ETA Canada Travel Pass News

The government of British Columbia (BC) has issued a warning after Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) announced that strong winds and rain are possible on B.C.’s west coast over the weekend and into Dec. 7, especially with river flooding. We are calling attention to this.

Areas affected are southern Vancouver Island, Howe Sound, Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, and the Coast Mountain region, where extremely heavy rainfall is expected, particularly from December 4th to 6th.

Storms occur every fall and winter on BC’s southwest coast. Things that each household can do include preparing to protect their homes, preparing emergency kits, ensuring safety while driving by refraining from driving during storms, being careful about landslides, connecting with neighbours, and responding to emergency calls from local governments in the area where they live.

It urges people to take precautions to keep themselves safe, including learning about response plans.

As Canada enters full-scale winter weather, cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection have recently been found to be rapidly increasing.

According to an announcement by the Federal Ministry of Health on the 22nd (Wednesday), the number of RSV infection cases across the country from last August to this month was counted at 1,220, and the test positivity rate was 5%.

“RSV is spreading, and cases are exceeding levels seen at this time of year,” the Ministry of Health said in a report.

Dr. Ann Wormsbecker, a paediatrician at St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto, also said, “The number of children infected with RSV has been increasing rapidly over the past few weeks.”

RSV is a respiratory disease, and it is known that children are mainly susceptible to infection and are highly contagious. Adults can also easily become infected if they have a low immunity.

When children under the age of five become infected, they often develop severe illness and require hospitalization, and even if healthy adults are infected, they often only show flu-like symptoms. Additionally, patients with prematurity, chronic disease, lung disease, or congenital heart disease are at high risk and, depending on the situation, serious complications may occur.

Dr. Donald Bean, an infectious disease expert at McGill University, said in an interview with CBC, “Flu cases almost disappeared during the coronavirus pandemic, but they have been on the rise again since last year. The respiratory disease epidemic situation is worsening as before, putting pressure on medical services.” “It is being done,” he said.

He continued, “In the case of RSV, it was common before the coronavirus outbreak in Canada for RSV to start in October and flu to follow,” adding, “Coronavirus is relatively highly contagious, so the spread of other respiratory diseases such as influenza has decreased, and related vaccinations have prevented the outbreak.” “It sank,” he added.

In relation to this, the CBC reported, “Currently, Canada’s first RSV vaccine has been developed, and vaccination can be received along with the corona and flu vaccines “.

We are preparing for a significant increase in the number of children coming to the hospital with RSV infection this season.”

Statistics Canada released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October on November 21st. In October, it increased by 3.1% compared to the same month last year and fell further from 3.8% in September. In August it was 4.0%. However, the slowdown in October was largely due to the drop in gasoline prices (down 7.8%), and the index excluding gasoline was 3.6%, not much different from September’s 3.7%.

Other than gasoline prices, food was 5.4% (5.8% in September), housing-related 6.1% (6.0%), health and personal care 4.9% (5.6%), recreation and education-related 2.9% (1.8%), 4.7% related to alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and cannabis (5.3%). Recreation increased compared to the previous month due to an increase in travel.

Furthermore, the growth rate in the housing-related industry remained high, with rental housing in particular increasing by 8.2% (7.3%). By region, Nova Scotia had 14.6%, Alberta 9.9%, and British Columbia and Quebec 9.1%.　Food prices have slowed for the fourth straight month but are still up more than 5%. Increases were seen in food oils by 14.0%, processed fruits by 10.4%, sugars by 7.2%, bakery foods by 6.9%, and non-alcoholic beverages by 5.3%.

On November 14, the Canadian Mint unveiled the first Canadian dollar coin featuring a portrait of England’s King Charles at its Winnipeg manufacturing facility.

Canadian Mint president and CEO Marie Lemeier said she looked forward to sending the new coins to King Charles, calling it “the beginning of a new chapter in Canada’s history.”

Portrait artist Stephen Rosati designed the new coin. He was selected from works by approximately 350 artists. He has previously designed coins for the National Hockey League and commemorative coins for the Toronto Maple Leaves.

For 70 years since 1953, Canadian coins have featured a portrait of King Charles’ mother, the late Queen Elizabeth. Earlier this year, the federal government ordered the Mint and Bank of Canada to redesign all coins and the $20 banknote in response to the Queen’s death in 2022.

The new coins will now be sent to Buckingham Palace for approval. Coins with the king’s portrait inscribed with 2023 will go into circulation in early December.

Plans are already underway for a $20 note, but the Bank of Canada has announced that it will still be several years before it is released.

Vancouver police announced that high-risk sex offender Randall Hopley (58), who had been on the run, was arrested in the early hours of November 14th in Vancouver’s Downtown East side.

According to previous statements from the Vancouver Police Department, Hopley, who was on a long-term probation order, went shopping on November 4th at the Halfway House in Vancouver, which supports the rehabilitation of inmates who have completed their sentences. However, he immediately took off his surveillance ankle rings and fled.

The accused spent 6 years in prison for the kidnapping of a three-year-old boy in BC in 2011. After he completed his sentence in October 2018, he was placed on long-term probation and moved to a halfway house in Vancouver.

However, in January this year, he was arrested and detained for two violations of a long-term probation order. He was granted bail in February and returned to Halfway House but fled two days before his trial.

Prosecutors reportedly opposed Hopley’s release on bail.

British Columbia is asking the federal government to tighten bail conditions for repeat offenders, a bill currently under review in the Senate.

Hopley was wanted across Canada after his escape. Vancouver police released a photo of the man, who is 175 centimetres tall, has dark brown hair and brown eyes, and has a bruise on the left side of his bangs, asking for information from the public.

From the time his escape was announced, it was pointed out that he was likely to be in Vancouver, as he appeared to be traveling on foot and using cash to pay his bills.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim announced at a press conference on November 6 that Stanley Park’s miniature train will return for the first time in two years in time for the Christmas season. The train is scheduled to be open from November 30th to January 1st of the following year.

The train has been loved by citizens since 1961, not only at Christmas but also at Halloween and Easter, but it has been frequently cancelled in recent years. It was cancelled in 2020 due to the spread of the new coronavirus, and in the fall of 2021 due to the risk of coyotes.

Halloween in 2022 and this year have been cancelled due to mechanical problems. Repairs were difficult due to a lack of funds and the difficulty of obtaining the necessary parts, but thanks to many donations, they were able to reopen. Donations accounted for $500,000 of the $650,000 repair cost.

Ticket sales will begin on November 9th, but reopening is conditional on the train passing an upcoming safety inspection. However, city officials say there will be no problem passing the exam.

The train runs through the Bright Nights Christmas event held at Stanley Park every year. The reopening of the train is good news as the event, which features live entertainment and light displays, is a fundraiser for the BC Professional Firefighters’ Burn Fund. In 2022, when the train was cancelled, only half of the donations were collected as usual.

Air Canada has apologized for violating Canada’s disability regulations by failing to provide adequate support to a man in a wheelchair who was forced to crawl off the plane.

The incident occurred on August 30th. Rodney Hodgins and his wife from Prince George, British Columbia (BC) headed to Las Vegas from Vancouver.

Because Hodgins is paralysed, he usually uses a power wheelchair. When exiting the plane, I always use a wheelchair with a narrow aisle. But this time, after landing in Las Vegas, he was told by a flight attendant that he would have to exit the plane on his own because she did not have a wheelchair or assistance to assist him.

Mr. Hodgins was unable to walk and had to crawl down the aisle with the help of his arms. His wife Deanna followed him and helped him get out of the plane, but he was left in pain for several days afterwards.

Deanna complained in a Canadian television interview that she had been treated “inhumanly” over the incident. An Air Canada customer centre representative later called Hodgins and offered her a $2,000 flight voucher, but Hodgins demanded a public apology.

The incident attracted national and international attention and was debated in Congress, with Air Canada issuing a public apology about two months after the incident.

His wife, Deanna, called it a “victory” for Air Canada to admit it made a mistake, and commented that she would like to keep an eye on the airline’s future changes.

Standard score for 3,600 health care workers: 431 points.

The federal government once again selected health workers and French speakers through an express immigration lottery and invitation.

Previously, on the 24th (Tuesday), the Federal Immigration Service selected 1,548 express immigration candidates who received invitations from the state government.

On the 26th (Thursday), the federal government invited 3,600 candidates with experience in the healthcare field among express immigration candidates, and their standard score was 431 points.

In addition, the day before, on the 25th (Wednesday), invitations were made to 300 people who could speak French, and the standard score was 486 points.

In this way, the Federal Immigration Service has been preferentially inviting people in specific occupations and skills starting from the second half of this year.

According to the Immigration Ministry’s plan, priority invitations will be given to health care workers, people in mathematical sciences and IT fields, and people with experience working in the transportation industry until the first half of next year.

Meanwhile, the last invitation for general express immigration candidates was the invitation of 3,725 people on the 10th.

BC Hydro is warning British Columbia (B.C.) that there may be more power outages than usual this winter.

This summer’s extremely dry weather and record number of wildfires have caused significant damage to the state’s trees, significantly increasing the risk of power outages.

In a statement, BC Hydro spokeswoman Susie Rieder said, “Prolonged dryness is stressing vegetation,” adding that the dryness has weakened trees, made them more susceptible to disease and caused them to grow even later in the season. Because leaves remain and the area is susceptible to wind, rain and snow, many trees and branches may fall during the windy season, leading to concerns that this could cause power outages.

Trees and bad weather are the biggest causes of power outages in B.C. Additionally, hydropower systems in northern and southeastern B.C. have been affected by low water levels this year.

BC Hydro is asking residents to prepare for expected power outages. In addition to preparing an emergency kit with 72 hours’ worth of supplies, he urges people to understand what to do in the event of a power outage and how to gather the latest disaster information.

Mission RCMP announced on November 2 that a large amount of fentanyl was found in a home near Mission, in the eastern suburbs of Metro Vancouver, British Columbia (B.C.)

In the early morning hours of October 27, police were called to a home on Stave Lake Road, about 10 kilometres from downtown Mission, after hearing gunshots. When police and emergency response teams arrived, no one was injured, but they found shell casings. A search of the premises revealed a large clandestine fentanyl lab and shipping containers inside a storage room.

Inside the lab, approximately 25 kilograms of pure fentanyl and 3 kilograms of fentanyl that had already been diluted for sale were found. Also seized were raw materials for illegal drugs, including 2,000 litres of chemicals and 6,000 Liters of hazardous chemical waste. It reportedly took several days to collect evidence.

Police estimate the fentanyl seized is worth $2.5 million. No arrests have been made yet. Police say the seizure of fentanyl and closure of the lab will have a major impact on those who profit from the harmful drug and are appealing for further information.