The caterpillar has evolved to stop tomatoes from sending out distress signals.
Ten people who were on board American fishing charters that crossed into Canadian waters on the Detroit River are facing fines, according to the RCMP. Four U.S. fishing charters were spotted on the Canadian side of the border on Thursday morning. Authorities were able to intercept two of them while the other pair of vessels fled back into U.S. waters, the RCMP said in a media release on Monday. The operation, which involved Windsor police and Canada Border Services, was launched in response to "public concerns" about American fishing boats violating the Quarantine Act, the Customs Act and the Reopening of Ontario Act, the RCMP said. The fishing boats were escorted to a port of entry and examined by CBSA officers. Windsor police issued tickets to 10 people under the Reopening Ontario Act, and they were served with a notice to return to the U.S. In total, $8,800 in fines were levied against those on board the boats.
It was a whirlwind weekend for Doug Ford after an announcement of controversial new COVID-19 lockdown measures led to a rollback of several aspects of the announcement less than 24 hours later. On Monday Ontario's Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Christine Elliott, said that limiting mobility was the guiding principle for last week's announcement. "The changes we made were based on the medical advice that we received from Dr. [David] Williams and the public heath measures table...and we were advised that we need to limit mobility to stop the transmission of the COVID variants in Ontario," Elliott said.
WHITEHORSE — The NDP won a legislature seat in Yukon by drawing lots on Monday after a judicial recount, but despite the outcome Liberal Leader Sandy Silver says he is ready to form the territory's next government. Last week's election saw the NDP's Annie Blake and former Liberal cabinet minister Pauline Frost tied with 78 votes in the riding of Vuntut Gwitchen. Chief electoral officer Max Harvey said the vote remained unchanged after the recount, but Blake was chosen as the winner when lots were drawn by the returning officer for the riding. The outcome means the Liberal and Yukon parties each won eight seats in the 19-seat legislature, with the NDP winning three, so all the parties fell short of the 10 required for a majority government. Silver said he has met with the commissioner of Yukon, Angelique Bernard, to discuss the way forward and indicated he intends to form the next government and demonstrate he can gain the confidence of the legislature. He is the incumbent premier and said he plans to meet with the leaders of the NDP and the Yukon Party to discuss ways they can work together. The commissioner is appointed by the federal government and is the territory's head of state. Legislature clerk Dan Cable said last week that Silver would have the first shot at forming a minority government. Before the recount, Silver said it would have "some bearing" on his decisions, but "it will not alter the fact that we are in a minority situation regardless of the result." "Pending the outcome of discussions with other party leaders it is my intention to swear in a cabinet shortly and to test the confidence of the house with a speech from the throne and one or more budget bills.” The riding of Vuntut Gwitchen stretches to the Beaufort Sea and includes Old Crow, the only Yukon community north of the Arctic Circle. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2021. The Canadian Press
On Monday, Ontario police began restricting entry into the province to only those with essential reasons, or whose primary residence is in Ontario. Global's Marney Blunt traveled to the Manitoba-Ontario border to see how things were going on day one.
It's dark on the north side of the Stanley Park seawall at night. Thus, a man riding his electric scooter in the area just before midnight on Sunday likely didn't see it coming before he crashed into a coyote in his path. The impact — according to police, who highlighted the bizarre encounter on Monday — knocked the man off his scooter. Officers said he fell to the pavement and injured his collarbone. Then it got worse. "While he was on the ground, a couple of coyotes began to nip at him — biting at his jacket and his clothing," said Const. Steve Addison. Addison said the man fended off the animals and flagged down a passerby, who called 911. B.C. Emergency Health Services confirmed paramedics were called to respond to a "multiple animal situation" on the seawall between Lumbermen's Arch and the Lions Gate Bridge. The man was hospitalized in stable condition, according to an email. The run-in is at least the 17th incident since December in which a coyote has bitten a human in Stanley Park. All the biting incidents since Christmas have involved adults walking or running in the park, most often between dusk and dawn. People in the park should not feed coyotes or leave food out for animals, say wildlife officials. Anyone who has an encounter with an aggressive coyote is asked to call the provincial RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277.
WASHINGTON/BERKELEY (Reuters) -Texas police will serve search warrants on Tesla Inc on Tuesday to secure data from a fatal vehicle crash, a senior officer told Reuters on Monday, after CEO Elon Musk said company checks showed the car's Autopilot driver assistance system was not engaged. Mark Herman, Harris County Constable Precinct 4, said evidence including witness statements clearly indicated there was nobody in the driver's seat of the Model S when it crashed into a tree, killing two people, on Saturday night. Herman said a tweet by Musk on Monday afternoon, saying that data logs retrieved by the company so far ruled out the use of the Autopilot system, was the first officials had heard from the company.
The world can bring the global COVID-19 pandemic under control in the coming months provided it distributes the necessary resources fairly, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) told a news briefing on Monday. Global climate change activist Greta Thunberg, joining the briefing as a virtual guest from Sweden, took a swipe at "vaccine nationalism" and said it was unethical that rich countries were prioritising their younger citizens for vaccination ahead of vulnerable groups in developing countries. "We have the tools to bring this pandemic under control in a matter of months, if we apply them consistently and equitably," said the head of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Ontario reported another 4,447 cases of COVID-19 and 19 more deaths of people with the illness on Monday, while the number of hospitalizations topped 2,200. It's the sixth straight day of more than 4,000 new infections in the province. They come as labs completed 42,873 tests for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and logged a positivity rate of 10.5 per cent — the highest recorded since in Ontario since the beginning of the pandemic. There are 2,202 people with COVID-19 in hospitals, according to the Ministry of Health. Of those, 755 are being treated for COVID-related critical illnesses in intensive care units. A total of 516 patients require a ventilator to breathe. All three figures are new pandemic highs for Ontario. Health officials warned last week that admissions to hospitals and ICUs are expected to continue to rise for the next several weeks, as they are lagging indicators to the explosive growth in cases this month. Meanwhile, up to 60 patients from the Toronto area are expected to be transferred to Windsor this week to help with the crush of patients from the third COVID-19 wave, according to an internal memo from London Middlesex Primary Care. Another 40 are heading to the London area. WATCH | Ontario doctors prepare to use triage protocol:. Public health units collectively administered just 66,897 doses of vaccines Sunday, the fewest in two weeks. As of last evening, some 346,005 people in the province had received both doses. Ontario has given out 3,904,778, or about 80 per cent, of the 4,852,885 total doses of vaccines it has received thus far. Provincial health officials said early last week that public health units have combined capacity to administer up to 150,000 shots per day. Then during a news conference Friday, Ontario's Chief Medical of Health Dr. David Williams repeatedly said the province could be doing up to 500,000 shots daily, though it is unclear how he arrived at that figure, as no government official had cited it publicly before. CBC Toronto has reached out to the government for clarification on the discrepancy between the numbers. Meanwhile, Williams confirmed Monday morning that starting Tuesday, Ontario will begin offering the AstraZeneca vaccine to adults aged 40 and older. The vaccine had previously been limited to those 55 and up. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec have also said they would lower age requirements for the vaccine. About 1,400 pharmacies throughout the province are offering the AstraZeneca vaccine, as well as some primary care physicians in six public health units. In some provincially-designated hot spots, those under 40 have been able to get their first doses of vaccine. York Region announced Monday those 35 and older in five high-priority communities (L4L, L6A, L4K, L4J and L3S postal code areas) are now eligible. The new cases reported Monday include: 1,229 in Toronto 926 in Peel Region 577 in York Region 233 in Ottawa 227 in Hamilton 205 in Durham Region 203 in Niagara Region 169 in Halton Region 114 in Simcoe Muskoka The seven-day average of daily cases rose slightly to 4,348 — a 59 per cent increase from two weeks ago, Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe said Monday. Seventy-one people have died with the virus since Friday alone. The 19 additional deaths in today's update pushed the official toll to 7,735. The seven-day average of deaths stands at 24. New COVID-19 measures face backlash Students across Ontario returned to the virtual classroom Monday morning as school buildings remain shuttered following the spring break. The provincial government announced the move to remote learning early last week as it dealt with a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. It also announced a suite of new measures meant to curb the spread of COVID-19, including limiting interprovincial travel. Checkpoints are set up at interprovincial border crossings and only those coming into Ontario for work, medical care, transportation of goods and exercising Indigenous treaty rights are allowed through. The province held firm to that measure over the weekend, despite walking back other public health rules that were announced at the same time Friday. Premier Doug Ford on Saturday reversed his decision to shutter playgrounds, following a swift backlash from parents and public health experts alike. They said the move was unlikely to curb the spread of COVID-19, as evidence suggests most transmission happens indoors. WATCH | Director of Ontario's COVID-19 science table disappointed with new measures: The government did, however, keep in place a number of controversial limitations on outdoor activities. In an interview with CBC News Network today, the director of Ontario's COVID-19 science advisory table said the restrictions were the "opposite" of what the group of experts recommended to cabinet. Dr. Peter Jüni, who is also a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Toronto, said the new round of measures failed to address the root causes driving the growth in cases in Ontario. "Right now we have a pandemic that is focused on essential workers and their families," he said. "We need to pay people in an uncomplicated and efficient manner to stay home." The science table and other health experts have repeatedly called for Ford and his cabinet to institute a provincially-run paid sick leave program. The federal counterpart, the Canadian Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB), is "too complicated, not enough and the help comes too late," Jüni said. Ford government votes against essential workers motion Ford and Ontario Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton have urged Ontarians to rely on the federal program, saying the province wants to avoid duplication. And during question period at the legislature today, House Leader Paul Calandra said the province expects the federal government to improve the CRSB in today's budget, including paid time off for vaccinations. The Ontario government voted against a series of Opposition motions aimed at supporting essential workers Monday, including one that sought to create a provincial paid sick-leave program. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath presented the motions — which required unanimous consent of the legislature to pass — during a session Monday morning. A frustrated Jüni said that "political considerations" are behind the government's refusal to take the science table's advice. "I don't think we can be any clearer: this is not a problem at the sending end, it's a problem at the receiving end. We need to stop having political considerations guide this pandemic [response]," he told host Heather Hiscox. "This does not work. It hasn't worked in the past, it won't work now. It hasn't worked in other jurisdictions and it wont work in Ontario." Advisory table 'deeply concerned' about new measures On Monday, the Ontario COVID-19 Bioethics Table issued a statement saying it was "deeply concerned" about the enhanced enforcement measures outlined in the province's stay-at-home order, saying they will "disproportionately harm" racialized and marginalized people. "The enforcement measures fail to adequately address the root causes of transmission of COVID-19 in Ontario," the statement said. The table said it commends the extension of the stay-at-home order, but urged Ontario to "implement evidence-informed public health measures grounded in public health ethics." "Provision of provincially mandated paid sick leave is one such measure that is urgently needed," it said. On Saturday the province also quickly rescinded new powers given to police officers, saying officers will no longer be able to stop any pedestrian or driver during the stay-at-home order to request their home address and their reason for being out of the house. Instead, police must have "reason to suspect" that a person is out to participate in an organized public event or social gathering before stopping them. Speaking to reporters today, Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said that despite the public outcry and condemnation from legal experts that the powers generated, the details were "very clearly laid out." Jones said the government initially decided to enact the new powers because the science table recommended limiting mobility. "We've all seen those photographs of people who continue to basically ignore the advice of the science table and the stay-at-home. And the intention was always to ensure those large public gatherings were stopped and didn't continue because it puts everyone else at risk," she said. Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Bill Blair, minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, said the move was a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "Mr. Speaker, we had just this weekend in Ontario an extraordinary example where the police were offered the authorities to violate the charter," Blair said. "And unanimously, they stood up to that and said no. And so I want to acknowledge that leadership and assure the member we remain committed to upholding all of the rights and freedoms that are available to all Canadians throughout the country.
The federal budget fired what appears to be a warning shot at defence contractors — perhaps one in particular — by resurrecting an old policy statement in a move that may well signal where Canada's fighter jet replacement competition is headed. A little more than three years ago, in the thick of a trade dispute involving Montreal-based Bombardier, the Liberal government laid down a marker that became known informally in procurement circles as the "Boeing clause." Under the sub-headline of "Ensuring Procurement Partners Respect Canada's Economic Interests," the policy was reanimated and restated in Monday's fiscal plan, much to observers' surprise. "In December 2017, the government announced that the evaluation of bids for the competition to replace Canada's fighter aircraft would include an assessment of bidders' impact on Canada's economic interests, and that any bidder that had harmed Canada's economic interests would be disadvantaged," said the budget. "Budget 2021 confirms the government will apply this policy to major military and Coast Guard procurements going forward." Boeing vs. Bombardier Boeing, with its corporate headquarters in Chicago, is one of the biggest military and civilian aircraft-makers in the world. The company filed a trade complaint with the U.S. Commerce Department in April 2017 alleging its business was being harmed because Bombardier's CSeries passenger jet was unfairly subsidized by the Canadian government. Bombardier's CSeries commercial jet takes off on its first flight in Montreal on Sept. 16, 2013. Rival Boeing filed a trade complaint with the U.S. Commerce Department in April 2017 alleging its business was being harmed because Bombardier's jet was unfairly subsidized by the Canadian government.(Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press) At the time, Boeing's military division had been on track to sell the Royal Canadian Air Force a handful of Super Hornet jet fighters — a deal that went sideways and was eventually cancelled as the trade dispute deepened. At the height of the bitter feud and after a 300 per cent duty was imposed on Bombardier jets, the Liberal government produced a policy that stated companies that harmed Canada's economic interest would be at a disadvantage. The dispute was eventually resolved when Boeing's European rival Airbus stepped in and agreed to buy a stake in the C-Series jet, eventually taking a controlling ownership share in Bombardier. The so-called Boeing clause faded into the woodwork — until Monday's budget. WATCH | Finance minister introduces Liberal budget: "Companies found to have prejudiced Canada's economic interests through trade challenges will have points deducted from their procurement bid score at a level proportional to the severity of the economic impact, to a maximum penalty," the budget says. "This policy will protect Canada's economic interests and make sure the government does business with trusted partners who value doing business with Canada." The policy revival comes at an interesting time. A US Air Force F-35A is one-of-three competitors in the bid to replace Canada's CF-18s.(Murray Brewster/CBC News) Boeing, with its Super Hornet, is one-of-three aerospace companies bidding on $19-billion full replacement of all of the air force's aging fighter jets — a competition in which the bids are currently being evaluated with an eye to signing a contract next year. Industry surprised The country's defence industry association is taking notice. "It's unusual to see this kind of thing in a budget," said Christyn Cianfarani, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), a national business association. "Most countries don't have such a formal economic interest test, and if they do, it would be part of their procurement rules, strategy, or requirements on a particular acquisition." Public Services and Procurement Canada was asked to clarify the reasons for resurrecting the policy. No one from the department was immediately available for comment late Monday. "We're going to be seeking more clarity on this in the coming days," said Cianfarani. "We're not aware of this test having changed any procurement outcomes in Canada since it was announced in 2017. Since CADSI doesn't get involved in specific procurements, we can't assess whether this policy would penalize one bidder over another on any given project." Softening the political ground? Defence procurement expert Elinor Sloan, a poltical science professor at Carleton University, was just as surprised to see the statement in the budget. She wonders whether the Liberal government is softening the political ground for its impending contract award. There is a lot of political baggage associated with the fighter jet purchase. During the 2015 federal election, the governing Liberals promised to ditch a Conservative-era plan to buy Lockheed Martin built F-35 stealth fighters and purchase something cheaper, such as the Boeing Super Hornet, and plow the savings back into a revitalized navy. "My guess is they are having to walk back that clear policy statement," said Sloan, who was also searching for more clarity from the government. "I can only read into this that [F-35 Joint Strike Fighter] will be chosen. They need to find a way, a political way, to justify this about-face." Gripen, a Swedish fighter aircraft, performs on the second day of Aero India 2017 at Yelahanka air base in Bangalore, India, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017. Saab offered the latest version of the fighter as part of its pitch to sell Canada a new fleet of fighter jets.(The Associated Press) Aside from Boeing and Lockheed Martin, the Swedish aircraft-maker Saab is also in the competition, with the latest model of its Gripen jet fighter.
Joan Wright, a well-known psychologist in Fredericton, has been suspended by the College of Psychologists of New Brunswick for professional misconduct, incompetence and violating the boundaries of the psychologist-client relationship, according to a recent decision by the college. Wright is disputing the decision. Wright is a senior psychologist and owner of MindShift Clinic in Lincoln and Joan Wright & Associates in downtown Fredericton, where nine other therapists work, according to her LinkedIn page. In its decision released Friday, the college's hearing committee ordered the immediate suspension of Wright's registration and said she was "prohibited from engaging in the practice of psychology while her registration is suspended." Wright has also been ordered to pay a $2,000 fine before the suspension is lifted and $134,510.63 to the college within a year for costs related to the complaint. Wright's lawyer, Kelly Lamrock, said he will file an application for judicial review, which will challenge the college's decision, and will also request an injunction to stop the suspension until the review can take place. "I think as the court documents come out, it will be clear they've reached some conclusions the facts cannot support, and they've followed a process that is unreasonable in law," Lamrock said. Lamrock said he will file with the court Tuesday morning. Hearings of the complaint against Wright took place over several days last September. The decision outlined a list of several failings on Wright's part, including "using experimental and non-evidence-based interventions" without presenting the risks or benefits of the treatment to her client. The decision also said that Wright "failed to use evidence-based treatments" for post-traumatic stress disorder in treating her client and did use experimental techniques without the informed consent of the client. It also said Wright administered therapy she was not trained to provide. Wright was also found to have "failed to provide the client with a copy of the clinical file when requested" and "to keep adequate records and notes of her sessions with the client." More specific transgressions cited by the board include asking her client to "remove articles of clothing in order to take photographs of the Client's naked body parts without the Client's informed consent, touching various parts of the Client's body, including massaging the Client's neck and asking the Client to get into various positions such as bending over on a ball." Wright also "showed a gross lack of judgment" by requesting the client purchase and use an "anal device at home." Wright "had no expertise to recommend such a device —the device being outside her scope of practice as a psychologist," the decision said. Wright was also found to have committed boundary violations by borrowing a sleeping bag from the client, soliciting the client to participate in a promotional video, and eating a "cannabis-laced" cookie given to her by the client, even though it was illegal at the time. The college didn't give a specific duration of the suspension but said Wright would have to do several things to qualify for a conditional registration. She would have to complete and pass post-secondary-level educational courses on cognitive behavioural therapy for the treatment of PTSD, on the ethics in psychological treatment of clients, and on psychometrics. She would also have to pass an examination for the professional practice of psychology and pay the $2,000 fine. The College of Psychologists of New Brunswick declined to comment.
A group of East Vancouver parents is questioning the Vancouver Park Board's decision after their children's soccer program was denied a permit at their neighbourhood park and forced to move to a different field 30 blocks away. Union Soccer Club started a learn-to-play program at Slocan Park in Renfrew-Collingwood in January, attracting upward of 50 enthusiastic youngsters from the surrounding streets and those who came via SkyTrain, thanks to the next door 29th Avenue Station. But starting this week, the program is longer welcome at Slocan Park. The grass fields, which were recently upgraded, have now been designated "Grade A" by park board, meaning they are reserved for "official games" only. Ryan Lamourie, parent of five-year-old Lola, says he can't understand the decision to deny the permit, especially given that the fields are sitting empty because of provincial health orders banning games. "[The Union soccer program] has been a really positive thing for our community when we really need it. And to be told we have to leave just because this field is reserved for something else is really disappointing," he said. Union Soccer Club co-owner Judith Davalos said the program will now run out of Clinton Park in Hastings-Sunrise, but is losing families because of the move. "We are so sad," she said. "We really want to be back there. If now they give us the permission, we'll be back [at Slocan Park]." Parent Gerhard Breytenbach questions why families are being forced to drive to a different field when there's a perfectly good one within walking distance sitting empty. "Bureaucratic idiocy mixed with red tape snafus for absolutely no logical reason," he said. "The city is telling us that because we want to use this for adults in the future when COVID is not a problem, your kids can't use it in the meantime." Rule linked to maintenance budget In a statement to CBC, the park board said the Grade A Slocan Park fields are still open to the general public for things like picnics. "Artificial turf fields and Grade B fields (and lower) are permitted for practices, camps and other activities. This is a citywide procedure that is linked to the field maintenance budget and we apply it consistently throughout the city to preserve quality facilities for their intended use," said the statement. Parent Mariana Rueda wonders why park board officials couldn't be more flexible. "I cannot believe a community can say that an open space... that was created for enjoyment, is not for kids. It's not right," she said. Lamourie said the Union soccer program quickly became a community focal point as a safe and affordable outlet during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said attempts to appeal to park board officials have been frustrating. "What I find disappointing is that they've told us that there are many departments involved, so it will take a long time to reverse any decisions," he said. "These kids, more than ever, need social activities and physical activities. We're really letting down these children by not letting them play on these fields."
Seasonal residents from outside Atlantic Canada will not be allowed to travel to P.E.I. until at least May 17, even if they had already been granted approval to enter the province, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison said in a previously unscheduled news conference Monday. Morrison made the announcement as she detailed stricter new border measures to limit the importation and spread of COVID-19, and confirmed three new cases of the illness on Prince Edward Island. "We need to buy more time," she said. For the next four weeks, she said, the province is pausing non-resident travel to the province from outside Atlantic Canada. Morrison also advised Island residents to avoid non-essential travel off P.E.I., and said the timeline for the reopening of the Atlantic bubble, scheduled for May 3, would be re-examined in the coming days. More than 7,000 approved to date in 2021 Applications for permanent relocation to P.E.I. for work or school will continue to be processed, Morrison told reporters. However, people in that situation will need a negative pre-departure test within 72 hours of arrival, and will be tested three times during their two weeks of isolation. People intending to move to P.E.I. without a job or post-secondary admission in place will have to wait for things to open up again. Applications for travel to P.E.I. for compassionate reasons will continue to be processed and approved with the same restrictions in place, Morrison said. To give context, Morrison's office later told CBC News that 7,153 people had been approved for travel to P.E.I. so far in 2021. Of those, 115 will be notified by the end of this week that they must now defer their arrival until at least May 17. Rotational workers and commercial truckers who are residents of P.E.I. but travel outside Atlantic Canada will now need to isolate until their first negative test even if they have been vaccinated. Workers from other places who are coming to P.E.I. will need to show a negative COVID-19 result from no more than 72 hours before their arrival on the Island The news comes after P.E.I. reported three new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, and eight in the last week. At least four of the recent travel-related cases are the highly transmissible B117 variant, Morrison said. Details on off-Island help to come Premier Dennis King was also at the briefing, and addressed the request from Ontario to help with human resources. He said the province will do whatever it can to help, being mindful that P.E.I. does not have an abundance of resources to offer. The premier said would be very easy "to revert to a protectionist instinct… or an us-versus-them mentality," but instead urged citizens of the province to "revert to the instincts of kindness and generosity." Two patients with COVID-19 are now being cared for at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown.(Rick Gibbs/CBC) He added: "I know Canadians from other provinces would help if it was Prince Edward Island asking." He promised more details later in the day on health care help that could be available, noting that some P.E.I. health care workers have expressed interest in travelling to Ontario to assist. P.E.I. has now had 173 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Thirteen remain active. There have been no deaths. The first hospitalization due to the illness was confirmed on Friday, in a person aged between 40 and 49 with a recent history of travel outside Atlantic Canada. On Sunday, a news release announced three more cases, including a young child who needed hospital treatment. As well, the release said the person hospitalized earlier was now in intensive care. Morrison cited privacy rules as she declined to give an update on the two patients' condition on Monday. More from CBC P.E.I.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -More than 100,000 Russian troops have massed on Ukraine's border and in annexed Crimea, the office of the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell said after EU foreign ministers were briefed by Ukraine's foreign minister. In a press conference on Monday, Borrell had originally spoken of more than 150,000 troops, and declined to give a source for the figure. Borrell said no new economic sanctions or expulsions of Russian diplomats were planned for the time being, despite saying that the military build-up on Ukraine's borders was the largest ever.
The latest numbers on COVID-19 vaccinations in Canada as of 4 a.m. ET on Monday April 20, 2021. In Canada, the provinces are reporting 269,775 new vaccinations administered for a total of 10,243,418 doses given. Nationwide, 932,807 people or 2.5 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated. The provinces have administered doses at a rate of 27,028.004 per 100,000. There were 4,700 new vaccines delivered to the provinces and territories for a total of 12,667,610 doses delivered so far. The provinces and territories have used 80.86 per cent of their available vaccine supply. Please note that Newfoundland and Labrador, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the territories typically do not report on a daily basis. Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting 26,302 new vaccinations administered over the past seven days for a total of 136,349 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 260.391 per 1,000. In the province, 1.85 per cent (9,674) of the population has been fully vaccinated. There were 4,700 new vaccines delivered to Newfoundland and Labrador for a total of 173,840 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 33 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 78.43 per cent of its available vaccine supply. P.E.I. is reporting 8,567 new vaccinations administered over the past seven days for a total of 39,504 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 249.034 per 1,000. In the province, 5.88 per cent (9,325) of the population has been fully vaccinated. There were zero new vaccines delivered to P.E.I. for a total of 53,545 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 34 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 73.78 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Nova Scotia is reporting 57,440 new vaccinations administered over the past seven days for a total of 207,563 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 212.689 per 1,000. In the province, 3.31 per cent (32,255) of the population has been fully vaccinated. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Nova Scotia for a total of 316,500 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 32 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 65.58 per cent of its available vaccine supply. New Brunswick is reporting 48,322 new vaccinations administered over the past seven days for a total of 200,587 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 257.15 per 1,000. In the province, 2.41 per cent (18,812) of the population has been fully vaccinated. There were zero new vaccines delivered to New Brunswick for a total of 255,205 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 33 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 78.6 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Quebec is reporting 41,177 new vaccinations administered for a total of 2,399,934 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 280.476 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Quebec for a total of 2,836,485 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 33 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 84.61 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Ontario is reporting 66,897 new vaccinations administered for a total of 3,904,778 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 265.829 per 1,000. In the province, 2.36 per cent (346,005) of the population has been fully vaccinated. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Ontario for a total of 4,852,885 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 33 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 80.46 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Manitoba is reporting 5,788 new vaccinations administered for a total of 341,926 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 248.312 per 1,000. In the province, 5.07 per cent (69,822) of the population has been fully vaccinated. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Manitoba for a total of 479,010 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 35 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 71.38 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Saskatchewan is reporting 7,043 new vaccinations administered for a total of 352,169 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 298.662 per 1,000. In the province, 3.64 per cent (42,893) of the population has been fully vaccinated. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Saskatchewan for a total of 396,475 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 34 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 88.83 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Alberta is reporting 18,175 new vaccinations administered for a total of 1,165,223 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 264.70 per 1,000. In the province, 5.30 per cent (233,340) of the population has been fully vaccinated. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Alberta for a total of 1,449,695 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 33 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 80.38 per cent of its available vaccine supply. British Columbia is reporting 98,069 new vaccinations administered for a total of 1,380,160 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 268.954 per 1,000. In the province, 1.72 per cent (88,151) of the population has been fully vaccinated. There were zero new vaccines delivered to British Columbia for a total of 1,696,370 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 33 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 81.36 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Yukon is reporting 1,345 new vaccinations administered for a total of 45,391 doses given. The territory has administered doses at a rate of 1,087.705 per 1,000. In the territory, 48.71 per cent (20,326) of the population has been fully vaccinated. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Yukon for a total of 59,500 doses delivered so far. The territory has received enough of the vaccine to give 140 per cent of its population a single dose. The territory has used 76.29 per cent of its available vaccine supply. The Northwest Territories are reporting 3,429 new vaccinations administered for a total of 44,646 doses given. The territory has administered doses at a rate of 989.517 per 1,000. In the territory, 42.71 per cent (19,271) of the population has been fully vaccinated. There were zero new vaccines delivered to the Northwest Territories for a total of 56,300 doses delivered so far. The territory has received enough of the vaccine to give 120 per cent of its population a single dose. The territory has used 79.3 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Nunavut is reporting 719 new vaccinations administered for a total of 25,188 doses given. The territory has administered doses at a rate of 650.416 per 1,000. In the territory, 28.23 per cent (10,933) of the population has been fully vaccinated. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Nunavut for a total of 41,800 doses delivered so far. The territory has received enough of the vaccine to give 110 per cent of its population a single dose. The territory has used 60.26 per cent of its available vaccine supply. *Notes on data: The figures are compiled by the COVID-19 Open Data Working Group based on the latest publicly available data and are subject to change. Note that some provinces report weekly, while others report same-day or figures from the previous day. Vaccine doses administered is not equivalent to the number of people inoculated as the approved vaccines require two doses per person. The vaccines are currently not being administered to children under 18 and those with certain health conditions. In some cases the number of doses administered may appear to exceed the number of doses distributed as some provinces have been drawing extra doses per vial. This report was automatically generated by The Canadian Press Digital Data Desk and was first published April 20, 2021. The Canadian Press
Federal intergovernmental affairs minister Dominic LeBlanc says Ottawa will not divert any COVID-19 vaccine doses from Atlantic Canada to Ontario without a clear consensus from provincial premiers. And he points out it's already obvious that consensus doesn't exist. LeBlanc, the MP for Beausejour and the minister coordinating vaccine distribution, was responding to a suggestion from the Canadian Medical Association that provinces with low case rates forego some vaccine so it can be used in Ontario, where case rates are soaring. LeBlanc pointed out that last fall the Council of the Federation, made up of all provincial and territorial premiers, agreed unanimously that all vaccines arriving in Canada should be distributed to the provinces per capita, based on their populations. "Our view that the government of Canada would not unilaterally change those arrangements unless the Council of the Federation or the premiers by consensus came back to us with another proposal," LeBlanc said Monday. "We are not going to, on our own, adjust that formula." LeBlanc said if a consensus for a change emerged, "we would look at it," but based on public comments by some premiers and his own private conversations, "there does not appear to be an easy consensus on adjusting the formula." Higgs not ruling out diversion Last Friday, Premier Blaine Higgs would not rule out consenting to a diversion of New Brunswick's vaccine allocation. "I don't think we should dismiss it," Higgs said, "I don't think that's the Canadian way." But two other Atlantic premiers, Iain Rankin of Nova Scotia and Andrew Furey of Newfoundland and Labrador, said they would oppose shifting vaccine shipments. LeBlanc also pointed out that vaccines take two weeks to protect recipients from COVID-19, so diverting doses there "won't stop the immediate need for aggressive and effective public health measures in Ontario." LeBlanc said he's been talking to premiers about whether other health care resources, including people, can be diverted to Ontario as long as there is no effect on their own province's services. "It's entirely in the provincial government's wheelhouse to decide what and who can be made available, if at all possible," he said. The federal government is willing to cover the travel, accommodation and salary costs of any health care personnel who volunteer to pitch in. Higgs spokesperson Nicolle Carlin said any decision would be made by the all-party cabinet committee on COVID-19 and by cabinet with input from the regional health authorities. "Any human resources that could potentially be shared would also be based upon medical professionals in our province volunteering to assist in another province," she said.
LAS VEGAS — A convicted killer who is fighting a possible June execution date that would make him the first person put to death in Nevada in 15 years is calling for the state to consider the firing squad as an option, a rare method in the United States. Attorneys for Zane Michael Floyd say he does not want to die and are challenging the state plan to use a proposed three-drug method, which led to court challenges that twice delayed the execution of another convicted killer who later took his own life in prison. “This is not a delaying tactic,” Brad Levenson, a federal public defender representing Floyd, said Monday. But a challenge of the state execution protocol requires the defence to provide an alternative method, and Levenson said gunshots to the brain stem would be “the most humane way.” “Execution by firing squad ... causes a faster and less painful death than lethal injection,” the attorneys said in a court filing Friday. Three U.S. states — Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah — and the U.S. military allow capital punishment by gunfire. The last time that method was used in the United States was in Utah in 2010. Floyd's attorneys are asking a federal judge in Las Vegas to stop Floyd from being executed until prison officials “devise a new procedure or procedures to carry out a lawful execution.” Levenson said he and attorney David Anthony are fighting multiple issues in state and federal courts, with the possibility that Floyd’s death could be set for the week of June 7. Prosecutors will seek an execution warrant at a state court hearing next month. The 45-year-old was convicted in 2000 of killing four people with a shotgun in a Las Vegas supermarket in 1999 and badly wounding a fifth person. Floyd appeared to exhaust his federal appeals last November, and the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear his case. Floyd wants a chance to seek clemency at a June 22 meeting of the Nevada State Pardons Board, Levenson said. Floyd's attorneys argue that a three-drug combination the state wants to use — the sedative diazepam, the powerful synthetic painkiller fentanyl and a paralytic, cisatracurium — would amount to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of his constitutional rights. Anthony made similar arguments on behalf of Scott Raymond Dozier before Nevada's last scheduled execution was called off in 2017 and 2018. Dozier killed himself in prison in January 2019. A judge blocked the first date after deciding that use of the paralytic might cause painful suffocation while Dozier was aware but unable to move. Pharmaceutical companies that made the three drugs stopped the second date with arguments against using their products in an execution, an issue several states are facing. Floyd would be the first person executed in Nevada since 2006, when Daryl Mack asked to be put to death for his conviction in a 1988 rape and murder in Reno. Nevada has 72 men awaiting execution, a state Department of Corrections spokeswoman said. Ken Ritter, The Associated Press
A Nova Scotia company that injects carbon dioxide into concrete — making it stronger while lowering its carbon footprint — has taken home a multi-million dollar prize in a global competition aimed at tackling climate change. CarbonCure Technologies is one of two grand prize winners of the NRG COSIA Carbon XPrize, which began in 2015, lasting three rounds over the course of 54 months, according to a news release on the company's website. The goal of the competition was to create technology that converts CO2 emissions into valuable products. Other contenders had innovations like harnessing photosynthesis to convert carbon and transforming acid rock draining and CO2 emissions into a stable substance. Each grand prize winner gets $7.5 million US, equivalent to about $9.4 million Cdn. The other winner is Los Angeles-based UCLA CarbonBuilt, which also developed a technology that reduces the carbon footprint of concrete by injecting CO2 into the mixture. CarbonCure's prize money will be put to use reaching the company's goal of reducing 500 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually by 2030, the company said in the release. It also plans to invest a portion of the funds into social equity initiatives. "Climate change can seem like an insurmountable challenge," CarbonCure president Jennifer Wagner said in the release. "Team CarbonCure and our fellow Carbon XPrize contenders have demonstrated that the challenge is surmountable and that we have the solutions available today to create meaningful change." One of the company's first concrete producer partners is Butler Concrete & Aggregate in Victoria, British Columbia.(J.Yanyshyn/VisionsWest Photography) The use of CO2 in concrete is expected to become a $400 billion market, the company said in a release. Its concrete solution is currently used in more than 300 concrete plants around the world. Annually, buildings make up 40 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the world's building stock is expected to double by 2060, according to Marcius Extavour, executive director of the Carbon XPrize. "CarbonCure's solution for the concrete industry exemplifies XPrize's ideal innovation — it is effective, commercially viable, and scalable — and can make a real difference to climate change today," Extavour said in a release. The competition had 38 contenders shortlisted in 2015. The final round was completed in Alberta in 2020, with CarbonCure introducing its newest tech: carbonating wastewater generated at concrete plans to produce concrete "with a reduced water, cement, and carbon intensity." The $20-million competition is sponsored by U.S.-based NRG Energy and industry group Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA). MORE TOP STORIES
DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran and world powers have made some progress on how to revive the 2015 nuclear accord later abandoned by the United States, and an interim deal could be a way to gain time for a lasting settlement, Iranian officials said on Monday. Tehran and the powers have been meeting in Vienna since early April to work on steps that must be taken, touching on U.S. sanctions and Iran's breaches of the deal, to bring back Tehran and Washington into full compliance with the accord. "We are on the right track and some progress has been made, but this does not mean that the talks in Vienna have reached the final stage," Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a weekly news conference in Tehran.
Dr. Lisa Barrett is an infectious disease researcher and clinician at Halifax's Dalhousie University.(CBC) The COVID-19 vaccine situation in North America seems to be changing by the day. The United States recently recommended the suspending the use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine to investigate blood clots experienced by a handful of people after receiving the inoculation, while public health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador recently stopped vaccinating people under 55 with the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine until more is known about the risk — but that was before Sunday, when the federal government announced provinces are free to expand eligibility to any adult over the age of 18. We know you may have questions, and we hope to give you answers. The CBC's Peter Cowan spoke with Dr. Lisa Barrett, an infectious disease researcher and clinician at Halifax's Dalhousie University, asking vaccine questions sent in by Here & Now viewers. The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Q: A lot of people have questions about the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. Right now it's only being used for people aged 55-64. What makes the vaccine safe for that age group? A: The information that came out from the European areas that have been using a lot of AstraZeneca in the early parts of their vaccine rollout found very rare, and I mean very rare, maybe one in a million people.… Between 18 and say 46 or 48, there was a risk of a very rare kind of immune-related blood clot that could happen. Because of that risk, albeit very, very low, there was a further investigation that did lead to the European group saying, "This may be related to the vaccine. However, it's still very safe." The reason that people above the age of … 55 are still eligible to get it, in particular in Canada, is because of two things. No. 1, the risk is very low and the incidents were found almost exclusively under the age of 65.… No. 2, and very importantly, your risk of getting COVID and having a very bad outcome like hospitalization and death are far higher if you're above 55 than they are of getting a blood clot and having a similarly bad impact. Because of those reasons, it was decided that the benefit of the vaccine far exceeded, at least to our knowledge at the moment, the risk.… This was very much based on information data and risk benefit. Q: How does this compare to other risk factors for blood clots? A: Your risk factor for a blood clot as a general Canadian may be somewhere around a thousand in a million as compared with one in a million or one in 250,000. Four in a million. So still lower than your regular risk of what we call a deep-vein blood clot in a big vessel like the vein or the arm or within the lung. They are still very rare, as everyone knows. Most of us walk around all of our lives without ever getting a blood clot in our lung or our leg. But that's still around a thousand in a million versus four in a million, which is probably around the rate that we're thinking might exist for this particular rare type of blood clot with AstraZeneca. So to be clear, the risk is very low compared to your usual risk even of getting blood clots. It really goes back to what your risk is of running into COVID." A dose of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine is prepared at a clinic in St. John's on March 19. The vaccine has been proven to protect against serious illness and hospitalizations due to COVID-19.(Patrick Butler/CBC) Q: If officials are telling us about the risk so we can make an informed decision, why can't people under 55 decide they want to take the risk of AstraZeneca? Can we only make some informed decisions related to our health? A: It kind of comes into this realm of public health. I mean, we're all told, whether we like it or not, that we're going to wear a helmet on a bicycle. We're going to wear a seatbelt in a car. Those are things where we get told a little bit what's good for us. The difference with this particular situation right now, that makes it a little bit of a pause for the people making the rules, if you will … is that if we give people the choice, they also have the responsibility of making sure there's a reasonable option for people to have a different vaccine if they say yes or no. But also, a reasonable chance that they're going to get all the right information at the right time. That means there has to be enough providers out there who know about this, who can help them assess their risk of both COVID and blood clots.… This is a pause, not a "you're never ever gonna be able to take it," while we gather up a little bit more information to add a little bit more knowledge and then put it out to people. Q: Should I avoid getting the AstraZeneca vaccine if I've had a blood clot in the last year or a genetic predisposition to a blood clot? Does that change the risk equation for people? A: That is an answer that is somewhat evolving at the moment. For the most part, those "usual-type clots," we call them, provoked blood clots.… In general that's a very different mechanism than this specific mechanism associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, and it is unlikely that the two overlap. However, some people may not be comfortable if they've had a blood clot in the past for various reasons just like people are uncomfortable about many things when they're making health decisions. It is worth a conversation with your health provider, and also keeping an eye on the information as we go forward. But right now, they are very separate mechanisms for causing blood clots. Q: With more and more people being vaccinated Canada-wide, why are we seeing such a spike in cases? Shouldn't it be going the other way? A: The answer to this one is that we don't have enough people vaccinated yet to prevent that chain of transmission, especially without symptoms, for one person another in densely populated areas in particular in order for it to make a difference. You have to vaccinate enough people to break the chain of transmission, especially when people don't know they're infected in densely populated areas, before we're really going to see the case numbers go down. So hold on to our horses a little bit. it's going to take a couple of months for sure, and maybe a few months before we see the full effects. Q: What does N.L. society look like as we near 100 per cent of the population getting our first shot? A: We do want as many people as we can vaccinated, but does that mean we get back to immediately normal?… We do need to be careful, I think, as we open things up, and I would love to see that happen in stages. Every couple of months we see a little bit more restrictions go away after everyone is fully vaccinated. If I were a betting person, it's going to take the better part of a year. Let's hope we keep all those variants under control and that doesn't set our timeline. Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
The Liberal member of parliament for Labrador, Yvonne Jones, demanded an apology from Nunavut's NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq in the House of Commons Monday, after Qaqqaq said Jones was "not an Inuk" in a recent response to a 2019 tweet. "I ask the member to respect all Indigenous people in Canada, and apologize for her statement, and stop committing racial erosion against her own culture," Jones said. "It is attitudes like hers that have set Inuit back decades in modern society." Jones is a member of the NunatuKavut Community Council, a group formerly known as the Labrador Metis Nation, a non-status group representing people of mixed Indigenous and non-Indigenous descent in southern Labrador. Since 2018, the group has been pursuing recognition of Indigenous rights in the region, and completed a memorandum of understanding with the federal government in 2019. A screenshot of Qaqqaq's reply to a 2019 election night tweet identifying Jones as Inuk.(John Last/CBC) But shortly thereafter, the Nunatsiavut government, which represents Inuit in northern Labrador, joined the Innu Nation in seeking to block the MOU, arguing that it overlapped with their claims. The Innu Nation additionally argued that the group was not Indigenous under terms set out in Section 35 of the Constitution Act. "As a descendant of Inuit and white parents, I was raised with a deep connection to the land, and I continue to practice the traditional ways of our people," Jones said in her statement to the House of Commons. "Unfortunately, I've never seen such disrespect from another parliamentarian in my 25 years in political office." Qaqqaq's offending tweet was made in response to a profile of Jones tweeted during election night in 2019, where the account @InigPoli refers to Jones as an Inuk. Shortly after replying, Qaqqaq took aim at Jones on Twitter over the review process for the expansion of an iron ore mine in her territory. Qaqqaq accused Jones, who is also parliamentary secretary to Minister of Northern Affairs Dan Vandal, of sidestepping a question about her meeting with executives of the Baffinland Iron Mines company. "If [she] is 'confident that all parties will continue their dialogue through the [review board] process and it's not up to us to prejudge the outcome' then why do we have records of her and [Vandal] meeting with Baffinland's CEO and their lobbyists behind closed doors?" she tweeted. Vandal replied that the meeting took place before the hearings had begun. "Her comments are laterally vicious and threatening to myself as an Inuk woman and to Inuit who are members of the NunatuKavut Inuit Council," Jones said Monday. "I expect an apology and a withdrawal of her statement on Twitter." In a response to CBC, Qaqqaq said she did not realize Jones claimed Inuk identity when she sent the tweet. "I made a statement I believed to be fact," she wrote. "I did not mean to upset Ms. Jones." Qaqqaq said there is "much debate around NunatuKavut and whether or not that should be recognized as Inuit," and that "the conversation around identity and reclamation of identity is an important one." But "after having conversations with other well respected Indigenous individuals, I realize I may have made a mistake in missing the full picture," she wrote. Jones did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
