By Canadian Press

New COVID restrictions, Tories boycott security committee : In The News for Dec. 21

Dec 21, 2021 | 1:25 AM

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of Dec. 21 …

What we are watching in Canada …

Erin O’Toole is refusing to name Conservative members to the national security and intelligence committee of parliamentarians.

The Conservative leader pulled his party’s MPs from the committee last spring to protest the Liberal government’s refusal to hand over unredacted documents related to the firing of two scientists from Canada’s highest security laboratory.

In a Dec. 17 letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, O’Toole says the Conservative boycott of the all-party national security committee, known as NSICOP, will continue in the new session of Parliament until the wraps are taken off those documents.

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Opposition parties banded together last spring to order the Public Health Agency of Canada to hand over the documents to the now-defunct special committee on Canada-China relations.

The Liberal government gave them to NSICOP instead, arguing that it was the more appropriate body to review sensitive material that could jeopardize national security. 

In his letter, O’Toole says NSICOP “has become a committee of the Prime Minister’s Office” and has been used by Trudeau’s government “to avoid accountability and that is diminishing its credibility.”

He says changes are required to the legislation creating the committee to establish it as a standing Commons committee that reports to Parliament, not the prime minister.

Opposition parties believe the documents they’ve demanded will shed light on why scientists Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, were escorted out of Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Laboratory in July 2019 and subsequently fired last January. They also want to see documents related to the transfer, overseen by Qiu, of deadly Ebola and Henipah viruses to China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology in March 2019.

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Also this …

Surging COVID-19 cases brought on by the spread of the Omicron variant have put a damper on the “most wonderful time of year” for small business owners, as multiple provinces reinstate tough public health restrictions.

Dan Kelly of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said that last month, the organization surveyed 4,514 small business owners and found 36 per cent were back to normal sales. 

But now, with capacity limits in place, he says that “Any little glimmer of hope that many businesses saw at the end of this two-year tunnel are quickly being extinguished.” 

Starting today, tighter gathering and capacity rules are in place in Manitoba, where health officials said climbing cases due to Omicron were expected to exceed its resources for notifying most close contacts.

Quebec has announced earlier closing times for bars, restaurants entertainment venues and movie theatres as it reported a new single-day record of 4,571 COVID-19 infections.

Calling the situation “critical,” Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube said the fast-spreading COVID-19 Omicron variant has changed everything, as vaccines that offered 70 per cent protection against symptomatic infection from the Delta variant are believed to offer 30 per cent protection against Omicron.

B.C. has limited capacity to 50 per cent at venues that hold more than 1,000 people, but is extending its cap on fees charged by food delivery companies in an effort to help the restaurant industry.

Newfoundland and Labrador, meanwhile, has limited bars to 50 per cent capacity and restaurants to 75 per cent with physical distancing. The province also sent kids home Monday as schools closed early in response to rising caseloads.

Ontario implemented its new public health orders Sunday, which see restaurants, retailers, gyms and other indoor settings operating at 50 per cent capacity.

And this …

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada owes no debts to its allies, including the United States, for their help in standing up to China and bringing the Meng Wanzhou-two Michaels affair to a close.

Trudeau says Canada and the U.S. resolved the nearly three-year standoff with China by holding firm to their shared belief in the “rules-based” international order, and that united approach will be key to confronting the challenges posed by China in the coming year.

Trudeau offered that assessment on relations with China in a year-end interview with the Ottawa bureau of The Canadian Press.

David Cohen, the newly arrived U.S. ambassador to Canada, suggested in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month that the Biden administration was growing impatient and was eager to see Ottawa’s long-term China policy.

Two imprisoned Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, were released in September after more than 1,000 days in Chinese prisons after American authorities abandoned their prosecution of Meng.

Kovrig and Spavor’s imprisonments were widely seen as retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Meng, the Huawei executive, on an American extradition warrant for allegedly violating trade sanctions with Iran.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

The second-largest city in the United States has called off its New Year’s Eve celebration, and its smallest state has reinstated an indoor mask mandate as the Omicron variant become the dominant version of the coronavirus in the country on Monday. 

Fears of a potentially devastating winter COVID-19 surge triggered more cancellations and restrictions ahead of the holidays. Organizers of the New Year’s Eve party planned for downtown Los Angeles say there won’t be an in-person audience. The event will be livestreamed instead. 

In Rhode Island, a mask mandate went into effect for large indoor venues. And in Boston, anyone entering an indoor business will need to show proof of vaccination starting next month.

Omicron accounted for 73 per cent of new infections last week, a nearly sixfold increase in only one week, federal health officials announced. The variant was first reported in southern Africa just over three weeks ago.

In much of the U.S., Omicron’s prevalence is even higher. It’s responsible for an estimated 90 per cent of new infections in the New York area, the southeast, the industrial Midwest and the Pacific Northwest, officials said.

In New York City, where a spike in infections is already scuttling Broadway shows and causing long lines at testing centres, Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to decide this week whether the city’s famous New Year’s Eve bash in Times Square will come back “full strength” as he promised in November.

President Joe Biden planned an address on the latest variant on Tuesday, less than a year after he suggested that the country would essentially be back to normal by Christmas. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president would issue a “stark warning” and make clear that unvaccinated individuals “will continue to drive hospitalizations and deaths.”

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

LONDON — The Queen has decided not to spend Christmas at the Sandringham estate in eastern England amid concerns about the fast-spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19. 

Buckingham Palace said Monday that the 95-year-old Queen will spend the holidays at Windsor Castle, where she has stayed for most of the pandemic. Other members of the Royal Family are expected to visit over the Christmas period, with precautions taken against spreading the virus. 

Coronavirus infections are surging in Britain — up 60 per cent in just a week — as Omicron has replaced Delta as the dominant coronavirus variant. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said more new restrictions may have to be introduced to slow the spread and the health minister has refused to rule out imposing new measures before Christmas.

For years, members of Britain’s extended Royal Family have spent the holidays at Sandringham, where crowds gather to watch them attend the local church on Christmas Day.

The Queen has cut down on travel and work since spending a night in the hospital in October and being told to rest by her doctors. She has since undertaken light duties including virtual audiences with diplomats and weekly conversations with the prime minister.

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On this day in 1943 …

The Canadian First Division launched the “Battle of Ortona” on the Italian front during the Second World War. The Canadians captured the town after a week of heavy fighting.

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In entertainment …

 LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Chris Noth will no longer be part of the CBS series “The Equalizer” in the wake of sexual assault allegations against the actor.

Universal Television and CBS made a joint announcement Monday that Noth would no longer be part of filming “effective immediately.”

Noth has played a former CIA director on “The Equalizer,” which stars Queen Latifah. Noth will appear in at least one upcoming episode.

Two women accused Noth of sexual assault  in a story reported last week by The Hollywood Reporter. Noth vehemently denied the allegations, which date back to 2004 and 2015.

“The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false. These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago _ no always means no _ that is a line I did not cross,” Noth said in a statement to the Reporter.

One of the women who accused Noth of assaulting her said his reprisal of his Mr. Big character on the “Sex and the City” sequel “And Just Like That…” prompted her to speak out about the actor.  Noth’s demise in the first episode of the show led to widespread attention.

Series stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis issued a joint statement Monday on social media saying they were saddened by the allegations against Noth but supported his accusers.

“We support the women who have come forward and shared their painful experiences,” a statement signed by the three read. “We know that it must be a very difficult thing to do and we commend them for it.”

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ICYMI …

The NHL and the National Hockey League Players’ Association have announced the suspension of all operations from Wednesday to Christmas Day amid an increase of positive COVID-19 tests.

The league and players’ association announced in a joint statement Monday night that all NHL team facilities will be closed until Boxing Day,

The league’s decision will result in five additional NHL games being postponed _ all were scheduled to be played on Thursday. All four matches on Wednesday had already been postponed.

The league’s holiday break was initially scheduled to begin Friday and end Sunday.

The NHL has been forced to scrub 49 games this season, with 44 announced since Dec. 13.

After the shutdown, practices can resume Sunday afternoon and games are scheduled to resume next Monday.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2021

The Canadian Press