Morning Update: Where did billions in emergency aid go? Data show a rural-urban divide

Good morning,

Nearly a year after the pandemic first swept through Canada, we’re now getting the most detailed picture yet of where billions of dollars in emergency aid went in 2020.

Using federal data obtained through the Access to Information Act, The Canadian Press found a largely rural-urban split during the first wave, with higher proportions of populations relying on the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) in cities compared with rural parts of the country. Some highlights of the findings:

• Over its lifespan between late March and October of last year, the CERB paid out nearly $82-billion to 8.9 million people
• Neighbourhoods in Brampton, Ont., on Toronto’s northwest edge, had the largest volume of CERB recipients with postal-code areas averaging more than 15,160 recipients per four-week pay period.
• CERB usage also appears higher in urban areas that had higher COVID-19 case counts, which was and remains the case in Calgary’s northeast.
• Over the lifetime of the CERB, the Ontario town of East Gwillimbury had the highest average number of residents accessing the program, at 24 per cent. The town with the lowest percentage was Winkler, Man., at 3.83 per cent.

“As cities relied more on accommodations, tourism and food as drivers of economic growth, the more they would have been sideswiped by the pandemic, and larger centres have a higher concentration of jobs in these areas,” said David Macdonald, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, who has studied the CERB.

“More rural areas of the country and certain cities that have a higher reliance on, say, natural resources wouldn’t have been hit as hard.”

This is the daily Morning Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Morning Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters on our newsletter signup page.

In COVID-19 vaccine news:

How did Britain become the envy of the world in COVID-19 vaccination rollout? As Paul Waldie reports, the country was beset with problems throughout the pandemic, from botched testing to delayed lockdowns. But with the help of a no-nonsense venture capitalist named Kate Bingham, the country has already vaccinated more than 15 million in total. The key: zeroing in on the most promising vaccines early, and rebuilding the country’s manufacturing sector so the shots could be made domestically.

Speaking of vaccines, a company with research operations in Ottawa is trying to come up with a vaccine that will hit more than one kind of coronavirus at a time. As Ivan Semeniuk reports, biopharmaceutical company VBI Vaccines is getting increasing attention because of the variants springing up all around the world.

And finally, new guidance from Canada’s national advisory committee on vaccines recommends prioritizing racialized Canadians for the next phase of vaccination. Data show that racialized communities are hit hardest by the virus, and in Toronto nearly 80 per cent of hospital admissions are of racialized persons.

Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Global allies join Canada for joint declaration against hostage diplomacy: The Canadian government has secured the support of 57 other countries for a joint condemnation of hostage diplomacy, though without any promises to act against countries that arrest foreign citizens as a diplomatic tool. The declaration is “trying to put pressure on countries that do it, and to tell them that this is totally unacceptable and that there are eventually going to be consequences to countries that ignore that,” Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau said Monday. It has been nearly 800 days since Chinese authorities seized Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

Airlines COVID-19 rescue negotiations at critical stage, sources say: The federal government and Canada’s airlines are at a critical stage in backroom negotiations that could soon end months of haggling and result in a multibillion-dollar rescue plan for the pandemic-hobbled industry. According to one government source, the terms of a rescue package would require the airlines to refund customers for flights cancelled and disallow any bailout money go to executive bonuses, among other things.

Newfoundland offers a cautionary tale about the threat of new variants: While other parts of the country are loosening restrictions, Newfoundland has entered into full lockdown, despite its success in containing the virus earlier in the pandemic. The province is an example of how quickly the new, and more contagious, variants can reverse months of good fortune in a few days. Says Newfoundland Chief Medical Officer of Health Janice Fitzgerald: “You can never let your guard down.”

MORNING MARKETS

European shares gain: Stocks in Europe flirted with one-year highs on Tuesday, buoyed by hopes that rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine and a huge U.S. stimulus package will translate into a durable economic recovery and draw a line under a year of lockdowns. Just before 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.18 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.05 per cent and 0.11 per cent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished up 1.28 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.9 per cent. New York futures were higher. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.19 US cents.

WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

Ontario’s proposed Highway 413 is a $6-billion sprawl accelerator

Globe editorial: ”When big problems need solving, too often the answer is set in stone before questions are even asked. That’s where Highway 413 started, until the former Liberal government asked some questions, got some real answers, and reversed course. Now, the Ford government wants to ignore all that.”

TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON

Open this photo in gallery:

LIVING BETTER

Globe Craft Club: Learn how to make a collage with musician Scott Nolan

It’s time to let your imagination run wild as we foray into the endlessly creative world of collage. The teacher for our Feb. 16 livestream will be Scott Nolan, a Winnipeg songwriter and producer who has been making collages during the pandemic and says it has been instrumental to his health and well-being throughout the challenges of the past year. He’s said he finds the act of collage calming and comforting, an act of both creation and self-preservation. Click here to follow along tonight at 7 p.m. ET.

MOMENT IN TIME: February 16, 1970

Open this photo in gallery:

Stolen Grey Cup trophy recovered in a locker at the Royal York Hotel

The Grey Cup symbolizes supremacy in the Canadian Football League and yet, the shiny silver chalice can’t seem to get any respect. In its rich history, the $48 trophy – donated by former governor-general Earl Grey in 1909 – has survived a fire, been used, abused, broken and abandoned. It has even been stolen. On Dec. 20, 1969, thieves broke into a display case at Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park, swiped the trophy belonging to the champion Rough Riders and held it for ransom. To everyone’s surprise, especially the crooks, their demands were largely ignored. Ottawa police said they believed the theft was a prank, while CFL officials expressed concern for its sentimental value but refused to play ball. Instead, they started making plans to build a replica replacement for the next Grey Cup game. So the kidnappers simply gave in. On this day in 1970, Toronto police received an anonymous phone call instructing them to retrieve a key from a phone booth at a specific location in downtown Toronto. That key opened a locker at the Royal York Hotel, and inside was the Grey Cup, unharmed. The case remains unsolved. -Darren McGee

If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday morning, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.