In this edition:

Government of Canada lightens border measures
Brock will maintain prior COVID-19 safety regime
Ontario releases 2021-22 third quarter finances

Government of Canada lightens border measures as part of transition of the pandemic response

Today, the Government of Canada announced a series of adjustments to the current border measures, representing the beginning of a phased easing of travel restrictions. As of February 28, 2022 at 12:01 a.m. EST:

• Travellers arriving to Canada from any country, who qualify as fully vaccinated, will be randomly selected for arrival testing. Travellers selected will also no longer be required to quarantine while awaiting their test result.
  • Children under 12 years old, travelling with fully vaccinated adults, will continue to be exempt from quarantine, without any prescribed conditions limiting their activities.
  • Unvaccinated travellers will continue to be required to test on arrival, on Day 8 and quarantine for 14 days. Unvaccinated foreign nationals will not be permitted to enter Canada unless they meet one of the few exemptions.
• Travellers will now have the option of using a COVID-19 rapid antigen test result or a molecular test result to meet pre-entry requirements. Taking a rapid antigen test at home is not sufficient to meet the pre-entry requirement.
• The Government of Canada will adjust its Travel Health Notice from a Level 3 to a Level 2. This means that the Government will no longer recommend that Canadians avoid travel for non-essential purposes.
  • Travellers should understand the risks that are still associated with international travel given the high incidence of Omicron, and take necessary precautions.
  • On February 28, 2022 at 16:00 EST, Transport Canada’s Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) that restricts where international passenger flights can arrive in Canada will expire. This means that international flights carrying passengers will be permitted to land at all remaining Canadian airports that are designated by the Canada Border Services Agency to receive international passenger flights.

Click here for more information.

Brock will maintain prior COVID-19 safety regime

This week’s update from the province will not impact or change Brock’s approach to its Winter Term, the University has announced. For the rest of this term, the University will continue its protocols, including:

• A COVID-19 vaccine mandate for anyone coming to campus.
• A COVID-19 booster vaccine requirement for those living in on-campus residences.
• Mandatory self-screening for anyone coming to a Brock campus.
• A mandatory masking requirement (medical grade masks are highly recommended for students and required for faculty and staff).
• Encouraging everyone on campus to receive a third booster dose.

As always, members of the Brock community are asked to be vigilant and to self-monitor closely for COVID-19 symptoms.

Click here for more information.

Ontario releases 2021-22 third quarter finances

Today, the government released the 2021-22 Third Quarter Finances, which provide an update on Ontario’s 2021-22 economic and fiscal outlook since the release of the 2021 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: Build Ontario (also referred to as the Fall Economic Statement). The report shows $2.3 billion of new investments in response to the Omicron variant, including additional funding to support hospitals, workers and business supports such as the Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program and the Ontario COVID-19 Small Business Relief Grant.

Primarily as a result of higher than forecast revenues reflecting improved economic performance, Ontario is now projecting a deficit of $13.1 billion in 2021-22 – an improvement of $8.4 billion from the deficit forecast in the Fall Economic Statement.

Click here for more information.

Reading Recommendations

Four flags that almost became Canada’s national flag

Canadian Geographic

They started with some 5,900 design submissions, but when Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson’s flag committee handed the controversial red maple leaf on white with red bars to Parliament for consideration in late 1964, the symbol and colours on the prospective flag were no new invention.

In fact, the white and red have centuries-old ties to French and English cultures, respectively, and had originally (officially) been brought together in Canada on the General Service Medal issued by Queen Victoria in 1899 to Imperial and Canadian servicemen who had helped stifle the Fenian Raids and Louis Riel’s Red River Rebellion. Red and white became Canada’s national colours in 1921, when King George V declared the country’s coat of arms.

The coat of arms also incorporated both red and green sugar maple leaves. That particular foliage had been proposed as a formal national symbol in Canada at least as early as 1834, when Ludger Duvernay founded the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste — for preserving French Canadian language and culture — and they took the leaf as their national emblem. Eventually, through the First and Second World Wars, the maple leaf was sported by many Canadian soldiers, stitched into their regimental badges and stamped on equipment.

Backgrounder: Emergencies Act

Government of Canada

The Emergencies Act, which became law in 1988, is a federal law that can be used by the federal government in the event of a national emergency.

The Act contains a specific definition of “national emergency” that makes clear how serious a situation needs to be before the Act can be relied upon.  A national emergency is an urgent, temporary and critical situation that seriously endangers the health and safety of Canadians or that seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada.  It must be a situation that cannot be effectively dealt with by the provinces and territories, or by any other law of Canada. There are four types of emergencies that can be declared under the Emergencies Act:

• A public welfare emergency

• A public order emergency

• An international emergency

• A war emergency

Home building gains slip amid calls to boost Canada’s housing

Financial Post

The speed at which new homes are built in Canada slowed even further in January, despite rising calls to boost supply to address a national housing shortage.

Housing starts came in at 254,133 units in January, an approximate three per cent decline from the 261,352 units during December, according to data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

“On a trend and monthly (seasonally adjusted annual rate) basis, the level of housing starts activity in Canada remains historically high,” CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan said in a release. “However, the six-month trend in housing starts was lower from December to January.”

Dugan added that among Canada’s urban areas, single-detached starts were higher overall while multi-family units lagged in January. Montreal, however, was the only one of the three major urban areas (Toronto and Vancouver are the others) to post a gain in housing starts largely due to higher single-detached and multi-family starts.