone hurt by the pandemic.
The NDP and the Bloc Quebecois have been demanding assurances — yet to be given — that companies that use tax havens to avoid paying their fair share of taxes will not benefit from any of the federal emergency aid programs.
And all opposition parties, particularly the Bloc, have been urging the government to provide financial support for seniors — something that is expected to be announced later this week. -Canadian Press
4:03 a.m. ET
Cargill plans moment of silence for Hiep Bui
A moment of silence is planned at the Cargill meat packing plant near High River, Alta., Wednesday to honour an employee who died of COVID-19.
Hiep Bui, who was 67, worked at the Cargill slaughterhouse for 23 years and was responsible for picking out beef bones from hamburger meat.
She became ill on her shift on a Friday, was hospitalized the next day and died on the Sunday.
She is the only fatality among workers who were infected at the plant, which employs 2,000 employees, although 949 cases have been recorded.
The plant reopened Monday and Bui’s husband, Nga Nguyen, told reporters at her memorial that he hadn’t heard from Cargill.
Cargill said it has now reached out to him and described Bui as a “long-time employee, trusted colleague and friend.”
“Our hearts are broken for the Nguyen family. While we deeply empathize with the waves of grief caused by COVID, we want people to receive support when they feel despair,” Cargill said in a statement.
“We have had plans in place to take a moment of silence on Wednesday morning as her colleagues return to work and have been flying our flag at half-mast this week to honour her memory.” -Canadian Press
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