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In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of Nov. 18 …
What we are watching in Canada …
Nunavut is shutting down for two weeks starting today to try to get cases of COVID-19 under control.
All schools and non-essential businesses are closed, as are libraries, fitness centres, government offices and personal services.
Nunavut went into a similar shutdown in March, but restrictions were lifted over the summer because the territory hadn’t had any cases.
That changed on Nov. 6 when the first case was recorded.
Since then, four different communities have reported infections and as of Tuesday there were a total of 60 active cases in Nunavut.
Case counts across the country continue to rise, with total cases in Canada hitting 306,467 by Tuesday afternoon. More than half of those cases having come in the past four months.
Manitoba, which brought in similar measures last week, is upping its enforcement game, hiring a private security firm to help hand out fines for infractions such as gathering in groups of more than five people.
In Saskatchewan, the government is requiring residents to wear masks in all indoor public spaces, effective Thursday. The province announced Tuesday it is also suspending all visits to long-term care homes unless there are compassionate grounds and limiting private indoor gatherings to no more than five people.
British Columbia broke its daily record for new cases, reporting 717 and 11 deaths Tuesday, following a weekend that saw four provinces reach unprecedented highs in their daily case counts.
Quebec reported 982 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and 24 more deaths attributed to the virus, prompting Premier François Legault to forecast that “red zone” restrictions will likely remain in most regions past the initial end date of Nov. 23. Health authorities said hospitalizations jumped by 47 compared with the prior day, to 638.
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Also this …
Statistics Canada will say this morning how the country’s headline inflation measure fared last month with expectations of another near-zero reading.
The consumer price index went up in September by 0.5 per cent compared with a year ago, which was a slightly better-than-expected increase when Statistics Canada released the figure last month.
The consensus is for a reading today along the same lines.
Financial data firm Refinitiv says the average economist estimate is for an increase in the price index of 0.4 per cent compared to October 2019.
The longer inflation stays near-zero, the longer the Bank of Canada plans to keep its key policy rate in the same territory to drive down rates on mortgages and business loans.
The central bank forecasted last month that annual inflation would be 0.6 per cent this year, one per cent next year, and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
It’s around 2023 that the Bank of Canada may start raising its key rate, the earliest the bank anticipates the economy would be able to handle higher rates.
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What we are watching in the U.S. …
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump has fired the nation’s top election security official, a widely respected member of the administration who had dared to refute the president’s unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud.
The dismissal Tuesday of the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Christopher Krebs, was abrupt but not a surprise.
Since his loss to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump has been ridding his administration of officials seen as insufficiently loyal and denouncing how the election was conducted.
Krebs has been issuing a stream of statements and tweets over the past week attesting to the proper conduct of the election.
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What we are watching in the rest of the world …
The United Nations humanitarian office is releasing $100 million in emergency funding to seven countries at risk of famine in Africa and the Middle East amid conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UN humanitarian chief says returning to a world where famines are common would be “obscene.”
A statement says $80 million of the money will go to Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen.
Another $20 million has been set aside for “anticipatory action to fight hunger in Ethiopia,” where deadly fighting erupted this month in its rebellious northern Tigray region.
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On this day in 1929 …
An earthquake in Cape Breton sent a 15-metre tidal wave onto Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula. The wall of water killed 27 people and did $2 million in damage.—
In entertainment …
“Schitt’s Creek” co-creator Daniel Levy has been named one of People’s sexiest men alive.
The 37-year-old writer and actor was among the first names to be unveiled as part of the magazine’s annual list of hotties.
The recognition adds to a growing list of firsts this year for the Toronto native, whose show picked up a record-setting nine Emmy wins for a comedy series in a single season.
Levy joked to the magazine that “this form of sexy is a niche market,” and reflected on his life in quarantine, which has included binging television shows and mixing cocktails.
People’s Sexiest Man Alive list has cosied up to many Canadians over the years, including Ryan Reynolds and “Property Brothers” Drew and Jonathan Scott.
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ICYMI …
Heinz Ketchup is coming back to Canada, six years after production of the iconic condiment moved to the United States and the great Canadian “ketchup war” was set in motion.
Kraft Heinz said Tuesday it will begin making its famous ketchup at its Montreal factory next summer.
The announcement could be seen as the latest salvo in the so-called ketchup wars.
The conflict, perhaps heretofore considered relegated to the annals of retail history, broke out shortly after Heinz sold its Leamington, Ont., plant to Highbury Canco Corp. in 2014 and moved production to Fremont, Ohio.
Rival ketchup maker French’s Food Co. began purchasing tomatoes from Highbury Canco and promoted its use of Canadian-grown ingredients, tugging at the hearts of patriotic consumers and food security advocates.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2020
The Canadian Press