| | | | Good evening, here is the latest on the coronavirus outbreak for Friday, April 19.
Go to cbc.ca/news for complete coverage.
| | |  | Canada working to produce up to 30,000 ventilators domestically, Trudeau says.
| | | | | Alberta headed for 25% unemployment, premier warns.
| | | | | Temporary foreign workers are allowed into Canada — but it's a complicated situation.
| | | | | | | | |  | A mariachi band serenades the medical staff of the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases in Mexico City. (Luis Cortes/Reuters)
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| | | Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is teaming up with a handful of Canadian companies to produce up to 30,000 ventilators — a critical piece of equipment in the battle against COVID-19.
Trudeau said the government is also working with Canadian astrophysicist and Nobel Prize winner Art McDonald, whose team of scientists is trying to create an easier process for making ventilators.
The announcement on ventilators comes after news from manufacturer 3M that it had struck a deal with the U.S. government to allow the export of N95 masks to Canada. The deal came after Canadian officials worked over the weekend to reverse the decision by the United States to invoke the Defence Production Act to force 3M to prioritize orders from the U.S. government for N95 masks, also called particulate respirators, at the expense of foreign orders.
However, it remains unclear what this deal means for exports of other critically needed equipment, such as gowns, gloves and ventilators.
| Read more about the plan for Canadian-made ventilators
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| | | Alberta is on track to hit a staggering 25 per cent unemployment rate as businesses continue to shed jobs amid the global COVID-19 pandemic coupled with historically low oil prices, Premier Jason Kenney said. If that happens, it would mark the highest unemployment rate in any Canadian province since modern records began.
Kenney said his government is taking action to try to help companies in Alberta navigate the current economic storm. His UCP government has announced $12 billion in measures, he said, either through direct investments or deferrals.
Last week, Kenney announced the province's investment of $1.5 billion, plus a $6-billion loan guarantee, in the Keystone XL pipeline, in order to get the long-delayed project moving — but he said he's also waiting on assistance from Ottawa to help the sector.
Kenney said Alberta is working with the federal government and seeking some form of credit backstop that would allow the banks to continue to extend credit to distressed companies.
| Read more about the situation in Alberta
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| | | The federal government has allowed the temporary foreign worker program to go ahead with modifications to account for COVID-19. But employers are experiencing hurdles getting workers into the country.
Some farmers and beekeepers are worried that their workers will arrive too late. "All the airlines started to cut back on their services, so foreign workers couldn't catch flights out of their respective countries," said Canadian Honey Council Executive Director Rod Scarlett.
Canadian farmers bring in thousands of foreign workers every year to plant seeds and harvest crops. They're tentative about replacing foreign workers with Canadians, with Scarlett calling it a "complicated and expensive endeavour," as he said it would be a steep learning curve for many with little experience.
What about foreign workers currently in Canada? Manitoba vegetable and berry farmer Beth Connery said her farm has already overcome several challenges in getting the workers into the country, but is concerned for workers' safety and wants them to stay healthy.
| Read more about temporary foreign workers
| | |  | | | IN DEPTH
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| | | In Alberta, firefighters and municipal and provincial officials are gearing up for wildfires as best they can — but the ongoing coronavirus pandemic could complicate any plans for how to deal with the season.
"In a week or two, we could go from snow to sweat and fires could be popping up all over," said Mike Flannigan, who teaches wildfire science at the University of Alberta. Flannigan said it is impossible to predict the intensity of this year's fire season, but trends of the last few years suggest "on average, we are warming."
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said yesterday that he would step up efforts to monitor wildfires this year because of the strain that COVID-19 could put on firefighting resources. "To be blunt, we are quite concerned about the possibility of managing this pandemic and then having a lot of wildfires at the same time, like we did last summer or spring," Kenney said.
As well, the Alberta Fire Fighters Association — which represents 3,200 firefighters — has staffing concerns. A few firefighters have tested positive for COVID-19 in the province, and association president Brad Readman said more than 300 AFFA members were in self-isolation either due to recent travel or cold-like symptoms. That could mean a shortage of firefighters if wildfire season becomes intense.
In previous years, firefighters from other provinces have flown in to help crews in Alberta, and vice versa, as needed. But that may be complicated by travel restrictions, flight cancellations and layoffs at Canada's major airlines. "Fires don't stop during a pandemic," Readman said.
| | | THE SCIENCE
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| | | Some addiction experts are warning that last month's increased alcohol sales across Canada, mixed with hours of isolation at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, could lead to much higher consumption, even among Canadians who typically drink in moderation.
"I think that what this crisis we're in might have revealed is that, for an important number of Canadians, perhaps alcohol is more essential to them in their lives than they thought it was," said Catherine Paradis, senior research and policy analyst at the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA). Paradis also said there is the risk of both greater consumption and an increase in predictable associated harms, such as domestic violence and child neglect.
Researchers say while most Canadians are not addicted to alcohol, a small percentage of drinkers are so dependent that if liquor stores were to close, they could face serious withdrawal and possibly put added strain on the overburdened health-care system. All provinces have adjusted retail liquor operations to remain open to customers or provide pickup or delivery options after declaring it an essential service.
People in recovery for addiction, whose regular support meetings such as Alcoholics Anonymous are shuttered due to COVID-19, are turning to online support meetings. "They can't do the normal things that they would do to cope," said Laura McKowen, a former heavy drinker and author of We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life, who has launched online video town hall meetings. "People largely drink to combat anxiety. And whether you are sober or not sober, anxiety is up."
| | | AND FINALLY...
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| | |  | A Winnipeg family recreated Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's COVID-19 message to children using Lego. (Tyler Walsh)
| | | Playing with Lego can be a good break from the constant coronavirus news updates — it's definitely kept a certain Coronavirus Brief writer sane — but one family in Winnipeg decided to use the beloved blocks to help reassure children during the pandemic.
Tyler Walsh and his sons, Jack and Noah, made a video using Lego to recreate Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's message to children. Walsh said he wanted to find a more creative way to reach the target audience of Trudeau's message.
"The idea just kind of popped in my head: 'What if I take the audio from the prime minister and kind of combine it with some Lego? People might like that and they might think it's interesting and the message might get across better,'" he said.
The trio spent about 12 hours over the course of a week building sets, assembling Lego people into their characters and then moving them around ever so slightly while taking photos. Walsh's tweet about the video has garnered thousands of retweets, including from the Lego company itself. The real Trudeau even replied, thanking Walsh for sharing his message.
| Watch the full Lego video
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