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.
New Zealand on Friday welcomed the first cruise ship to return since the coronavirus pandemic began, signalling a long-sought return to normalcy for the nation's tourism industry.
New Zealand closed its borders in early 2020 as it sought at first to eliminate COVID-19 entirely and then later to control its spread. Although the country reopened its borders to most tourists arriving by plane in May, it wasn't until two weeks ago that it lifted all remaining restrictions, including those on maritime arrivals.
Many in the cruise industry question why it took so long.
The end of restrictions allowed Carnival Australia's Pacific Explorer cruise ship to dock in Auckland with about 2,000 passengers and crew Friday morning as part of a 12-day return trip to Fiji that left from Sydney.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's another step in the reopening of our borders and a step closer to resuming business as usual."
Nash said it would take some time for international tourist numbers and revenue to return to their pre-pandemic levels, when the industry accounted for about 20% of New Zealand's foreign income and more than 5% of GDP.
"I think there's been many people in the tourism sector who have done it hard over the last two years," Nash said. "But we've always taken an approach where we need to ensure that we get the health response right. Because if we don't, we know the consequences are dire."
Not everybody is happy with the return of tourists. A sailboat carrying protesters upset about the industry's impact on the environment followed the Pacific Explorer into the harbor Friday, before passengers were greeted with an Indigenous Maori welcome and a visit by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Nash said the pause in tourism had given the nation a chance to reset its priorities. One of those was to go after what he described as wealthier "high quality" tourists who would stay longer and have a story to tell when they returned home.
"We are not targeting the guys that come over and put up on Facebook, 'Hey, travel around New Zealand on $10 a day living on 2-minute noodles,"' Nash said.
He said another goal was to move away from the perception that people working in the industry would be subject to long hours and low wages, and to make it a more rewarding and aspirational career.
Nash said that with airline tickets more expensive and travellers more risk-averse than before the pandemic, tourism numbers could remain subdued for a while, but he thought the industry would eventually make a strong comeback.
"I see markets like the United States being a really important market for New Zealand," he said. "There's been US$2 trillion saved in the States over and above that which would have been saved if it hadn't been for COVID. So, there's a little bit of money floating around."
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.