The union representing Canada Border Service Agency workers says some job action has begun as bargaining with the government continues. The Public Service Alliance of Canada and its Customs and Immigration Union says its members are working to rule, but didn’t immediately specify what that involves. It says the bargaining team is being given more time to negotiate after overnight talks. The union says it has been bargaining with the government since 2018 and it served a strike notice on Tuesday. The union had previously said workers would begin a “sweeping” series of actions at Canadian airports, land borders, commercial shipping ports, postal facilities and headquarters locations if a contract wasn’t reach. Travellers can expect long lineups and lengthy delays at border crossings and airports. Ninety per cent of frontline border workers have been identified as essential so they will continue to offer services, if there is a strike, said the CBSA, in an email. The dispute comes as Canada is preparing to allow fully vaccinated Americans to visit without having to quarantine starting Aug. 9 and will open the country’s borders to travellers from other countries with the required doses of a COVID-19 shot on Sept. 7.
The Trudeau government is optimistic that Canadians who received the AstraZeneca vaccine will be allowed into the United States. The Biden administration is moving ahead with vaccine passports and AstraZeneca is not approved in the U.S. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker’s second-quarter financial results showed that the company and its sub-licensees delivered more than 700 million doses of the vaccine to over 170 countries in the first half of this year. That includes 80 million doses that went to the COVAX initiative for low- and middle-income countries. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc says Canada has worked with international researchers to get the best possible advice on immunization. LeBlanc admits every country can choose which vaccines are most effective. Some of the businesses and attractions in the U.S. demanding vaccine passports are refusing to recognize the AstraZeneca shot. And America’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has been clear that people should not mix and match vaccines. – of course this came aftr the canadian government said it was alright
The Canadian women’s soccer team is celebrating an Olympic title at the Tokyo Games. Canada defeated Sweden 3-2 on penalty kicks to win the gold medal after the teams finished extra time tied at one. After Canadian goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe denied Jonna Andersson’s attempt, Julia Grosso scored the winner to end it. Sweden’s Stina Blackstenius opened the scoring in the 34th minute but Jessie Fleming equalized from the penalty spot in the 67th minute. It’s the first-ever Olympic title for the Canadian women’s soccer team. Canada won bronze at the 2012 London Games and finished third again at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Evan Dunfee has won bronze in the men’s 50km Race Walk event at the Tokyo Olympics. Canadian Mohammed Ahmed has won a silver medal with a gutsy effort in the men’s 5,000 metres at the Tokyo Olympics. Canadians Andre De Grasse, Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney, and Jerome Blake have picked up the bronze medal in the men’s 4×100 relay at the Tokyo Olympics. The 30-year-old from Richmond, B.C., reached the podium in a season-best time of 3:50.59 in a race of attrition amid the heat and humidity of Sapporo. The temperature at the 5:30 a.m. start was 25 C with over 70 per cent humidity and it got hotter as the race progressed.
The federal Liberal party’s use of facial recognition technology has prompted an investigation by B-C’s privacy watchdog. A complaint from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association set off the probe by information and privacy commissioner Michael McEvoy. McEvoy’s office confirmed the investigation into the Liberal party’s use of the technology to verify the identity of those eligible to vote in candidate nominations for the next federal election. The civil liberties association says it knows the party needs to confirm identities, but facial recognition comes with privacy and reliability concerns.
BC health officials announced 464 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 151,839. In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that there are 2,411 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of the active cases, 52 individuals are currently hospitalized, 24 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
New and total active cases, broken down by health region, are as follows:
- Fraser Health: 72 new cases, 486 total active cases
- Vancouver Coastal Health: 60 new cases, 324 total active cases
- Interior Health: 275 new cases, 1,356 total active cases
- Northern Health: 29 new cases, 88 total active cases
- Island Health: 27 new cases, 145 total active cases
- Outside of Canada: One new case, 12 total active cases
There have been no new COVID-19-related deaths over the past 24 hours, for a total of 1,772 deaths in British Columbia. To date, 81.8% of all eligible people 12 and over have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. In total, 6,985,522 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in BC. 147,627 people who tested positive have now recovered.
R-C-M-P in Surrey are investigating the death of a pedestrian hit by a garbage truck. Police say they were called about three this morning to a report that the truck hit the pedestrian on King George Boulevard. The victim died at the scene. Police say the driver stayed at the scene and has spoken to them.
Police are asking for help finding North Delta’s Jenna Zarantonello. The 16-year-old is described as Caucasian, 5’2” with blond hair and blue eyes. About 90 pounds, she was last seen wearing grey sweatpants, a blue “Jordan” shirt, and a dark blue or black windbreaker. “Police have taken a number of investigative steps to search for Jenna, but at this point are asking for the public’s assistance in locating her,”said Cris Leykauf, spokesperson for Delta Police, adding officers are concerned about Jenna’s well-being. Police say she may have travelled to Vancouver. Anyone who may have information about Jenna’s whereabouts is asked to contact Delta Police at 604-946-4411.
A Surrey couple is looking to buy a home in the Lower Mainland – and maybe taking a trip to Disneyland – after winning the top prize in a scratch-and-win ticket. Joelle Young and her boyfriend John Ready had pulled into a Petro-Canada in Burnaby to buy a BC Lottery Corporation “Maximum Gold” scratch ticket while “killing time” before picking up dinner, according to a release from BCLC. After scratching the ticket, Young realized they had won the $200,000-top prize. “We were in the car about two minutes from the gas station when I found out, and he didn’t believe me when I told him,” she said. BCLC says the odds of winning the $200,000 in “Maximum Gold” are approximately one-in-300,000.
Meghan McCain made a low-key departure from “The View” today after four years of getting into on-screen tiffs with co-hosts Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg. McCain was hired to offer the Conservative viewpoint on a talk show where she was outnumbered politically, a role she took to with gusto. A-B-C hasn’t said who will replace McCain in the show’s Conservative chair.