B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Megan Scheffers waited until July to celebrate Christmas with her kids after the COVID-19 pandemic kept them apart last winter, but she says decorating candy log cabins just wasn't the same in the dead of summer.
She was hoping to make up for missed traditions this year as two of her three children booked mid-December tickets to fly to Nova Scotia from the Netherlands, where they live with their father.
But as the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus threatens to upend the holiday season, Scheffers said she's worried her 12-year-old and nine-year-old may not make it to Halifax to open their presents.
"All of the decorations, they're still packed away, because I wanted to pull them out when they arrive so we can do it together," Scheffers said.
"Last year, I didn't even put a tree up. Is this going to be year number two without a tree ... and without my children?"
Scheffers is among many Canadians whose holiday plans hang in the balance as mounting anxiety about the Omicron variant dampens excitement for a vaccine-protected comeback of Christmas merriment.
Nazeem Muhajarine, a professor of community health and epidemiology at University of Saskatchewan, said winter festivities may have to be scaled back as Omicron stokes concerns about the safety of holiday travel and gatherings.
But with so much still unknown about the virus mutation, Muhajarine said there's still hope of salvaging the holiday spirit, encouraging revellers to see how the situation unfolds before scrapping their celebrations.
"I think it's prudent to take a more cautious, measured approach," he said. "But wait and see closer to Christmas Day or New Year's Day before you finalize those plans."
Some scientists have suggested Omicron could be more contagious than other strains of the virus, but Muhajarine said it could take weeks to determine the implications of the new variant, including whether it causes severe illness and whether it can overcome immunity provided by vaccination or infection.
He added that while Omicron has been linked to a dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases in South Africa, it's too early to predict how the variant will spread in Canada, which has a much higher rate of vaccination.
What is clear is that the uncertainty could pose complications for those planning to spend the holidays abroad now that Canada and a host of other countries have tightened border measures in response to the variant's spread, said Muhajarine, warning that international travellers risk getting tangled in testing and quarantine requirements to reach their destination.
Visiting family and friends within Canada is a safer bet, he said, but he suggested that visitors take rapid antigen tests before they arrive and after they leave as an added precaution.
Muhajarine said hosts should also be prepared to rearrange their Christmas dinner tables as provinces roll out their COVID-19 policies for the holiday season.
New Brunswick entered the first phase of its so-called winter action plan on Sunday, which allows for indoor household gatherings of up to 20 people, but the province has advised against inviting individuals who have chosen not to get vaccinated.
Meanwhile, Ontario officials have indicated that they intend to stick with their 25-person limit on indoor get-togethers. Quebec is expected to issue its holiday recommendations this week, but Premier Francois Legault has signalled that he hopes to increase indoor gathering limits to 20 or 25 people, up from the current cap of 10.
For his part, Muhajarine endorsed even more intimate celebrations with single-digit guest lists, and making full vaccination a condition of attendance, to reduce the risk of making this Christmas a loved one's last.
"That is how we can have a safe and smart Christmas this year, and hopefully, next year it will be different."
If that sentiment sounds familiar, it may be because it echoes a common refrain among public health officials who for nearly two years have been entreating Canadians to make short-term sacrifices in the service of a brighter future.
Steve Joordens, a psychology professor at University of Toronto Scarborough, worries that the emergence of the Omicron variant just in time for the holidays may mark a tipping point in people's patience for such promises, hardening pandemic fatigue into "depression."
"We thought we were finally going to get the chance to have a Christmas. If that gets taken away from us, I think it's a little extra insult to the injury," said Joordens.
"I think we're starting to feel a hint of these depressive feelings that nothing we can do really changes anything, and that's a scary road to start going down."
Alexandra Martino, a 29-year-old social media manager in London, said she's determined to maintain her holiday cheer as she prepares to fly across the pond to see her family in Toronto for the first time since last Christmas. This despite knowing there's a chance that Omicron could usher in a new wave of holiday disruptions in the week leading up to her flight.
"I just have to stay positive and optimistic, and just keep thinking, 'I'm totally going home. I'm totally going home,"' until something shows up and says, 'You actually cannot.'"
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2021.
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.