1. A novel coronavirus rapid detector developed in Canada was put into mass production

A COVID-19 virus rapid detector developed by the Spartan Bioscience in Ottawa was approved by Health Canada of Canadian Federal Government into mass production on April 12 and will be delivered to the health agencies designated by the federal and provincial governments successively in mid-April.

It is reported that this detector is not only lightweight and portable but also can show the detection results in less than 60 minutes. Each this detector can perform tests on 10 to 15 nasal or oral extracts daily and give the detection results. Spartan Bioscience said it would roll out an upgraded version of the detector capable of delivering detection results in less than 30 minutes in the near future.

2. Canada spent C$ 50 million to help in a quarantine of foreign seasonal workers

The Canadian Government announced on April 13 that it would allocate C$50 million to help pay the expenses incurred by foreign seasonal workers employed by farms and seafood processing plants during the 14-day quarantine upon arrival in Canada.

The government stipulated that the foreign seasonal workers must be quarantined for 14 days upon arrival in Canada. During the quarantine, the employers must pay them wages and provide the board and lodging. As compensation, the government would offer a subsidy of C$1,500 per foreign worker to the employers

Agriculture Canada Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said foreign seasonal workers were critical to the proper functioning of the Canadian food supply chain and to guaranteeing food security and price stability for Canadians. However, the Minister also warned that if employers or foreign workers were found to have failed to comply with such quarantine rules, they could face fines or imprisonment.

3. Nearly six million people in Canada have applied for Canada Emergency Response Benefits

According to the Ministry of Labour, Canada, nearly 6 million people have applied to the government for COVID-19 emergency response benefits or unemployment benefits in March. So far, authorities have completed the approval process for 5.4 million applications.

If approved, the applicant will receive an assistance payment of C$2,000 monthly for up to four months.

The Conservatives have criticized Canada’s Emergency Response Benefit program for being badly designed and ignoring those who are not unemployed but are working fewer hours.

4. Printed ads in Canadian supermarkets could disappear after the outbreak

After the outbreak of COVID-19, many Canadians began to shop online instead of in stores. This has made some big chains decide not to offer printed ads in their stores. Among them, the Loblaw Group has even announced its plan of permanently stopping printing and delivering weekly ads to households and placing them on websites and through mobile apps only, instead.

The Loblaw Group owns a number of chain stores, such as Loblaw, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, and Maxi. Other chain store groups are also experimenting with replacing printed ads with online ones.

Some experts believe that after the COVID-19 epidemic, the decades-old marketing tool printed ad may be dying out. And this will hurt the printing industry, and also the mail industry.

5. COVID-19 could affect Canada's food supply

Agriculture Canada Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said on April 15, the outbreak of COVID-19 could affect Canada's food supply, resulting in such as higher prices or some food shortages

At a meat processing plant near Calgary, Alberta, 38 workers have been confirmed with COVID-19 and the plant will be closed for at least two weeks. Also, confirmed cases have been reported at the JBS meat processing plant and the Harmony Beef processing plant in Alberta successively. They have produced three-quarters of Canada's beef. Later, a public health officer of Alberta said the meat from these plants was safe.

Labour shortages are not just the result of workers falling ill, but also of workers refusing to work for fear of catching the disease. In Canada, employees have the right to refuse work if they feel their health is at risk

Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Chrystia Freeland said on April 16, the government was trying to figure out ways of helping the food processing industry, which is facing severe challenges, deal with the outbreak.

6. Trudeau: Starting the economy too early would be "disastrous"

Prime Minister of Canada Trudeau held a conference call with provincial premiers on the night of April 16 to discuss reopening and starting the economy. Trudeau warned that a premature resumption of economic activities could undermine the efforts and progress made so far to contain the virus. He said, moving too quickly could be "disastrous."

Trudeau said there was still a long way to go before the economy could be restarted.

In addition, the average distance traveled by mobile phone users in Quebec, Ontario, B.C., Yukon, and Alberta has declined by more than 50% since January, according to the location-based data from mobile phone companies. The tally in other provinces has also reduced by at least 25 percent.

7. Bank of Canada Appealed: allowing customers to use cash

The raging COVID 19 in Canada has made some stores reluctant to accept cash for fear of increasing the risk of cashiers being infected.

In early April, the Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements released a research report, saying that exposure to cash was associated with a low risk of COVID 19 infection, and no cases had been reported due to that. COVID-19 virus is more likely to survive on plastic and stainless steel surfaces and using credit and cash cards to pay bills through a POS also carries a risk of being infected by the virus.

Thus, the Bank of Canada has strongly called on the businesses to accept cash payments and let customers pay in their most willing and convenient way. According to the Bank, Canada's popular currency is made of polyester material that can be cleaned and sterilized.

8. North American stocks were mixed, while oil and the Canadian dollar continued to weaken

North American stocks were mixed on April 16, with Canada's major stock indexes weakening due to underperforming financial and energy sectors and the U.S. major stock indexes rising on the back of big technology companies.

Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 59.26 points at 13,899.32.

Toronto's financial sector underperformed the overall market, closing down 2.38 percent; the six major banks' declines ranged from 1.91% to 4.06%.

Energy shares fell 4.31 percent as oil prices fell, with the June crude contract falling 51 cents to $25.53 a barrel. TC Energy's keystone pipeline suffered another judicial setback, with its company down 3.56% and Suncor Energy inc. down 5.75%.

After a poor morning on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industries Average Index closed up 33.33 points at 23,537.68, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 16.19 points to 2,799.55, and the NASDAQ Composite Index rose 139.19 points to 8,532.36.

The Canadian dollar averaged 70.81 cents against the U.S. dollar, down from an average of 70.99 cents on April 15.

The June gold futures contracts ended down $8.50 at $1,731.70 an ounce.

9. The Canadian Government continued to expand funding for small businesses

Prime Minister of Canada Trudeau announced on April 16 that Canada was expanding its Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) to make more small businesses eligible for $40,000 interest-free loans, and launching a new rent-waiver program for Canadian companies affected by the outbreak.

The CEBA, which originally allowed only companies with annual payroll expenses falling between C$50, 000 and C$1 million to apply, will now relax the rules, allowing companies with payroll expenses ranging from C$20000 to C$1.5 million in 2019 to apply.

So far, 195,000 companies have been approved and received loans totaling C$7.5 billion.

Trudeau said Ottawa and other provinces were also working on a new program called Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance to provide small businesses with rental subsidies in April, May, and June.

1、加拿大研制的新冠病毒快速检测仪投入批量生产

4月12日，由渥太华的Spartan Bioscience公司研制的COVID-19病毒快速检测仪获联邦政府卫生部批准后已投入批量生产，并将在4月中旬陆续送达联邦和省政府指定的卫生机构。

据悉，该检测仪不仅轻巧便携，而且能够在不到60分钟之内给出检测结果。每台检测仪每天可以完成10到15份鼻腔或口腔提取物的检测并给出结果。Spartan Bioscience公司表示，将在近期内推出该检测仪升级版，能够在不到30分钟之内给出检测结果。

2、加拿大出资5千万,帮助外籍季节工隔离

4月13日，加拿大政府宣布，将拨款5千万加元以帮助农场和海鲜加工厂雇佣的外籍季节工抵加后隔离14天的费用。

政府规定，在外籍季节工抵达加拿大后，必须隔离14天；在隔离期间，雇主必须支付其工资并提供食宿。政府将为雇主提供每个外籍工1500加元的补贴。

加拿大农业部长Marie-Claude Bibeau表示，外籍季节工对加拿大食品供应链的正常运转至关重要，对确保加拿大民众的食品安全和食品价格的稳定至关重要。但部长警告说，如果雇主或外籍工人被发现不遵守隔离规定，将面临罚款或入狱。

3、加拿大近6百万人已申请紧急救助金

加拿大劳动部的统计数字显示，3月份有近6百万人向政府申请了COVID-19疫情紧急救助金或失业金。目前，有关部门已经完成了540万份申请的审批程序。

如果获得批准，申请者将获得每月2千加元的补助金，最多可以领取4个月。

保守党批评加拿大紧急救助金项目有严重的设计缺陷，对那些虽然没有失业，但工作时数减少的人忽视不管。

4、疫情过后加拿大超市印刷广告恐消亡

COVID-19疫情爆发后，很多加拿大人用网上购物替代实体店购物。这使得一些大型连锁店决定不再在商店内提供印刷广告。其中，Loblaw集团公司甚至宣布计划永久性停止印刷和每周派送到各家各户的广告，而只在网站和通过手机APP发布推销广告。

Loblaw集团公司旗下有Loblaw，No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore和Maxi等连锁店。其他连锁店集团公司有的也开始试行用网络广告取代印刷广告。

有专家认为，COVID-19疫情后，有着几十年历史的印刷广告的推销手段可能将会消亡。而这又将给印刷业造成 损失，也会给邮递行业带来损失。

5、 新冠疫情可能影响加拿大食品供应

4月15日，加拿大农业部长Marie-Claude Bibeau表示，新冠疫情的爆发可能会影响加拿大的食品供应，如涨价或某些食品短缺。

在阿尔伯塔省卡尔加里市附近的一家肉类加工厂，就有38名工人被确诊新冠肺炎，该工厂至少要关闭两个星期。阿尔伯塔省的JBS肉类加工厂以及Harmony Beef加工厂都先后发生了疫情。而加拿大全国四分之三的牛肉都出自这三家加工厂。随后，阿省公共卫生官员表示，这几家加工厂的肉食是安全的。

劳动力短缺不仅源自员工染病，也有员工因害怕染病而拒绝工作。在加拿大，员工如果感到健康受到威胁，就有权利拒绝工作。

4月16日，加拿大副总理Chrystia Freeland表示，政府正在想办法帮助面临严峻挑战的食品加工业应对疫情。

6、特鲁多：过早启动经济将是 “灾难性的”

4月16日晚，加拿大总理特鲁多与各省省长举行了电话会议，讨论重新开放和启动经济的问题。特鲁多警告说，过早地恢复经济活动，有可能破坏至今为遏制病毒做出的努力和取得的进展。他说，行动太快可能是“灾难性的”。

特鲁多表示，从目前来看，到有能力重启经济，还有很长的路要走。

另外，根据移动电话公司的地理位置数据，自1月份以来，魁北克、安省、B.C.省、育空地区和阿尔伯塔省的移动电话用户的平均外出距离已减少了50％以上。 在其他省份，平均出行距离减少了至少25％。

7、加拿大央行呼吁：准许顾客使用现金

肆虐加拿大的COVID-19疫情，导致有些商店不愿意接受现金付款，担心收现金、找零钱会增加收银员被感染的风险。

4月初，设在瑞士的国际清算银行发表研究报告说，接触现金导致感染COVID-19病毒的风险较低，目前还没有因此而感染的病例。COVID-19病毒更容易在塑料和不锈钢表面生存，使用信用卡和现金卡通过刷卡机付账同样有传染新冠病毒的风险。

加拿大央行强烈呼吁各商家接受消费者现金付款的购物方式，让客户用其最愿意、最方便的方式付款。央行表示，加拿大流行的货币是聚酯材料制作的、可以用清洗的方式进行消毒。

8、北美股市涨跌互现 石油和加元持续疲弱

4月16日，北美股市涨跌互现，加拿大主要股指因金融和能源行业表现不佳而疲软，美国主要股指则受到大型科技公司的推动而上扬。

多伦多 S＆P / TSX 综合指数收盘下跌59.26点，报13,899.32点。

多伦多金融业的表现逊于整体市场，收盘下跌2.38％；6大银行的跌幅从1.91％到4.06％不等。

能源股下跌4.31％，原因是石油价格下跌，6月原油合约下跌51美仙至每桶25.53美元。TC Energy的基石输油管道再次遭受司法挫折，其公司下跌3.56％，Suncor Energy Inc.下跌5.75％。

原本美股早盘表现不佳，但随后回涨，道琼斯工业平均指数收盘上涨33.33点，至23,537.68点。标准普尔500指数上涨16.19点，至2,799.55点。纳斯达克综合指数上涨139.19点，至8,532.36点。

加元兑美元平均汇率为70.81美仙，低于4月15日的平均水平70.99美仙。

6月期金合约收盘跌8.50美元，至每盎司1,731.70美元。

9、加拿大政府继续扩大资助小企业

4月16日，总理特鲁多宣布，加拿大正在扩大其加拿大紧急企业帐户(Canada Emergency Business Account，简称CEBA)，以让更多小企业有资格获得4万元的无息贷款，并为受疫情影响的加拿大公司启动新的减免租金计划。

CEBA本来只让年薪资花费在5万至100万之间的公司申请，现在将放宽标准，2019年企业在薪资支出介于2万元至150万元之间的公司都可申请。

到目前为止，已有19.5万个公司获得批准，政府批出的贷款总额达75亿加元。

杜鲁多表示，渥太华和各省也正在努力制定一个名为“加拿大紧急商业租金援助”(Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance)的新计划，以期在4月、5月和6月为小企业提供租金补贴。