COVID-19 Border Measures to Stay Until at Least End of June
COVID-19 restrictions at the border will remain in place for at least another month, the Public Health Agency of Canada reported. The agency made the announcement on Twitter, the day after Parliament voted down a Conservative opposition motion to revert to pre-pandemic rules for travel.
Several pandemic restrictions are in place at Canadian airports and land borders, including vaccine mandates, random COVID-19 tests and the requirement that international travellers answer pandemic-related questions on the ArriveCan app. Travellers must also wear masks on planes and passenger trains. The specific restrictions vary depending on travellers’ age, citizenship and vaccination status.
Business groups and Conservative Opposition members have criticized the government’s decision to maintain the restrictions, particularly at Canada’s airports, as provincial restrictions have eased elsewhere in the country.
The Canadian Airports Council has blamed massive customs delays across the country on the pandemic measures and insufficient staff. In some cases, the lineups are so long the airports can’t physically contain them, so passengers are held in planes on the tarmac and let off in small groups.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said that the COVID-19 public health measures at airports may have some impact on travel delays, but it’s not the only reason. Some European airports with no COVID-19 restrictions are also dealing with delays, he said.
“There’s obviously a discussion to strike the right balance, to ensure that we maintain our eye on public health but also the fluidity of our economy,” Alghabra said on May 31. “That discussion is ongoing.” As for when the mandates will be lifted, Alghabra said he doesn’t know but the government is consulting with experts and other jurisdictions.
Beaches-East York MP Nate Erskine-Smith, a maverick in the Liberal caucus, said there’s been no adequate justification for the continued two-dose vaccine mandate, for example. Public health officials have said repeatedly since the Omicron variant hit in late 2021 that the virus was more adept at transmitting between vaccinated people than its predecessors. Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam has said that cabinet should re-evaluate the measure given that vaccines now provide less protection against transmission, and the government says those re-evaluations happen on an ongoing basis.
Source: Global News
Canada’s Budget Deficit Falls to $95.57 Billion in Fiscal 2021/22 as Pandemic Wanes
Canada’s budget deficit in fiscal 2021/22 shrank to C$95.57 billion ($75.02 billion) from C$314.00 billion in 2020/2021, as emergency spending on the COVID-19 pandemic eased, preliminary data from the finance ministry showed on May 27.
Revenues for the fiscal year grew by 32.5%, mostly on higher tax revenues, while expenses were down 20.8%, as the government spent less on aid to businesses and individuals. On a monthly basis, Canada posted a deficit of C$25.75 billion in March 2022, compared to a C$31.44 billion deficit in March 2021.
Revenues were up 14.2% in March 2022 compared with with March 2021, again on higher tax revenues. Expenses were down 1.4%, reflecting less emergency transfers offset by costs for disaster assistance and environmental liabilities.
Source: Reuters
Long COVID is Taking a Toll on the Careers and Mental Health of Women
It’s no secret that women have borne the brunt of the COVID pandemic, incurring heavy job losses and having to take on additional caregiving duties at home. Now, as the world gradually emerges from the devastation of the last two years, long COVID is casting a shadow over women’s work and family lives, with no clear respite in sight.
Women affected disproportionately by long COVID
Researchers looking at the long-term effects of COVID-19 have found that they seem to affect women more significantly than men. A survey conducted in May 2021 by Viral Neuro Exploration (VINEx), an non-profit group researching brain health, the COVID Long Haulers Support Group Canada and Neurological Health Charities Canada found that women in their middle years – their prime working years – are disproportionately impacted by long COVID, with estimates ranging from 60% to 80% of all reported cases. Out of the more than 1,000 COVID long haulers surveyed across Canada, over 87% identified as women.
Specific to workplace impacts, the survey found that 60% of long-haulers had to take a leave from work; 70% had to reduce their hours; one quarter had to go on disability and 44% were unable to access disability insurance. A follow-up survey and report, conducted one year later, revealed that over 80% said the virus has negatively or very negatively impacted their brain health. More than 87% of survey respondents identified as women.
“The fact that women are disproportionately impacted by the virus aggravates gender inequalities, and leads to health, social and economic consequences,” says Inez Jabalpurwala, global director, VINEx. “It presents one more barrier to women’s full participation in the economy.” Ms. Jabalpurwala notes that because women tend to shoulder the majority of caretaking and household management, the impact of long COVID also extends to the unpaid, and sometimes unrecognized, work they do.
The future for long haulers
Though she loves her job and her workplace has been very supportive, COVID long-hauler, Deborah Brown is considering retraining at an alternative job that is less taxing. “With long COVID, it’s so important to understand that you may feel good one day and rip it out at work. But then the next day, you are flat on your back,” she says. “You can’t afford to go to your boss and say, ‘I am doing awesome today, but in three days, I’m going to be off work for a week.”
Ms. Jabalpurwala says there is a great need for governments to establish more multidisciplinary care clinics that can treat the different dimensions of long COVID. There also needs to be increased funding for multidisciplinary research and longitudinal studies in order to advance the understanding of what causes long COVID, she adds.
Most importantly, she says, women need to be heard, believed and supported through this burgeoning crisis. “We need to bring attention to the stories of people with lived experience and counter the stigma being faced by those who are not believed because the illness is not well-defined and not always properly diagnosed,” says Ms. Jabalpurwala. She notes that beyond the mental health stress, improper diagnosis can have an impact on an individual’s ability to access unemployment benefits and disability insurance.
When it comes to the workplace, employers have an important role to play, she adds. “Employers need to provide more support, flexibility and a gradual return to work, for those who are ready to return.”
Source: Globe and Mail
