ETA Canada Travel Pass News

As cases of monkeypox (mpox) continue to rise in Toronto, health officials are urging residents who are eligible to get vaccinated to help prevent the spread of the disease.

Toronto Public Health (TPH) reported a total of 93 confirmed cases of monkeypox. Concerns are growing, with 13 new cases reported in the last two weeks of July alone.

TPH said monkeypox infections are occurring throughout Toronto but are particularly concentrated in the city’s downtown core. TPH is working with community partners to raise awareness of the risk of monkeypox infection and improve access to the vaccine to help as many residents as possible get vaccinated.

Monkeypox is primarily spread through physical contact with infected lesions, blisters, body fluids or respiratory secretions, and is particularly prevalent among homosexuals, bisexuals and men who have sex with men, who frequently have close physical contact.

Of the 102 confirmed cases reported in Ontario, 98 were in men, and the surge in cases is believed to have been triggered by recent major events and festivals. Experts point out that it is not yet clear whether the new strain of monkeypox reported this time is more contagious or lethal than the previous one.

“It is too early to draw any conclusions about the exact lethality and transmissibility of this strain,” said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital. However, Dr. Bogoch expects that vaccines will play an important role in preventing infection and severe disease, and emphasized the need for vaccination, especially for high-risk groups.

Toronto Public Health recommends two doses of the vaccine to prevent monkeypox and said that post-exposure prophylaxis is being provided to residents who have been in contact with an infected person. Vaccination eligibility can be checked on the Toronto Public Health website.

Kitsilano Pool in Kitsilano, Vancouver, British Columbia (BC) opened on August 7th. The city of Vancouver had announced that it would be closed this summer, but on this day, it announced that it would be open for a short period of time.

Mayor Ken Sim also attended the opening press conference and praised the staff who had restored the facility and brought it to a successful opening.

The pool is adjacent to Vancouver’s popular Kitsilano Beach, and its appeal is that you can swim while looking out at the North Shore mountains to the north. Many people use it every year. The pool is characterized by its length of 137 meters, but it also has a shallow area and a corner where children can play, making it a popular spot for families.

This summer, the facility will be open until September 22, longer than usual. Reservations are not required but are recommended by the city.

A fire suddenly broke out at a Walmart supermarket in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC) during business hours. Flames suddenly shot up near the bedding section of Vancouver’s only store at Grandview Highway and Boundary Road.

People were heard screaming and warning announcements were heard over the in-store announcements, creating a tense situation. At the time of the incident, many shoppers were in the store, but they all escaped safely, and no one was injured. Walmart’s damages are estimated at millions of dollars.

The store’s parking lot was closed off and workers were busy repairing the interior of the store. “Public fires are shocking, dangerous and disgraceful,” Sarah Kennedy, Walmart’s senior communications director, told CBC News Online.

On July 24, the Bank of Canada announced that it would lower its policy interest rate by 0.25% to 4.5%. This is the second interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada this year.

The Fed explained that it took three factors into consideration when lowering interest rates: “First, monetary policy is working to ease broad-based price pressures. Second, the economy is in an oversupply state, and there is spare capacity in the labor market, providing more room for the economy to grow without creating inflationary pressures. Third, as inflation approaches its 2% target, it becomes important to balance the risks of higher-than-expected inflation against the risks that the economy and inflation will weaken more than expected.” He also predicted that “inflation is expected to moderate further going forward, but progress over the next year will be uneven.”

Regarding future interest rates, he said, “If inflation continues to ease roughly in line with our expectations, it is reasonable to expect further cuts in the policy rate,” suggesting that further cuts in interest rates are possible.

Statistics Canada said inflation moderated to 2.7 per cent in June after rising in May, indicating that broad-based inflationary pressures are easing. Regarding the Canadian economy, the report states, “With the population growing steadily at around 3%, the economy’s potential output is growing at a faster pace than GDP. However, household spending, including personal consumption and housing, is sluggish, and there are signs of stagnation in the labor market.

The unemployment rate has risen to 6.4%,” GDP (gross domestic product) growth is forecast to be 1.2% in 2024, 2.1% in 2025, and 2.4% in 2026. The report explains that excess supply will be gradually absorbed from 2025 to 2026 as the economy recovers. The next announcement will be in September.

The North Vancouver RCMP and fire department in British Columbia have urged people visiting Lynn Canyon Park, a popular outdoor spot, to refrain from cliff jumping into the river. Police and fire officials have created a safety video about the dangers of cliff jumping in Lynn Canyon ahead of the three-day BC Day weekend, when temperatures are expected to rise, explaining the risks of cliff jumping, including the risk of hitting rocks below the surface, the very fast currents and the risk of hypothermia because the water is cold, even in summer.

Many are young people, some of whom jump because of peer pressure from their friends. There are many rescues every year, and over 40 people have died there in the last 50 years. On July 3rd of this year, a man in his 20s with little swimming experience died after jumping into Twin Falls. A few days later, a man in his 20s was cliff jumping while drunk and was unable to get to shore and was rescued by a rescue team. Drinking alcohol is prohibited in the park.

More than 80 per cent of new condo investors in the Greater Toronto Area are losing money because their rental income is not enough to cover their mortgage and ownership costs, a new report says. The report, conducted jointly by real estate market research firm Urbanation and CIBC Bank, says while the average monthly cost of ownership has increased to $3,250, the average rent is just $2,700, leaving many investors “cash flow negative.”

81 per cent of investors who purchased newly completed condos this year are losing an average of $605 per month, up from last year. The surge in housing construction costs has pushed up prices for pre-sale condos, which currently sit at an average of $1,529 per square foot in Toronto.

By comparison, the average resale price for a condo in Toronto is $746,298. Investors who lack rental income are more likely to sell their units, which will further reduce condo prices. Investors who own multiple units will be hit the hardest.

A record number of newly completed condos are set to hit the market this year, but high rental prices are putting many out of business. New condos make up 35.5 per cent of the city’s rental inventory, making them a significant player. But there are concerns that new home construction could slow down as investors shy away from pre-sale condos.

Meanwhile, Urbanation says 76 projects and 24,335 condo units have been delayed in the past year in the Toronto and Hamilton areas.

Canada’s national judo team member Krista Deguchi (28) won the gold medal in the 57 kg weight class at the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming Canada’s first Olympic judo gold medalist. Deguchi won a close match against South Korea’s Mimi Heo in the final.

This gold medal is Canada’s fourth medal at the Paris Olympics. Born in Japan and having started judo at the age of three, Deguchi chose her father’s country, Canada, in 2017. She has distinguished herself on the international stage as a two-time world champion (2019, 2023).

In the match held at the Champ de Mars Arena in Paris, Deguchi won by a bye in the first round and defeated Panama’s Kristin Jimenez by phone to advance to the quarterfinals. She then defeated Serbia’s Marika Perisic by golden score. In the semifinals, Deguchi faced France’s Sarah-Leoni Cisic and won a close match by golden score. In the final, she coincidentally met Hermi Mi, who had defeated her at the 2024 World Championships.

Incidentally, the two have a commonality in that their mothers are both Japanese. The two players fought a close match, but Deguchi won the gold medal by a decision. Deguchi has finished in the top two in nine of the ten Grand Slam tournaments from 2023 to 2024 and is considered a strong candidate to win the gold medal at this Olympics.

The orca escaped from the lagoon (a shallow area separated from the open sea) in April this year, but its whereabouts have been unknown since May 10th. The orca, a two-year-old, was found stranded in a lagoon in Zeballos, Vancouver Island, after local First Nations, researchers and Fisheries and Oceans Canada tried multiple methods to free her, but she eventually freed herself on her own.

In a statement on July 4, marine biologists Bay Cetology said Quizahayes had not been seen for eight weeks. Several groups of killer whales, including those related to Quizahayes’ grandmother and aunt, have been spotted, but Quizahayes has not been among them. Jared Towers, executive director of Bay Cetology, which was involved in the rescue efforts in Zeballos, said, ” Quizahayes may have joined a group that hasn’t been seen in recent months, such as his great-aunt’s group,” and speculated that he may have joined another group in mid-May or moved from Esperanza Cove, where he was last seen.

He said that it was unlikely that he died before the end of May, given Quizahayes physical condition and his eagerness to hunt after returning to the sea.

However, on the 6th, Towers told Global News that while he wasn’t 100% certain, the young orca seen in the video he received, which was reportedly taken on the 5th, was likely Quizahayes. The whale was reportedly spotted in Friendly Cove on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Concerns are being raised over the upcoming closure of two public restrooms in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES), CBC News Online reported. The restrooms, located at Pigeon Park and 144 East Hastings Street, were installed as a temporary measure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and homelessness, and city officials say they will no longer receive funding from the BC government and the Union of BC Municipalities in July.

Sarah Brice, executive director of the Overdose Prevention Society, which manages the toilets, said the closures would have a major impact on many DTES residents who are homeless. The toilets are open year-round and serve between 15,000 and 22,000 people a year, she said. She also said the closures would benefit local businesses and tourists by preventing waste from being dumped on the streets.

City officials say the Hastings toilets and Pigeon Park toilets cost about $34,000 a month and $27,000 a month respectively, and they are looking for new funding sources but have not yet found one.

The BC Ministry of Housing will partially subsidize the toilets in East Hastings until the end of March 2025. The ministry is reviewing its proposal after receiving requests to subsidize toilets in the DTES.

The approximately two-day strike by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), a labor union representing WestJet mechanics, ended on June 30. However, WestJet canceled 1,171 flights, and the impact continues even after the strike ends.

The company announced on July 1 that “operations are stable and we expect future strike-related cancellations over the July long weekend to be minimal,” but flight cancellations continued through July 4. The strike, which took place during the three-day Canada Day holiday, the busiest holiday of the year, has caused confusion among passengers.

According to reports, it has been difficult to get through on the phone to change reservations due to the cancellations. The strike is said to have affected about 100,000 passengers, and it is taking time to make changes or cancellations.

Additionally, flights to and from Cancun and Jamaica were canceled on July 3rd and 4th due to Hurricane Beryl, which was passing through the Caribbean. WestJet is urging passengers to continue checking their flight status.