With meteorologist Jessie Uppal.
Several provinces were preparing to loosen COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday, as Canada's chief public health officer expressed optimism over vaccines ahead of the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 crisis.The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic last March 11, and Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said it's been a difficult 12 months marked by hardship and sacrifice."Yet, as the months have gone by, I have also witnessed the remarkable courage, strength, and generosity demonstrated by Canadians," she wrote in a statement."Through it all, it is the incredible support that Canadians have shown for one another that has impressed me the most."Tam expressed optimism that brighter days were coming, thanks to the recent approvals of the Johnson & Johnson and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines."This week has been a very good week for Canada's COVID-19 vaccination programs," she wrote.The anniversary comes as all provinces are expanding their mass vaccination programs and some are loosening restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of the virus.Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick are among the provinces preparing to lift restrictions on Monday after weeks of stable or declining cases. A stay-at-home order in Ontario's Toronto, Peel and North Bay regions will lift on Monday, while five Quebec regions, including Quebec City, will be downgraded from red to orange on the province's colour-coded regional alert system.All of New Brunswick will transition to the less-restrictive "yellow" alert level Sunday at midnight, meaning residents can expand their contacts from 10 to 15 people and team sports activities may resume.Canada's two biggest cities will remain under fairly strict restrictions, however. Toronto — and neighbouring Peel Region — will enter the "grey lockdown" category, which will allow more retailers to open, with restrictions, but leaves gyms, personal care services and indoor restaurant dining closed.The greater Montreal region remains a red zone, which means an 8 p.m. curfew is still in effect.Tam said the addition of the two new vaccines will help Canadians get immunized faster and help ease the worries surrounding supply disruptions or setbacks.In a long message, Tam said it is not that it is not possible to directly compare the efficacy of different vaccines to one another."Each vaccine was studied in a separate trial conducted at different times, using different populations and conditions," she wrote.She said the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, manufactured by Janssen, was shown to be 66 per cent effective overall in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, while the AstraZeneca vaccine was found to have an efficacy of 62 per cent in generally preventing "symptomatic COVID-19." Both vaccines, she said, were found to protect against severe disease, meaning that those who got COVID-19 after the shot were much less likely to get seriously ill. Currently, Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization does not recommend that the AstraZeneca vaccine be given to those aged 65 or over due to limited data, but Tam stressed that the recommendations could change.She noted both the new vaccines are easier to transport than those produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which require freezer storage. With Canada set to receive more than 900,000 COVID-19 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines this week, many provinces are ramping up their vaccination campaigns.Health authorities across British Columbia will start booking COVID-19 vaccination appointments Monday for people 90 years old and older and Indigenous residents over the age of 65.Quebec, which has been booking vaccine appointments for seniors 70 or 80 and over depending on the region, will speed up the pace this week as more mass vaccination centres open across the province after focusing mainly on hard-hit Montreal last week. Quebec counted 707 new cases of the virus on Sunday, and seven more deaths. Ontario reported administering 30,192 doses of COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday, for a total of 890,604 doses handed out so far. That province logged 1,299 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, and 15 added deaths. Manitoba counted 56 new cases of the virus and two more deaths. Saskatchewan, meanwhile, reported 116 more cases and two more deaths due to COVID-19, including a person who was under 20 years old. Alberta logged roughly 300 new cases of the virus Sunday, though the province said a system upgrade meant precise numbers weren't available. Farther east, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island each recorded two new cases of COVID-19. The government said it would receive more than 14,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this week, which will be sent to five different parts of the province.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2021 Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press
Most provinces, including British Columbia, announced this week they expect every adult will receive a first COVID-19 vaccine dose by June or July. The move came after a recommendation by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) to delay a second dose for four months, following evidence of high levels of protection from one dose. All provinces have adopted the recommendation, potentially accelerating Canada's vaccination timeline by two months. But where does that leave kids? Close to one million people in B.C. are 19 or younger, and they make up nearly one-fifth of the province's population. Here's what you need to know about where they fall in the vaccination plan. Can kids get vaccinated? Not yet. Health Canada has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for people aged 16 and older, while the Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved for those 18 and up. Health Canada's chief medical adviser, Supriya Sharma, has said there's not enough data from the initial clinical trials to know how the vaccines affect kids. So far, B.C.'s immunization plan is focused on residents 18 and older. B.C.'s health ministry said it will administer Pfizer vaccines to teens between the ages of 16 and 17 who are severely clinically vulnerable, and whose care provider has determined vaccination is the best course of action. Do kids need to be immunized? Dr. Manish Sadarangani, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and director of the Vaccine Evaluation Centre at B.C. Children's Hospital, said it's not yet not clear whether all kids need to get vaccinated. He is currently leading research that is testing children across B.C. for COVID-19 antibodies to understand asymptomatic infections and better estimate the true infection rate among younger people. Experts will also have a clearer picture once most adults are vaccinated, Sadarangani said. At that point, health officials can look at the number of cases among kids, whether severe cases are showing up and whether kids are a source of ongoing community transmission. Researchers are testing children across B.C. for COVID-19 antibodies to understand asymptomatic infections and better estimate the true infection rate among younger people.(Ben Nelms/CBC) Fiona Brinkman, a professor in the molecular biology and biochemistry department at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, said children should "definitely" be vaccinated. "Getting COVID is much worse in terms of potential for long-term side effects than getting the vaccine," said Brinkman, who is also working on Canada's variant containment efforts through the Canadian COVID-19 Genomics Network. When will kids receive a vaccine? The four pharmaceutical companies are at all different stages of testing the vaccines on kids. It's unclear when exactly those vaccines could be approved for kids. Sharma said Friday that data from teenagers will come first, followed by kids under 12. "Potentially, by the end of the calendar year, we might have some answers for children." Clinical trials are underway to determine vaccine effectiveness on children.(Evan Mitsui/CBC) Sadarangani said the first clinical trial data from older kids is expected to come by the end of August. If the Health Canada approves the vaccines on kids, NACI will then recommend how to best deploy the doses, he said. Sadarangani said rolling out the vaccine as part of school immunizations will be far more efficient than immunizing adults, noting the system is "better set up" to vaccinate kids. Is achieving 'herd immunity' possible without vaccinating kids? Some experts have suggested that achieving "herd immunity" — the point at which the virus can no longer spread in the community because enough people have either been infected or vaccinated — may not be feasible without vaccinating kids. Brinkman said it's a reasonable concern, but the degree of protection to society from vaccines make them a powerful tool, even before they're available to children. "We have vaccines that have incredible efficacy. In fact, they're astounding," she said. "When you have vaccines that work that well, you don't actually have to vaccinate as many people in the population to have it be effective." A nurse administers a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination in Vancouver on March 4. B.C. says it expects every adult to receive a first vaccine dose by July.(Ben Nelms/CBC) Anna Blakney, an assistant professor at University of British Columbia's school of biomedical engineering, said herd immunity is often thought of as a percentage of a population that must be protected to ensure safety for all. But it's actually a more dynamic concept, she said, especially since it's unknown how long immunity from COVID-19 will last. "With herd immunity, you don't just reach that level and then it's there forever," she said. "People can lose their immunity over time, so most likely what's going to happen is that it will be a combination of natural infections and the vaccine that get us to that kind of steady state of herd immunity." Are there safety concerns for kids? Blakney, who also runs a popular TikTok account that educates viewers about COVID-19, said she's received many questions about the safety of the vaccine in children. She said clinical trials are generally designed with less vulnerable populations in mind — those between the age of 18 and 55. (Because COVID-19 disproportionately affects the elderly, older people were included in vaccine trials.) Once a vaccine is found to be safe in those populations, they're expanded out to children and pregnant women. "It's routine for children and babies to get vaccines. That's when you get the most vaccines in your life. They're just waiting for that safety to be proven," Blakney said. "We want to first test it in the less vulnerable population in case there are any side effects. That doesn't mean we expect there to be — that's just how it's evolved over time." Sadarangani explained that the dose may be adjusted to ensure the best protection possible for children. "Some vaccines do need a bit more because they need a bit more to stimulate their immune systems than adults do. And some vaccines, they need a bit less," he said. "This is one of the reasons in the trial for going down through the age groups, starting with the older kids that are likely to be most like adults." What about parents who are hesitant to vaccinate their kids? In a UBC study last fall, about 43 per cent of 2,500 families across Canada surveyed said they would accept less rigorous testing and expedited approval of a vaccine for their kids. Blakney said she finds some degree of vaccine hesitancy normal, especially because people are not accustomed to the speed with which the vaccine was developed. A B.C. COVID-19 vaccination immunization record card. Sadarangani says school immunizations will be far more time efficient than immunizing adults.(Ben Nelms/CBC) But she said the vaccine research involved an unprecedented level of funding and effort from scientists, doctors, and governments alike. "We have lots of safety data on this because not only were they trialled in tens of thousands of people, but now they've been implemented to millions of people," she said. "So we have a pretty good idea of the safety profile of them thus far, which is what gives us that extra confidence to go into other populations. These vaccines are incredibly safe in the data we have so far." What can parents do in the meantime? Brinkman said, for now, parents can ensure that their children's other vaccinations and booster shots are up to date, while also following public health orders until restrictions can safely be lifted. "That will help protect them and give their system the best chance against other diseases," she said, adding some people may have fallen behind schedule on immunizations while B.C. has been partially shut down. "It's very important at this stage that we keep the numbers of cases as low as we can because we really need to reduce the chance of the viral variant spreading."
MANCHESTER, England — Success for Manchester United these days is being the spoiler as Manchester City goes on to eventually claim the league titles. City manager Pep Guardiola's pursuit of a world-record winning streak ended after United won the derby 2-0 on Sunday. A penalty won after 36 seconds was converted by Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw netted five minutes into the second half to end City's 21-match winning run in all competitions. But the complexion of the Premier League has drastically changed since City's last defeat 106 days earlier at Tottenham left the team in 11th place — eight points behind the London club at the top. Now losing is more a matter of pride and missing out on catching the mark of 27 consecutive wins set by Welsh side The New Saints in 2016. City has not only climbed to the summit but built a lead that meant its second-placed neighbour only trimmed the gap to 11 points with victory at the Etihad Stadium. With such a commanding lead and only 10 games remaining, United has probably only just delayed the moment City dethrones Liverpool as champion. Just like three years ago when Jose Mourinho's derby win prevented City sealing the title that April day. But it's only two months since United harboured ambitions of its own of lifting the trophy — for the first time since 2013 — when it sat in first place. The title challenge has melted away for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side and United will likely be consigned to seeing City crowned champions for the third time since United's name was last etched into the trophy. But there is no longer a vast gulf when these two sides meet in the Premier League. United has won three of the last derbies and drawn the other. It's almost a year to the day since United also beat City 2-0 at Old Trafford, the last time they played in a full stadium or any fans were allowed into a Manchester stadium due to the pandemic. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Rob Harris, The Associated Press
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — A series of explosions at a military barracks in Equatorial Guinea killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 600 others on Sunday, authorities said. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema said in a statement read on state television that the explosion was due to the “negligent handling of dynamite” in the military barracks located in the neighbourhood of Mondong Nkuantoma in Bata. He said that the explosion occurred at 4 p.m. local time. “The impact of the explosion caused damage in almost all the houses and buildings in Bata," the president said in the statement, which was in Spanish. The defence ministry released a statement late Sunday saying that a fire in a weapons depot in the barracks caused the explosion of high-calibre ammunition. It said the provisional toll was 20 dead and 600 injured, adding that the cause of the explosions will be fully investigated. Earlier, the Health Ministry had tweeted that 17 were killed and the president’s statement mentioned 15 dead. Equatorial Guinea, a tiny West African country of 1.3 million people located south of Cameroon, was a colony of Spain until it gained its independence in 1968. State television showed a huge plume of smoke rising above the explosion site as crowds fled, with many people crying out “we don’t know what happened, but it is all destroyed.” The Health Ministry made a call for blood donors and volunteer health workers to go to the Regional Hospital de Bata, one of three hospitals treating the wounded. The ministry tweeted that its health workers are treating the injured at the site of the tragedy and in medical facilities, but feared people were still missing under the rubble. Images on local media seen by The Associated Press show people screaming and crying running through the streets amid debris and smoke. Roofs of houses were ripped off and wounded people were being carried into a hospital. The blasts were a shock for the oil rich Central African nation. Foreign Minister Simeón Oyono Esono Angue met with foreign ambassadors and asked for aid. “It is important for us to ask our brother countries for their assistance in this lamentable situation since we have a health emergency (due to COVID-19) and the tragedy in Bata,” he said. A doctor calling into TVGE, who went by his first name, Florentino, said the situation was a “moment of crisis” and that the hospitals were overcrowded. He said a sports centre set up for COVID-19 patients would be used to receive minor cases. Radio station, Radio Macuto, said on Twitter that people were being evacuated within four kilometres of the city because the fumes might be harmful. Following the blast, the Spanish Embassy in Equatorial Guinea recommended on Twitter that “Spanish nationals stay in their homes." ___ Joseph Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain. ___ A previous version of this story was corrected to show that state television is TVGE, not TGVE. Sam Mednick And Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press
Here's a sight most airline passengers don't get to witness! Watch as this flight soars right above the cloud deck.
For Julie Lefebvre, cooking and harvesting go hand in hand. Lefebvre, 35, is a paralegal and a member of Centre Culturel La Ronde’s fundraising committee. She describes herself as an outdoorsy person who is passionate about cooking and harvesting. Lefebvre says her culinary passion came from her mother, who would always prepare homemade meals, and from watching her family gather around a table to socialize and enjoy the food. You’re more likely to see Lefebvre cooking in the kitchen rather than baking dessert. “It’s all about keeping it simple, cooking with fresh ingredients. Less is more,” she says. She’s always on the lookout for new recipes and popular dishes from various cuisines around the world. As a food lover, she prefers growing her own vegetables and buying local produce if she can. Growing vegetables is a learning process and a lot of work, she says. In her own backyard, she enjoys growing cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, carrots, potatoes, beets, and cauliflower. “The fact that I grew this — I don’t know if it tastes better — but it’s not comparable in my eyes,” Lefebvre says. Lefebvre has also been hunting for as long as she can remember. She’s grateful for her Métis background and to have hunting and harvesting rights within a certain territory. “I can’t imagine living my life any other way in the aspect of harvesting and ancestries. I’m very proud of my way of life,” she says. Moose meat to her is like beef to other people, she says. The only time she buys beef from a store is to make a barbecue steak or ribs. When it comes to roasts or hamburgers, those are made from moose meat. “I’ll make anything and everything with moose. But nothing beats a moose hamburger,” Lefebvre says. Lefebvre owns JDL Paralegal firm where she practices in provincial offences court. After graduating high school, she didn’t know what she wanted to pursue. She took a year off and worked at a law firm, which she enjoyed, and decided to become a paralegal. “I have the opportunity to assist people in the area they have no knowledge of,” she says about her job. “I like being able to provide information with respect to the system and making sure the outcome is in their best interest.” If she could sum up her life, she says it would be about gathering people around the table and feeding them, using the simplest and freshest ingredients. And when she’s not working, she spends time outside, either at her cottage or on the trapline. Lefebvre joined La Ronde about a year ago to help raise funds for the new building. "It's time for this building to go up. We need to rebuild this and we need the centre so bad," she says. "I believe there's a bright future for La Ronde." Last week, she held a cooking workshop for Bonhomme Carnaval where she made Coquilles Saint-Jacques, a dish involving shrimps and scallops. Being bilingual means everything to her, she says. “It’s very important to have both languages living in the country that we do and the city that we do. It’s very important to be able to communicate in French and English to be able to assist a diverse population,” she says, adding she wants her daughter to follow in her footsteps and be bilingual. Lefebvre’s husband also speaks French. Moving forward, Lefebvre says she would like to inspire people in the kitchen and continue being involved with La Ronde. Dariya Baiguzhiyeva, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TimminsToday.com
OTTAWA — The federal Conservatives plan to summon two senior Liberal aides to testify on when they first learned of sexual misconduct allegations surrounding the military's former top soldier — and account for what they did about the accusations. The Tories said they will ask the House of Commons' defence committee on Monday to have Zita Astravas and Elder Marques appear in the coming days, as opposition parties continue digging into the government’s handling of the allegations against Gen. Jonathan Vance. Astravas was Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan’s chief of staff and Marques was a senior adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in March 2018, when former military ombudsman Gary Walbourne says he first raised an allegation against Vance to the minister. Walbourne did not reveal the nature of the allegation, citing a promise of confidentiality to the complainant. But Global News has reported it was a lewd email that Vance allegedly sent to a much more junior soldier in 2012, before he became chief of the defence staff. An email obtained by The Canadian Press showed Astravas writing to Walbourne on March 5, 2018, four days after the former ombudsman says he met with the minister, asking if Walbourne had talked to the Privy Council Office about an unspecified allegation. The Privy Council Office is the department that supports the Prime Minister’s Office. Astravas, who is now chief of staff to Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, and Marques, who left the Liberal government in late September, also discussed concerns related to the Canadian Armed Forces’ commander, according to a Globe and Mail report. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he wasn’t aware of any specific allegation against Vance, telling reporters on Friday that “The ombudsman did not provide sufficient information ... to be able to follow up on these allegations.” Sajjan, for his part, has refused to confirm Walbourne notified him of any allegations against Vance, and told the committee he was surprised when Global News reported two allegations of inappropriate conduct against the former defence chief last month. The defence minister has also said he always followed proper procedures whenever an allegation of sexual misconduct was brought to his attention. Opposition parties have disputed that assertion, alleging the Liberals are trying to sweep the affair under the carpet. “Canadians need to get answers from those directly involved in this Liberal cover-up,” Conservative defence critic James Bezan said in a statement on Sunday. “That’s why we will be moving a motion to have Minister Sajjan’s former chief of staff, Zita Astravas, and senior Trudeau advisor Elder Marques testify at defence committee.” The Conservatives have indicated that they also plan to call Sajjan back for a second round of questioning. The Global report alleges Vance had an ongoing relationship with a subordinate that started more than a decade ago. The report alleged the relationship continued after he was named chief of the defence staff in 2015, at which time he promised to root sexual misconduct from the Armed Forces. Global has also reported on the allegations concerning Vance's email to a much younger female officer in 2012, allegedly suggesting they go to a clothing-optional vacation resort. Vance has not responded to repeated requests for comment from The Canadian Press, and the allegations against him have not been independently verified. Global has reported that Vance has denied any wrongdoing. Military police have launched an investigation. Sajjan has also promised a separate, independent probe, but it has yet to begin. Walbourne testified to the House of Commons’ defence committee last week about his closed-door meeting with Sajjan on March 1, 2018, saying he told the defence minister that an allegation had been made against Vance. The former ombudsman told the committee that Sajjan declined to look at supporting evidence and instead referred the matter to the Privy Council Office. Walbourne said that was despite his having asked the minister to keep the matter confidential. Sajjan’s office has said the minister “disagrees with parts of (Walbourne’s) testimony that occurred in committee.” The Conservatives have also said they want to expand the committee’s study to include the government’s handling of allegations of misconduct against Vance’s successor, Admiral Art McDonald. McDonald temporarily stepped aside as chief of the defence staff late last month, only weeks after succeeding Vance in the role. Acting defence chief Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre sent a letter to Canadian Armed Forces personnel on Friday praising their commitment and professionalism while acknowledging the presence of “elements of our military culture that need, must and will change.” “Certain behaviours and attitudes exhibited toward our personnel are beyond troubling,” he added. “None of us should ever tolerate, or condone, behaviour or attitudes that threaten the well-being of our people. The road will not be easy, but we will emerge a stronger, better and more effective Force.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2021. Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
Durham Region’s medical officer of health says the region is in “very good shape” with vaccine distribution and administration. In a recent update to the region’s health and social services committee, Durham Region Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Kyle says clinics opening Monday, all those ages 80 and older can now book their appointment to be vaccinated, noting the vast majority of seniors living in long-term care and high-risk retirement homes in Durham Region, as well as most healthcare workers, have been vaccinated. “We were tasked by the government to develop a plan that when fully operational, will allow vaccination of approximately 10,000 clients per day,” says Kyle, noting there will be at least one clinic in each of the eight municipalities. As of Monday, March 8, two clinics will be open: Durham College and Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, and the other in Pickering. “The staging of the opening dates (of the other clinics is) a sign that we are ramping up, staffing up,” he adds. According to the Durham Region Health website, The Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex in Clarington will open on Tuesday, March 9, followed by the opening of the McKinney Centre in Whitby on Monday, March 15. Uxbridge Arena, Scugog Arena and Rick MacLeish Memorial Community Centre Arena will open on a rotating basis beginning March 15. Finally, the Audley Recreation Centre in Ajax will open on Tuesday, March 16. The mobile clinic will also continue to vaccinate additional Phase 1 populations as required, Kyle notes. However, he says the region can’t get too far ahead of the vaccine supply. “While I say the maximum capacity is 10,000 clients per day, the number of clinic sites and available appointments will depend on vaccine supply,” Kyle continues. Furthermore, Kyle says the region’s communications plan is “robust” and has been developed to “promote vaccine awareness, accurate evidence, informed information, and timely and accurate information.” “We’re building on key messages from the Ministry of Health and the go-to place for all things COVID vaccine is durham.ca/covidvaccines,” he says, noting the website is updated on an ongoing basis. Courtney Bachar, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Oshawa Express
PARIS — Marseille's chaotic season took its latest turn for the worse when it lost 2-1 at fourth-tier Canet-en-Roussillon in the French Cup on Sunday. Marseille was eliminated from the Champions League in last place in its group. It has struggled in the French league with an interim coach after the previous one resigned and with a new coach having just arrived. On top of all that, angry fans are facing court cases after smashing up the club's training complex. Considering all these problems, Marseille needed a morale-boosting win against an amateur side to reach the last 16. But it went badly wrong in Perpignan. “I’m ashamed. There are no words to describe it, we played like (expletive),” Marseille defender Boubacar Kamara told broadcaster Eurosport moments after the final whistle. “It’s a fair result, there are no excuses. We are a professional team and we've made a huge mistake.” A superb free kick from midfielder Jeremy Posteraro on his 30th birthday put the minnows ahead after 20 minutes. He was about 25 metres out and to the right of the penalty area when he floated a magnificent shot into the top left corner, with No. 2 goalkeeper Yohann Pele rooted to the spot as the ball sailed in. Marseille equalized before halftime when playmaker Dimitri Payet sent forward Valere Germain free down the right flank, and his cross was headed in by Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik for his third goal since joining on loan from Italian side Napoli. That should have settled Marseille down, but Posteraro was not finished and his astute pass sent midfielder Yohan Bai clean through in the 71st. He neatly clipped the ball over Pele for the winner against Marseille, a club which still proudly boasts of being the only French side to win the Champions League, back in 1993. Those days are long gone. Marseille fell apart in the last 10 minutes, with five simple passes going astray and with one corner from the left taken so badly it didn't even enter into play. It was a bad Sunday all around for the Payets, too, with younger brother Anthony Payet also on the losing side. He played up front for fourth-tier Romorantin against fellow amateurs Chateaubriant but failed to score in a 3-1 home defeat. Elsewhere, Canada striker Jonathan David scored late on again as Lille won 3-1 at fourth-tier Corsican side GFC Ajaccio to advance to the last 16. Four days ago, he netted in the last minute and then in injury time to help Lille stay on top of the French league. This time his goal was less vital as Lille was already 2-0 up when he struck a low shot in the 84th. The home side grabbed a consolation goal shortly after. First-tier Angers had little trouble beating amateur side Club Franciscain 5-0, with midfielder Ibrahim Amadou grabbing two goals. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Jerome Pugmire, The Associated Press
A 29-year-old man from Sainte-Marie-Saint-Raphaël, N.B., has been found dead near Lamèque. RCMP searched for for Justin Savoie after he was reported missing on Thursday. Savoie was last seen Monday at a business on Rue de L'Église in the village where he lives on New Brunswick's Acadian Peninsula. Police believe he was heading toward Lamèque or Tracadie on a snowmobile. A snowmobile matching the description of the one driven by Savoie was located underwater by police near the bridge on Route 113 between Haut-Lamèque and Lamèque. The RCMP Underwater Recovery Team conducted searches in the area on Friday. Police worked with the Canada Border Services Agency on Saturday to locate and remove the body from the ice. It was identified as the missing man, RCMP say. Several organizations assisted in the operation, including the Lamèque and Shippagan fire departments, Ambulance New Brunswick, the Department of Justice and Public Safety and the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization. RCMP continue to investigate.
Chinese drone giant DJI Technology Co Ltd built up such a successful U.S. business over the past decade that it almost drove all competitors out of the market. Yet its North American operations have been hit by internal ructions in recent weeks and months, with a raft of staff cuts and departures, according to interviews with more than two dozen current and former employees. The loss of key managers, some of who have joined rivals, has compounded problems caused by U.S. government restrictions on Chinese companies, and raised the once-remote prospect of DJI's dominance being eroded, said four of the people, including two senior executives who were at the company until late 2020.
TORONTO — Health-care workers across Ontario still struggle to obtain personal protective equipment to shield them from COVID-19, three major unions said Sunday as they called on the province to do more to ensure their safety as the pandemic rages on. Unifor, the health-care arm of the Service Employees International Union and the Canadian Union of Public Employees also called for a "universal wage" of $25 an hour for all personal support workers regardless of what part of the provincial system they work in. Both messages are part of a provincewide public awareness campaign set to launch in workplaces on Monday. The secretary-treasurer of CUPE's Ontario Council of Hospital Unions said many workers were denied access to PPE at the beginning of the pandemic, contending it was often kept under lock and key by employers. Sharon Richer said that practice continues today in some cases, despite assurances from the province that it has a stockpile of 12.4 million pieces of PPE such as N95 masks. "We're asked to work with a deadly virus," she said. "We're not provided with the tools to protect ourselves and not supported if we become ill from it. We demand better from this government and our employers." The unions, which represent 175,000 health-care workers, say thousands of them have contracted COVID-19 throughout the pandemic and 20 have died from the virus. Richer said early in the pandemic there was debate about how COVID-19 was spread and N95 masks were difficult to obtain. But as the pandemic nears its one-year anniversary, she argued there is no excuse not to provide workers with vital protective gear. "The masks were very scarce," Richer said. "They're not now. ... We shouldn't have to go into work on a daily basis and beg for protection to keep us safe from this virus." SEIU President Sharleen Stewart said the unions are also asking the government to raise the wages of personal support workers in all health care settings to $25 an hour. The pandemic has illustrated the importance of PSWs in hospitals, long-term care, and in home care, she said. A staffing study released by the province last year illustrated the disparity between PSW wages in different sectors of the health-care system. It found that PSWs in Ontario long-term care homes make an average hourly wage of $22.69. That compared to the $17.30 average hourly rate paid to PSWs delivering home care. Stewart said working conditions for PSWs are poor, full-time opportunities and benefits are hard to come by, and wages are low. "The government ... must raise the minimum wage for personal support workers and make it universal in every sector," she said. "Whether you work in a hospital, a nursing home or in home and community care, a PSW, is a PSW, is a PSW." Katha Fortier of Unifor said workers will participate in the campaign in the coming weeks, as Ontario prepares to launch its 2021-2022 budget. "COVID-19 has over-stressed Ontario's health-care resources and led to the tragic failure of the long term care system," she said. "But the truth is the pandemic revealed systemic problems that frontline workers have been struggling with for years." During the pandemic, Ontario has spent hundreds of millions to provide temporary pay hikes to workers throughout the health-care sector. In October, the province said it would provide a targeted wage increase between $2 to $3 an hour to more than 147,000 personal support workers. That program, which cost $461 million, is set to expire on March 31. A spokeswoman for Health Minister Christine Elliott said the government is monitoring the impact of that temporary wage increase for PSWs and evaluating next steps. "We will continue to engage with our sector partners to inform an approach to a wage enhancement intervention after March and in the long-term for the home and community care sector," Alexandra Hilkene said in a statement. The government has also spent nearly $1.1 billion on PPE and other supplies for health care workers, she added. "We have continued to respond to emergency escalations for PPE within 24 hours to hospitals, long-term care and retirement homes, and other facilities in order to support essential workers in all settings and ensuring supplies and equipment are expedited to those most in need," Hilkene said. Meanwhile, Ontario reported 1,299 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, along with 15 more deaths linked to the virus. Health Minister Christine Elliott said there were 329 new cases in Toronto, 192 in Peel Region, and 116 in York Region. Sunday's data is based on 46,586 completed tests. The province also reported administering 30,192 doses of COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday, for a total of 890,604 doses handed out so far. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2021. Shawn Jeffords, The Canadian Press
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is proposing a series of steps to help jumpstart Afghanistan’s stalled peace process between the government and Taliban, according to a letter from Blinken to Afghanistan’s president Ashra Ghani published Sunday by Afghanistan’s TOLONews. The letter calls for bringing the two sides together for a U.N.-facilitated conference with foreign ministers and envoys from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India and the United States “to discuss a unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan.” Blinken also calls for holding talks between the Afghan government and Taliban in a senior-level meeting in Turkey in the coming weeks to hammer out a revised proposal for a 90-day reduction in violence. The secretary of state has also called on special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad to share with both the Afghan government and Taliban written proposals to help accelerate discussions, according to the TOLONews report. Blinken also made clear in the letter that the Biden administration continues to consider a “full withdrawal” of the roughly 2,500 U.S. forces in the country by the May 1 deadline negotiated by Trump administration. The State Department declined to comment on the TOLONews report. “We have not made any decisions about our force posture in Afghanistan after May 1,” the State Department said in a statement. “All options remain on the table.” Afghanistan presents one of the new administration’s most difficult foreign policy decisions. The U.S. public is weary of a war nearly 20 years old, but pulling out now could be seen as giving the Taliban too much leverage and casting a shadow over the sacrifices made by U.S. and coalition troops and Afghan civilians. Blinken urged Ghani to quickly embrace the proposal and underscored his concern that the security situation in the country could quickly deteriorate as the weather warms in Afghanistan “Even with the continuation of financial assistance from the United States to your forces after an American military withdrawal, I am concerned that the security situation will worsen and the Taliban could make rapid territorial gains,” Blinken wrote in the letter. The Associated Press
Hundreds marched near the National Assembly in Quebec City Sunday afternoon, calling on the government to allow team sports to resume in the province. Athletes, parents, community organizations and politicians participated in the march, stressing the importance of team sports on peoples' mental and physical health. The protest was started by Isaac Pépin, a football player in Secondary 5 at Séminaire Saint-François. He is asking that Quebecers be allowed to participate in team sports again, both for health reasons, and so that younger athletes can keep improving at their sports. "With everything that's going on today and the number of people who showed up, I have hope that this will work," Pépin said Sunday. High school football player Isaac Pépin, centre, organized the pro-sports march Sunday. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press) The protest also garnered the support of Isabelle Charest, the province's minister responsible for sports. "I hear your cries and it is these positive messages that I take with me when I speak to public health," Charest wrote on Twitter Sunday. "We will make it happen." Montrealers voice support In Montreal, several people echoed their sentiments. Tony De Francesco, director of community services and sports at Sun Youth, believes a return to team sports is long overdue. "People from youth organizations like us have noticed a lot of issues, especially with young student athletes, in terms of being able to function on a daily basis without sports," said De Francesco. De Francesco says many of the youth he works with rely on sports as a means to succeed academically, and many feel lost without it. "A lot of them use this as a social construct and as a coping mechanism to a lot of the things that are happening in their life for the first time," he said. "Sports is their way out and it actually helps them get better grades." Justin Frattaroli, an 18-year-old CEGEP student who plays football at Sun Youth, usually relies on team sports as an outlet for his stress. For most of the past year, he's had to resort to exercising at home instead. "Because of this pandemic, not only am I missing out on practices, on games, but — I'm sure all athletes can agree with me — we miss being with teammates, the bus rides home, the going out to eat with each other and just being together," said Frattaroli. "Practicing got everything off my mind. It helped me mentally. It helped me physically" Discussions with federations ongoing Starting March 15, extra-curricular activities and sports in schools will be allowed across the province, but team sports outside of school are still forbidden. Last week, Premier François Legault said the government is in talks with sports federations to gradually resume sports more widely, but Legault said it's clear some sports cannot be allowed given the risk of transmission. Legault is expected to announce more details on that next week. In an interview Sunday, Luc Fournier, interim general manager of Sports Québec, said the federation has submitted its proposal for the resumption of sports and is currently waiting to hear back from public health authorities. "We hope to have an answer maybe Monday or Tuesday," said Fournier. "We know that competitions would be very tough to reopen right now but if we can start by practice or by side activities that would be great." Some less eager for team sports to resume Montreal resident Jennifer Cox says there would need to be strict public health measures in place for her to send her child back to his hockey team. (CBC) Before the pandemic, Montreal resident Jennifer Cox would be at the arena with seven-year-old son, Cameron, every weekend. "Hockey was a really big part of our family's life, our weekend life," said Cox. This year, she opted to set up a skating rink in the family's backyard instead, to make sure Cameron could keep practicing. While her son misses interacting with his teammates and coaches, Cox isn't sure she'll be sending him back to the rink just yet — especially because they have an at-risk family member at home. "If we were to consider it, we'd really have to see the numbers, how many kids are being allowed to get on the ice, if there's any additional safety restrictions in terms of wearing masks under their helmets and things of that nature," said Cox. "I don't think we're 100 per cent ready to dive back into full team sports right now."
Starting Monday, health authorities across British Columbia will start booking COVID-19 vaccination appointments for seniors not living in care homes. People are being asked to phone their health authority to book appointments, starting at 7 a.m. on March 8. On Sunday, B.C.'s health authorities released further details on when seniors should call, in a bid to avoid call centres being overwhelmed. Bob Chapman, one of Vancouver Coastal Health's leaders on the vaccine rollout, said Monday will be a milestone in the province's pandemic response. "We're really excited about this phase of actually reaching out to some of our public to start calling in for their vaccines," Chapman said. "We feel there's been a lot of anticipation for this time, so we're really excited we're here." Here's what you need to know about booking your vaccine appointment. When should I call? Seniors are being asked to phone during the following weeks, based on their age: For the week of March 8: seniors born in 1931 or earlier (aged 90 and above) or Indigenous seniors born in 1956 or earlier (aged 65 and above). For the week of March 15: seniors born in 1936 or earlier (aged 85 and above). For the week of March 22: seniors born in 1941 or earlier (aged 80 and above). Once someone becomes eligible they are able to book at any time — meaning no one will miss their window for booking an appointment. The first day appointments are available is March 15. Are there any exceptions? There are some exceptions for remote communities. In Vancouver Coastal Health, seniors born in 1941 or earlier (80 years of age and older) who live on the Sunshine Coast, or in Powell River, Whistler, Squamish and Pemberton are invited to call as of March 8. In the Island Health region, approximately 30 smaller and remote communities that don't currently have immunization clinics will be vaccinated as a whole — meaning the whole community will receive the vaccine during a single visit by health authorities to the area. In Northern Health, the phone booking system will open to seniors aged 80 and above in certain communities on March 10. The communities are Burns Lake, Chetwynd, Dawson Creek, Dease Lake, Fort St. James, Fort St. John, Fraser Lake, Hazelton, Houston, Hudson's Hope, Kitimat, Mackenzie, Masset-Haida Gwaii, McBride, Prince George, Prince Rupert, Quesnel, Smithers, Stewart, Terrace, Tumbler Ridge, Valemount, Vanderhoof, and the Village of Queen Charlotte. In Fort Nelson, seniors 60 and above will be able to register by March 10. What information will I need to provide? People phoning to book their appointment will be asked to provide their first and last name, date of birth, postal code and personal health number, which can be found on the back of a B.C. driver's licence, B.C. Services Card or CareCard. If you do not have a personal health number, you can still receive the vaccine. What will happen during the phone call? If you're phoning for yourself, the phone agent will verify your age and ask for your personal information. You'll then select an appointment time slot at a clinic close to your home. If you provide contact information, you'll receive a confirmation message by email or text. If you're phoning on behalf of someone else, the phone agent will verify who you are calling for and ask you to provide their age and personal information before proceeding. Which vaccine will I receive? Seniors during this phase of the vaccine rollout will receive the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. How can I prepare for the appointment? The province recommends arriving a few minutes early for your appointment and wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a mask. All clinics are wheelchair accessible, and you are allowed to bring one person for support. What will happen at the appointment? At the appointment you'll be asked to complete a check-in process and then receive your vaccine dose. You'll then be asked wait in an observation area for about 15 minutes. The whole appointment will likely last 30 to 60 minutes.
ClubLink has appealed the Ontario Superior Court decision to uphold a 40-year-old agreement that stated the Kanata Lakes Golf and Country Club must remain open space. The appeal, filed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario on Friday, comes two weeks after the lower court sided with the City of Ottawa after a two year battle to prevent the property owner, ClubLink, from turning the golf course into a development, alongside its partners Minto Communities and Richcraft Homes. At the heart of the case are the facts of a 1981 agreement — which has been updated several times, including when ClubLink bought the property 23 years ago — between the then City of Kanata and the operator at the time. That agreement called for 40 per cent of the area in Kanata Lakes to be open space in perpetuity. It also laid out guidelines about land use and ownership if the original owner of the golf course decided to get out of the business. In his decision last month, Ontario Superior Court Justice Marc Labrosse found the agreement remains valid.
CHARLOTTETOWN — Two Atlantic Canadian provinces showed signs of progress in their fights against COVID-19 on Sunday, while another saw a record number of active virus cases in the aftermath of a sudden outbreak. Public health officials in Prince Edward Island reported the highest number of active infections across the province than at any other point during the nearly year-long pandemic. Meanwhile, Newfoundland and Labrador logged 10 straight days of single-digit case growth and New Brunswick prepared to loosen public health restrictions in response to declining diagnosis rates. P.E.I.'s top public health official announced two new cases in the province on Sunday, bringing the number of active infections to 26. "I remain concerned about the current outbreak in our province," Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison said in a release where she noted the province's sobering new high for active cases. The two most recent cases involve men in their 20s who are now self-isolating, the release said. One man is a close contact of a previously identified patient, and the other tested positive after visiting a public exposure site more than a week ago. Officials said the man first tested negative for the virus, but got tested again when he developed mild symptoms. The Island is under so-called circuit-breaker measures until March 14, which require all businesses and services to operate at reduced capacity and keep records for contact tracing. In Newfoundland and Labrador, public health officials reported one new infection, marking the province's 10th consecutive day with single-digit case numbers. The Avalon region of the province, which includes the metro area of St. John's, remains under lockdown measures after an outbreak spread through the capital last month. Officials said the outbreak was caused by the more contagious B.1.1.7 variant, which was first detected in the United Kingdom. Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, the province's chief medical officer of health, has said about 565 cases have been linked to the outbreak, which means it generated more new infections than in the previous 11 months combined. Officials were forced to cancel in-person voting in the Newfoundland and Labrador election when lockdown was introduced on Feb. 12. The province has 87 active infections, including three patients in intensive care, according to a Sunday news release from the Department of Health. In New Brunswick, meanwhile, residents will wake up to slightly more relaxed public health measures on Monday as the province eases restrictions put in place to curb once-surging case numbers. The province is set to move to the less restrictive "yellow" alert level of its pandemic response plan on that day, according to a news release Sunday from the Department of Health. Under the new measures, residents can expand their contacts from 10 to 15 people and team sports activities may resume. Both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia reported two new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. Officials in both provinces say the cases are linked to travel or to previously known infections. There are 35 active reported infections in New Brunswick, including three patients in hospital, two of whom are in intensive care. In Nova Scotia, there are 29 active reported cases of COVID-19, including two people hospitalized in intensive care. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2021. The Canadian Press
WASHINGTON — The United States and South Korea have reached agreement in principle on a new arrangement for sharing the cost of the American troop presence, which is intended as a bulwark against the threat of North Korean aggression. The State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs said the deal includes a “negotiated increase” in Seoul's share of the cost, but it provided no details. The Bureau wrote on Twitter that the agreement, if finalized, would reaffirm the U.S.-South Korean treaty alliance as “the linchpin of peace, security and prosperity for Northeast Asia.” The negotiations had broken down during the Trump administration over a U.S. demand that Seoul pay five times what it previously had paid. The U.S. keeps about 28,000 troops in South Korea. The Wall Street Journal, which was first to report the agreement, said it would last through 2025. Robert Burns And Matthew Lee, The Associated Press
Karla Combres says the night before the first COVID-19 lockdown last year, her husband was in Nipawin for a meeting with 100 people. "He came home that night and I said, you know what? I don't think you should go to work tomorrow," Combres told CBC's Saskatchewan Weekend. "It was as quick as that. You know, like, from one day to the next, it was unthinkable to gather with that many people." Combres is a life cycle celebrant in Saskatoon and one of the organizers of an online vigil being held this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. CST to mark the one-year anniversary of the pandemic. The vigil is called Together in Remembrance, Together in Hope, and it was organized by Saskatoon's multi-faith community, but Combres said everyone is welcome. "For anybody coming to this, no grief is too big or too small," she said. "This is really for everyone, no matter what your race or your creed or your colour or your age or where you are in the province." Her work centres around gathering people and in the early days of the pandemic, she said she wasn't sure how she was going to be able to continue doing that in a meaningful way. "Over the course of the past year, I have found ways through researching and participating in gatherings and then also through just really learning and being creative on my own with the people I work with," she said. Gatherings are smaller and people join via livestream but it is still possible to connect, she said, and she hopes people will find that with the vigil as well. Combres had the idea for a vigil but she said it was Blake Sittler who got the ball rolling initially to mark the anniversary. Sittler is the executive director of Saskatoon's Roman Catholic chaplaincy and another organizer of the vigil. He and his wife were celebrating their 25th anniversary in New York before the pandemic hit, arriving home only a few days before the first case was found there. "We went back to work for a day or two and on Friday, I grabbed my laptop and I said, you know, I'm going to take this laptop home in case I need to stay home for a few days and a few days turned into a full year working in my basement," he said. A person in a face mask walks through an almost empty Times Square in New York City as the COVID-19 outbreak pandemic continues.(Andrew Kelly/Reuters) Sittler said the goal of the event was to represent as many of the different communities in the province as possible, echoing the provincial motto, "From many peoples strength." "We knew we wanted to mark the day because humans do try to make meaning of their lives through ritual," Sittler said. He said the vigil is not a religious event but instead an opportunity to bring people together so they feel less alone. "You're not alone in your mourning, you know, you're not alone in the jobs you lost, your fear, the loneliness, the isolation.… And at the same time, now that the vaccines are coming out, we also wanted to let them know that they aren't alone in their hope." Sittler said he'll be thinking of people in special care and long-term care homes who have been isolated throughout the pandemic, as well as the workers in those facilities. "These are folks who have built up this province and have spent their life serving their community and their kids," he said. "It's like being in isolation in a prison. And some of them even asked that question is like, what did we do wrong that this is happening?" Sittler said he wanted to put an event together where people could gather and say, 'I'm not crazy for being sad and I'm not crazy for being hopeful.'(Supplied by Shirley Larkin/White Coat Black Art) The event will have greetings from representatives from different traditions. A front-line worker will speak about their experience, and there will also be poetry and music. The event also invites everyone to bring a candle to light. "People know what it means to light a candle in the window, you know, for the weary traveler to just find their way through the darkness," Sittler said. "And that's what this is, to light a candle, to give people hope to say that we're in this together." The event is free but you need to register at covidvigil.ca. You can join on Zoom, and it will also be livestreamed to YouTube.
LAKELAND, Fla. — Toronto Blue Jays pitchers issued nine walks Sunday in a 5-1 exhibition loss to the Detroit Tigers. Detroit (5-2) cemented the victory with a three-run sixth inning to take a 4-1 lead. The Tigers added their final run in seventh. Right-hander Elvis Luciano took the loss for Toronto (4-3). He allowed two hits, three runs (all earned) with two walks without registering an out. He threw 20 pitches, just nine for strikes. Jonathan Davis drove in Toronto's lone run. The Blue Jays are off Monday before hosting the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2021. The Canadian Press
