Most of Manitoba will be ringing in the new year under a blanket of dangerously cold Arctic air.
Early this morning, Environment Canada issued extreme cold warnings for the majority of the province including Winnipeg, Brandon, Winkler, Gimli, Dauphin The Pas and communities in between.
The weather agency says cold temperatures with wind chill values between -40 and -50 are expected throughout much of southern Manitoba today and into Saturday. There could be some moderation of wind chills today, but some areas could see that persist throughout the final day of the year.
Already this morning, wind chill values reached -50 in Roblin and -51 in Swan River, said Environment Canada meteorologist Kyle McAulay.
"I think we're kind of paying the price for that milder weather we had earlier on this winter, early fall. We have some pretty clear skies, an Arctic ridge to our west that's building in," he said.
This extreme cold is expected to remain over most of southern Manitoba on New Year's Day, with a slight warm up in temperatures coming Sunday.
In parts of northern Manitoba, the cold air mass is dropping wind chill values to nearly -45 this morning. This is expected to moderate somewhat throughout the day, the weather agency says.
Wind chill values in parts of western Manitoba have already reached -50 or colder this morning. (CBC)
McAulay says Manitobans should prepare for more frigid weather in the early part of next year.
"Our long-term models look like after the weekend and getting into the middle of next week this will likely be coming back again, and there's a good chance there will be some more extreme cold warnings issued," he said.
Exposure to frostbite within minutes is a hazard, so remember to bundle up and dress warm if you venture outside.
"If you have to go outside really minimize the amount of time you have to spend outside and really cover up in as much layers as possible, and cover up all bare skin as best you can," McAulay said.
Environment Canada also reminds people to watch for cold-related symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, muscle pain and weakness, numbing and colour change in fingers and toes.
VICTORIA - British Columbia is reporting a daily record of 4,383 COVID-19 cases, shattering the previous record of 2,944 set a day earlier.
The Health Ministry says in a news release there were 17,357 active case across the province on Thursday and one more person has died.
Hospitalizations rose to 211, with 66 people in intensive care.
There have been 2,825 cases of the Omicron variant confirmed in B.C.
The ministry also confirmed six new health-care facility outbreaks, including one at Mission Memorial Hospital, bringing the total facilities dealing with ongoing outbreaks to 13.
The release says 82.9 per cent of eligible people five and older have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 19.1 per cent of those 12 and older have received a third dose.
British Columbia has recorded 251,054 cases of COVID-19 and 2,420 deaths to date.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 30, 2021.
Health officials in Ontario are reporting a record-breaking 10,436 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday.
The seven-day average for the number of news cases reported in the province stands at 9,183. This time last week, that number was 3,520 and two weeks ago it was 1,514.
Wednesday’s report comes after the province logged 8,825 cases on Tuesday, 9,418 cases on Monday, 9,826 cases on Sunday, and a then record 10,412 cases on Saturday.
Health experts have said that Ontario’s high case counts in recent days are likely an underestimate given the scarcity of PCR tests.
Three more deaths related to COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours, pushing Ontario’s COVID-19 death toll to 10,171.
The province has seen 725,841 lab-confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, including deaths and recoveries.
Of the cases logged today, most were found in fully vaccinated individuals at 8,221 while 1,514 were found in unvaccinated individuals. At least 425 cases were logged in those who are partially vaccinated and 276 were in those with an unknown vaccination status.
Right now, there are 726 people in hospital with COVID-19 -- up 235 patients over yesterday -- including 186 patients who are fully vaccinated, 150 who are unvaccinated and nine who are partially vaccinated. The vaccination status of the remaining patients is unknown.
In the ICU, there are 190 patients, including 70 who are unvaccinated, 35 are fully vaccinated, and two are partially vaccinated. No vaccination information was provided for the remaining patients.
While hospitalizations in Ontario related to COVID-19 have increased recently as Omicron continues to spread across the province, admissions to the ICU have remained relatively flat.
This is a breaking news story. More to come.
Backstory:
The numbers used in this story are found in the Ontario Ministry of Health's COVID-19 Daily Epidemiologic Summary. The number of cases for any city or region may differ slightly from what is reported by the province, because local units report figures at different times.
Health experts have said the number of COVID-19 infections identified in fully vaccinated individuals will naturally increase as more people get both of their shots.
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at some ways to ring in the New Year in Ottawa.
HOGMAN-EH! '21
The Scottish Society of Ottawa is celebrating its 10th anniversary of Hogman-Eh! virtually on New Year's Eve.
Organizers decided to cancel the in-person portion of Hogman-Eh 21 Reconnect & Rejoice due to the COVID-19 situation.
Tune in to the Scottish Society of Ottawa's Facebook page and YouTube channel for a free 'COVID-19 safe' Hogman-eh! Enjoy music and dances, including Alan Frew of Glass Tiger, The Proclaimers, Michael Yellowlees, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and Dancers.
Christmas Lights Across Canada runs until 12 a.m. New Year's Eve.
Enjoy the multimedia projection show on Parliament Hill adding light to winter evenings.
The luminous sparks travel across Canada’s multiple landscapes. As they surmount obstacles, they will get help to achieve their important task.
The Magic of Lights at Wesley Clover Parks runs nightly from 5-10 p.m. through Jan. 8.
This dazzling, drive-through holiday lights experience featuring favourite holiday scenes and characters of the season and every ticket to Magic of Lights benefits CHEO.
Alight at Night at Upper Canada Village, in Morrisburg, is a one-of-a-kind event, with over one million lights adorning the heritage buildings, trees, and fences.
The event is nightly from 5-9 p.m. through Jan. 1.
Ring in the New Year skating. The city of Ottawa's outdoor skating rinks are open for the season. There are capacity limits at outdoor rinks as of Dec. 26. The maximum capacity will be posted at each rink.
Rink of Dreams at Ottawa City Hall
Daily: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Dec. 31: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Jan. 1: 1 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Lansdowne Park Skating Court
Daily: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Ben Franklin Place Skating Rink
Daily: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Jim Tubman Chevrolet Rink
MEALS
Many restaurants are offering special meals for New Year's Eve.
There are indoor capacity limits for all restaurants in Ottawa because of COVID-19 and proof of vaccination is required. Last call is at 10 p.m. and restaurants must close to indoor dining by 11 p.m. under current COVID-19 restrictions.
1 Elgin
The 1 Elgin restaurant at the National Arts Centre is holding a New Year's Eve table d’hôte on Dec. 31 from 5-9 p.m. The restaurant will also have a New Year's Day brunch and New Year's Day dinner.
The Fairmont Chateau Laurier's holiday menu features New Year's Eve dining options. Both Zoe's and Wilfrid's offer two seatings, at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Dec. 31.
Sala San Marco may have cancelled its New Year's Eve event, but the restaurant is offering a six-course New Year's Eve dinner kit for pickup, which includes surf & turf, a bottle of Prosecco, & all the fixings.
The soaring cost of buying or renting a home in Ontario — and what to do about it — is likely to be a major theme in the 2022 provincial election campaign.
Premier Doug Ford and his Progressive Conservatives have shown plenty of signs they're concerned about the potential political impact of rising house prices across the province.
The premier has a housing summit with the mayors of Ontario's 29 largest cities scheduled for January, he's urging municipalities to speed up development approvals, and the PCs' polling firm has been surveying voters on what the government should do to make housing more affordable.
While the Ford government is focused almost entirely on boosting the supply of new housing as the way to rein in those skyrocketing prices, the opposition New Democratic, Liberal and Green parties are floating a range of other ideas as well.
Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party of Ontario, issued a 61-page housing strategy in June of this year. It includes encouraging the construction of duplexes and triplexes in existing residential neighbourhoods and a push to build 100,000 affordable rental units around the province. (Kenneth Armstrong/The Canadian Press)
"There's no question that supply has to be part of the solution," said the NDP's housing critic, Jessica Bell. "What the Ontario government is failing to do is the other critical pieces of the puzzle."
The opposition parties are united in their view that the cost of a home will resonate on the campaign trail in 2022.
"Housing affordability is going to be the defining issue of the next election," said Bell.
"Every community I go to, housing affordability is the top of mind issue outside of COVID," said Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.
"It's now no longer just a concern, it is a true full-blown crisis around supply and affordability," said Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca.
The Ford government is pushing Ontario's cities to approve new housing developments more quickly. (Katherine Holland/CBC)
The NDP put out a housing policy in 2020, and senior party officials say they plan to beef it up for the election campaign. The Green Party issued its 61-page housing strategy in June of 2021.
The Liberals have yet to release a housing-specific platform but Del Duca is promising one early in the new year.
The NDP's plan proposes to help first-time homebuyers with their down payment through a shared equity loan worth up to 10 per cent of the value. The loan would not have to be repaid until the homebuyer sells or moves out, and the program would apply only to people with household incomes below $200,000.
To boost housing supply, the New Democrats are pledging to work with municipalities to implement a range of planning and zoning changes that they say would encourage the development of so-called "missing middle" homes, such as duplexes and townhouses.
Targeting real-estate speculation forms a significant part of the NDP's plan.
The Ford government 'consistently fails to acknowledge that our housing market has become a speculator's paradise,' says the NDP's housing critic, Jessica Bell. (CBC)
"This government just consistently fails to acknowledge ... that our housing market has become a speculator's paradise," said Bell. She said investors "are easily outbidding first-time home buyers and driving up the price of homes."
The NDP proposes an annual speculation and vacancy tax on residential property, modelled off British Columbia's version. The tax — worth two per cent of the property's assessed value — would apply to homes across the Greater Golden Horsehoe region on owners who don't live in the home or who don't pay taxes in Ontario.
"It incentivizes investors to either rent out that home to a long-term renter or it incentivizes them to sell the property," said Bell. The proceeds from the tax would go to a dedicated affordable housing fund.
The NDP plan also includes measures to tighten regulation in the condominium market and expand rent control to apply to units even when tenants change.
The Green Party's housing strategy shares many similarities with the NDP's plan, although there are differences in some of the details.
Both the opposition New Democrats and Greens want to impose province-wide speculation taxes and vacancy taxes in an attempt to deter investors from bidding up home prices and to boost the availability of rental housing. (Michael Wilson/CBC)
The Greens promise to develop a down payment support program to help low and middle-income first-time homebuyers, but are leaving open precisely how it would work. They also propose a vacant homes tax, and would put the revenue into affordable housing programs, but suggest that it apply across the province.
"We have to get speculation out of the housing market. Homes should be for people," said Schreiner.
Zoning and planning changes that encourage what the Green Party calls "inclusive, accessible neighbourhoods where we live, work and play" form the backbone of the strategy.
"We need to be building livable, affordable, sustainable communities, increasing housing supply within our existing built environment because that's more affordable, efficient and also protects our environment," said Schreiner.
Other shared themes between the Greens and NDP: a major push to build more government-subsidized affordable housing, regulating short-term rentals and tackling money laundering in the housing market.
In addition, the Green Party proposes an unspecified increase to the provincial land transfer tax on all single-family homes valued over $3 million.
"Given these uncertainties, if cases don’t rise as much, is it because of the restrictions or is it because we have maxed out on testing capacity and reporting? We do not have much margin for error." — Jens von Bergmann
Author of the article:
Lisa Cordasco
Publishing date:
Dec 27, 2021 • 6 hours ago • 4 minute read • 23 Comments
A man displays his COVID-19 rapid test kit after receiving it at a pharmacy in Montreal, Monday, Dec. 20, 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world.Photo by Graham Hughes /The Canadian Press
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After testing positive for COVID-19 through a take-home rapid antigen test, Matt Cassola followed the instructions and filled out an online form to report his test result to Vancouver Coastal Health. But he was “shocked” to discover that the result would not be included in B.C.’s daily case count.
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“They told me that the form I filled out was only for contact tracing and was not for the daily numbers. They also informed me that there was no point getting a PCR test as the rapid test was enough,” said Cassola, 35.
On Monday, B.C. reported that 6,288 news cases of COVID-19 were confirmed over a three-day period, starting on Christmas Eve. Cassola’s positive result was not included in that total.
A group of independent scientists are concerned that not including results from rapid antigen tests could prevent authorities from understanding the scope of the pandemic and how to manage it.
Jens von Bergmann, a data analyst and member of the COVID-19 modelling group, said he supports the online survey to report positive rapid test results but he’s concerned those reports will not be shared publicly.
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“The results of the rapid tests are not reported, at least not publicly. So there is uncertainty about the size of this,” von Bergmann said. “Given these uncertainties, if cases don’t rise as much, is it because of the restrictions or is it because we have maxed out on testing capacity and reporting? We do not have much margin for error. It could be that the current restrictions are enough but if not, that could have very dire consequences.”
Jens von BergmannPhoto by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG
The Ministry of Health confirmed it is planning a province-wide online reporting system for positive rapid test results but it does not report the results of rapid tests. In a written statement, it said it would monitor the pandemic based on its PCR testing and epidemiologically-linked cases.
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It did not say whether it will make the rapid test results public and downplayed the under-reporting of those results.
“The more important measure is average case rates over time that we will continue to follow. We have always known that our surveillance does not capture every case. That is why we have several streams of surveillance, and we will be focusing more on surveillance for severe illness, looking at hospitalization and ICU rates and deaths,” the unattributed statement said.
Vancouver Coastal Health’s online survey asks nine questions, ranging from whether the person has HIV, cancer or is taking immune suppressing medication to questions about where the person has been, including care homes, hospitals, correctional facilities, Indigenous communities, group homes and shelters.
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On Friday, Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, said rapid tests are being used because the number of people seeking COVID-19 tests has exceeded the province’s ability to test them.
“We did over 20,000 PCR tests (on Thursday),” she said. “That is the capacity that we have in terms of machines, in terms of people in this province. You can’t create people to work in a lab out of nowhere and part of our rapid testing strategy has been to supplement that. And now we’re using that, particularly in our testing centres, for people who are at lower risk of having more severe illness.”
The B.C. COVID-19 modelling group has predicted the province could reach 10,000 new cases a day by the end of next week.
Damian Contandriopoulos, a member of the modelling group and the former Applied Public Health Chair at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, suspects the demand on testing centres has already resulted in inaccurate case counts.
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“The only way to get a test (in the Island Health region) is to call the provincial line and they might call you back, but for the past week, they have not been calling back anyone I know,” said Contandriopoulos. “So they are at least a week behind and what that means is the numbers we are seeing, even though they are super-scary, they are an undercount.”
Cassola, who contracted COVID-19 through his hockey team, has discovered that having a rapid antigen test is a barrier to future travel.
“If I wanted to travel, you either need to show proof of a negative COVID test or a positive COVID test (at least 14 days and no more than 180 days before departure) to cross the border. They (Vancouver Coastal Health) told me that if I wanted to do that, I would have to go to an independent lab to get a positive PCR test then I might be able to have my doctor add it to my health record,” he said. “I got a private PCR test which was positive and asked the private clinic if they reported the results to B.C. Health. Since the company was based out of the United States, it was not reported to the local authorities.”
Cassola concluded his experience with rapid testing has not been particularly helpful.
“At the end of the day, when you get a positive COVID rapid test, no contact tracing was done, no report was done and they told me not to get a PCR test. I was shocked to find out that there was no reporting done for the rapid test results and for the private clinics that do PCR tests,” he said.
France has recorded more than 100,000 virus infections in a single day for the first time since the pandemic struck, and COVID-19 hospitalizations have doubled over the past month as the fast-spreading Omicron variant complicates the government’s efforts to stave off a new lockdown.
More than 1 person in 100 in the Paris region has tested positive in the past week, according to the regional health service.
Meanwhile a surge in Delta variant infections in recent months is pushing up hospital admissions.
More than 1,000 people in France with the virus died over the past week, bringing the overall death toll to more than 122,000.
The government is holding emergency meetings Monday to discuss next steps. Some scientists and educators have urged delaying the post-holiday return to school, or re-imposing a curfew.
But the education minister says schools should open as usual Jan. 3, and other government officials are working to avoid measures that would hammer the economic recovery.
Instead the government is hoping that stepped-up vaccinations will be enough.
The government is pushing a draft law that would require vaccination to enter all restaurants and many public venues, instead of the current health pass system which allows people to produce a negative test or proof of recovery if they’re not vaccinated.
Construction of the future LRT line is visible from the departures level of the Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier International Airport on June 16, 2021.David Kawai/The Canadian Press
In early September, Conservative candidate Jennifer McAndrew stood outside a suburban Ottawa transit hub in the battleground riding of Kanata-Carleton to make a major campaign promise.
“A Conservative government will support and prioritize Phase 3 of the LRT extension right here to Kanata and beyond,” a smiling McAndrew said in a video posted to her Facebook page on Sept. 2, just as the campaign was heating up.
Not a day later, her Liberal opponent, Jenna Sudds, posted her own video to make the very same promise.
While some transit advocates would be overjoyed to see cross-party commitments to build new light-rail infrastructure, it was a disappointment to Toronto transit researcher Stephen Wickens who spent more than a year warning governments against those kind of campaign promises.
The reason is that Canada pays a higher price to build light-rail transit compared to our international counterparts, driven chiefly by the depth of underground tunnels, the grandiosity of the stations and labour costs.
But several experts agree it has just as much to do with something else: politics.
“That’s the heart of it,” said Wickens, who authored an investigative study on the soaring cost of Toronto subway projects commissioned by the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario last year.
Alon Levy, a Berlin-based transit researcher and writer, calculated that globally, the median construction cost for an urban subway was less than $300 million per kilometre in 2019.
But in Canada, the costs seem to go off the rails.
By Levy’s calculations, Toronto’s Ontario Line should cost $735-million per kilometre. The Blue Line extension plan in Montreal? About $775-million per kilometre. Vancouver’s Broadway SkyTrain seems almost reasonable at nearly $500-million per kilometre.
Political meddling at all levels of government – by all parties – can cause a knock-on effect on the price tag of projects.
For example, the cheapest tunnelling method is also the most annoying for the neighbours, so local councillors will up the cost to avoid complaints from constituents.
Just over a decade ago, Vancouver opted for a cheaper tunnelling option when it built the 19-kilometre Canada Line by digging a trench at street level and covering the top. The cut-and-cover method, as it’s known, led to big savings, but also disruptions, controversy and even lawsuits.
“The memories apparently remain so unpleasant that city leaders have made clear the Broadway Line will be entirely tunnelled, even with project estimates running at about $500 million per kilometre, or about 4.5 times what was paid for the Canada Line,” Wickens wrote in his report.
Political promises can also lock governments into commitments that may not offer the best value. As a 2019 study by the Institute of Municipal Finance and Governance put it, the best projects based on the available evidence take a back seat to political considerations. Civil servants are forced then to give what researchers dub “decision-based evidence” to justify a political promise.
“Who is a lowly engineer to say ‘we don’t actually need that’ or ‘let’s cut this station,’ or ‘I know you’ve promised this interest group something so you need to break that promise because that’s going to cost us another half a billion dollars,”’ said Levy in an interview with The Canadian Press.
It’s not just a Canadian phenomenon.
Levy and other researchers at the Marron Institute of Urban Management at New York University have found Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and United States overpay compared to peer counties like Spain, Italy and France.
Marco Chitti, a Montreal-based associate researcher on the project, said one domestic factor that may drive up costs is our federal political system that offers significant power to single parties trying to win votes from the public.
He said parliaments of other nations are afforded more power to water down proposals from the ruling party and get more bang for their buck.
Another problem is that Canadian cities and provinces often lack the in-house expertise to offer technical advice and oversee projects, Chitti said. He pointed to Italy where civil servants with technical expertise draw up detailed, costed plans before politicians make any commitments.
Chitti said the path to lowering costs on transit projects starts with admitting there is a problem that needs fixing.
“Most politicians in Canada are not aware that Canada has a huge problem, a huge, tremendous problem on cost,” Chitti said.
“I really hope that in a couple of years there will be much more discussion in Canada about the fact that we have ballooning costs, and that they are really out of control.”
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Canada's Shapovalov tests positive for COVID-19 in Sydney
Spengler Cup cancelled
Rams place Andrew Whitworth on reserve/COVID-19 list
Raptors add 3 players to COVID-19 protocol
The Toronto Raptors added three players to the NBA's COVID-19 protocol Saturday, bringing the team's total to 10 players ruled out for next game due to the virus.
The Raptors placed Khem Birch, Justin Champagnie and Isaac Bonga in health and safety protocol.
Seven Toronto players were already in the league's COVID protocol: OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, Gary Trent Jr., Malachi Flynn and Precious Achiuwa.
David Johnson is out with a calf injury.
All 11 players will be unavailable for Toronto's game Sunday at the Cleveland Cavaliers (19-13).
The Raptors (14-15) signed forwards Juwan Morgan and D.J. Wilson and guard Tremont Waters from the NBA G League to 10-day contracts on Thursday via the COVID hardship exception.
Canada's Shapovalov tests positive in Sydney
Denis Shapovalov, who is part of Canada's team for the 2022 ATP Cup, has tested positive for COVID-19 in Sydney, the 22-year-old said on Saturday.
Shapovalov played last week at the World Tennis Championship exhibition event in Abu Dhabi, where he beat 20-times major winner Rafa Nadal in the third-place playoff match.
Nadal, Olympic champion Belinda Bencic and Tunisian Ons Jabeur all tested positive for the virus after playing the tournament.
Shapovalov said he is experiencing minor symptoms.
"Hi everyone, just wanted to update you that upon my arrival in Sydney, I tested positive for COVID," Shapovalov tweeted.
"I am following all protocols including isolation and letting the people who I've been in contact with know.
"Right now I am experiencing minor symptoms and look forward to getting back on the court when it safe to do so."
The 2022 ATP Cup will feature 16 teams and be hosted across two venues at the Sydney Olympic Park from Jan. 1-9. Canada are in Group C with Germany, Britain and the United States.
The Australian Open will begin on Jan. 17 in Melbourne.
Spengler Cup cancelled
The annual Spengler Cup, contested by Swiss club teams against international squads made up of players active in European leagues, was cancelled for the second straight year on Saturday.
It's the sixth time hockey's oldest invitational tournament has been called off since its 1923 debut.
Hockey Canada previously withdrew from the competition due to concerns over COVID-19. Those ame concerns led to the cancellation of the event entirely.
Rams place Whitworth on reserve/COVID-19 list
The Los Angeles Rams placed veteran offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth on the team's reserve/COVID-19 list on Saturday.
The 40-year-old Whitworth is a key performer for Los Angeles' high-powered offence in his fifth year with the team. The four-time Pro Bowler has appeared in 13 of the Rams' 14 games this season.
Los Angeles (10-4) is tied with Arizona for the NFC West lead heading into Sunday's game at Minnesota. The Rams have won three in a row.
Myanmar government troops rounded up villagers, some believed to be women and children, fatally shot more than 30 and set the bodies on fire, a witness and other reports said Saturday.
The purported photos of the aftermath of the Christmas Eve massacre in eastern Mo So village, just outside Hpruso township in Kayah state where refugees were sheltering from an army offensive, spread on social media in the country, fueling outrage against the military that took power in February.
The accounts could not be independently verified. The photos showed the charred bodies of over 30 people in three burned-out vehicles.
A villager who said he went to the scene told The Associated Press that the victims had fled the fighting between armed resistance groups and Myanmar’s army near Koi Ngan village, which is just beside Mo So, on Friday. He said they were killed after they were arrested by troops while heading to refugee camps in the western part of the township.
The government has not commented on the allegations, but a report in the state-run Myanma Alinn daily newspaper on Saturday said that the fighting near Mo So broke out on Friday when members of ethnic guerrilla forces, known as the Karenni National Progressive Party, and those opposed to the military drove in “suspicious” vehicles and attacked security forces after refusing to stop.
Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to jail for breaching COVID-19 restrictions, state TV reports
Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to jail for breaching COVID-19 restrictions, state TV reports – Dec 6, 2021
The newspaper report said they included new members who were going to attend training to fight the army, and that the seven vehicles they were traveling in were destroyed in a fire. It gave no further details about the killings.
The witness who spoke to the AP said the remains were burned beyond recognition, and children’s and women’s clothes were found together with medical supplies and food.
“The bodies were tied with ropes before being set on fire,” said the witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for his safety.
He did not see the moment they were killed, but said he believed some of them were Mo So villagers who reportedly got arrested by troops on Friday. He denied that those captured were members of locally organized militia groups.
Myanmar’s independent media reported on Friday that 10 Mo So villagers including children were arrested by the army and four members of the local paramilitary Border Guard Forces who went to negotiate for their release were reportedly tied up and shot in the head by the military.
UN fears ‘imminent attack’ in Myanmar after army build-up
UN fears ‘imminent attack’ in Myanmar after army build-up – Oct 8, 2021
The witness said the villagers and anti-government militia groups left the bodies as military troops arrived near Mo So while the bodies were being prepared for cremation. The fighting was still intense near the village.
“It’s a heinous crime and the worst incident during Christmas. We strongly condemn that massacre as a crime against humanity,” said Banyar Khun Aung, director of the Karenni Human Rights Group.
Earlier this month, government troops were also accused of rounding up villagers, some believed to be children, tying them up and slaughtering them. An opposition leader, Dr. Sasa, who uses only one name, said the civilians were burned alive.
A video of the aftermath of the Dec. 7 assault _ apparently retaliation for an attack on a military convoy _ showed the charred bodies of 11 people lying in a circle amid what appeared to be the remains of a hut.
Fighting meanwhile resumed Saturday in a neighboring state on the border with Thailand, where thousands of people have fled to seek shelter. Local officials said Myanmar’s military unleashed airstrikes and heavy artillery on Lay Kay Kaw, a small town controlled by ethnic Karen guerrillas, since Friday.
The military’s action prompted multiple Western governments including the U.S. Embassy to issue a joint statement condemning “serious human rights violations committed by the military regime across the country.”
“We call on the regime to immediately cease its indiscriminate attacks in Karen state and throughout the country, and to ensure the safety of all civilians in line with international law,” the joint statement said.
The recommendation by an Israeli panel to administer a fourth vaccine to those who are over 60 is being met with a tepid response by some of the country's medical experts, who believe more data is needed.
"I supported the booster recommendation in July. But that time we had better evidence. Today, we don't have any good evidence," said Dr. Dror Mevorach, head of the coronavirus department at Hadassah University Hospital Ein Kare in Jerusalem.
"I think there is a great question about the impact of this fourth booster. I'm not sure it will help."
Mevorach told CBC News that unlike the decision to implement the third dose, which was met with wide approval, this recommendation is being questioned by some in the medical community.
"I would say that I got dozens of calls from both medical doctors and scientists saying to me that we think the same, that there's no evidence to give [a fourth dose} for the moment," he said.
Israel's PM welcomes recommendation
The recommendation for a fourth dose to people over 60, those with compromised immune systems and health-care workers was made based on concerns of waning immunity of the three vaccines already administered, combined with the potential threat of an Omicron outbreak seen in other countries.
The recommendation was also welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who called it "great news that will help us overcome the Omicron wave that is spreading around the world."
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has welcomed the recommendation for a fourth vaccine dose. If approved, Israel would become the first country to roll out a fourth dose to some of its citizens. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo/The Associated Press)
It is currently being reviewed by Israel's director general of the Health Ministry, Nachman Ash. If approved, Israel would become the first country to roll out a fourth dose to some of its citizens. However there have been some reports that Ash might be stalling while he reviewed information from Britain that shows that Omicron leads to less severe illness than the Delta variant.
Dr. Ron Dagan, a professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a member of the expert panel, acknowledged that the recommendation was not based on data of fourth dose results "because there is no data."
"There's no data that we could base on our recommendation," he told CBC News in a phone interview. "But on the other hand, there are data that altogether made us worried about what's going on as a potential scenario in the upcoming weeks."
There is evidence of waning immunity against infection about three to four months after the third vaccine was rolled out, he said.
'Scientific evidence is not there'
Dagan said the panel didn't believe a fourth shot would cause any harm, and it made an "educated guess" about Omicron's potential impact and the benefits and risks of offering a fourth dose.
"To the best of our judgment, the potential benefits, we believe, are bigger than the potential risks."
Mevorach said he respects the fact that some people believe that Israel is facing a potential catastrophe when it comes to Omicron and that they want to do everything they can.
A man is vaccinated at a shopping mall in Jerusalem on Wednesday as the COVID-19 vaccination campaign continues in Israel amid talks of a fourth dose for high-risk groups. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)
"But I must say that medical or scientific evidence is not there," he said.
It may be better to wait for an Omicron specific booster, which both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have indicated could be ready by March, he said.
Prof. Hagai Levine, an epidemiologist and chair of the Israel Association of Public Health Physicians, told the New York Times that while he respects the "better safe than sorry" opinion of the panel, "before giving a fourth shot, it is preferable to wait for the science."
Nadav Davidovitch, director of the Ben-Gurion University School of Public Health, said he would have offered a "weaker recommendation" than what was put forward by the expert panel.
Instead of a "forceful campaign" for another booster, he said he would rather allow people that are high risk to choose to have the fourth dose, "because we don't have enough data."
Cyrille Cohen, head of the lab of immunotherapy at Bar-Ilan University, said he understands how the panel reached its conclusion and that it was all about "risk managing."
"We see how [Omicron] is developing in other countries, and we are afraid that at some point, cases will explode in Israel," he said. "And then we might be in a situation where especially vulnerable people are not protected enough."
The problem, Cohen said, "is that we don't have a lot of data, and that's where I think it is a good thing that we gather right now a little bit more data."
Cohen said he wanted to make it clear that he wouldn't think of telling someone not to get the fourth shot.
Simon Fraser University, the University of Northern B.C. and the University of Victoria have all announced they will be beginning the new year's spring term online.
The announcements came on Thursday as B.C. saw its biggest surge of COVID-19 cases to date, primarily due to the more infectious Omicron variant.
They follow a similar announcement from the University of B.C. on Wednesday. The province's biggest university is not resuming in-person instruction until at least Jan. 24.
SFU and UVic said they will also not resume classes in person until that date.
UNBC said all of spring term's first week of classes, from Jan. 5 to 11, will be delivered online. Following that first week, it says "many" courses will be in-person, but some will continue to be online only until Jan. 28.
All three universities acknowledged a letter from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry when making their announcements, a letter written in response to continuing concerns from university staff and students over the course of the in-person school year.
In the letter, Henry says educational settings are "low risk" for transmission and recommends in-person instruction in 2022.
"Public health leadership will work with post secondary institutions to provide guidance, support and assistance to ensure that students are able to continue learning in place," she said.
Henry says some of the high-risk settings for COVID-19 infection include "homes and unstructured or informal social settings," contending that transmission is uncommon on school campuses.
"There is no evidence that moving to online post-secondary instruction will decrease such interactions [in informal settings]," she said. "Students would spend fewer hours in structured settings, which have a lower risk for transmission."
Nearly all universities in the province, including SFU and UNBC, concluded their December exams in person despite student protests.
UVic was the biggest university to shift some of its exams online after an Omicron-driven surge on Vancouver Island in early December.
UVic, SFU and UNBC all say that the decision to begin the next term online will "offer clarity" to staff and students as they go into the holiday break.
Some in-person learning will continue to happen at all three schools in January, including lab work and studio work, with COVID-19 safety protocols in place.
Alberta Parks is changing its online reservation system for campsites next month.
Previously, the online reservation system opened on a certain date, but starting January 11, the system will be available year-round. Campers will be able to reserve individual sites 90 days in advance and group and comfort camping 180 days in advance. The booking window will advance by one day every morning at 9 a.m., according to the Alberta Parks website.
"This means no more stressful launch dates," promised Alberta Parks in a Facebook post Wednesday morning.
The province is also reducing the maximum number of consecutive nights Albertans can book at campgrounds from 16 to 10. The Facebook post said Albertans will still be allowed to camp in one location for 16 nights, but they will require separate reservations to do so.
Bridget Burgess, a communications advisor for the environment and parks ministry, said changes were necessary "to reduce the volume of online users at one time and ensure equitable access to campgrounds."
She said there has been a 148 per cent increase in the number of transactions and camping reservations across the parks system since 2019.
Reservation opening days, especially in recent years, have been chaotic, with the website struggling to handle heavy traffic.
Burgess said launch days also often led to last-minute cancellations and no-shows.
Other agencies, including Ontario Parks and most American parks agencies, already offer year-round reservation systems, she said.
Mixed reactions from campers
Dan Chernyk, a camping enthusiast in Edmonton who runs a YouTube channel on outdoor pursuits, said he is optimistic that the changes will make booking campsites easier.
"Hopefully it takes a bit of pressure off that system," he said.
He figures reducing the number of consecutive bookable days from 16 to 10 could help deter people from booking off more time than they will use.
Burgess said that was the intent of the change.
Dan Chernyk and his sons make popcorn while camping at Miquelon Lake in the spring of 2021. (Submitted by Dan Chernyk)
She said the number of campers booking more than 10 consecutive nights increased by 154 per cent this year. Long-term bookers changed their reservations much more than short-term bookers did and 27 per cent of 16-night bookers cancelled their reservations entirely.
Ian Urquhart, executive director of the Alberta Wilderness Association, has a different view of the reduction in the maximum consecutive bookable days.
"Sounds to me like it's a bit of a cash grab, frankly, because if I want to go out for two weeks, I can still go for two weeks, but I have to make two separate reservations in order to do that," he said.
Carrie Malin, an outdoor enthusiast in Edmonton, is skeptical that removing launch days will fully solve congestion problems on the website.
"They're really trying to spread out that initial tidal wave, and I can see why they're doing that, but all that really is going to solve is that initial wave," she said.
Carrie Malin camping at Elbow Lake in Kananaskis with her son. (Submitted by Carrie Malin)
She anticipates campers looking to book holiday weekend sites will still be competing for website access and she doubts the user experience for frequent campers like herself will be better overall.
"I used to actually book the day off work, write out all my campsites, have a priority, book it all in one day and be done with it for the first 90 days," she said.
"Now it's going to be this constant, steady reminder going off every weekend that I need to book."
Burgess said the booking website will still use a queue system to manage users and the site received several technical upgrades this year to improve performance.
An estimated 4.4 million Canadians live with food insecurity, forced to make tough decisions between paying rent or buying food. But the solution isn’t as simple as reducing food prices, because many farmers and food producers are also struggling to make ends meet. Marit Rosol is Canada Research Chair in Global Urban Studies and a professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Calgary. She says to solve the problem, we need to both raise incomes and promote alternative ways of producing and distributing food.
“Food is such a wonderful way to connect people,” says Rosol. “But we need to better understand how it’s all connected — and why both ends of the food chain are having difficulty.”
What is food insecurity?
Rod Olson, a founding member of the YYC Growers and Distributors cooperative, and his son, examine a plant near the irrigation pond at Happiness by the Acre farm.
Logan Bryce Photography, for SSHRC
Food insecurity is more than not having enough food. It also means missing out on meals with friends or having to compromise on quality, buying whatever’s cheapest rather than choosing based on preferences or nutritional value. The resulting poor diet and reduced participation in social life can have a negative impact on physical and mental health. But simply giving away food (through food banks, for example) doesn’t solve the root problem, which is a lack of income.
Food insecurity is also linked to housing insecurity. As housing costs rise, people have to devote larger shares of their incomes to rent or mortgage payments, leaving less money available for food (which currently also costs more due to pandemic-related supply chain issues and labour challenges).
On the other end of the food chain, the set-up of our food distribution system leaves food producers with razor-thin or non-existent margins that can’t sustain any further decreases in farmgate prices.
Rosol says this system is itself a large part of the problem: “All the power lies with the big distributors in the middle who dictate prices to both producers and consumers.”
Examining alternative food systems
Part of Rosol’s research looks at alternative food systems and economies in Canada and Germany to identify those that could make a real difference.
“To create truly alternative economies, you have to look at different ways of organizing food production, other forms of financing and land tenureship,” she says.
An urban farm plot in Calgary Alberta. Dirt Boys, a member of the YYC Growers and Distributors cooperative, makes use of underutilized urban spaces to provide local produce to city residents.
Logan Bryce Photography, for SSHRC
To find out what works and what could be scaled up or adapted, Rosol interviews people involved with alternative food initiatives, including farmers, distributors, community organizations and policy-makers. One such initiative is a German co-op working to help get new people into farming by raising money to buy land, then leasing it long-term to organic farmers at reasonable rates.
Other projects are experimenting with different models of community-supported agriculture. For example, one German co-op is buying weekly from farmers and taking charge of distribution, leveraging bulk pricing and volunteer labour to make good food accessible to more people. In another case, a group of farmers in the Calgary region is banding together to offer a weekly harvest box directly to consumers, with more variety of produce than they could deliver individually.
Solving food insecurity is a collective effort
Merit Rosol
Riley Brant, University of Calgary
Based on her research, Rosol says eliminating food insecurity requires three critical components:
We need to rethink the entire food system. Small changes to just one part of the food system won’t fix things. We need to consider not only food sources and distribution methods, but also the underlying economic models.
Rural-urban relationships are critical. Rural and urban communities have become increasingly disconnected from each other. Finding ways to bring them back together and create more sustainable, localized food economies would benefit consumers and producers.
It’s a problem that demands solutions at all scales. Local grassroots efforts are critical, but they’re not sufficient. Real solutions will require complementary action from governments at all levels, including national and international policy changes in areas beyond the food system, such as housing, wages and trade.
While there is no quick fix for eradicating food insecurity, Rosol is optimistic.
“There’s a lot of passion around food today,” she says. “People want to make changes, so I hope my work helps them better understand how it’s all connected and what has to happen.”
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