Top Stories – Feb 11 – Protest Support Wanes

Political support for anti-vaccine mandate protesters appears to be declining. Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen called on protesters to go home and end activity she says is hurting the country’s economic rebound from COVID. During question period, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended vaccine mandates even as he acknowledged that people are tired of restrictions and lockdowns.

There were 444 new cases of covid 19 reported for interior health yesterday, compared to 370 the day before. Once again, that was the most of any health region in the province where 1,318 new cases were reported. In BC there are 867 people in hospital, with 138 in intensive care.

As some provinces begin lifting COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, psychology experts expect stress and anxiety to run high among those who remain wary of letting their guard down. One said after two years of being told to avoid the virus, it will be hard for some people to switch their mindset. Another said anxiety can be heightened when people don’t feel they have the information they need to assess their risk.

Okanagan Mountain Park is being expanded by 21 hectares. The government says it’s to enhance wildlife connectivity and species protection, along with the addition of the Golden Mile Trail for recreation. Boundary modifications to address safety issues will also be made at Big White Mountain Ecological Reserve.

A number of sectors in Canada, especially the auto industry are having to shut down plants due to a parts shortage. They are caught up in the anti-vaccine mandate protests that have closed or slowed border crossings to a crawl. In Ottawa, authorities say a few trucks have left the downtown blockade, while others moved to the airport on a day when many MP’s would be flying home for the weekend.

Almost two years after the start of the pandemic, commercials for this year’s Super Bowl are taking a less serious tone. Most of this year’s ads focus on celebrities. Among them are Zendaya in an ad for Squarespace, Idris Elba for Booking.com and Gwyneth Paltrow, seen chowing down on a candle from her product line in an ad for Uber Eats.

At its meeting this week, West Kelowna Council supported the future construction of a fully accessible playground at one of three potential locations. Staff will work on finding the most suitable one. Council will dedicate $75,000 to the project this year, and consider a further 125-thousand during the 2023 budget.

Business events and workforce support initiatives, such as hiring and retaining employees, in the tourism sector will receive more than $9.3 million over the next two years. Victoria’s Tourism Recovery Initiatives Action Plan will be provided to city destination management organizations that were involved in attracting and hosting business events, conferences and exhibitions before the pandemic.

Telus reported net income yesterday of 644 Million dollars for the last quarter… up from 260 Million a year ago. The telecom company said it expects to have more than 80 per cent coverage in its 5G footprint by the end of the year. It expects earnings to grow another 8-10 percent in 2022.

Sports

Canada shut-out Sweden 11-0 in women’s Olympic hockey quarterfinal play this morning. Our next game is Monday at 5:10am in the semi-final against a TBA opponent.

The Canadian men are getting set for a big Olympic hockey game tonight. They take on the United States at 8:10 in a preliminary round game.

The Kelowna Rockets have 2 home games against American rivals this weekend. Everett visits Prospera Place tonight at 7 while Tri-Cities comes across the border tomorrow

After a big BCHL win in Merritt on Tuesday, the West Kelowna Warriors host the Centennials tonight at 7. Meantime the Kelowna Rockets have road games coming up in Summerland and Princeton.

The Vancouver Canucks have added gold and silver medal-winning U-S women’s hockey team captain Cammi Granato as an assistant general manager. The 50-year-old — one of the first two women to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame — comes to Vancouver from the Seattle Kraken where she has been a pro scout since 2019.

It’s Super Bowl 56 weekend with the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals playing at So-Fi Stadium on Sunday. Kick off is scheduled for about 3:30 and the pregame show starts 6-1/2 hours earlier.

It’s an early start for a Hockey Night in Canada game tomorrow for the Vancouver Canucks when they host the Leafs. The face off is at 4.