Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Canadians currently stuck in South Africa are running out of options as they navigate confusing travel rules to come home.
Richard Maisel arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, on Nov. 24, just as the world first learned of the B.1.1.259 variant -- later named “Omicron” – and is now looking at another two weeks in the country as airlines and governments restrict travel from southern Africa.
“This has been incredibly frustrating and stressful,” he told CTV News Channel on Monday.
Maisel said he is running low on options as most airlines will not accept Canadian travellers, while the federal government requires an in-transit PCR test for entry into Canada, which rules out several connecting airports.
“Most of the European airlines are only taking EU citizens back, not allowing Canadians to board the flights,” he said. “The American airlines -- Delta and United -- are only allowed American citizens to come back.”
Maisel said he’s only been able to find a flight to Germany that accepts Canadians and provides in-transit PCR testing, but the next flight isn’t for one or two weeks.
“Luckily for me… I have my parents to stay with,” he said. “Most Canadians on the chat group are staying in hotels or Airbnbs and they have no where to go.”
Jonathan and Rene Goldman are in a similar situation. They flew to Cape Town for a family member’s 90th birthday and are now stuck in South Africa with few flight options to return home.
“Because we don’t have a direct (flight) to Canada, on one really wants to help us,” Rene told CTV News.
Twenty members on Team Canada’s under-21 field hockey team do not have a clear path back to Canada after the team had travelled to the country in advance of the Junior World Cup.
“We’re playing a waiting game right now,” said Danielle Husar, a player on the team. “We’ve got a big team of people back home working, as well as the government.”
Canada had been set to play against Uruguay, England and Belgium in the first two weeks of December, but the tournament has been cancelled.
"Everyone is safe and well – the team will remain in [sic] situ while the flight home is arranged," said Kevin Underhill, spokesperson for Field Hockey Canada, in a statement to CTV News Vancouver Island.
"(Sports Canada and Global Affairs) understand this is a junior national team which is only in South Africa to represent Canada at the world level," said Underhill. "Field Hockey Canada feels fortunate to have the highest levels of government working on this on our behalf."
On Friday, the Canadian government banned travellers from the southern African countries of South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini. Anyone who had travelled through those counties in the previous 14 days is asked to quarantine until they can provide a negative test result.
Health officials have confirmed three cases of the Omicron variant in Canada: two in Ottawa and one in Quebec. There are also four more suspected Omicron cases in Ontario.
It is still unclear how transmissible and dangerous this new variant may be. Researchers have said more information is needed to make those conclusions.
With files from CTVNews.ca Writers Nicole Bogart and Hannah Jackson, CTV News Montreal Bureau Chief Genevieve Beauchemin and CTV News Vancouver Island
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.