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While Britain’s vaccination efforts are picking up speed and health authorities announced that almost 90 per cent of its citizens over 80 have been inoculated, Canada and other countries continue to struggle with the rollout of their programs.
Britain has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, with 14.4 per cent of its population of 68 million having received at least one shot so far. Canada stands at 2.5 per cent, with almost one million vaccination doses administered.
Read more:
Testing for COVID-19 variants inconsistent across the country
Brampton, Ont. doctor let go over criticizing Ford government’s handling of pandemic
Finding elderly volunteers for vaccine trials becoming difficult for drug makers
Vaccination campaign ramps up in Manitoba Indigenous communities
André Picard: Things are looking up in our pandemic fight. So keep locking down
A health official prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a community vaccination centre at Hartlepool Town Hall, amid the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Hartlepool, Britain, January 31, 2021. REUTERS/Lee SmithLEE SMITH/Reuters
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Laurentian University files for creditor protection
Laurentian University says it is facing insolvency and has filed for protection from creditors as its already troubled financial situation has worsened because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The university’s president, Robert Haché, said the move was necessary after years of deficits and that it will not affect day-to-day operations or the student experience.
Other universities across the country have projected large deficits as a result of the pandemic, including some in the tens of millions of dollars.
Sunwing taps emergency financing program for $375-million
Sunwing has received $375-million from the federal government’s emergency relief program for large employers days after the airline agreed to suspend flights to Mexico and the Caribbean in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19.
COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented crisis for the aviation industry, forcing it to lay off tens of thousands of employees and cancel routes to cities across the country. However, Sunwing is only one of three companies to get loans from the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility as the program has proved unpopular with fewer than 20 applicants.
Canadian airlines have avoided the program, choosing instead to draw down their credit lines or tap public capital markets while they negotiate for an industry-specific bailout.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Fast rulings from Supreme Court creating uncertainty, legal community says: The Supreme Court of Canada is producing fewer in-depth rulings and more near-instant results leading many members of the legal community to complain that the top court is creating uncertainty about the meaning of the precedents it is setting, or missing opportunities to develop the law.
Silver soars to eight-year high amid rising Reddit chatter: Silver futures and other precious metals stocks surged yesterday after getting attention from amateur investors in online chat groups, similar to the frenzy last week over stocks of GameStop and AMC Entertainment.
A Canadian diplomat ordered ‘Wu-Han’ T-shirts. Now China is furious: The Chinese government demanded answers from Canadian representatives after a Canadian diplomat ordered hip-hop-inspired T-shirts emblazoned with a bat-like image around the words “Wu-Han.”
Woman testifies Pornhub hassled her over removal of underage video: A 19-year-old woman told the House of Commons ethics committee yesterday that when she asked Pornhub to remove a video of her, the company responded by hassling her, demanding she prove she was the child in the video.
MORNING MARKETS
World stocks buoyant: Global stock markets gained for a second day on Tuesday, spurred by increased optimism about economic stimulus and the global recovery, while retail investors retreated from GameStop and silver. Just before 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.74 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 added 1.23 per cent and 1.77 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished up 0.97 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.23 per cent. New York futures were higher. The Canadian dollar was trading at 78.09 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Adam Radwanski: “So if the Liberals’ business-tax promise isn’t really designed to help newer clean-tech companies, or to help older industry reduce emissions, what is it primarily meant to accomplish?”
Editorial Board: “The country needs a new governor-general. Here’s a checklist for the Trudeau government, to assist it in avoiding another Julie Payette fiasco.”
Cathal Kelly: “DeAngelo isn’t a senator, or a political prisoner. Like every other pro athlete, he is a performer in a circus. The circus survives by attracting customers willing to pay to see the show. If your behaviour prevents people from wanting to do that, you are surplus to needs.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
Brian GableBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
The Weather Station’s Ignorance is the year’s first need-to-know album
With its jazz dynamics and occasional references to uneasy 1980s pop, Ignorance features some of Toronto singer-songwriter Tamara Lindeman’s richest, most sophisticated tracks yet.
MOMENT IN TIME: FEB. 2, 1954
Gordie Howe #9, Dutch Reibel #14 and Ted Lindsay #7 of the Detroit Red Wings line up for the face-off during an outdoor game against the Marquette Prison Pirates on February 2, 1954 at the Marquette prison in Marquette, Michigan.Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images
Detroit Red Wings play game in prison
As the NHL’s dominant franchise in the early 1950s, the Gordie Howe-led Detroit Red Wings were of great interest and appeal. But on this day in particular, the team had a captive audience – literally. At Michigan’s Marquette Prison, they played an exhibition game against a squad of inmates on an outdoor surface constructed behind watchtowers and walls. If the security was maximum, so was the Wings’ attack. According to recent accounts of the game, the pros had an 18-0 advantage over the cons after one period. But a wire story at the time had the final score as just 5-2 in favour of the NHLers. “Several howling inmates, braving snow and freezing temperatures, watched the game,” the Associated Press reported. The playing surface was top notch, prompting Saskatchewan native Howe to say the ice was the best he had ever played on. The winning Wings were awarded a “honey bucket,” a pail used in cells in lieu of toilets. General manager Jack Adams raised the gag trophy overhead as if it were the Stanley Cup. No one sipped Champagne or anything else from the tub. Brad Wheeler
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