Canadian Economic News for January 2021, COVID-19 Response

COVID-19 timeline

The Government of Manitoba announced on January 4th it was extending the provincewide state of emergency for a period of 30 days.

The Government of British Columbia announced on January 5th it had formally extended the provincial state of emergency until January 19th. On January 19th, the Government extended the state of emergency until February 2nd.

The Government of the Northwest Territories announced on January 5th it had extended the territory-wide Public Health Emergency until January 19th. The Government announced on January 14th it had extended the State of Emergency in the City of Yellowknife until January 28th. On January 19th, the Government extended the territory-wide Public Health Emergency until February 2nd, and on January 28th, it extended the State of Emergency in the City of Yellowknife until February 11th.

The Government of Nunavut announced on January 7th it had extended the territory’s public health emergency until January 21st. The Government on January 21st then extended the public health emergency until February 4th.

The Government of Nova Scotia announced on January 8th it was renewing the state of emergency until January 24th. On January 22nd, the Government said it was renewing the state of emergency until February 7th.

The Government of Ontario announced on January 12th it was declaring a second provincial emergency under s 7.0.1 (1) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act and issued a stay-at-home order. On January 16th, the Government announced it was extending most orders currently in force under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, until February 19th.

Selected COVID-19 responses

The Government of Prince Edward Island announced on January 5th the further easing of public health measures within the province, including:

Organized gatherings can continue to operate with a total of 50 people but can now have up to two additional groups of 50 people with an approved operational plan;

Organized recreational and team sports may resume subject to the organized gathering limit of 50 people, but can now have up to two additional groups of 50 people with an approved operational plan; and

Restaurants and licensed premises can continue to offer in-room dining service with a closing time of 11 p.m. and a maximum table size of 10 people.

On January 22nd, the Government announced the further easing of public health measures, including:

Organized gatherings can now have up to three additional groups of 50 people (up to 200 total);

Gyms/fitness facilities, museums, and libraries may now operate at capacity;

Retail stores, markets and craft fairs may operate at capacity;

Restaurants and licensed premises can continue to offer in-room dining service with a later closing time of midnight and a maximum table size of 10 people.

The Government of Quebec announced on January 6th the implementation of additional measures, applicable until February 8th, to break the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, including:

a curfew will be in effect between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.;

all business and office towers, restaurants, gyms, theatres, cinemas, and hair salons will be closed;

pharmacies and gas stations will remain open; and

primary schools will open on January 11th, secondary schools will open on January 18th.

The Government of Ontario announced on January 7th it was extending online teacher-led learning until January 25th for elementary school students in the 27 Southern Ontario public health unit regions and extending the shutdown in Northern Ontario for another 14 days, aligning with the shutdown period in Southern Ontario. On January 12th, the Government announced additional public health measures, including:

Outdoor organized public gatherings and social gatherings are further restricted to a limit of five people;

All non-essential retail stores, including those offering curbside pickup or delivery, must open no earlier than 7 a.m. and close no later than 8 p.m.; and

Non-essential construction is further restricted.

The Government also said that schools in Windsor-Essex, Peel Region, Toronto, York, and Hamilton will not return to in-person instruction until February 10th.

The Government of Nova Scotia announced on December 31st that as of January 4th, restaurants and licensed establishments in areas of Halifax Regional Municipality and Hants County can reopen for dine-in service. The Government said that they must follow the provincewide restrictions, including ending service by 10 p.m. and closing by 11 p.m., and can continue takeout and delivery service with no restrictions. The Government also said that due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia was tightening border controls, including a new self-isolation requirement for people coming to Nova Scotia from New Brunswick. On January 22nd, the Government said that most public health restrictions would be extended until February 7th and that some restrictions for sports and arts and culture organizations would be eased starting January 25th.

The Government of Manitoba announced on January 8th that the existing Critical (red) level restrictions had been extended until January 22nd. On January 21st, the Government announced it was in a position to cautiously reduce some restrictions and that the following changes would be in effect for Winnipeg (except for Churchill), Southern Health – Santé Sud, Interlake-Eastern and Prairie Mountain Health regions:

visit a household under a new ‘rule of two’, outdoor visits of up to five people;

stores can open for the sale of products provided they maintain occupancy limits of 25%;

operation of basic services that promote physical and mental health for Manitobans; and

barber shops and hair stylists to reopen at 25% capacity.

On January 26th, the Government announced it was amending public health orders to put formal restrictions on interprovincial travel and that anyone entering Manitoba from anywhere in Canada will be required to self-isolate for 14 days. The Government said the restrictions will last for three weeks.

The Government of New Brunswick announced on January 22nd that zone 4 (Edmundston region) would go into a full lockdown on January 23rd, under the province’s mandatory order.

The Government of Canada announced on January 29th that it and Canada’s airlines had agreed to suspend all flights to and from Mexico and Caribbean countries until April 30th, effective as of January 31st. The Government also said that effective midnight February 3rd, in addition to proof of a negative pre-departure test, the Government will expand the existing international flight restrictions which funnel scheduled international commercial passenger flights into four Canadian airports: Montréal-Trudeau International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Calgary International Airport, and Vancouver International Airport and that the new restrictions will include scheduled commercial passenger flights arriving from the United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, which were exempted from the previous restriction.

The Government of Alberta announced on January 29th the easing of certain health measures as of February 8th, including:

Children’s sport and performance activities are permitted if they are related to school activities;

Only one-on-one training is permitted for indoor fitness activities; and

Up to a maximum of six people per table in restaurants, cafes, and pubs, with liquor service ending at 10 p.m. and in-person dining closing by 11 p.m.

Resources

On January 20th, U.S. President Joe Biden announced he had revoked the Presidential permit, issued on March 29, 2019, that had been granted to TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to construct, connect, operate, and maintain pipeline facilities at the international border of the United States and Canada. Calgary-based TC Energy Corporation announced that, as a result of the revocation of the Presidential permit, advancement of the project will be suspended.

New Brunswick-based Irving Oil Ltd. announced it had reduced its workforce at its Saint John refinery by approximately 60 employees. The company also said it had earlier decided to reduce its contractor workforce at the Saint John refinery to 225 from a typical 1,000-person workforce in the first quarter.

Calgary-based Enerplus Corporation announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the shares of Bruin E&P HoldCo, LLC, for total cash consideration of USD $465 million. The company said the acquisition is expected to close in early March 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

Vancouver-based Trevali Mining Corporation announced the planned restart of operations at its Caribou mine near Bathurst, New Brunswick. The company said the mine has been on a care and maintenance program since March 2020, and that it expects to return to mining in early February.

Manufacturing

Oshawa-based General Motors of Canada Company announced that, subject to ratification of a tentative 2021 agreement reached with Unifor and confirmation of government support, General Motors plans to bring production of its recently announced BrightDrop electric light commercial vehicle, the EV600, to its CAMI manufacturing plant in Ingersoll, Ontario. GM said the investment is approximately $1 billion and that work will begin immediately to transform the CAMI plant to support electric vehicle production.

Go HERE for the full module