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Canada report
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 20, 2003
Health authorities warn the SARS outbreak in Toronto where 14 people have died is poised to explode in an uncontrolled way.
The battle against severe acute respiratory syndrome has reached a critical stage, with more than 300 probable and suspected cases in the area, infectious disease experts say.
The disease has now traveled beyond the original cluster of infection, said Dr. Andrew Simor, a microbiologist. There is a mounting risk that people will go undiagnosed and spread SARS in the community, sparking sporadic cases that can't be traced, he said.
And there is evidence of potential infection in Montreal. The Toronto Globe and Mail reported that a Toronto man who attended a business conference in Montreal had symptoms and now 450 people from the meeting are under quarantine.
"People are very, very frightened of this and it's going to get worse," said Dr. Allison McGeer, head of infection control at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, who is recovering from the disease.
Dr. James Young, Ontario's commissioner of public security, said anyone in Toronto -- a city of 2.4-million people -- who feels sick with headaches or muscle aches, malaise or a cough is urged to stay home and isolate themselves from their family until they feel better. If they develop a fever, they are urged to call the province's health line and ask for instructions.
Ontario is considering whether it can use electronic tracking devices to enforce quarantine orders.
Meanwhile, there has been a steep decline in tourism with canceled conventions and trips that are costing the city millions of dollars in lost business.
Quebec's era of separatist governments running the province has come to an end with a decisive election victory by Jean Charest and his Liberals. Voters elected 76 Liberals on Monday, 45 Parti Quebecois politicians and four from the Action Democratique du Quebec. Charest, a former federal Conservative politician before becoming Quebec's Liberal leader, will take office as premier on April 29 succeeding Bernard Landry.
Pollution statistics show Canada's toxic air emissions increased while those in the United States declined. Ontario was the third-worst polluting jurisdiction in 2000, up from fourth place in 1999, behind Texas and Ohio, according to the NAFTA Commission for Environmental Cooperation.
A Canadian destroyer heading an international task force in the Gulf of Oman accidentally fired a torpedo during a training exercise. The Defense Department said the Mk 46 torpedo from HMCS Iroquois didn't arm and dove harmlessly into the seabed. There were no ships or submarines in the area at the time.
Canada's dollar is still on a roll at 68.97 U.S. cents while the U.S. dollar returned $1.4499 Canadian, before bank exchange fees.
The key Bank of Canada interest rate was increased by 0.25 percent to 3.25 percent to battle inflationary pressures while the prime lending rate is up at 5 percent.
Canadian stock exchanges are mixed, with the Toronto index higher at 6,485 points and the Canadian Venture Exchange lower at 1,036 points.
Lotto 6-49: (Wednesday) 8, 18, 21, 26, 42, 48; bonus 31; (April 12) 5, 7, 9, 25, 28, 48; bonus 27.
British Columbia has a new income-based prescription drug program and is asking the province's 2-million households to register by May 1. Under the new Fair PharmaCare program, rising costs of prescription drugs will be reduced for about 280,000 low-income families and seniors.
Saskatchewan is considering creating a statutory holiday to mark the province's 2005 centennial. Premier Lorne Calvert says the idea being discussed would be a holiday called Centennial Day or Saskatchewan Day.