Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 3, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba < y C M K PAGE A13 # -e- October bonus event BUY MORE. GET MORE. BUY 5 Products offering AIR MILES® Bonus Miles && Get an additional 10 BONUS MILES* BUY 7 Products offering AIR MILES® Bonus Miles && Get an additional 20 BONUS MILES* BUY 9 Products offering AIR MILES® Bonus Miles && Get an additional 30 BONUS MILES* OCT 1-31, 2020 *Terms and conditions available at LiquorMarts.ca. tsrkss?? Wt I ENJOY I RESPONS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2020 • WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS I COVID-19 PANDEMIC A 13 Province demands ability to purchase rapid-result product from U.S. firmManitoba, Ottawa spar over virus test CAROL SANDERS TWO days after Health Canada approved a rapid COVID-19 test, the province says the federal government is blocking its plans to buy the equipment. Central Services Minister Reg Helw-er held a news conference Friday to demand that the federal government allow it to purchase ID NOW rapid tests from Abbott Diagnostics in the U.S. The test can deliver results within 13 minutes of a patient being swabbed, without sending the specimen to a lab. Helwer wouldn’t say how many of the ID NOW rapid tests Manitoba had planned to buy, only that Ottawa won’t let the province buy any. “This is a completely unacceptable action by the federal government,” he said. “In response to our attempt to place a significant order for the rapid tests for use here in Manitoba, we were advised (Ottawa) had blocked direct sale of rapid tests to provinces and ter- ritories,” said Helwer. Premier Brian Pallister has written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asking him to relieve Abbott Diagnostics of any prohibitions on the sale of the ID NOW rapid tests, he said. “This will enable our government to make immediate arrangements for the purchase of a sufficient number of testing machines and kits so we can actively and effectively deploy this resource here in Manitoba.” The news conference capped two weeks of public outcry in Manitoba over long waits and lines for the COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swabs. Several sites in Winnipeg had reached daily capacity by early afternoon, with people being told to return the next day. The federal government reported this week that it had ordered 3,800 of the rapid-test analyzer units and eight million testing kits. It said 2.5 million tests are to be delivered before the end of the year to the Public Health Agency of Canada, which will distribute the tests to the provinces. They’re most likely to be sent to rural and remote communities with limited or no access to lab testing and other high-risk locations, such as care homes and schools. Provinces should be able to purchase and deploy their own rapid COVID-19 tests, Helwer said Friday. “Provincial governments are the front-line providers of health care,” he said. “We are the ones best able to determine our own needs.” Helwer said it’s the latest example of Ottawa disregarding Manitoba’s needs. Early in the pandemic, Manitoba’s $12-million order for two million N95 masks was blocked by the U.S. government and redirected to Ottawa, so the province received a fraction of the masks to which it was entitled, Helwer said. Ottawa also cancelled $55 million in funding for a program to help improve fibre-optic access in northern Manitoba, he said. On Friday, federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said his government hasn’t blocked provinces from accessing COVID-19 supplies. “Our government has been using the same agreed-to approach we have used since the beginning of the pandemic, while working to ensure that tests are going to where they are needed the most. We have been working on bulk purchases with provinces and territories throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so,” LeBlanc said. “We will follow up. It was the first time the prime minister and I had heard that specific example from Premier Pallis-ter on the phone (Thursday) evening.” LeBlanc said the prime minister is committed to making sure provinces get the supplies they need “but that of course applies right across the country as well, to every other province and territory.” He did not discuss Helwer’s allegations about N95 masks being diverted to Ottawa. Manitoba NDP Opposition Leader Feds ease COVID-19 border restrictionsSiblings, grandparents to be allowed into Canada STEPHANIE LEVITZ OTTAWA — People desperate to bring extended family members to Canada as the world remains locked down due to COVID-19 are being given some hope by the federal government. Immigration Minister Marco Men-dicino announced Friday that more family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents will now be eligible to enter the country. “The pandemic is an ongoing threat and we need to continue to be cautious and restrictive about who can enter into Canada,” he said. “We recognize, however, that these restrictions should not keep loved ones apart.” Those now eligible for entry include adult children, siblings, grandparents and those who have been in a committed relationship for at least a year, which will have to be proven by a notarized declaration. The process of how they will be able to enter will be published online soon and those who have the needed documentation can arrive beginning Oct. 8. While that might give hope for family reunions for Thanksgiving, Mendicino said nobody should make travel plans until they’ve been authorized under the new program. The federal government is also implementing a compassionate-entry program for those who don’t qualify as family but want to enter Canada for specific reasons, such as to see a dying loved one. Those granted compassionate entry may also be exempt from the current 14-day quarantine requirement, pending discussions with local health officials. For all other travellers, the quarantine and other screening measures remain in place, and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said enforcement will be stepped up. The broader border restrictions with the United States are in place through to Oct. 21, restrictions on travellers from other countries apply until Oct. 31, and Blair said the government con- ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS Health Minister Patty Hajdu speaks about new border measures Friday via video chat while Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino looks on. tinues to review COVID-19 conditions around the world. “It’s not a decision that we come to lightly or renew lightly,” he said of keeping the border tightly controlled. International students are also being granted more flexibility and starting Oct. 20 will be admitted if their places of learning have been identified by provincial governments as having suitable COVID-19 plans. Canada first closed its borders to all but a short list of essential workers in the spring in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19. After an outcry, the government opened the gates a crack to immediate family members of citizens and permanent residents, but many other family members had been left off the list of exemptions. Some of those barred from Canada had been putting pressure on the government in recent weeks to ease the rules, with many coming forward with heartbreaking stories of children having to say goodbye to their dying parents over video chat or siblings unable to enter the country to care for ill family members. Conservative immigration critic Raquel Dancho said the changes are welcome, though for many come sadly too late. She said her party would be watching closely to see if the new measures are implemented effectively, and urged the government to also move ahead with other options for safe reunification. “The Liberal government must provide rapid testing for airports and other points of entry into Canada so that Canadians can be reunited with their loved ones safely and protect the public,” she said in a statement. The new measures come in response to what officials have learned about how the virus is spreading in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier Friday. Community transmission is by far the biggest challenge and cases imported from outside the country are a tiny fraction of the total, he said. Still, the expanded measures come as COVID-19 cases in Canada are rising and in some communities, restrictions are being reinstated on businesses and social gatherings. Health Minister Patty Hajdu said Friday the new border measures were taken in concert with local health authorities. “This disease is not going away any time soon. Countries will be struggling for a very long time,” she said. “This government believes firmly in compassion and we know that we needed to take these steps, given that this is not a short-term problem.” — The Canadian Press Wab Kinew called on the two levels of government to co-operate. “Can we have the federal and provincial governments work quickly to meet the needs of Manitobans?” Kinew asked. “We need to increase testing capacity.” People are travelling far from home and hitting the highway in search of a COVID-19 testing site where they have a chance of getting a swab that day. “We’ve got them driving out to Steinbach,” Kinew said. Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont accused the Pallister government of trying to shift the blame. “This is a deliberate attempt to once again blame the federal government for their inaction and lack of proper pandemic planning as COVID testing lineups continue to get longer,” Lamont said in an email. — with files from Dylan Robertson carol.sanders@freepress.mb.caPoppy campaign adapts to pandemic THE lead-up to Remembrance Day will look a little different this year as the Royal Canadian Legion adapts its poppy campaign to the pandemic. Restrictions due to COVID-19 mean most legion branches won’t set up donation tables or have volunteers at store entrances — both familiar sights in the weeks ahead of Nov. 11. Instead, the campaign will feature electronic donation boxes that accept tap payments, along with unmanned traditional donation boxes. The legion will also be selling non-medical masks online and through certain branches to support its work. People are also encouraged to donate to the campaign online. Nujma Bond, communications manager for the Royal Canadian Legion’s national headquarters, said planning the altered campaign began soon after the pandemic set in this spring and it became clear a typical, in-person campaign might be off the table. Traditional poppy boxes will be set up at approximately 25,000 locations, such as grocery stores and banks, with donors encouraged to pick their own poppy pins. “We are hopeful and confident that people will still be able to receive a physical poppy if they so choose,” Bond said. Additionally, 250 locations will offer electronic “pay tribute” boxes that accept tap payments when the legion’s campaign begins on Oct. 30. The legion said it typically raises $20 million through its poppy campaign each year, with the donations going towards supporting veterans. Bond said the organization isn’t concerned about falling short of fundraising targets this year. “We’re confident that Canadians will be as generous as they normally are at this time of the year,” she said. Ottawa-based Navy veteran Doug Munroe, 78, said he’ll miss the experience of speaking face-to face with Canadians during the poppy campaign. “I don’t think everybody is really aware of the significance of it,” Munroe said by phone. He encouraged Canadians to find a way to support this year’s fundraising efforts. “Remember and donate to the poppy campaign,” he said. — The Canadian Press ^ GREAT ESCAPE PLACE f VEGAS-STYLE RACING from top tracks 11 AM - 12 AM daily (Big betting pools!) GAMING && EVENT CENTRE 204-885-3330 ASDowns.com DELICIOUS DINING Breakfast • Lunch Dinner • Late Night For menus, click on DINING at ASDowns.com -e- -e- A_13_Oct-03-20_FP_01.indd A13 # 2020-10-02 10:06 PM I ;