NAYPYITAW, Myanmar — Myanmar military television said Monday that the military was taking control of the country for one year, while reports said many of the country’s senior politicians including Aung San Suu Kyi had been detained.
An presenter on military-owned Myawaddy TV made the announcement and cited a section of the military-drafted constitution that allows the military to take control in times of national emergency. He said the reason for takeover was in part due to the government’s failure to act on the military’s claims of voter fraud in last November’s election and its failure to postpone the election because of the coronavirus crisis.
The announcement follows days of concern about the threat of a military coup — and military denials — and came on the morning the country’s new Parliament session was to begin.
The detention of the politicians and cuts in communication services on Monday were the first signals that plans to seize power were in motion. Phone and internet access to Naypyitaw was lost and Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party could not be reached.
The Irrawaddy, an established online news service, reported that Suu Kyi, who as state counsellor is the nation’s top leader, and the country’s president, Win Myint, were both detained in the pre-dawn hours. The news service cited Myo Nyunt, a spokesman for the NLD.
Its report said that the party’s Central Executive Committee members, lawmakers and regional Cabinet members had also been taken into custody.
The U.S., Australia and others issued statements expressing concern reports and urging Myanmar’s military to respect the rule of law.
“The United States is alarmed by reports that the Burmese military has taken steps to undermine the country’s democratic transition, including the arrest of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian officials in Burma,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement from Washington. She said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the reported developments.
“The United States opposes any attempt to alter the outcome of recent elections or impede Myanmar’s democratic transition, and will take action against those responsible if these steps are not reversed,” the statement said. Burma is the former name of Myanmar.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne called for the release of Suu Kyi and others reported to be detained. “We strongly support the peaceful reconvening of the National Assembly, consistent with the results of the November 2020 general election,” she said.
Myanmar lawmakers were to gather Monday in the capital Naypyitaw for the first session of Parliament since last year’s election.
The 75-year-old Suu Kyi is by far the country’s most dominant politician, and became the country’s leader after leading a decades-long nonviolent struggle against military rule.
Suu Kyi’s party captured 396 out of 476 seats in the combined lower and upper houses of Parliament in the November polls, but the military holds 25% of the total seats under the 2008 military-drafted constitution and several key ministerial positions are also reserved for military appointees.
The military, known as the Tatmadaw, charged that there was massive voting fraud in the election, though it has failed to provide proof. The state Union Election Commission last week rejected its allegations.
Amid the bickering over the allegations, the military last Tuesday ramped up political tension when a spokesman at its weekly news conference, responding to a reporter’s question, declined to rule out the possibility of a coup. Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun elaborated by saying the military would “follow the laws in accordance with the constitution.”
Using similar language, Commander-in-Chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing told senior officers in a speech Wednesday that the constitution could be revoked if the laws were not being properly enforced. Adding to the concern was the unusual deployment of armoured vehicles in the streets of several large cities.
On Saturday, however, the military denied it had threatened a coup, accusing unnamed organizations and media of misrepresenting its position and taking the general’s words out of context.
On Sunday, it reiterated its denial, this time blaming unspecified foreign embassies of misinterpreting the military’s position and calling on them “not to make unwarranted assumptions about the situation.”
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/01/31/novavax-submits-vaccine-for-approval-as-ottawa-seeks-eu-reassurances-on-export-rules/
OTTAWA — Canada’s hopes of speeding up COVID-19 vaccinations brightened slightly over the weekend as regulators began work to approve a new inoculation, even as the federal government sought to head off any restrictions on vaccine shipments from Europe.
Pharmaceutical company Novavax quietly submitted its COVID-19 vaccine to Health Canada for regulatory approval on Friday, less than two weeks after Ottawa finalized a deal with the Maryland-based company for 52 million doses of the shot.
Because of the emergency nature of the pandemic Health Canada is accepting applications for vaccines before the final trial data is ready, allowing the review team to start pouring over the documents on an ongoing basis, rather than waiting until everything is finished.
The rolling review allows for much faster approval once the final results from clinical trials are complete.
Novavax is the fifth vaccine maker to submit an application for rolling review. AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna all submitted in early October, and Johnson and Johnson followed suit at the end of November.
Health Canada approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Dec. 9 and gave Moderna the green light on Dec. 23, both about three weeks after the companies completed their phase three trials. A decision on AstraZeneca is expected in the next couple of weeks.
Johnson and Johnson reported results from its phase three trial just last week.
Novavax also reported results Thursday from a trial in the United Kingdom, but a large trial in the U.S. is still at least a month or two away from yielding final results.
Novavax has said its vaccine was 89 per cent effective in the U.K. trial. It also touts its product as very effective against the new British and South African strains of COVID-19.
Novavax’s application comes as the federal Liberal government faces withering criticism for the pace of vaccinations across the country, with opposition parties and some provincial governments complaining about a lack of shots.
Those critiques have come as Pfizer slows delivery of its vaccines to Canada so it can expand a production plant in Belgium. The European pharmaceutical giant is also pressing Canada to allow six shots per vial of vaccine instead of the current five.
Moderna has also said that it will deliver fewer doses than originally promised, though the Liberal government insists the slowdowns are temporary and that both companies will make good on their promised deliveries over the coming months.
There are also concerns that Canada’s troubled vaccine supplies will be further affected by new controls on vaccine exports that have been imposed by the European Union, which is also struggling with delivery shortfalls from manufacturers.
The measures allow the European Union to deny vaccine exports if the manufacturer has not fulfilled its promised deliveries to the 27-country bloc, which is where most of Canada’s shots are being made.
Ottawa has been working to head off any impact on Canada’s supply, with International Trade Minister Mary Ng speaking by phone to her EU counterpart on Saturday for the second time in three days.
That follows Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s own phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen late last week, after which Trudeau asserted that the new export controls would not affect vaccines destined for Canada.
Ng was told the same thing during her phone call with Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission’s commissioner for trade, according to a summary of their conversation provided by Global Affairs Canada.
The federal department said Ng’s call was “part of a broader ongoing engagement across government … to minimize any impact of the EU’s Transparency and Authorization Mechanism on vaccines manufactured in Europe destined for Canada,” the summary read.
Von der Leyen said Friday the commission is following through on a threat to force COVID-19 vaccine makers to show them what vaccines they are producing in Europe and where those are going.
She said the export transparency rule is temporary but has to be done as the continent is in an ongoing battle with vaccine-makers about slow deliveries.
Both Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca are behind on their scheduled deliveries to European nations, but it is the latter with which Europe is having the loudest fight.
The EU is demanding the company ship doses made in the United Kingdom to make up for shortfalls due to production issues in its European plants.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2021.
–With files from Mia Rabson
An Ontario judge says he’s wrestling with the issue of whether to order a woman and her three children to honour a family custody agreement by returning to Ontario or allow them to remain in Newfoundland to protect the kids from the mental health tolls of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Alex Pazaratz describes the still unresolved case as unusual, noting both feuding parents agree on nearly all the facts and differ only in what they feel would be best for their children living through a global health crisis.
The judge’s Jan. 25 interim decision explains that the case centres on three Hamilton teens who traveled to their mother’s home province of Newfoundland and Labrador for a month-long stretch over Christmas.
The ruling says that while all three children struggled with pandemic-era life in Ontario, where significant public health measures have been in place for months to curb surging case counts, they’ve had a far happier experience in Newfoundland where both cases and government measures are much more limited.
The decision says the mother has opted to stay in Newfoundland for the teens’ sake and is requesting permission to remain there until Ontario schools reopen to in-person classes, while their father is demanding their immediate return home.
In adjourning the matter until Feb. 12, Pazaratz ordered the parents to find a counsellor for their hardest-hit son and said the mental well-being of the family’s youngest members deserves more time for reflection.
“We can’t just sit back and say that a 13-year-old boy is terrified about COVID without doing something about it,” Pazaratz said in the ruling. “We need to better understand what he’s experiencing. …We need to help him get through this. This isn’t a legal issue. It’s a mental health issue. And it’s not unique to this family. Perhaps in addition to all the masks and hand sanitizers, we need to pay a bit more attention to how children are coping emotionally with COVID fatigue.”
Pazaratz said the teens at the centre of the case felt the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly as soon as it shifted into high gear in mid-March.
Their mother, according to the ruling, said all three scrupulously observed public health protocols and followed rules about limiting social interactions and maintaining physical distance from others.
Both parents agreed their 13-year-old boy, given the alias John in court documents, took matters the hardest. Pazaratz said the boy developed significant anxiety about the risks posed by the virus and at one point stopped using the washroom at school to avoid possible exposure.
Pazaratz said the parents’ custody agreement allows the mother to take the teens to Newfoundland for vacations, noting they have a second home and several close relatives living there.
Despite much haggling in the months preceding the trip, Pazaratz said both parties agreed to let mother and children travel to Newfoundland for one month — the traditional two-week vacation plus an additional 14 days to allow for self-isolation upon entering the province.
The judge said the world the teens encountered upon emerging from quarantine bore little resemblance to the one they’d left behind.
They resumed team sports, found they had the option to join the kind of youth orchestra that had long ago suspended rehearsals back home, and enjoyed unfettered interactions with friends and relatives while observing only basic public health precautions such as wearing masks and preserving physical distance in public spaces.
The disparities in COVID-19 case counts in the two provinces remain striking. Ontario logged 2,063 new infections and 73 virus-related deaths in Saturday’s daily report, while Newfoundland recorded no new cases at all and had 16 active infections provincewide as of Saturday evening.
Pazaratz said the mother is now seeking permission to remain in Newfoundland, noting the teens aren’t missing any class since schools in their home district are currently taking place remotely and adding she plans to return when the government decides it’s safe for in-person lessons to resume.
The mother, according to Pazaratz, argued all three of their children have repeatedly stated their preference to stay in Newfoundland and said returning home prematurely would be distressing to all, but especially John.
The judge said the father sees the matter differently arguing that “anxiety is a normal part of life, and the children’s current worry about COVID could be overcome if the parents simply worked together to reassure them. He feels parents have an obligation to cooperate to help their children deal with and resolve their fears – rather than surrender to them.”
Pazaratz acknowledged that this would have been a relatively open-and-shut case in pre-pandemic times, noting courts would not tolerate a parent unilaterally extending an absence from home. But he also acknowledged that while previous case law dictates COVID-19 should not materially change previous court-approved parenting arrangements, the pandemic and its fallout can’t be ignored.
“Most of the COVID-related case law has focused on physical protection of children, parents and others with respect to exposure to the coronavirus,” he wrote. “As the pandemic has dragged on, however, there has been increasing community recognition of the impact all of this is having on our mental health. And if adults are having trouble coping with life-threatening dangers, just imagine what it’s like for children.”
It has been nearly a month since the city implemented new short-term rental regulations, requiring hosts to only rent out their primary residence and to be registered as a short-term rental property prior to the deadline of December 31, 2020.
Based on investigations completed to date, the City of Toronto has issued one notice of violation against short-term rentals and laid five charges.
The numbers might seem small, but Lyne Kyle from the City of Toronto’s municipal licensing & standards (MLS) department tells CityNews that these investigations take time and several cases are in the process of being examined.
“Each complaint that the city receives needs to be investigated thoroughly in order to ensure we have sufficient evidence should the matter go before the courts,” she said.
Between January 1 and 24, the City has received 96 complaints via 311 regarding perceived short-term rentals. The complaints are passed on to bylaw officers to investigate.
According to InsideAirbnb, as of January 2, there were over 18,000 Airbnb listings. However, the city’s open data portal shows only over 2700 registrations numbers have been handed out to date and 282 applications are in the process of review.
This does not mean that those are all “illegal listings” as the city continues to receive applications past the deadline. Over the past two weeks, they have received an average of 1 to 20 applications a day.
While tardiness is always expected by some individuals in the application process, so is fraud. With the registration numbers being made public, there have been examples of numbers being stolen, repeated or falsified on active listings.
The city is well aware of this, but also clarifies that “not all listings on Airbnb are short-term rentals.”
Airbnb also lists hotels or long-term rentals over 28 days, which are not required under the bylaw to register with the City of Toronto. Also, under the conditions of their license, Airbnb is required to remove any listings that are not following the regulations.
“The City has a good working relationship with Airbnb and we are working together to bring all listings into compliance,” said Kyle.
But since the changes were announced prior to the pandemic, some are expressing concern about living next door to short-term rental units that usually house out-of-town visitors.
One CityNews viewer who prefers to remain anonymous expressed concern over Airbnb “quarantine suites,” alleging that they have witnessed multiple travelers in the building.
“I contacted 311 and public health because I feel unsafe with all these travelers coming in and out,” they said. “Property management in the summer stated that [more than] 40 suites in our condominium were being used as illegal quarantine lodges, but they never did anything to stop it.”
The property in question is The Element Condominium located on Blue Jays Way. According to the resident, there have been no changes leading into the new year.
CityNews reached out to both the condo board and property management, Crossbrigdes Condominium Service, to confirm the information, but did not receive a response back.
According to MLS however, it is not the responsibility of the building itself to monitor short-term rentals.
“The onus is on the operators of short-term rentals. Some condo boards have created their own requirements prohibiting short-term rentals within their buildings but this does not fall under the Licensing and Registration of Short-Term Rentals Bylaw,” said Kyle.
Some Toronto Airbnb listings state that they do offer extra sterilization and grocery delivery to those quarantining, but under current provincial regulations, short-term rentals can only be provided to individuals who are in need of housing.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is responsible for carrying out checks to ensure individuals are quarantining appropriately, says Kyle. The City’s role is to ensure operators are following the Licensing and Registration of Short-Term Rentals Bylaw.
Short-term rental operators that do not comply with the regulations can be found guilty of an offense and may be liable to pay a fine of up to $100,000. Operators can also be charged other fines
Canada’s Liberal government cheered Thursday as President Joe Biden reversed a U.S. policy that denies federal funding to international aid organizations that support abortion.
Biden signed a presidential memorandum to rescind the policy known as the “global gag rule” and to protect and expand access to reproductive health care in the U.S. and around the world.
The policy, born under Ronald Reagan in 1985, prohibits international non-profit groups from receiving U.S. funding if they provide abortion counselling or referrals.
It has been either rescinded by a Democratic president or restored by a Republican five times in the last 28 years. Donald Trump expanded it to include all aid groups, not just those focused on family planning.
“Women’s rights are human rights,” International Development Minister Karina Gould said in a statement that welcomed the decision.
Gould called it a sign of the U.S. joining “the global consensus on the right for women to choose and support programs for women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.”
In 2019, the federal Liberals announced a 10-year plan to spend $1.4 billion a year by 2023 on a “comprehensive approach” to women’s health and rights around the world.
That plan includes $700 million specifically for sexual and reproductive health, including comprehensive abortion care.
“Our government will continue to work with partners in Canada and around the world to dismantle barriers that seek to restrict women, girls and trans people from accessing the health care they have a right to.”
Trump’s version of the rule, also known as the Mexico City Policy, was the most expansive yet, covering an estimated US$12 billion in international health aid.
“Undue restrictions on the use of federal funds have made it harder for women to obtain necessary health care,” the Biden memorandum reads.
“These excessive conditions on foreign and development assistance undermine the United States’ efforts to advance gender equality globally by restricting our ability to support women’s health and programs that prevent and respond to gender-based violence.”
Such restrictions, it notes, “are particularly harmful in light of the (COVID-19) pandemic.”
The memo also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to “take immediate action” towards rescinding related directives under the family-planning program known as Title X.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki described Biden’s recent flurry of executive actions as an urgent effort to overturn several “detrimental, harmful and at times immoral” Trump-era policies.
“He’s not going to delay action that would help bring relief to the public and ? help ensure women have access to reproductive health as well,” Psaki said.
Ottawa-based Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights said they intend to press the Biden White House to follow its expressions of support with real funding and political momentum.
“The politicization of women’s bodies and decision-making for political gain is really a devastating thing to think about, especially when abortion is recognized under international human rights law,” said Sarah Keller, the group’s director of government relations.
Canada had its own version of a similar rule under former prime minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government until it was reversed by the newly elected Trudeau Liberals in 2015.
“We’ve had to put in place our own mechanisms – as civil society but also as the Government of Canada has – to safeguard against attempts to have that be the case again.”
Keller and executive director Kara Gillies both called Biden’s move a good first step, but warned the White House still has a lot of work to do to back its words with action.
“It needs to come with political and global funding commitments that support sexual and reproductive rights on the ground.”
Canada’s Wonderland announced Thursday it plans to re-open the amusement park in May.
“Save the date! We are excited to announce Canada’s Wonderland 2021 Opening Day – May 14 – and we look forward to welcoming you back for what is sure to be an amazing season,” they said.
The park tells 680 NEWS they will continue to monitor the pandemic and work with health officials ahead of its tentative opening date
“As we do every year, we release to the public our scheduled opening date. This year, we are scheduled for a May 14 opening,” Director of Communications at Canada’s Wonderland Grace Peacock said in an email.
“We continue to monitor provincial guidelines and work with industry and government officials to ensure our reopening plan meets all required health and safety regulations. Further details will be announced this spring.”
In his most recent statement from May of 2020, Canada’s Wonderland Vice-President and General Manager Norm Pirtovshek said, “We are in constant communication with our provincial and federal governments and are looking forward to welcoming you back just as soon as it is safe to do so.”
“We can’t wait to welcome you back to the park. Until then, enjoy some virtual Canada’s Wonderland experiences, like a ride on one of our roller coasters, or make our classic funnel cake at home. We also have educational and creative activities online for kids of all ages,” Pirtovshek said.
Cedar Fair, Canada’s Wonderland owner and operator, also announced that Cedar Point and King’s Dominion amusement parks will reopen on May 14 and May 22, respectively.
Under the park’s listed health and safety protocols, they say the following rules must be obeyed upon entry:
- Sanitize your hands frequently at the many hand sanitization stations we have added all through the park.
- Avoid touching your face.
- Wear your face covering at all times.
- Face coverings may only be removed when experiencing water rides.
- Maintain 2 metres physical distance from other park guests and associates.
- Be in the know about all things Canada’s Wonderland with our mobile app. You will be able to find nearby hand sanitizer stations, restrooms, open dining locations, and available attractions and rides.
- For the comfort of all guests, smoking will not be permitted inside the park.
Some other precautions include health screenings and temperature checks and contactless payment, such as Apple Pay.
As for rides and attractions, Canada’s Wonderland says some that are not conducive for physical distancing and will be closed. Some seats and rows will also be unavailable to accommodate physical distancing.
Staff will also work to ensure park-goers properly maintain physical distancing while waiting in line.
In August, the water park portion of Canada’s Wonderland was closed due to COVID-19 health and safety measures.
Ontario Minister of Heritage, Tourism and Sport Lisa MacLeod has maintained that health officials believe it’s too early to reopen amusement parks or water parks.
The province is currently under a state of emergency with a stay-at-home order in effect until further notice.
Toronto’s medical officer of health is advising the extension of its COVID-19 temporary bylaws until the City Council’s meeting in June.
Dr. Eileen de Villa says the recommendation comes with the currently enforced, but temporary bylaws set to expire at the end of the February 2 and 3 council meeting.
These include Toronto’s Physical Distancing in Public Spaces and the Mandatory Mask bylaws. City Council will debate the extension recommendation at its next meeting which begins on Tuesday.
De Villa says she will also conduct a monthly assessment regarding the need to continue each bylaw.
“At this critical stage in our fight against COVID-19, we must use every tool we have to keep one another safe. Right now, that includes extending the City of Toronto bylaws mandating mask usage and physical distancing requirements,” said Mayor John Tory in a statement.
“While I know we all want this period to be over, these measures will help us continue to protect ourselves and others at a time when it’s more important than ever.”
On Wednesday, de Villa revealed that between August of 2020 and last week, the City’s 3-1-1 line received almost 2,000 calls about improper mask usage in shared residential spaces.
The data reveals that 75 percent of the complaints are linked to residential apartment buildings and 25 percent are related to condos.
In an effort to further increase enforcement efforts, Tory says a dozen of ‘263’ locations that received complaints will get in-person visits.
A group of government advisers is set to release Ontario’s updated COVID-19 projections this afternoon.
The new data comes two weeks after the province invoked a stay-at-home order in a bid to halt surging case spread.
Six people have been charged including the pastor of a Waterloo-area church who went ahead with Sunday services in defiance of provincial lockdown rules.
Regional officials in Waterloo have charged six elders including Pastor Jacob Reaume of Trinity Bible Chapel for violating provisions of the Reopening Ontario Act (ROA) when it comes to large gatherings.
The Trinity Bible Chapel corporation was also charged.
Individuals charged under the act face a minimum $10,000 fine and a maximum $100,000 if convicted. Corporations can be fined up to $10 million.
A steady stream of cars was seen arriving at the church in Woolwich last weekend despite an order from the Superior Court of Justice, compelling the church to obey the ROA or possibly be held in contempt of court.
A photo from inside the service was tweeted from the account of MPP Randy Hillier, who sits as an independent in the legislature and has been a vocal critic of the Ford government’s lockdown.
A statement released by region officials said the church has agreed not to hold further indoor religious services while the charges are before the courts.
Files from 570 NEWS were used in this report
The province’s top doctor has once again revised the timing of when people can get the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
In a memo sent to hospital CEOs and Medical Officers of Health on Wednesday, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams has recommended extending the dosing interval for the second shot of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine to 35 days and no more than 42 days.
Previously, the province sent out guidance that the second shot be given anytime between 21 and 42 days after the first dose was administered.
The recommendation applies to everyone outside of long-term care settings, essential caregivers and staff, and First Nations elder care homes, where the second doses are set to be administered between 21 and 27 days later.
“We recognize that this allocation reduction will have significant impact on the current level of vaccine delivery across the province,” Williams said in the memo.
“The extended dosage interval is a direct response to the temporarily reduced vaccine availability from the federal government and uncertainty regarding the stability of supply in the near-term.”
Williams points out that there are no scheduled deliveries of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine this week and just over 26,000 doses expected the first week of February. The province says it has yet to receive information on how many doses are to be delivered for the weeks of Feb. 8 and 15th.
Pfizer has advised Canada, and other countries, that delivery of its COVID-19 vaccine would be impacted for several weeks due to work to expand its European manufacturing facility.
Air Transat says it’s suspending all flights out of Toronto for the remainder of the winter season in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, Air Transat says travel restrictions and measures imposed by the federal government, including the requirement to present a negative COVID-19 test and to quarantine upon return to Canada, have impacted its operations.
“We must, therefore, revise our winter flight schedule, as we have been doing since the beginning of the pandemic, based on the evolution of the situation and demand,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.
Air Transat will continue to operate flights from Montreal to six international destinations, such as Cancun (Mexico), Holguin (Cuba), Port-au-Prince (Haiti), Punta Cana and Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic), and Paris (France).
Toronto flights will remain suspended in the meantime.
The postponement of flights will be effective January 28 through April 30, 2021.
Air Transat says travellers affected by the flight cancellations who paid for their flight or vacation package with cash or credit card will be fully reimbursed.
Air Transat is currently being acquired by Air Canada, but says the decision on suspending flights out of Toronto is “not connected to the acquisition.”
