COVID-19: Provincial & Federal Briefings - Feb. 21 - 22, 2022
Gowling WLG
An international law firm that's in tune with your world, aligned with your opportunity and ambitious for your success.
As COVID-19 continues to have a major global impact, our online resource hub is here to help you manage the challenges and mitigate the risks for your business.?Visit our COVID-19 resource hub by clicking here.
Summary of developments for Monday, February 21 and Tuesday, February 22, 2022 follows.
Federal Government
Vote on Motion to Confirm Declaration of Emergency
Yesterday evening, the House of Commons voted to pass the government’s motion to confirm the declaration of a public order emergency under the Emergencies Act. The motion passed by a margin of 185-151. The government was required under section 58 of the Act to table the motion before the House of Commons and the Senate within seven sitting days of issuing the declaration.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asserted that that the emergency situation is “not over” amid concerns about trucks amassing near Ottawa, convoys forming, and ongoing financing activities. He also noted that the federal government will re-evaluate emergency measures “every day” and only wishes to keep the declaration in place for a matter of days.
The Prime Minister also implied in his remarks to media before the vote that he regarded the vote on the government motion as a matter of confidence. Therefore, had the government failed to secure adequate support for the motion in the House of Commons, an election may have been triggered. This shaped the nature of the vote and encouraged members to take their positions with consideration of additional political implications. The government never officially designated the vote as a matter of confidence.
The NDP voted in favour of the motion, securing adequate support for the Liberals. Leader of the NDP Jagmeet Singh said that the situation prompting the use of the Act was the result of a failure of leadership, however he acknowledged that the circumstances warranted the use of extraordinary measures. He committed that the NDP would withdraw support for emergency measures as soon as it deems those measures unnecessary.
The Bloc Quebecois voted against the motion alongside the Conservatives, who criticized the invocation of the Act as an overreach by the Liberal government.
Parliament and Cabinet retain the right to revoke the declaration of a public order emergency at any time under sections 21 and 22 of the Act. Section 18 of the Act stipulates that the emergency declaration and associated measures will remain in place for 30 days from the date of invocation, subject to earlier revocation under sections 21 and 22, or continuation under section 23.?
The Senate commenced debate on a separate motion confirming the declaration of emergency today. The proceedings are expected to carry on until Friday. The vote could be held earlier, however, if no senator wishes to speak on the motion. If the motion is defeated by the Senate, the declaration is revoked because approval is required by both Houses of Parliament under subsection 58 (7) of the Emergencies Act.?
Federal COVID-19 Update
In a statement on February 18, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam provided an updated longer-range forecast and discussed new modelling data.
According to Dr. Tam, modelling indicates that Omicron activity has likely peaked, but there is a risk that easing measures too early could lead to a resurgence in cases. Even if cases surge, authorities expect hospitalisation rates to be lower than in previous waves due to widespread protection through vaccination and/or previous infection. Larger case numbers in the future may not result in excessive strain on the health care system. There is reason for optimism and Canada may soon enter a new phase of the pandemic to establish a sustainable approach to COVID-19.
In support of recent projections, Dr. Tam noted that the average daily new case reports over the last 7 days reached 7,726, a 25% decrease from the previous week. While case counts are decreasing, other indicators show widespread disease activity across the country, including a 13% laboratory positivity rate. On average, over 7,197 people a day were treated in hospital for COVID-19 over the last 7 days, including over 879 patients in intensive care units (ICUs). An average of 92 deaths occurred daily in the last 7 days.
Dr. Tam reiterated that increasing vaccination rates remains a public health priority.?
COVID-19 Data Trends:?
In the past twenty-four hours, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) reported 1,654 new COVID-19 cases and an additional 5 deaths in Canada, bringing the cumulative total of cases to 3,243,953 and a total of 36,046 deaths. There are currently 121,528 active COVID-19 cases in Canada.
Vaccination Data Trends:
The latest vaccination data update, current to February 13, indicates that 88.73% of people aged 5 years and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. 4.67% of the population aged 5 and older are partially vaccinated with only one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 84.06% of people aged 5 years and older have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
As of February 13, 2022, 54.01% of people aged 18 and older have received a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 46.32% of people aged 5 and older have received a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.?
56.11% of children aged 5-11 have received at least one dose, with 27.90% of children aged 5-11 fully vaccinated.
Ontario
Yesterday, Minister of Education Stephen Lecce issued a statement that additional standalone HEPA filter units will be deployed to schools and childcare centres. The government will provide 40,000 units to school boards and up to 9,000 units to childcare centres. The Ministry will reach out to school boards and childcare centres to provide further information on the delivery and use of the HEPA units.
领英推荐
Today, Ontario’s provincial legislature is set to resume sitting. Party leaders have indicated that COVID-19 pandemic recovery, housing, and affordability are among the top priorities for this session. The government is also expected to table its annual budget by the end of March.
The province reported 1,282 new cases today. There are 1,038 Ontarians being treated for COVID-19 in general hospital wards, with 319 individuals in the ICU, of which 202 patients are on a ventilator.
To date, 31,528,557 doses have been administered in Ontario. Currently, 92.5% of Ontarians aged 12 or older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 90.4% have received both doses. In terms of Ontarians aged 5 or older, 89.6% have one dose and 85.4% have both doses. 57.2% of Ontarians have received a booster dose.
Quebec
There were no COVID-19 briefings today by government or public health officials.
A press release (French only) issued by the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, and the Minister of Education, Jean-Fran?ois Roberge, announced the easing of mask mandates for primary and secondary school pupils.
As of March 7, 2022, students will no longer have to wear masks when seated in class. The wearing of masks will remain mandatory when students are in common areas, circulate within the school, and ride in school buses.
Santé Québec reported 1,438 new cases with 30 virus-related deaths in the last 24 hours. There was a net daily decrease of 34 hospitalizations, bringing the total number of people being treated in hospital with the virus to 1,742. There was also a net decrease of 12 patients in intensive care in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 107.
More than 18.6 million vaccine doses have been administered to Quebecers residing in and outside the province. The Santé Québec COVID-19 dashboard shows that 91% of the total eligible people aged 5 years and older have received their first vaccine dose and 86% their second dose while 50% of the total eligible people have received their third vaccine dose.
Alberta
In the last 24 hours, Alberta Health Services reported 16,551 active COVID-19 cases. The provincial positivity rate is 25.88%. Currently, 1,494 individuals are being treated for COVID-19 in hospital, 116 of whom are in intensive care. To date, 8,455,738 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the province. This means that 90% of eligible people 12 years and older have now received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 86.4% have received their second dose, and 34.9% have received their third dose.
British Columbia
The most recent data of British Columbia’s Health Services shows that there were 692 new cases and 5 new COVID-19 related deaths in the past 24 hours. There are 733 individuals are in hospital and 113 individuals are in intensive care. To date, 93.2% of eligible people 12 years and older have now received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 90.6% have received their second dose, and 53.9% have received their third dose.
*****
Glad to discuss further.?
Authors: