Grassy Narrows signs deal with Ottawa on mercury poisoning treatment centre

JUSTICE AT LAST 

© Provided by The Canadian Press
3/4/2020

OTTAWA — The federal government has signed an agreement with Grassy Narrows First Nation that will see a long-promised treatment centre for residents with mercury poisoning finally built in the community.

Chief Rudy Turtle signed the framework agreement with Indigenous Services Canada Thursday, which commits $19.5 million towards the construction of the mercury care home.

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says the facility will provide access to health services to meet the needs of community residents who are living with methylmercury poisoning.

In December, Turtle and National Chief Perry Bellegarde of the Assembly of First Nations called on the government to end delays in building the centre.

The Liberals promised a specialized treatment facility in 2017 but progress stalled due to a disagreement between Ottawa and the First Nation on the design for the facility.

In a Facebook post published Thursday, Chief Turtle said the agreement is for a 24-bed facility that will allow the people of Grassy Narrows suffering from mercury poisoning to seek treatment in their home community.

The contamination stems from when a paper mill in Dryden, Ont., dumped 9,000 kilograms of the substance into the English-Wabigoon River system in the 1960s.

An advocacy group called Free Grassy Narrows, which has been fighting for the mercury care home, called the new agreement an important step, but said the First Nation continues to seek long-term funding for the facility.

"This historic framework agreement is the beginning of an important turning point," Miller said in a statement.

"Reflecting on what should have happened a long time ago, I take great pride and promise in what can be done so that specialized care can be accessed, and close to home. I also recognize the work and trust of Chief Turtle putting what he believes in his heart to be just at the centre of his advocacy."

The mercury care home is one of two distinct projects that the federal government has been working on with Grassy Narrows First Nations leadership. The other project will see the community's current health facility expanded and renovated.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2020.

Teresa Wright, The Canadian Press

Varcoe: Kenney offers to help 'stop the madness,' as Alberta invited to join OPEC conference

Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage. 

AZIN GHAFFARI/POSTMEDIA
Chris Varcoe • Calgary Herald 4/4/2020

Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage will take part in a scheduled conference call Monday with OPEC and its allies, as the group searches for a way out of a brutal oil price war that has pounded the energy industry.

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada is talking with the U.S. and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries about energy issues and the impact of low prices.

In Edmonton, Premier Jason Kenney indicated the province will join the international oil talks but reiterated he wants to co-operate with the United States and study imposing tariffs on continental oil imports.

To make sense of the topsy-turvy situation, one must understand this essential point: Everyone is now hurting in the battle.

“I don’t think anyone can live with prices this low,” Jackie Forrest of ARC Energy Research Institute said Friday.

“The fact senior political leaders are talking about the potential for collaboration shows you there’s a lot of pain here.”

The price for West Texas Intermediate crude jumped Friday by more than $3 to close at US$28.34 a barrel, amid talk of a potential agreement next week between OPEC and its allies that could curb output by 10 million barrels per day.

Benchmark U.S. oil prices are still far off the $60-a-barrel mark seen at the start of the year, before a scrap erupted between OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia and Russia.

A drilling rig in the Yarakta oilfield in Russia. 

REUTERS/VASILY FEDOSENKO/FILE

The two countries have been increasing production as global oil demand is plunging because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kenney said Friday that Savage will join the conference call with OPEC and its partners, “participating with an open mind about what actions may be necessary.”

Alberta has already been operating under government-mandated production quotas since January 2019 due to pipeline bottlenecks, but may be asked to do more.

The minister joining the talks underscores the gravity of the situation and its ramifications on the province’s largest industry.

“It’s OPEC and Russia that started this fire and they have got to put it out,” Kenney said.

“We cannot have a meaningful impact on global prices because of our landlocked status, but we are open to playing a role if there is a larger effort to, frankly, stop the madness.”

Greg Stringham, a former executive with Alberta Energy, said the province was invited to observe an OPEC meeting about three decades ago and Savage’s participation in the upcoming session is significant.

“It’s a good signal,” said Stringham, president of consultancy GS3 Strategies.

“If we are going to see this (global output) ramp down to match the collapse in demand, there will have to be participation by the U.S. as well.”

Alberta’s mandated oil curtailment levels have been set at 3.81 million barrels per day for April.

The price war that broke out last month between OPEC and Russia has already triggered additional cuts from Canadian producers.

Given the oil demand destruction now occurring in key markets for western Canadian producers, it’s expected companies will have to shut-in at least one million barrels of oil per day, Forrest said.

Low prices are not just hurting Canadian companies.
Rystad Energy says American oil and gas producers are heavily indebted and more than 70 are expected to be in trouble to meet interest payments with WTI oil trading at US$30 a barrel.

According to energy consultancy IHS Markit, global oil demand in the April-June period will decrease by 16.4 million barrels per day from a year earlier.

U.S. President Donald Trump listens during a roundtable meeting with energy 

sector CEOs in the White House on April 3. 

SPUTNIK/ALEXEI DRUZHININ/KREMLIN VIA REUTERS

Last week, Kenney accused OPEC of dumping oil into North America and recommended taking joint action with the United States, such as studying the merits of a tariff on oil imports, an idea that has also percolated south of the border.

In Ottawa, Trudeau said he’s co-ordinating with the U.S. and other allies and recognizes “catastrophically low oil prices” have impacted the Canadian oil industry.

“Conversations are ongoing with the United States on how we can work together to ensure that we are countering some of the measures being brought in by OPEC,” he said, without offering further details.

There has been some talk recently in the U.S. that small and mid-sized petroleum producers want to see oil curtailment instituted south of the border, with debate occurring within the Texas Railroad Commission.

Oil company leaders sat down with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday to talk about the broader situation.

“Industry is divided between those who want this kind of Fortress North America idea … and those who favour a little more of an Alberta-style curtailment,” said Robert Johnston, managing director of global energy with political risk consultancy Eurasia Group.

But the idea of import tariffs or production limits will be a hard sell for many U.S. industry players, said Sarah Ladislaw, director of energy security at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

“There are many more people on the side of not coming to the table in an OPEC context with actual curtailment,” she said in an interview Friday.

“It’s very smart for the U.S. and Canada to be talking together about these things. But we’re finding that age-old political adage that in times of crisis, everybody wants to talk … but we are still a ways off from them getting active.”

In such a fluid situation, it’s logical for Canada to communicate with the U.S. heading into the pivotal meeting.

David Wilkins, the former U.S. ambassador to Canada, applauded Alberta for engaging with American leaders about strategic issues such as energy independence and security, given the nature of a highly integrated energy system.

“It makes sense for the United States to be less and less dependent on countries that don’t share our common principles,” said Wilkins.

“It makes sense for the United States and Canada to be part of that solution of North American energy independence and security, and that has never changed.”

Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist.

What is the end game? Ontario's stark modelling forecast could help Canadians cope with COVID-19

4/4/2020 POSTMEDIA

© Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press Ontario Premier Doug Ford 

holds a media briefing on COVID-19 following the release 

of provincial modelling in Toronto, April 3, 2020.

The grim forecast of Ontario COVID-19 deaths could drive a sense of resilience Canadians will need to deal with a surreal situation, experts say.

“By and large, people want to know,” says Dr. Judy Illes, Canada Research Chair in neuroethics at the University of British Columbia. “Information engenders trust, and trust engenders resilience.” The opposite makes people feel as if they have no control whatsoever.

The country must brace for a pandemic that will last 18 to 24 months, Ontario health officials said Friday, prompting millions to wonder: How long must we, can we, live like this?

Stark modelling data suggests 3,000 to 15,000 people in Ontario alone will die over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, 1,600 deaths by the end of April, more than 20 times the number of dead as of Friday — if stricter measures aren’t taken.

 

© Provided by National Post

Should anyone consider those numbers unnecessarily “scary” and highly improbable, Dr. Peter Donnelly, head of Public Health Ontario, suggests they “pause and consider carefully” that 1,350 souls are lost to normal seasonal flu every year in Ontario. In a bad year, “we may well lose 1,500.”

COVID-19’s mortality rate is up to 10 times that of season flu. In Ontario, it is hovering at roughly two per cent overall, but as high as 16 per cent for those aged 80 and over. There are no vaccines, no specific treatments and the virus that causes COVID-19 came out of the blue, meaning the entire population is vulnerable. “Suddenly, the figure of 15,000 (deaths) becomes entirely logical and comprehensible,” Donnelly said at a technical briefing Friday.

Had the province done nothing — not shuttered schools and parks, prohibited gatherings, not closed non-essential business, pulled tables from restaurants or pleaded with workers to stay home — Ontario would have seen as many as 100,000 deaths over the next 18 to 24 months.

So far, it would seem, the province has dodged a bullet. The measures so far, according to the modelling, will spare some 85,000 lives.

“People will find that (100,000) figure understandably alarming,” Donnelly said. “That is not where we are. That is not what we believe is going to happen.

“But that is why we needed to do all to the things that we have done thus far and that is why we need to continue to bear down.”

More aggressive measures are coming; measures that could further reduce the number of cases by the end of April to 12,500, instead of the forecasted 80,000, and slash deaths to 250. Effective Saturday, Ontario will direct more businesses to close, industrial construction will halt, more fines for “non-compliance.”

The province has 410 intensive care beds, with the capacity to surge by another 900 beds, quickly. The system is on track to absorb the projected growth rate in cases. But the lines on the slides are brushing closely. If cases spike faster than hospitals can ramp up capacity, the pandemic virus will overwhelm the system by April 15.

The trajectory depends on several crucial numbers, including the basic reproductive number — the number of people each infected person goes on to infect. It is now around two. It needs to be below one. Then the disease begins to peter out. Another is the velocity — how fast this thing is spreading. As of Friday, the velocity of the virus was spreading at a rate of 10 per cent, more or less, every day in Canada, but faster in Ontario and Quebec and slower in Alberta and B.C., according to analytics developed by York University’s Schulich School of Business. “It’s looking grim,” said Schulich’s Murat Kristal.

© Provided by National Post

Models describe a range of possibilities. The science isn’t exact. Donnelly said the number of tests being done or not being done doesn’t affect the Ontario projections. Ontario is doing less testing than Quebec, but projections shouldn’t be based on confirmed cases. More important is the death count, because deaths aren’t subject to a “testing bias,” he said.

For now, the average person needs to maintain physical distance from others, unless they are an essential worker or need to leave their homes for essential tasks — to get food or pharmacy supplies, he said. If people wish to go outside to walk or exercise, it is “imperative” they do so on their own, or with a very small group with whom they already live, he said. “It is not appropriate if one is out walking to stop in a normal way and speak to neighbours or strangers because you need to maintain social distancing.”

There is nothing normal about this otherworldly world.

Unlike B.C., Ontario is following a trajectory similar to the U.S. But the further out the modelling goes, the more uncertainty.

 

© Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press 

Dr. Peter Donnelly, President and CEO of Public Health Ontario,

 addresses a media briefing on COVID-19 provincial 

modelling in Toronto, April 3, 2020.

The 100,000 deaths was an estimate of what could have happened if social distancing measures hadn’t been taken. Still, the virus remains a formidable threat. People can’t relax or “assume we’re in safe territory,” said Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown, dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

The full course of the pandemic may last for 18 months or even two years, because there may be a second smaller wave, perhaps multiple waves.

What’s the end game? No one knows for certain. Where we end up on the death slide depends on whether people follow the rules, Donnelly said. Bear down hard now, and the disease ends more quickly, allowing the economy to rebound, he said. It’s not one or the other.

But how do we eventually climb down from here? If the virus can be suppressed, it will be possible to selectively lift some of the social distancing measures, experts said. When? “We’re some way off,” Donnelly said. “But the time to start thinking about that is now.”

Background serological testing — testing large swaths of the population to determine what proportion has already been exposed to the virus — is needed, because the assumption is that COVID-19 is a disease humans get only once, and then develop immunity. If there’s little background evidence of infection, “you clearly would need to be very careful about lifting social measures, because there is still a large proportion of the population who is vulnerable,” Donnelly said. Most of Ontario’s cases are in the GTA, where there could be a higher level of background infection, and if enough people have the disease and are now immune to it, you move closer to herd immunity.
Ontario's COVID-19 modelling has a best case scenario — but it requires 'enhanced' measures

John Ivison: No sugar-coating it as Doug Ford delivers the grim COVID-19 news to Ontarians

Randall Denley: Ford made right call to release Ontario COVID-19 projections. Much tougher decisions lie ahead

When, and where the social distancing can be lifted will depend on hospital capacity, said Robert Smith, a professor of disease modelling at the University of Ottawa. “If hospitals are full and overflowing, where they’re turning people away, then obviously we have to keep doing the distancing.”

© Provided by National Post

Models become fuzzier the further out they go, he said. “I think we will all be social distancing for several months. As things become a little easier, as more people have passed through, and large numbers of people are probably going to die from this, there will be a second wave in the fall, but we’ll presumably get better at social distancing.

“When we hit a lockdown for the third or fourth time, we’ll know what to do, and do it quickly,” he said. “We were just not set up for this and it took time for people to realize, ‘wait, I can’t go into work.’”

If it becomes more predictable, businesses can build it in as well. The downside is, people may get lockdown fatigue. Dire predictions will create intense anxiety in some people, said Dr. Steven Taylor, a professor and clinical psychologist at UBC.

“But that anxiety isn’t entirely a bad thing because it will motivate people to redouble their efforts to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.”

Ontario's move puts pressure on feds to reveal national COVID-19 projections

© Thomson Reuters Canada's Minister of Health Patty Hajdu 

speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on

 Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada March 9, 2020. 

REUTERS/Blair Gable

OTTAWA — Canadians should brace for some grim numbers today as Ontario reveals its projections for how bad the COVID-19 pandemic could get in the country's most populous province and how long it could last.

Premier Doug Ford's decision to let Ontarians in on the "stark" best and worst-case scenarios will put pressure on the federal government to provide a national picture of the potential progression of the deadly virus, which by Thursday had already infected more than 11,000 Canadians and resulted in almost 200 deaths.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that such national modelling is coming "soon" but requires more data from provincial and territorial governments — a subject he discussed with premiers during a more than two-hour first ministers' conference call Thursday evening.

Federal officials are hoping the national projections will be available within the next five days.

Three weeks ago, Health Minister Patty Hajdu estimated that 30 to 70 per cent of Canadians could become infected — somewhere between 11 million and 26 million people.

In an interview late Thursday with The Canadian Press, Hajdu said that estimate hasn't changed.

She noted that wide spread of the disease is not necessarily a bad thing since it will eventually result in "herd immunity." But how many will die depends on how many get sick all at the same time, and to what degree those numbers overwhelm the ability of Canada's health system to care for people.

"Having 70 per cent of people get COVID is not the end of the world. It is, though, if it all happens at once and that's what we're trying to prevent," Hajdu said.

"The death rate is intimately connected to your capacity to provide hospitalization and care for those who are most sick."

At the moment, Canada's death rate stands at about one per cent of those who've tested positive for the disease. But that could shoot up as a surge in cases threatens to overwhelm hospitals, particularly in Ontario and Quebec.

Hajdu said compiling a national picture of the potential progression of the virus is complicated by the fact that the federal government has to work with data provided by 13 different provincial and territorial governments using a variety of reporting techniques. Ottawa is offering to help those jurisdictions that don't have the capacity to keep up with the detailed data flow necessary to do accurate modelling, she said.

It's further complicated by the fact that the trajectory of COVID-19 is different from province to province, with some showing few new cases while the numbers jump "exponentially" elsewhere. As well, the measures each jurisdiction is taking to curb spread of the virus vary widely.

"What it looks like in Ontario is actually completely different than what it might look like in B.C., for example, or Northwest Territories. It's when you try to pack all that into a national lens that you want to be really careful that you're not mixing apples and oranges," Hajdu said.

Projecting a national death rate "wouldn't really be telling the true picture," she argued, suggesting it would make more sense to have 13 separate projections for each province and territory.

"It's not that I'm trying to hide things from Canadians at all," Hajdu said.

"I just don't want to get out ahead of ourselves without a full set of data ... It's very important that we do that work so that we're not presenting any kind of, I guess, misleading or even sometimes inflated perspective."

In the absence of national projections, Trudeau is expected to reiterate today his message that the scope and duration of the pandemic is in Canadians' hands: the more they abide by orders to stay home and keep their distance from others, the sooner this will be over.

He is also expected to announce federal funding to help provide services for vulnerable people during the crisis — with more announcements in the same vein to come.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2020.

Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press

Air Canada to provide protective gowns, eyewear to flight crew amid COVID-19 pandemic

CBC/Radio-Canada 4/4/2020

© Edward Wang via Reuters

 Flight attendants wearing protective equipment serve snacks to Canadians repatriated from China and en route to CFB Trenton for quarantine on Feb. 7. Air Canada said Friday it would provide gowns and eyewear to flight crews to protect them…

Air Canada said Friday it would provide gowns and eyewear to flight crews to protect them from coronavirus.

The company said in a memo sent to staff and seen by CBC News that it secured a supply of plastic safety eyeglasses on Friday, and will provide workers with protective gowns to wear over their uniforms starting Sunday.

"We're also sourcing a protective item that can be worn over top of prescription eyewear and will report back soon," the memo read.

The announcement came days after an investigation by CBC News found Canadian airline workers and their unions have complained about lack of protective equipment — such as protective suits or gowns, and mandatory testing — and several flight attendants became sick with COVID-19.

"I've asked several times, 'Why are we not wearing hazmat suits?' Other airlines are wearing hazmat suits," a flight attendant who works for a major Canadian airline told CBC News.

"We are on the front line and we are exposed to people from all around the world. We have connections from all over the world."

CBC News agreed not to publish their name or that of their employer, as they are not authorized to speak publicly.

In the memo, Air Canada said it chose gowns over hazmat suits "mainly because [they] can be removed quickly in the event of an emergency."

Canada's airlines are required to provide gloves, masks, wipes and sanitizer to employees. Wearing the gear is optional, except when handling food.

Air Canada said both gowns and eyewear are optional. It advises that gowns be disposed after each flight, and that eyewear, which is re-usable, should be cleaned with soap and water, sanitizer or antiseptic wipes.

Reacting to Friday's announcement, the flight attendant who previously spoke to CBC News said they were "elated."

"It changes my level of confidence in the protection of my own health and that of those around me," they said.

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How I'm Dealing With Poverty In The Pandemic As A Single Parent

Provided by HuffPost Canada I lost a large chunk of my income as soon as the pandemic was declared.

Katie Smith 4/4/2020 HUFFPOST CANADA


As a single mother of three who’s fallen through Canada’s safety net before, I spend a lot of time counting. Counting the money in my bank account, how much income I can expect — and how many days it will all last my family during this pandemic. I know it’s only a matter of time before what comes in doesn’t match what goes out.

Five years ago, I had the fortune of a huge job promotion, followed by the misfortune of getting a serious health diagnosis leading to five oncology surgeries. I lost my income overnight, and my new employer’s health-care provider refused to pay disability.

When my emergency fund ran out, we were plunged into poverty. Public assistance rates were too low to feed a family and afford the mortgage for our small semi-detached, so rather than resting to recover, I worked odd jobs non-stop to pay the bills.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m afraid this will be the experience for millions of Canadians — the poor yet again most likely to suffer. 

‘Everyone is worried about money’

Terrified of once again finding myself standing in the food bank line or being unable to afford essential supports for my child with complex special needs, I had secured multiple income streams. I took in international students, had a part-time professional job with flexibility to care for my child, provided childcare after school and taught music lessons.

I also cleaned condos, but was able to give it up recently when I could finally afford some breathing room. (Much to my doctor’s relief.

Within days of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, about 40 per cent of my income disappeared, just like that. A student moved out, childcare stopped, and some pupils cancelled music lessons (despite my offering them remotely).
My family has $140 to get us through two weeks of isolation.

I understand. Everyone is worried about money.

I pulled the small amount I’d been able to save in my emergency fund. If we need it, my family has $140 to get us through two weeks of isolation. My oncology-related surgeries, which put me at high risk of this virus, make this a possibility.

More than one million Canadians who have already applied for EI are suddenly going to make do with a fraction of their income. As a single parent, that reality is even more profound. You don’t have two halves to make a whole.
Supplies, food and survival

I was at the checkout in the grocery store. The people in front of me spent more than $800 on supplies and bragged how they could “survive for months.” The next lane spent twice that. Meanwhile, I was typing every purchase into a calculator.

As an immunocompromised person, I was buying two weeks of provisions for our household. And I felt fortunate to be able to do that. During the worst years, that extra $140 would have been impossible.© Provided by HuffPost Canada One of my children has complex special needs, and requires medication on a schedule. His medicine is becoming harder to find.

I couldn’t find high-demand items like wipes, hand sanitizer, bread and flour. Nor could I afford the jacked-up prices for toilet paper at my local store in Toronto’s East End — a jump from $5.99 for eight rolls to $13.99. I walked out of there empty handed. I managed to purchase a few extra items from a different shop, and dropped supplies off for the food bank. They need it more than we do.

At home, I’ve made frugal meals for the freezer in case I get sick and can’t cook — homemade soup, lentil dahl and cottage pie are family favourites that can be warmed up easily. I’ve set up a hand-washing station, and ordered a supply of my son’s medications (though I can only get 10 days’ worth).

The six different medications, totalling 17 pills, he takes each day are increasingly hard to find. Taking any of his medications a few hours late will result in a hospitalization. It is as worrying as our financial situation.

Self-care and mental health

For years, self-care has eluded me. There is no such thing as self-care amid oncology surgeries and poverty. But I’m trying to do something, anything, to feel OK during this pandemic.

My focus is keeping the kids healthy and well, and making their days feel predictable and safe. Yet recently, I found myself breathing deeply, reaching for a cup of tea (knowing I have exactly 21 tea bags left) and letting myself have that much-needed moment.
I wonder how much stronger our nation would be if we worried for the most vulnerable as much as we did for ourselves.

Free online mindfulness and exercise programs are accessible and may work for some. However, mindfulness is difficult when your mind is on affording the basics, and exercise is difficult with nerve damage.

If I had the funds, I would take a $10 dance class for people with disabilities that runs twice a month, now remotely. But I’m pinching pennies so hard I can hear them squeak, hyper aware that $10 can buy a day and a half of groceries in a pinch.
What I think about

Those in need are all around us, not asking for handouts but desperately needing us to acknowledge their fears and experiences.

My family has the privilege of volunteering at Out of the Cold, a program serving meals and providing a safe space to sleep for people experiencing homelessness. Our location sadly had to make the difficult decision to cancel as a safety measure against COVID-19. Where will those who rely on the program find food and a warm bed?

© Provided by HuffPost Canada Kids know how to share. Do we?

I had a similar thought last week when I delivered food boxes to the porches of the elderly, only to find out it was our last delivery — the program simply can’t package boxes up in a way that keeps volunteers safe. I worry about all these incredible older people who rely on us.

Meanwhile, I overheard a few middle-class people talking about just what they can get “for free.” I wonder how much stronger our nation would be if we worried for the most vulnerable as much as we did for ourselves.
Canadians supporting Canadians

There are a handful of supports available. Some aren’t available unless you lose all your income, many won’t come until May, and most aren’t a guaranteed income replacement. The U.S. has gone with a $1,200 payment for every American — a start, but it won’t keep people going. By contrast, European governments have 80- to 100-per-cent income replacement in effect, covering far more than the 55 per cent Canada’s employment insurance does.

We need a way forward for this country.

© Provided by HuffPost Canada Supporting my family is my main focus.

Individually, we must live out the principles we teach our kids — sharing, for example. That $800 shopping cart should have as many items for our neighbours as it does for ourselves.

We also need those with stable paycheques to continue to pay for the services they use, like childcare, cleaning and hair appointments, even if they can’t currently benefit from them. This is one way to create stability for the people who, after all this is over, will hopefully be there to care for our children, clean our homes and serve our meals.

At a policy level, Canada needs abasic income program. It will lift millions out of poverty by helping them access stable housing and food security. This nation also desperately needs national pharmacare — nobody should have to decide between prescriptions and feeding their family.

Since I started writing this article a little over a week ago, my part-time professional job increased my hours. I cried when I found out. I’m so pleased to not only have added security for my family, but to be able to provide more for my community.

Katie Smith blogs at Notes From The Frugal Trenches and can be found on Instagram sharing pictures of the small moments in life that bring her joy as she budgets, lives and parents in Toronto.

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-

QUACKERY
Cow urine, bleach, oregano oil: 

Medical COVID-19 quackery has big ramifications for public health


Wallis Snowdon 3/4/2020

© Nazanin Tabatabaee/West Asia News Agency/Reuters 

As anxiety over the global pandemic deepens, health experts are warning 

Canadians about the increasing prevalence of fake health products

 claiming to cure or prevent the virus.

Cow urine is not a cure for COVID-19. Guzzling water from a fish tank will not protect you from the virus.

With the known global death toll of coronavirus surpassing 50,000 people and no end in sight to its spread, increasingly desperate people are willing to try measures that aren't proven, recommended or even safe.

In recent days, chiropractors were rapped for suggesting their services could help stave off the virus, while Alberta's physicians and pharmacists were dressed down for prescribing unproven medications to colleagues, family members and themselves.

Tim Caulfield, a University of Alberta researcher who has received a $380,000 grant to study misinformation around COVID-19, worries it will distract people from getting factual information from doctors and accredited medical professionals.

"It just creates this incredibly chaotic information environment at exactly the wrong time," said Caulfied, who is also the Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy.

Last week, Calgary Integrative Medicine, a naturopathic clinic, apologized for claiming it has developed a supplement that could prevent or treat COVID-19.

They're not the only business making misleading claims.
Health Canada warning

Health Canada issued a warning to Canadians last week about the risks of buying health products — including "drugs, natural health products, homeopathic products and medical devices" — that make false or misleading claims about COVID-19.

In an online statement, Health Canada said it has issued letters to "multiple companies" directing them to immediately remove false claims from their websites and advertising materials.

The list of products already targeted for false advertising is long and includes medical masks, disinfectants, colloidal silver, plant-based elixirs, hand sanitizers, Chaga mushroom blends, ultraviolet lamps and oregano oil.

"Selling or advertising health products that make false or misleading claims is illegal," reads the statement. "The department takes this issue seriously and will not hesitate to use all mechanisms and tools at its disposal to stop these activities."

From blogs that encourage people to drink bleach to prevent infection to false claims touting the efficacy of old malaria drugs, the internet is a trove of dangerous ideas about how to combat the virus, Caulfield said in an interview Thursday with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.

Conspiracy theories are rampant online, ranging from conjecture that the pandemic is a hoax to the idea that it's a bioweapon.

Anxieties are running high and "quacks" are preying on those fears, offering sham products, nonsense treatment plans, fake remedies and fraudulent cures. It's a maddening trend for the medical profession, he said.

"The stuff that's really dominating right now are the fake cures and fake preventative strategies and some of them are really absurd," Caulfield said.

"All of those kinds of things still have no evidence behind them … like the idea that you should be drinking cow urine or the idea that you should be putting essential oils on your anus.

"With all this noise out there, the worry is people won't go to those trusted voices."

© Sam Martin/CBC University of Alberta researcher 

Tim Caulfield was recently awarded a $380,000 grant

 to study misinformation related to coronavirus.

And the outlandish claims around COVID-19 pose a real threat to public health, he said.

An Arizona couple, both in their 60s, poisoned themselves by ingesting chloroquine phosphate, a chemical used to clean home aquariums.

The man died. His wife, who was left in critical condition, said they got the idea from U.S. President Donald Trump, who talked about the potential benefits of chloroquine — an antimalarial drug — during a televised news conference.

The demand for preventative drugs with little proven benefit prompted a warning from Alberta's chief medical officer.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Wednesday there had been an increase in prescriptions being filled for antibiotics, anti-viral and anti-malarial drugs touted as potential treatment for COVID-19 even though there is no "robust evidence" to show the drugs really work.

Reports from the Alberta College of Pharmacy and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta said the drugs were being prescribed "for office use, personal use and for family members," said Hinshaw.

"These behaviours must stop. These very same medications are used for patients suffering from chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and HIV."
'Pause and think'

Questionable cures and preventative remedies erode trust in the medical system and create a false sense of security — and that could make them less likely to follow health directives around physical distancing and isolation, he said.

Caulfield urges people to think twice about sharing any information on social media.

"One thing that people can do is ask themselves, what is the source of the information? Is there good science behind this or is this just speculation?

"Social media is such a frantic platform. It sort of invites speed, it invites us to look at something quickly and pass it along. Don't do that. Please pause and think."

---30---

Huawei donates shipment of medical masks to B.C.

WHILE HUAWEI CFO IS UNDER HOUSE ARREST IN VANCOUVER 

© BRYAN R. SMITH Chinese-based telecommunications 

giant Huawei Technologies has quietly donated medical masks to B.C.
VICTORIA — Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies has quietly has donated a large shipment of protective masks for B.C. health care workers, Postmedia News has learned.

The donation was accepted by the B.C. government late last week, but not acknowledged publicly when Health Minister Adrian Dix announced Monday the arrival of almost one million new masks. Hundreds of thousands of those masks, both simple protective and N95 masks, came from China through Huawei.

“The province has many supply sources included transfers from our federal partners and a variety of domestic and international suppliers,” Dix told Postmedia. “We don’t share details about our suppliers.”

But Huawei confirmed the donations after being asked directly for comment by Postmedia News.

“We’ve provided masks and other equipment,” said Alykhan Velshi, vice-president of corporate affairs. “The first shipment arrived last week. The quantity is not something we intend to promote or publicize.”

It is nonetheless a politically sensitive situation, given that Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Vancouver in 2018 and remains the subject of a long extradition process in B.C. Supreme Court. The United States is seeking the extradition of Meng on fraud charges, in relation to alleged violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran.


The arrest has strained the relationship between China and Canada. China and Huawei have lobbied Canada hard for Meng’s release. China detained two Canadians shortly after Meng’s arrest, which many viewed as retaliation. Neither Canadian has been released. B.C. last year cancel some planned provincial trade missions to China as a result.

Dix cited the “challenging international market” for personal protective equipment, including masks, gowns and ventilators, as the rationale for refusing to disclose where B.C. obtains its gear.

“Right now the supply situation around the world is intense,” he said. “There are well over 100 countries dealing with COVID-19. And so it’s fair to say in the months that come there will be lots of questions and I expect to answer questions in detail and as frankly as possible. Right now, our focus is on getting protective equipment for our health care workers and others that need them.

“Right now, that means not talking as much as we normally would about the source of where our masks come from, but rather getting them on the ground first.”

Huawei said it is simply trying to help.

“Many companies are making similar efforts and we’re so fortunate we’re in a position logically and financially to help out as much as we have been,” said Velshi.

“We’re in a unique position in that we have 1,200 employees in communities across Canada. So we see the need. As a global multinational we operate in more than 180 countries, so we’re able to locate and access our supply. Our scale and logistical capabilities mean we’re able to move fast.”

Huawei has reached out to other provinces to ask if they would like donations of protective equipment, though not all have accepted. The supplies appear to come from a stockpile Huawei accumulated at the start of the COVID-19 crisis, sourced mostly in China and some other countries.

Huawei is also lobbying Canada to allow the use of its telecommunications equipment in the emerging 5G wireless sector. Australia, New Zealand and the United States have banned Huawei 5G technology for fear it may facilitate spying by the Chinese government.

Protective masks are part of personal protective equipment that is becoming scarce across the world as countries fight COVID-19.

“I am concerned about our supplies, and that’s why we are devoting so much energy to it,” said Dix.

On Thursday, the federal government received a shipment of approximately 10 million masks, which will be redistributed to the provinces. Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s public health officer, said the province is also exploring ways to possibly clean or sanitize masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment for reuse.

B.C. this week launched a supply hub , where anyone with masks, gowns, face shields, chemical disinfectants or the ability to manufacture gear can work with the province to provide such equipment.

“Lots of people want to help us,” said Dix. “This is a place for people to go.”

rshaw@postmedia.com

twitter.com/robshaw_vansun

80 caribou illegally killed in last two weeks, N.W.T. Indigenous leaders say
CBC/Radio-Canada 3/4/2020

Indigenous leaders and government officials in the N.W.T. issued a joint statement Friday morning condemning illegal hunting after a two-week period when they say 80 caribou were illegally hunted from the threatened Bathurst herd.

A joint statement from Tłı̨chǫ Grand Chief George Mackenzie, Łutsel Kʼe Dene First Nation Chief Darryl Marlowe, and other unspecified "Indigenous regional leaders" says it is "disappointing to see animals being wasted in this way."

"This behaviour is not only disrespectful—it is illegal," it reads.

The Bathurst herd is one of nine barren-ground caribou herds, with its calving grounds near the Bathurst Inlet in Nunavut. Its range extends across the eastern N.W.T. and includes traditional hunting areas for the Tłı̨chǫ, Akaitcho, and Sahtu Dene.

Since 2018, barren-ground caribou have considered a "threatened species" by the territorial government. The Bathurst herd has experienced a rapid decline in size since 1986, and only 8,200 caribou remain. The herd is believed to have shrunk by as much as 98 per cent.

Hunting Bathurst caribou has been prohibited in the N.W.T since 2015. As their range intersects with several other herds, to limit harvest, the territory updates a "mobile core Bathurst caribou management zone" where hunting any caribou is prohibited.

© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

 File photo shows wild caribou near The Meadowbank 

Gold Mine located in the Nunavut.

Individuals found to be hunting caribou in the zone have any meat seized and can face charges under the territory's Wildlife Act.

According to the release, officials from the territory's department of Environment and Natural Resources issued tickets to an unspecified number of hunters in the zone over the weekend, shortly after the N.W.T. shut its borders and introduced mandatory travel restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Prior to those measures, Indigenous leaders encouraged hunters to go out on the land to minimize their contact with others.

"Prior to March 21, there had only been one case of harvesting in the mobile zone this winter," the release reads.

The release also voices "concern" from Indigenous leaders that hunters are disregarding advice from the territory's chief public health officer on physical distancing.


"Over the weekend, hunters along the winter road were observed travelling and gathering and visiting in groups," the release reads. "This behaviour goes against the advice of the Chief Public Health Officer, who supports people going out on the land, but only with their immediate family or people they live with."

"We understand this is a difficult and uncertain time for everyone," reads a quote attributed to Shane Thompson, the territory's minister of environment and natural resources. "It is up to all of us to ensure we are making good decisions to protect the health and safety of our communities and the future of our caribou.

"There are other animals that can be legally harvested at this time, including moose, muskox, fish, small game and other caribou herds. We encourage people to look at other options, and to harvest other animals respectfully and sustainably."

---30---

Jobless Claims Reach 2.13 Million in Canada After Lockdowns


Erik Hertzberg BLOOMBERG 3/4/2020

© Bloomberg A pedestrian walks past a sculpture on McGill College Avenue in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Friday, March 27, 2020. Quebec Premier Francois Legault said he’s putting Quebec “on pause” to limit the coronavirus outbreak and stem physical contact.
More than two million Canadians, or one in ten workers, have applied for jobless claims since the start of nationwide lock downs last month to slow the spread of coronavirus.

In the five days through March 30, about 580,000 Canadians applied for unemployment benefits, according to a senior government official with knowledge of the matter. That brings the total claims to 2.13 million since March 16, or around 11% of the labor force.

The record spike in job losses underscores how rapidly the country’s economy has been halted by the spread of the virus, forcing businesses to shutdown. The Canadian government announced plans at the end of last week to ramp up wage subsidies to encourage businesses to keep workers on the payroll.

It’s possible the new measures may have slowed growth in jobless claims. On a daily basis, claims averaged about 120,000 in the last five days of data, a slight deceleration when compared to the nearly 160,000 in the previous 10 days.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

As COVID-19 bailouts pile up, Canadians ask for relief on credit card rates

3/4/2020

© Nicole Ireland/CBC PC Financial has delayed a planned hike in its 

credit card rate amid the current economic crisis.

As governments rush to offer financial relief packages to homeowners, renters, small businesses and employees impacted by COVID-19, some Canadians are wondering why credit card bills aren't included in those measures.

Most Canadians pay an interest rate that's far higher on their credit cards than they do for other forms of debt, which can make them an even more onerous burden that they have to carry in these unprecedented economic times.

Vicky Assad runs a small digital print shop in Ottawa. She has been in business for 23 years, and up until two weeks ago, 2020 was poised to be a decent year for her financially.

But the COVID-19 pandemic has changed all that, just as it has for many Canadians. She says she's doing what she can to keep her business afloat and keep her staff of five on the payroll, but the interest rates between 13 and 23 per cent that she has on three different personal and business credit cards are making a hard job even harder.

"I would like to make the minimum payment on my credit cards, but the interest rate is going to really hurt me," she told CBC News. "I am hearing a lot from the government about relief to the average Canadian, but I am not hearing anything about lowering credit card interest rates ... why [is that] not a priority?"

Calgarian Mario Baggio finds himself asking the same question.

"Some credit cards charge 29 per cent, which seems ridiculous during these times," he told CBC News. "What are financial institutions and credit card companies doing to help out Canadians and seniors during this crisis?"
Rates capped at 60%

Unlike mortgage rates, which are largely priced based on what's happening at the Bank of Canada or the bond market, the rules concerning how much a lender can charge for a credit card are far more profitable.

By law, interest rates of more than 60 per cent per year are forbidden, but most of Canada's 75 million active credit cards charge much less than that, around 20 per cent per year. The Canadian Bankers Association says there are 30 different credit cards available for Canadians right now that charge under 13 per cent per year.

That's still much higher than rates for other forms of debt, including mortgages and business loans, and there are, indeed, many valid reasons why that's the case. Credit cards are known as "unsecured" debt because the credit on them isn't secured to any specific asset — there's no collateral against the loan.

That differs from something like a mortgage, where the loan is secured against the house, which theoretically makes it easier for the lender to seize that asset should the borrower not pay their bills.

Credit cards have higher rates in order to offset that higher risk, but the rates are still high considering how relatively low the default rate is. Credit monitoring firm TransUnion says that at the end of last year, less than three per cent of Canadians were more than 90 days behind on their credit card's minimum payment.

The average Canadian credit card had about $4,326 on it as of the end of December.
'Take action to alleviate the burden': Trudeau

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the government is working with credit card providers to offer some sort of relief to customers.

"We recognize that they are a significant challenge for many Canadians at this point," Trudeau said at his daily press conference on March 26. "That is why we are encouraging them to take action to alleviate the burden for Canadians."

Last month, Canada's five biggest banks — the Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank and CIBC — came out in unison with pledges to work with homeowners to offer interest-rate relief on their loans if necessary.

They all say they are also working closely with customers who have business loans to make sure they can stay afloat.

The joint statement said the banks would also offer "the opportunity for relief on other credit products" but have had scant details to add to that since.
Bank association promises relief

The Canadian Bankers Association told CBC News in an email that its members have "stepped up to help our country work through these challenging times."

Its mortgage relief programs have been inundated with more than 213,000 requests for payments deferrals, the association said.

The CBA says the big banks are willing to work with their customers who are having trouble with credit card debt to find solutions, but its statement did not give specifics of what that might look like.

"Banks will work with their customers to offer relief on other credit products, including credit cards and lines of credit," the CBA said.

"Many banks have programs to help their customers make their debt more manageable and structure the right solution, including rolling in credit card debt into term products with lower interest rates. Banks will work with Canadians to help them manage credit effectively during this difficult time."

That pledge stops well short of an across-the-board rate cut, something some politicians have been pushing for.

NDP finance critic Peter Julian and industry critic Brian Masse have been calling on the federal government for days to ask banks and credit-card companies to lower interest rates.

"So far, the government has found ways to help corporations right away, but they are still making Canadians wait weeks," said Masse in a statement.

"Waiving the interest on credit cards for two months would immediately help Canadians get through until the federal programs kick in."

PC Financial was set to increase the rate on its PC Financial MasterCard by one percentage point starting next month — from 19.97 per cent to 20.97 per cent per year — but has shelved that plan, citing the "unprecedented times."

"We've been closely monitoring as this situation evolves and have decided to defer this change until further notice,"

PC Financial told CBC News in a statement.

"We've also been working with customers, case by case, who may be experiencing financial hardships during this time. We hope this can offer some relief for customers and their families."