The EU and the UK published on Saturday the full text of their post-Brexit deal as the clock was ticking on its approval by January 1.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will leave Washington next Wednesday morning just before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration to begin his post-presidential life in Florida. Refusing to abide by tradition and participate in the ceremonial transfer of power, Trump will instead hold his own departure ceremony at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before his final flight aboard Air Force One. Officials are considering an elaborate send-off event reminiscent of the receptions he's received during state visits abroad, complete with a red carpet, colour guard, military band and even a 21-gun salute, according to a person familiar with the planning who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement. Trump will become only the fourth president in history to boycott his successor's inauguration. And while he has said he is now committed to a peaceful transition of power — after months of trying to delegitimize Biden's victory with baseless allegations of mass voter fraud and spurring on his supporters who stormed the Capitol — he has made clear he has no interest in making a show of it. He has not invited the Bidens to the White House for the traditional bread-breaking, nor has he spoken with Biden by phone. Vice-President Mike Pence has spoken with his successor, Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris, calling her on Thursday to congratulate her and offer assistance, according to two people familiar with the call. Pence will be attending Biden's inauguration, a move Biden has welcomed. While Trump spends the final days of his presidency ensconced in the White House, more isolated than ever as he confronts the fallout from the Capitol riot, staffers are already heading out the door. Many have already departed, including those who resigned after the attack, while others have been busy packing up their offices and moving out personal belongings — souvenirs and taxidermy included. On Thursday, chief of staff Mark Meadows’ wife was caught on camera leaving with a dead, stuffed bird. And trade adviser Peter Navarro, who defended the president's effort to overturn the election, was photographed carrying out a giant photo of a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Staff are allowed to purchase the photographs, said White House spokesman Judd Deere.) Also spotted departing the West Wing: a bust of Abraham Lincoln. Stewart D. McLaurin, the president of the White House Historical Association, said he had reached out to the White House chief usher, who manages the building's artifacts with the White House curator, because of questions raised by the images. “Be reminded that staff have items of their own that they brought to the White House and can take those items home as they wish. Some items are on loan to staff and offices from other collections and will be returned to those collections,” he said in a statement. Earlier this week, reporters covering the president's departure from the South Lawn spotted staff taking boxes into the residence for packing up the first family's belongings. And on Friday the packing continued, with moving crates and boxes dotting the floor of the office suite where senior press aides work steps from the Oval Office in the West Wing. Walls in the hallways outside that once featured a rotating gallery of enlarged photographs of the president and first lady framed in gold suddenly were bare, with only the hooks that held the picture frames left hanging. Moving trucks pulled in and out of the driveway outside. While some people have been asked to stick around by the incoming administration, the White House has been reduced to a skeleton crew, with more scheduled to depart on Friday. That includes White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Come Monday, the press staff will be down to two. Trump will leave Washington with his future deeply uncertain, two weeks after his supporters sent lawmakers and congressional staffers scrambling for safety as they tried to halt the peaceful transition of power. While Trump was once expected to leave office as the most powerful voice in the Republican Party and the leading contender for its 2024 nomination, he has been shunned by much of the party over his response to the violence, which left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer. Trump is expected to be joined in Florida by a handful of aides as he mulls his future. ___ Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report. Jill Colvin And Darlene Superville, The Associated Press
Tenants in a Downtown Eastside SRO who have criticized guest restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic say they’re concerned about police actions enforcing the rules. Erica Grant and David Mendes live in the Savoy, a single-room occupancy hotel building on East Hastings Street operated by Atira Property Management, which manages several buildings in the neighbourhood. Grant was warned she could be evicted after police were called to the building on Jan. 2 to arrest her 29-year-old son, who had been banned from the Savoy at the end of December. Mendes said he was visited the next day by police officers looking for a guest of another tenant. Officers pulled him out of his apartment and went in to search for that guest, he said. “I was like, ‘What? What are you doing? Do you have a warrant? Like, why are you coming in here?’” Mendes said. “And the one popped his head back out, and he pointed at me and said, ‘Suspected COVID violation.’” Atira and most other housing operators in the Downtown Eastside have restricted guests at their buildings since pandemic restrictions started in March. Atira now allows residents to designate two guests who must be identified to building staff. Current provincial health orders state that there can be no social gatherings of any size inside people’s homes, “other than your household or core bubble.” B.C.’s public health officer strongly recommends that people wear masks in common areas of rental buildings (for instance, hallways, stairwells and shared laundry rooms). B.C.’s Residential Tenancy Branch published guidance for COVID-19 that said landlords have the power to “schedule or restrict the use of common shared areas” like lobbies and laundry rooms — but they don’t have the power to stop visitors from coming to someone’s apartment. The guest restrictions put in place by supportive housing operators in the Downtown Eastside are not supported by B.C.’s tenancy laws. But housing providers say the rules are necessary to protect vulnerable residents in the century-old hotels. SRO hotels often have narrow hallways, tiny 100-square foot rooms and shared bathrooms and kitchens. The people who live in them frequently have existing health conditions, and people who have contracted COVID-19 in the Downtown Eastside are more likely to be hospitalized. Grant said she had been told that her partner, Grant Houle, and her adult son were both on her guest list. On the night of Jan. 2, she said police came to her door and entered her room, looking for her son. Grant said she tried to tell them they couldn’t come in and that she would send him out. Grant said she tried to keep her door shut but police officers pushed it open, and her foot and arm were painfully scraped. A female officer pulled her hair and twisted her thumb, she said. Grant said she is still in pain from the incident. The Vancouver Police Department says officers were called to the building by staff who were concerned for their safety “after a man who was known to be violent toward them entered the building and went up to a room. The man had a B.C.-wide warrant for assault.” “The officers found the door to the room ajar and tried to convince the man to come into the hallway so he could be taken into custody,” media liaison officer Steve Addison wrote to The Tyee in an email. “While speaking with him, another occupant of the room became agitated and hostile towards one of the officers, and the officer did physically control the person to avoid being assaulted.” Grant said her son was co-operating with police during the incident. The officers said they were there because he had been banned from the building, she added, and didn’t mention anything about him being violent. Grant said she wasn’t aware on Jan. 2 that her son had been banned from the building days earlier. She said she later learned that building staff had told Houle of the ban, but he hadn’t passed the information on to her. And Grant said she also later learned her son had shoved the building manager on Dec. 30 when she was trying to take away a key to the building staff had given him. The incident was overblown, Grant maintains. Her son is now homeless, Grant said. Janice Abbott, CEO of Atira, declined to comment on the incident. Two days after police came to her door, Grant received a letter from her building manager warning she could be evicted if she violates the guest policy again. The letter makes no mention of her son being violent, but says he was barred from the building after “being seen on camera letting others in the building as well as wandering in common areas, which is prohibited during the current lockdown because of the Global Coronavirus Pandemic, COVID-19.” The letter goes on to say that “guests may use the washrooms in a timely manner but are not to access any other common areas or visit other units to which they are not registered on the restricted guest list.” The letter states that Grant is in breach of her residential tenancy agreement with Atira “because you continue to seriously jeopardize the safety of tenants and staff by putting them at significant risk by allowing your guest… into the building after being barred for breaching the COVID-19 guest protocol and the landlord does have cause to end tenancy.” Abbott said Atira often sends tenants letters warning them they could be evicted because they are breaking the rules, and the letters rarely lead to actual evictions. Robert Patterson, a legal advocate with the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre, said it’s common for supportive housing landlords who house high-needs tenants to be much more directly involved in managing tenancies. That includes enforcing rules like when and how guests can visit buildings — rules that aren’t in place at other rental buildings. In some buildings, those restrictions were in place long before COVID-19 but are now stricter. “People who live in supportive housing are very usually a very volatile population anyways, and while many of these policies are very well meaning, it has resulted in cutting many of them off from supports,” Patterson said. Several supportive housing tenants in B.C. have challenged guest restrictions in court and won, Patterson said. And yet, the restrictions continue to be applied by housing providers, including Atira, who say they are needed to keep their buildings safe. Patterson said it’s also very common for tenants in supportive housing buildings to get letters like the one Grant received. He said it’s good for landlords to give tenants a warning first so they can correct the situation, “but on the flip side, a lot of times these letters are used kind of as cudgels to get people to behave better or more like the landlord wants to see.” This October, the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre hired a new legal advocate to focus solely on helping tenants who live in supportive housing, Patterson said. Tenants and staff from Vancouver Coastal Health have raised concerns that restricting guests led to more overdose deaths in the spring of 2020, although housing providers have disputed that. In early April, Grant’s son Duncan died in his room at the London, another Atira-operated SRO building in Vancouver. Grant still wonders if things would have been different if she had been allowed in the buildings to look for him when he stopped answering his phone. Savoy resident Mendes said staff at his building try to do a good job, and he said Atira has been receptive to hearing his concerns about the current guest rules. But he said it was frightening and upsetting to have police officers pound on his door, to be pulled physically out of his apartment and to be held in the hallway while police searched his home. The Vancouver Police Department says it does not have a record of the incident Mendes described. There have been several media stories about police breaking up large parties in other parts of Metro Vancouver, but Mendes believes the situation he experienced would have been handled differently outside of the Downtown Eastside. “In any other neighbourhood, they would send the bylaw officer if the neighbours complained that there are too many people. An officer would come there, ring the doorbell and ask the tenant or the homeowner if there’s somebody in there that was breaking the provincial policy,” he said. “As opposed to pulling you out and having three cops come barrelling into your place and the other one holding you outside.” Grant, who has herself experienced homelessness, said it’s very difficult to not be able to invite your loved ones inside when they’re suffering outside in the winter. “There’s a lot of parents down here, a lot of mothers, a lot of grandmothers,” she said. “They’re not going to let their kids stay out in the cold.” Jen St. Denis, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Tyee
After being notified about two weeks ago that COVID-19 vaccines were available to healthcare workers in Durham Region, Katie Millage, a personal support worker (PSW) on the memory care floor at Douglas Crossing, jumped at her chance to sign up for the vaccine. “I’m just feeling so grateful and hopeful to be one of the first individuals in Uxbridge to receive the vaccine,” says Millage, who got the shot on Monday at the Oshawa Hospital Vaccination Clinic. “For the first time I feel like the end of COVID-19 is in sight.” At press time on Tuesday evening, however, Uxbridge had 11 active COVID-19 cases. Five of those cases are currently being treated in hospital, and many of these cases are linked to an outbreak at the Uxbridge Cottage Hospital. A statement from the Markham Stouffville Hospital said that Uxbridge residents could be assured that the safety of patients, healthcare workers and the community is the top priority. “In consultation with Durham Region Public Health, an outbreak was declared on the inpatient unit at the Uxbridge site on December 24, 2020. Six staff members and six patients have tested positive for COVID-19. Staff are at home recovering and the COVID-19 patients in the hospital are in isolation and being monitored closely.” With the holiday season now over, health experts are reminding everyone that it is now more important than ever to follow appropriate public health guidelines to stop the spread of COVID-19. With over a week of record high daily case counts in Ontario, the number of long-term care home outbreaks is also at a record high. Slow vaccine rollout is a concern to many of those same experts. More than 70 per cent of the provincial supply is reportedly sitting in freezers right now. As of Monday night, approximately 50,000 doses of the vaccine had been administered in Ontario. Retired general Rick Hillier, chief of the Ontario Vaccine Task Force, said on Tuesday that less than 35,000 doses remain in freezers. Hillier said those doses were held back to ensure that second doses would be available 21 days after the initial doses were administered. Hillier also noted that by the end of this weekend, the initial shipment of vaccines will be exhausted, and the new shipment, expected to arrive later this week, will be fully administered by the end of next week. A post-holiday season surge in case numbers is expected over the next few weeks.Justyne Edgell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Uxbridge Cosmos
Whether you drive, walk or cycle on Woodbine Avenue, there’s a community meeting regarding road safety and bike lanes on Jan. 18. Hosted by Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford, residents will learn about new proposed design changes to the street to prioritize road safety and bike lane maintenance at the meeting. “Since I was elected city councillor in December 2018, I’ve been clear that I’ll work with the community to find ways to improve the road design to reduce congestion and cut-through traffic on surrounding streets,” Bradford said. Bike lanes on Woodbine Avenue were installed in fall 2017. Since that time the lanes have been a source of heated debate, the councillor added. There was a large public meeting in April 2019 and since then there has been extensive consultation on a new design for the lanes. The new design will focus on the stretch of Woodbine Avenue between Kingston Road and Gerrard Street East. “I’m inviting the community to attend the meeting to learn more about the proposal and share their input,” Bradford said. City staff will be in attendance to present the proposed design and accompanying drawings. They will also answer any questions residents have. The community meeting takes place on Monday, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. via Zoom video conference. To register for the meeting and to submit questions in advance, please contact Bradford’s office at councillor_bradford@toronto.caAli Raza, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Beach Metro News
Alongside Canada’s national flower, sport, symbol and bird, is a national animal that is often forgotten. Canada’s national horse, Le Cheval Canadien, is in danger of disappearing. An Uxbridge equestrian centre, however, is dedicated to the revival of this special breed. Hundreds of years ago, in about 1665, King Louis XIV of France began shipping mares and stallions, with bloodlines from the King’s Royal Stud, to Acadia and New France. These horses had great abilities to adapt to harsh climates (like Canada’s cold winters), rough terrains and were easily trained. They became known as the Canadian Horse, or Le Cheval Canadien. While the breed was well known to American colonists, it is rather rare today. After being used in the American Civil War and for breeding to diversify genetics in American stock, but its popularity in Canada waned. Despite this, however, and despite the fact that the horse was smaller in size and often thought of as the “Quebec pony,” the Canadian Horse was declared by the Parliament of Canada to be the National Horse of Canada in 1909. In 2018, Barb Malcom, owner and head coach of Churchill Chimes Equestrian Centre on Webb Rd., committed to doing her part to save the Canadian Horse. Alongside her riding school, Malcolm set up a sister company called Donalf Farms, specifically to breed the Canadian horses in an attempt to bring back the name and the breed. “I had worked as a professional for over 20 years and just happened to buy an unpapered Canadian gelding. He is one of the most darling horses I’ve ever had,” says Malcom. Very soon Malcom fell in love with the breed. “They are durable, willing, personable and versatile. I went from being a “crossbreed person” to being completely wowed by this purebred.” “It’s one thing for Canadians not to know Canada has a national horse, but for horse people not to know, it just shows how much the breed is in trouble,” says Malcom. If it weren’t for a pandemic, this year Malcom had plans to contact Heritage Canada and rally for government assistance in the fight for the Canadian Horse. “We would love to see federal support,” says Malcom. “It really is an altruistic endeavour, but they're worth it.” Malcolm dreams of one day having all the horses in her riding school be Canadian Horses. “They are so little known, but absolutely remarkable,” says Malcolm. For more information about the national horse of Canada, visit lechevalcanadien.com or find Malcom’s breeding farm at donalffarms.com Justyne Edgell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Uxbridge Cosmos
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped nine of her most trusted allies in the House to argue the case for President Donald Trump’s impeachment. The Democrats, all of whom are lawyers and many of whom have deep experience investigating the president, face the arduous task of convincing skeptical Senate Republicans to convict Trump. A single article of impeachment — for “incitement of insurrection” — was approved by the House on Wednesday, one week after a violent mob of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol. At the time, lawmakers were counting the votes that cemented Trump’s election defeat. As members of the House who were in the Capitol when it was attacked — several hiding under seats as rioters beat on the doors of the chamber — the Democrats are also witnesses to what they charge is a crime. So are the Senate jurors. “This is a case where the jurors were also victims, and so whether it was those who voted in the House last night or those in the Senate who will have to weigh in on this, you don’t have to tell anyone who was in the building twice what it was like to be terrorized,” said California Rep. Eric Swalwell, one of the managers. It is unclear when the trial will start. Pelosi hasn’t yet said when she will send the article of impeachment to the Senate. It could be as soon as next week, on President-elect Joe Biden’s first day in office. The managers plan to argue at trial that Trump incited the riot, delaying the congressional certification of the electoral vote count by inciting an angry mob to harm members of Congress. Some of the rioters were recorded saying they wanted to find Pelosi and Vice-President Mike Pence, who presided over the count. Others had zip ties that could be used as handcuffs hanging on their clothes. “The American people witnessed that,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., one of the managers. “That amounts to high crimes and misdemeanours.” None of the impeachment managers argued the case in Trump’s first impeachment trial last year, when the Senate acquitted the president on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice. The House impeached Trump in 2019 after he pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate Biden’s family while withholding military aid to the country. Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, another manager, says the nine prosecutors plan to present a serious case and “finish the job” that the House started. A look at Pelosi’s prosecution team in Trump’s historic second impeachment: REP. JAMIE RASKIN, MARYLAND Pelosi appointed Raskin, a former constitutional law professor and prominent member of the House Judiciary Committee, as lead manager. In a week of dramatic events and stories, Raskin’s stands out: The day before the Capitol riots, Raskin buried his 25-year-old son, Tommy, after he killed himself on New Year’s Eve. “You would be hard pressed to find a more beloved figure in the Congress” than Raskin, says House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who was the lead manager during Trump’s first trial. He worked closely with Raskin on that impeachment investigation. “I know that part of what gives him strength to take on this burden that he now carries is knowing that this is something that would be enormously meaningful to his son.” REP. DIANA DEGETTE, COLORADO DeGette, who is serving her 13th term representing Denver, is a former civil rights attorney and one of Pelosi’s go-to allies. The speaker picked her to preside over the House during the first impeachment vote in 2019. DeGette said Pelosi trusted her to do it because she is “able to to control the passions on the floor.” She says she was surprised when Pelosi called to offer her the prosecutorial position but quickly accepted. “The monstrosity of this offence is not lost on anybody,” she says. REP. DAVID CICILLINE, RHODE ISLAND Cicilline, the former mayor of Providence and public defender, is in his sixth term in Congress and is a senior member of the Judiciary panel. He was heavily involved in Trump’s first impeachment and was one of three original authors of the article that the House approved on Wednesday. He and California Rep. Ted Lieu began writing the article together, in hiding, as the rioters were still ransacking the Capitol. He tweeted out a draft the next morning, writing that “I have prepared to remove the President from office following yesterday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.” REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO, TEXAS Castro is a member of the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs panels, where he has been an outspoken critic of Trump's handling of Russia. He was a litigator in private practice before he was elected to the Texas legislature and came to Congress, where he is in his fifth term. Castro’s twin brother, Julian Castro, is the former mayor of San Antonio and served as former President Barack Obama’s secretary of housing and urban development. Julian Castro ran in the Democratic primary for president last year. REP. ERIC SWALWELL, CALIFORNIA Swalwell also serves on the Intelligence and Judiciary panels and was deeply involved in congressional probes of Trump’s Russian ties. A former prosecutor, he briefly ran for president in 2019. “The case that I think resonates the most with the American people and hopefully the Senate is that our American president incited our fellow citizens to attack our Capitol on a day where we were counting electoral votes, and that this was not a spontaneous call to action by the president at the rally,” Swalwell said. REP. TED LIEU, CALIFORNIA Lieu, who authored the article of impeachment with Cicilline and Raskin, is on the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs panels. The Los Angeles-area lawmaker is a former active-duty officer in the U.S. Air Force and military prosecutor. “We cannot begin to heal the soul of this country without first delivering swift justice to all its enemies — foreign and domestic,” he said. DEL. STACEY PLASKETT, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS Because she represents a U.S. territory, not a state, Plaskett does not have voting rights and was not able to cast a vote for impeachment. But she will bring her legal experience as a former district attorney in New York and senior counsel at the Justice Department — and as one of Raskin's former law students. “As an African American, as a woman, seeing individuals storming our most sacred place of democracy, wearing anti-Semitic, racist, neo-Nazi, white supremacy logos on their bodies and wreaking the most vile and hateful things left not just those people of colour who were in the room traumatized, but so many people of colour around this country," she said Friday. REP. JOE NEGUSE, COLORADO Neguse, in his second term, is a rising star in the Democratic caucus who was elected to Pelosi’s leadership team his freshman year in Congress. A former litigator, he sits on the House Judiciary Committee and consulted with Raskin, Cicilline and Lieu as they drafted the article the day of the attack. At 36, he will be the youngest impeachment manager in history, according to his office. “This armed mob did not storm the Capitol on any given day, they did so during the most solemn of proceedings that the United States Congress is engaged in,” Neguse said Thursday. “Clearly the attack was done to stop us from finishing our work.” REP. MADELEINE DEAN, PENNSYLVANIA Like Neguse, Dean was first elected when Democrats recaptured the House in 2018. She is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee, and is a former lawyer and member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. She says she hopes the prosecutors can convince the Senate and the American people “to mark this moment" with a conviction. “I think I bring to it just the simple fact that I’m a citizen, that I’m a mom and I’m a grandma," Dean said. "And I want my children, my grandchildren, to remember what we did here.” Mary Clare Jalonick, The Associated Press
An Alberta man facing drug trafficking charges was granted bail after a show cause hearing in North Battleford Provincial Court Jan. 15. Lowen Diehl, 36, will be released after he pays $10,000 cash bail and a $10,000 surety to the court. In addition, he must remain at his home in Alberta on 24-hour house arrest. North Battleford RCMP arrested Diehl on Dec. 7, 2020, after they received a report from a concerned citizen about an erratic driver. Police located the SUV on Highway 16 and arrested Diehl. When police searched the SUV they found a large amount of Canadian currency, about 15 kg of methamphetamine, about one kg of cocaine, a small amount of fentanyl and one kg of an unidentified substance. Police say the methamphetamine equals about 150,000 individual doses and the cocaine equals about 1,000 individual doses. Insp. Tom Beck, the Officer in Charge of North Battleford RCMP Detachment, applauded the diligence of both the members of the public who contacted them and the police officers responding to the call. “To be blunt, 150,000 doses is a large quantity of drugs to take off the street and keep out of the hands of some 150,000 potential people,” he said. “Police officers see first-hand the impacts of drug use. We also know drugs are often laced with other harmful substances that can result in tragedy. One of the things we can do to prevent these tragedies and other ripple effects from occurring, is to stem the flow of these substances before they trickle into our Saskatchewan communities and beyond. The seizure of this quantity of methamphetamine will certainly have a significant, resounding impact.” Diehl is scheduled to appear in Edmonton Provincial Court on Jan. 19 on other matters and on Feb. 11 in North Battleford Provincial Court on the Saskatchewan charges. The charges against Diehl haven’t been proven in court. ljoy@glaciermedia.ca Lisa Joy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter / Battlefords Regional News-OptimsitLisa Joy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Battlefords Regional News-Optimist
Saskatchewan health officials released their latest in-depth accounting of the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on the province on Thursday. Here are five key takeaways. The source of many infections remains a mystery Dr. Saqib Shahab, Saskatchewan's chief medical health officer, said interprovincial travel continues to account for "a lot of our cases," as an example of a source of transmission. But the province remains in the dark about the cause of many other people's infections. In a table cataloguing exposure types from the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 to Jan. 10, 2021, the largest number of cases, 4,696, were "unknown/not identified," followed by 4,311 pending, or unclassified, cases. Among known categories, household exposure and heath-care workers were the most prevalent exposure types. "Even though we are not supposed to be meeting between households, we continue to see transmission when people have gotten together over the holidays," Shahab said. 1 in 5 hospitalized people end up in ICU The Ministry of Heath's daily updates on COVID-19 in Saskatchewan only detail how many people are in hospital or under intensive care on that given day. Thursday's update provided a window into total hospitalizations to date. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March, 750 people with COVID-19 have wound up in the hospital. Out of those, 164, or 22 per cent, have required intensive care. "This has not been a minor event by any stretch of the imagination," Shahab said. "We have had significant hospitalizations in hospital, in ICU and deaths." Active case rates highest in far north Saskatchewan's far north region was among the first to receive shipments of the Moderna vaccine. Numbers released Thursday provided insight into why that was. The far northwest, far north central and far northeast zones experienced dramatically higher daily active case rates and test positivity rates in early January, compared to other parts of the province. The far northeast zone — which includes Air Ronge and eight other northern communities — had a daily active case rate of 1,685 per 100,000 people from Jan. 5 to Jan. 11. Shahab cautioned that "with smaller populations, [case rates] can fluctuate quite a bit." Number of close contacts going down Shahab noted one positive trend on Thursday: infected people are coming into contact with fewer people than before. The mean number of close contacts per infected person was 4.4 from Dec. 21 to Jan. 3., compared to eight last November, Shahab said. "This means that we're not having large gatherings in worship services [with more than 10 people]," he said. Vaccine efforts are going well in long-term care homes Early this week, the Saskatchewan Health Authority said a small percentage of its workers were declining to take a COVID-19 vaccine, citing nervousness among some of those being offered shots ahead of the general public. But Shahab said uptake among long-term care residents — another group singled out for priority vaccination — has been "extremely high." "It puts more pressure on the supply," Shahab said. "But that's what we want to see. We want to see high uptake." The province is not releasing a full list of when specific nursing homes are scheduled to receive vaccines. Extendicare, the private operator of the Parkside nursing home in Regina where 43 residents have died during an outbreak, said residents and staff would start getting vaccinated on Friday. The company reported no active cases of the virus the day before.
Now that a stay-at-home order has been issued by the provincial government, it’s a good time to refresh the memory on what outdoor activities can be done, and what safety protocols must be observed. As the community slogs its way through this second wave of increasing COVID-19 cases, the Uxbridge trail system, tobogganing hills and local ponds are filling up with people. But Mayor Dave Barton opened this week’s council meeting by reminding the community of the importance of social distancing when enjoying outdoor winter fun. “If you get to the toboggan hill and there are lots of people there, go home for a while and come back later when there are fewer people,” said Barton in his remarks. The trails are also busy spaces. Snow shoeing, cross country skiing, biking and hiking is enticing many visitors. Just this past Saturday, at least 100 cars lined Conc. 7, just south of Uxbridge, at the Durham Regional Forest trail entrances. While the air circulation and wide open space is comforting, healthcare experts remind the public that maintaining distance is still necessary. Dr. Carlye Jensen, from the Uxbridge Health Centre, points out that, while outdoor transmission is low, it is not zero. “Getting outside is a great way to relieve the pressures of lockdown. We have beautiful trails and wonderful streets to walk along. Just remember that when you are on these trails it is still important to keep your distance from those not within your bubble.” Dr. Jensen also notes that the new variant of the COVID-19 virus appears to be more easily transmitted, and that it’s not the time to let guards - or face masks - down. Dr. Jensen advises, “If you can't be six feet apart, then turn your face away, wear a mask or step off the path to allow safe space between you and others.” During its announcement on Tuesday, the provincial government recommended that everyone wear masks both indoors and out as much as possible. Tuesday’s announcement also outlined that police officers and provincial offences officers now have the authority to disperse crowds of more than five people who appear to not be from the same household, and to shut down the relevant location. For more on the current shutdown, visit https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/59922/ontario-declares-second-provincial-emergency-to-address-covid-19-crisis-and-save-livesJustyne Edgell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Uxbridge Cosmos
OTTAWA — Canada's chief medical officer of health says British Columbia's decision to seek legal advice on limiting travel reinforces the message that it isn't the time to go on vacation across the country. Dr. Theresa Tam says stopping non-essential travel would be a difficult decision for the province, but it could reduce COVID-19 by cutting the number of contacts. Premier John Horgan said Thursday his government was seeking legal advice on whether it can limit interprovincial travel. Other provinces and territories, including those in Atlantic Canada, have required travellers to self-isolate upon arrival or get authorization to travel. Horgan said he and other premiers have made the case for Canadians to stay home during the pandemic, but people continue to travel. The issue has been discussed for months and it's time to determine if the government can act, Horgan added. B.C.'s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said Thursday that she's not sure if she has the authority to limit out-of-province travel nor was she considering such an order. "We do have requirements that people who come in to British Columbia must follow the rules in place here, and that is something that is continuing to be reinforced," she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2021. The Canadian Press
Neale Richmond, European Affairs spokesperson for a coalition party, Fine Gael, described the move as an "outrage".View on euronews
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, under fire for the massive aid Ottawa has unveiled so far to combat the coronavirus, on Friday told his finance minister to avoid additional permanent spending. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is due to present a budget at some point in the next few months.
It was supposed to be the start of their lives. In a horrific twist of events, what was meant to be a simple day of fishing, became a calamity for the families of two budding young men. Antoine Paquin and Dylan Auger, both 22 from Mascouche, were talking about moving out of their parent’s homes. Dylan had just finished his nursing courses, while Antoine continued to help his father with the family construction business. Outside of school and work, the two friends were inseparable. While they could usually be found at the gym, or playing sports outdoors, on Saturday, November 14, they decided to go fishing on the Lake of Two Mountains. They never came back. “This is not a story about drugs, or speeding, or alcohol,” said Dylan’s mother, Judith Besner. “There were two good boys who shared their pandemic’s bubble. Always together. If the gyms had been opened, they wouldn’t have gone fishing that day.” Their boat was found the next morning, submerged - without the men in sight. To date, the bodies of Antoine and Dylan have not been found. As the winter season took hold of the lake, it became impossible for the search to continue. “Spring seems so far,” said Antoine’s father, Christian Paquin. “We haven’t finished going through this, not until we find them.” The heartbroken tragedy not only affected the families and friends, but also the community of Kanesatake. The Kanien’kehá:ka community borders the Lake of Two Mountains, only a few kilometres from St. Placide. The Emergency Response Unit (ERU) spokesperson and director of the First Nations Paramedics (FNP) Robert Bonspiel knows too well how unpredictable the lake’s currents can be. “We lost too many of our community members to this river,” said Bonspiel. During the fall, the ERU and FNP took part in the search, sending weekly statements to the community, to keep an eye open for any signs of the men. But while many volunteers from Antoine and Dylan’s surroundings came to help, it was Kanehsata’kehró:non’s generosity and support that was the most unexpected. “It didn’t happen directly in Kanesatake, so we were all surprised,” said Christian. “We are so used to hearing negative stories, whether it’s about Indigenous or non-Indigenous people, but we received so much help.” During the first days after the accident, recalled Judith, the community came and fed the search team, the Surete du Quebec (SQ) and the families. Christian explained that Kanehsata’kehró:non Ida Nelson organized it all: food, coffee and kind words. “With the pandemic, we don’t have any physical contacts,” said Judith, “and I won’t hide that the holidays have been particularly difficult.” At least, added Judith, they had the warmth of the community’s presence, along with the volunteers from St. Placide. Slightly before Christmas, both families offered a thank you letter to Ida, with a picture of their sons. “You showed us kindness and love, regardless of the fact that we were complete strangers,” read the letter that was addressed to the community and signed by all four parents. Two months after the tragedy, the families still make the one-hour drive from Mascouche, every week, to visit the two crosses that were created and installed at the municipal marina of St. Placide. Judith looks at the frozen water and she knows that the hope of finding them is close to null at this time of the year. “I came here every day for a month,” she said, “and I’ve seen all the sudden changes in weather on the lake, sometimes in the blink of an eye. It’s like a microclimate, where it’s sunny but then five minutes after, you have incredible winds, but only for two minutes. We experienced it. And it allows us to understand a little bit what happened that day to our boys.” Antoine and Dylan had fished all summer before that fatal last trip. The two men, described as joyful and empathetic, were used to checking the forecast beforehand. Christan said that he had taught his son how to fish from a young age and that Antoine never hesitated to come back home if the weather wasn’t appropriate. But on that day, the microclimate snared the best out of them. The search will resume once the ice breaks in the spring. Christian, who returned to work for the first time this week, asked that anyone in the sector lookout and explore the riversides. In the meantime, the families started a GoFundMe, looking to collect $15,000. Judith explained that the families could need to embark on a costly legal procedure to obtain death certificates. “I don’t have my son, I don’t have his body, I can’t say goodbye,” she said. “I can’t tell my heart that this is truly happening." “But for now, Mother Nature decided to keep our sons.” virginie.ann.news@gmail.com Virginie Ann, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door
Système de GPS, communication avec des satellites ou encore conduite automatique, les entrepreneurs agricoles peuvent compter depuis une dizaine d’années sur des technologies d’une très grande précision, qui pavent la voie vers le futur. C’est particulièrement le cas des tracteurs, qui sont aujourd’hui équipés d’ordinateurs qui permettent au véhicule de se conduire pratiquement seuls. Tout ce que le conducteur a à faire, c’est de surveiller en temps réel l’opération et de tourner lorsqu’arrivé au bout du champ. « Des satellites qui sont en orbite autour de la terre communiquent avec le tracteur grâce des signaux au GPS. Ça donne une précision d’environ un pouce. L’opérateur a juste besoin de s’asseoir. Tout est automatisé. Les satellites détectent les passages du tracteur. Ainsi, c’est impossible qu’il repasse au même endroit », explique Jean-Philippe Claveau, directeur des équipements JMAR à Alma. Selon Jean Tremblay, représentant aux ventes du Centre Agricole du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, environ 50 % de la clientèle se tourne vers cette technologie offerte depuis 2003, mais dont les ventes ont explosé depuis 10 ans. « Les gens voient un tracteur, mais ne s’imaginent pas ce que c’est réellement. C’est extrêmement précis et chaque année, la technologie s’améliore. Le tracteur est capable à 95 % de fonctionner seul. Il ne suffit que de le programmer. C’est un peu comme les Tesla », avance-t-il. Un atout incontournable Pour Stéphane Bouchard, propriétaire de la Ferme Équinoxe ainsi que d’une entreprise d’épandage à forfait, cette technologie est pour lui un atout incontournable. Du printemps à l’automne, il parcourt la région à bord de son tracteur et de son épandeuse pour se rendre chez ses nombreux clients. « Une fois sur place, il ne suffit que de faire le tour du champ une seule fois et le GPS détecte la superficie du champ. Ensuite, il trace automatiquement tous les passages qu’on doit faire. Il ne nous fait pas passer au même endroit. Les informations étant sauvegardées dans l’ordinateur, le système le reconnait lorsque je retourne au même champ l’année suivante », explique-t-il. Précision à taux variable La technologie peut également contrôler la variation d’engrais à épandre dans le champ en fonction des besoins du sol, un processus appelé précision à taux variable. « Le système nous fait mettre de l’engrais à la bonne place et à la bonne dose. Tout est calculé. Ça nous fait dépenser moins de carburant, moins de produits et ça respecte les distances des cours d’eau », ajoute Stéphane Bouchard, qui croit que de notre vivant, il sera possible de tout faire ce travail à distance, sans que personne ne soit assis dans le véhicule.Julien B. Gauthier, Initiative de journalisme local, Le Lac St-Jean
Richmond’s Gateway Theatre has commissioned a piece in response to a question posed by the National Arts Centre in its Transformations Project: What would it take to transform our society for the betterment of all? In the piece, local Taiwanese-Canadian artist Johnny Wu dives into themes of family, belonging, and filial piety—a central value in traditional Chinese culture that means respect and duty for one’s parents and ancestors. A regular in the theatre scene, Wu has worked with Gateway several times before, including as the Surtitle translator for China Doll. To learn more or view the piece online, click here.Hannah Scott, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Richmond Sentinel
Former Canadian international Rhian Wilkinson is leaving her coaching role with Canada Soccer. The 38-year-old most recently served as assistant coach of the senior women's team and head coach of the under-17 and under-20 teams. Wilkinson said she was leaving with a "heavy heart." She had been seen as a contender for the Canada coaching job that went to Bev Priestman late last year after Kenneth Heiner-Moller returned to his native Denmark. The native of Baie-D'Urfe, Que., who now calls North Vancouver home, won 181 caps for Canada between 2003 and 2017, with seven goals and 23 assists. Wilkinson participated in four FIFA Women’s World Cups, three Olympic tournaments and won medals at all six CONCACAF tournaments and all three Pan American Games in which she played. --- Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2021 Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — Canada faces an "unfortunate" delay in vaccine deliveries due to Pfizer production issues in Europe, federal officials revealed Friday, chalking it up to the challenges of an unprecedented mass immunization effort while insisting most Canadians will still be vaccinated by fall. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa was "working day in and day out to get vaccines delivered as quickly as possible" but acknowledged that Pfizer-BioNTech doses have been derailed in the short-term. Trudeau said this is why Canada has one of the most diverse vaccine portfolios in the world, pointing to seven bilateral agreements he says ensure "flexibility when it comes to supply chains." "I want to be very clear: this does not impact our goal to have enough vaccines available by September for every Canadian who wants one," Trudeau said from outside Rideau Cottage. Procurement Minister Anita Anand said earlier Friday that production issues will temporarily reduce promised doses to Canada, as well as all countries that receive vaccines from Pfizer's European facility. While the company assured Canada it will still be able to deliver four million doses by the end of March, Anand acknowledged that is no longer guaranteed. "This is unfortunate. However such delays and issues are to be expected when global supply chains are stretched well beyond their limits," Anand said at a news conference. "It's not a stoppage." The immediate impact on Canada's Pfizer-BioNTech supply was unclear. According to the government's website, more than 200,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were expected in each of the next two weeks and almost two million doses were expected in February. Canada has received about 380,000 doses of the vaccine so far. Pfizer Canada spokeswoman Christina Antoniou said the production facility in Puurs, Belgium is undergoing some modifications in the coming weeks to increase the number of doses it can pump out. Pfizer hopes to double its 2021 production to two billion doses. “Pfizer Canada will continue to pursue its efforts in anticipation that by the end of March, we will be able to catch up to be on track for the total committed doses for Q1,” Antoniou said. The news comes as Ottawa released federal projections that suggest the pandemic may soon exceed levels seen in the first wave, rising to 19,630 cumulative deaths and 10,000 daily infections in a little over a week. The modelling shows total cases could grow to nearly 796,630 from about 694,000, and that another 2,000 people could die by Jan. 24. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam urged sustained vigilance as a long-range forecast suggested rapid growth would continue without "quick, strong and sustained" measures. Tam said that's especially so in national hot spots of Quebec and Ontario, where a steady increase in hospitalizations has strained the health system's ability to keep up with critical care demands. The projections do not take into account Quebec's recently implemented four-week curfew or Ontario's new stay-at-home orders. Tam emphasized the need to reduce community spread to help relieve some of the pressure on hospitals and long-term care homes. "The vaccine alone is not going to make a dent in some of that," she said. "As the older population in long-term care receive the vaccines we're going to look very carefully to see if the serious illnesses and the deaths go down, but that's also a factor of what's happening in the community." It was an especially deadly day in Ontario, which reported 100 deaths linked to COVID-19, although that took into account a difference in database reporting between one of its health units and the province. The province's newly resolved tally added 46 deaths from Middlesex-London that occurred earlier in the pandemic. Ontario also reported 2,998 new cases of COVID-19 with 800 of those new cases in Toronto, 618 in Peel Region and 250 in York Region. Quebec reported 1,918 new COVID-19 cases and 62 more deaths, including nine that occurred in the past 24 hours. Concern also remained in Atlantic Canada's hot spot of New Brunswick, which reported 25 new cases and remains at the province's second-highest pandemic alert level. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2021. The Canadian Press
TORONTO — Premier Doug Ford has ousted a member of his government from caucus for opposing Ontario's lockdowns, saying the politician was spreading "misinformation" about the pandemic. Ford also barred legislator Roman Baber on Friday from running for the Progressive Conservatives in the 2022 election. The move came just hours after Baber, who represents a Toronto riding, issued a public letter calling on Ford to end a provincial lockdown. "The data speaks for itself - the lockdown is deadlier than COVID," Baber wrote. "Ending the lockdowns is the best thing we can do for the health of Ontarians” Baber argued that lockdowns are causing a number of other serious problems including mental health and addictions issues, and hurting businesses. He argued they were also causing delays in vital health care such as cancer diagnoses. Ford called Baber's letter "irresponsible" and accused him of spreading misinformation based on political ideology. "I am the first to recognize that COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on people," Ford said in a statement. "However, as premier, my number one priority is the health and safety of all Ontarians." Ford said he is following the advice of experts including the province's chief medical officer of health, who has recommended lockdowns to control the virus' spread. "By spreading misinformation (Baber) is undermining the tireless efforts of our frontline health-care workers at this critical time, and he is putting people at risk," Ford said. "I will not jeopardize a single Ontarian’s life by ignoring public health advice." Earlier this week, Ford imposed a second state of emergency and a stay-at-home order in an effort to fight rising rates of COVID-19. Under the order, which took effect Thursday, residents are required to stay at home except for essential activities such as accessing health care, shopping for groceries, or outdoor exercise. Projections released by the province earlier this week indicated Ontario’s health system will be overwhelmed and deaths from COVID-19 will exceed those in the pandemic’s first wave unless there is a significant reduction in contacts between residents. On Friday, Health Minister Christine Elliott's office released a fact check of Baber's letter. That statement disputed claims Baber made about deaths due to COVID-19, hospital capacity, and corrected a spelling error. "Minimizing the risks and impact of COVID-19 is reckless and irresponsible," Elliott's office said in a statement. "MPP Baber should apologize to every family member, frontline worker, and health-care partner that has continued to deal with the devastating impacts of COVID-19 each day." Baber said he made the letter public because he thinks a "fair conversation" about public health restrictions needs to take place. "The government can leech onto a typo, but it can't get away from the proposition that the lockdown is really harming folks," he said in an interview. Baber said he believes Ford and other members of the Tory government agree with him but aren't saying so publicly. "I actually believe that Premier Ford himself shares a lot of these views," he said. "I am afraid, however, that there's more politics that's playing into the situation than actual medicine." NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said kicking Baber out of the government is "purely symbolic" unless Ford ensured he didn't listen to those who share Baber's views. "Ford has ordered half-measures with contradictions, loopholes and exemptions," she said in a statement. "His insiders and lobbyists clearly have his ear while he dismisses pleas from public health experts to make this lockdown count." Baber is now the fifth Tory legislator to either be ejected from the party or leave since the Ford government took office in 2018. Last June, former Tory legislator Belinda Karahalios was kicked out of caucus by Ford for voting against a sweeping law that extended pandemic emergency orders. At the time, Karahalios, who represents a Cambridge, Ont., riding, said she opposed the measure because it gave Ford's government too much power. Ontario reported 2,998 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 100 more deaths linked to the virus. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2021. Shawn Jeffords, The Canadian Press
COVID-19. Les plus récentes données sur l'évolution de la COVID-19, au Québec, font état de 1 918 nouveaux cas pour le 14 janvier, pour un nombre total de 238 745 personnes infectées. Parmi celles-ci, 207 934 sont rétablies. Elles font également état de 62 nouveaux décès, mais le nombre total de décès s'élève à 8 938 en raison du retrait de 2 décès pour lesquels l'enquête a démontré qu'ils n'étaient pas attribuables à la COVID-19. De ces 62 décès, 9 sont survenus dans les 24 dernières heures, 41 entre le 8 et le 13 janvier, 11 avant le 8 janvier et 1 à une date inconnue. Le nombre total d'hospitalisations a diminué de 27 par rapport à la veille, avec un cumul de 1 496. Parmi celles-ci, le nombre de personnes se trouvant aux soins intensifs a augmenté de 1, pour un total actuel de 231. Les prélèvements réalisés le 13 janvier s'élèvent à 39 981, pour un total de 5 354 130.Stéphane Lévesque, Initiative de journalisme local, L'Hebdo Journal
The lawyer for a man who admitted to earning money by putting a teenager to work in the sex trade said lockdowns at a Toronto jail — where he’s spent most of the past year — along with harsh conditions imposed by the pandemic should make a big dent in the ultimate sentence meted out. Moses Gregory, 24, of Toronto, had earlier pleaded guilty to procuring sexual services, along with charges related to a police chase through Innisfil three years ago. During a court appearance through a video feed from the Toronto South Detention Centre, where he has been held since Jan. 19, 2020, Gregory apologized to a “naive” teenager he put to work as an escort and those he has wronged. ”I hope to contribute some way to society and I want to be a proper father to my daughter,” he told the Ontario Superior Court in Barrie. “I hope one day you could forgive me for the damage I caused.” Crown attorney Lynn Shirreffs was seeking a three-year sentence for the charge of procuring sexual services in addition to breaching a recognizance and probation, dangerous driving, and escape by flight. South Simcoe police earlier indicated its criminal investigation bureau launched an investigation in January 2018 into human trafficking involving an 18-year-old woman, resulting in the procuring charge, which is related to the control of another person to engage in sexual acts to derive financial gain. Gregory was also accused of fleeing from police the previous December when he narrowly missed running over an officer’s foot, court heard. Much of Wednesday’s sentencing hearing focused on the credit Gregory would get for the time he spent in jail waiting for his day in court. His lawyer, David Heath, argued just about all the time he’s spent in what has been described in the media as “Toronto’s worst jail,” which was also the subject of an Ontario Human Rights Commission report, should go against the ultimate sentence. Gregory told the court there have been ongoing lockdowns at the jail due to the pandemic. He said he has had trouble accessing a phone to call his lawyer, hadn’t had a shower in three days, had been unable to have family visits for months, and was in segregation over Christmas from Dec. 9 to 27 because of a COVID outbreak. “We should have the basic human contact,” he told the court. Shirreffs said Gregory exploited the young woman to provide his only source of income at the time, wanting her to perform certain sexual acts against her wishes. She said he had a business, associates and a plan that he executed. The woman is now struggling to survive and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, Shirreffs added. Heath said Gregory did make some progress in jail and tried to upgrade his education, adding that whatever the judge’s determination, he would eventually be released from jail. The lawyer said future risks could be reduced if his client could access programming. “What can we do to assist with an inevitable reintroduction to the community?” Heath said is the question that should be asked. Justice Susan Healey will deliver her sentence on Feb. 4.Marg. Bruineman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, barrietoday.com
