title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The first floor houses the Assembly Hall, which combines Indian and Roman architecture. Originally designed for a small number of members, it now accommodates 371 members.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: There was gallery seating for 200 visitors to view the proceedings of the Assembly, but now most of the gallery has been designated as floor of the house to accommodate the increased number of members, and accommodations for radio and TV press.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The rest of the first floor consists of the Speaker's Chamber, the Chief Minister's Chamber, the Deputy Speaker's Office, the Cabinet Room, the Ministers' Offices, two committee rooms and the Assembly Secretariat offices.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The ground floor includes a reception area, a cafeteria, a library, a prayer room, a dispensary, the office of the leader of the opposition, the bank, the Assembly Secretariat offices, and one Committee room.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: Nayyar Ali Dada was appointed a consultant by the Chief Minister of Punjab, who was responsible for the project.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: Composed of blocks A and B, the construction was planned for the western lawn of the Assembly building.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: Construction of phase I of Block A began in 1988, when the foundation stone was laid down by the Chief Minister Nawaz Sharif.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: This phase was completed in 1992 and the inauguration ceremony was presided over by Manzoor Wattoo, speaker of the Assembly.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: It consists of a basement, a ground floor, and four residential floors. The ground floor includes a reception area and a lounge for visitors, as well service areas.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The Phase II plan originally called for 72 residential units, but was later revised to include 40 residential suites each consisting of a lounge, a bedroom, an office, a kitchen, and two bathrooms. One bathroom is connected to the lounge and the other to the bedroom.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: Article 106 of the constitution provides that each Provincial Assembly shall consist of general seats and seats reserved only for women and non-Muslims. The same article specifies that the Provincial Assembly of Punjab will have a total of 371 seats: 297 general seats, 66 reserved for women, and eight reserved for non-Muslims.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: According to Article 113 of the Constitution, the qualifications for membership in the National Assembly set forth in Article 62 of the Constitution also apply for membership to the Provincial Assembly. Thus, a member of the Provincial Assembly:


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The disqualifications specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 do not apply to a person who is a non-Muslim, but such a person must have good moral reputation and possess other qualifications prescribed by an act of Parliament.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The criteria for disqualification of members of a Provincial Assembly is established by Articles 63, 63A, 113 and 127. A person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Provincial Assembly if the member:


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: Article 63A, which deals with disqualification on grounds of defection, was added to the Constitution in 1997. A member of a Parliamentary Party composed of a single political party defects if the member:


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: Article 66 read with Article 127 confers freedom of speech on the members of the Provincial Assembly. No member is liable to any proceedings in any court of law in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in Assembly. Similarly no member is liable in respect of any publication which is published under the authority of Provincial Assembly.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: However, Article 114 of the Constitution curtails this privilege and prohibits members from discussing conduct of judges of High Court and Supreme Court in the discharge of their duties.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: After general elections, elected members in the first meeting take oath in the form set out in Third Schedule of the Constitution. Article 65 read with Article 127 states "A person elected to a House shall not sit or vote until he has made before the House oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule". Those members who have not taken oath in the first meeting take oath when they attend a meeting for the first time. The first meeting is presided by the outgoing Speaker. Article 53 (8) read with Article 127 says "the Speaker shall continue in his office till the person elected to fill the office by next Assembly enters upon his office."


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: (b) Election and oath of Speaker and Deputy Speaker. – In addition to oath taking by the members, Provincial Assembly according to Article 108 to the exclusion of any other business, elect from among its members a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker. When office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, in any way, the Assembly elects another member as Speaker or Deputy Speaker.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker according to clause 2 of Article 53 read with Article 127 take oath before the House in the form set out in the Third Schedule.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: Article 109 authorizes the Governor of the Province to summon Provincial Assembly to meet at such time and place as he thinks fit. Where the Governor summons Assembly he is authorized to prorogue it too. In addition, the Speaker, on a requisition signed by not less than one-fourth of the total membership of the Provincial Assembly, can summon it, at such time and place as he thinks fit, within fourteen days of the receipt of the requisition. Article 54(3) read with Article 127 also empowers the Speaker to prorogue the session where he summons it.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: Article 54 (2) and (3) read with article 127 say there are at least three sessions of Provincial Assembly every year, with not more than 120 days intervening between the last sitting of the Assembly in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the next session. While clause 'g' of Article 127 read with Proviso to Article 54 provides that Provincial Assembly shall meet for not less than 100 working days in each year.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The term of Provincial Assembly in Pakistan according to Article 107 is five years unless it is sooner dissolved, from the day of its first meeting and stands dissolved at the expiration of its terms.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: (a) Dissolution of Provincial Assembly on the advice by the Chief Minister. – Under Article 112, clause 1, the Governor of a Province is empowered to dissolve Provincial Assembly if so advised by the Chief Minister. Where the Chief Minister so advises, the Provincial Assembly stands dissolved at the expiration of 48 hours.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: (b) Dissolution of Provincial Assembly by the Governor on the approval by the President. – Clause 2 of the same Article again empowers the Governor to dissolve Provincial Assembly subject to the approval of the President, where he is of the opinion, that after having been passed a vote of no confidence against the Chief Minister, there is no other member of the Provincial Assembly to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Provincial Assembly, in a session of the Provincial Assembly summoned for the purpose.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: Executive Authority is exercised by the Governor and under Article 105, he shall act in accordance with advice of the cabinet or the Chief Minister.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: According to clause 2-A of Article 130, the Governor of a Province invites the member of the Provincial Assembly to be the Chief Minister who commands the confidence of the majority of the members of the Provincial Assembly as ascertained in the session of the Assembly summoned for the purpose in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: One of the major functions of the Provincial Assembly is to make laws as provided in Article 141 of the Constitution for conferring of functions upon officers or authorities subordinate to the Provincial Governments, Constitutionally. This function is subject to some limitations.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: By virtue of Article 142, the Provincial Assembly cannot legislate on matters which do not fall within its purview. However, under the same article, the Provincial Assembly can legislate on matters mentioned in Concurrent Legislative List. But where parliament makes a law in Concurrent Legislative List, and Provincial Assembly also legislates on it, the Provincial law will be void to the extent that it conflicts with the Federal law.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The Provincial Assembly has exclusive powers to make law with respect to any matter not enumerated either in the Federal Legislative List or in the Concurrent Legislative List. Such list is called a Residuary List. Residuary matters are exclusively within Provincial autonomy. From the above, it cannot be extracted that the Province is subordinate to the Federation or Federation is subordinate to Province. In fact, legislative powers are distributed between Federation and Provinces vide Article 142. And one institution cannot take over powers of other institution. However, this provincial law making power comes to an end and shifts to the Federation during emergency when declared vide Articles 232, 233 or 234.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The second important function of Provincial Assembly under Article 123 (3) is that it acts as a manager or custodian of the purse of a nation.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: No expenditure from the Provincial Consolidated Fund is deemed to be duly authorized unless it is specified in the schedule so authenticated and is laid before the Provincial Assembly. Provincial Assembly exercises checks over executive through control over the Finance. Article 119 provides custody and withdrawal of money from Provincial Consolidated Fund, (defined in Article 118) and public accounts of a Province, unless it is regulated by the Act of the Provincial Assembly.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: Provisions given under Article 120 dealing with annual budget statement and Article 124 dealing with supplementary budget or excess grant become effective, when it is approved by the Provincial Assembly.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: Article 122(2) and Article 124 authorize Provincial Assembly to approve or refuse any demand and reduce the amount specified in the demand. Once budget is approved, the Government has no right to deviate from these sanctions. For excess expenditure, Government has to seek regularization from the Assembly. Similarly under Article 88 read with Article 127, accounts and audit reports of the Government are further scrutinized by the public accounts Committee of the Assembly.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The significance of Provincial Assembly is that it is a representative institution and keeps checks upon policies, practices and performance of the Government. Article 130 (4) says that the Cabinet shall be collectively responsible to the Provincial Assembly.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: Issues relating to Public interest are raised by the Members for discussion in the House in the form of questions, adjournment motions, call attention notices, general discussion, resolutions and various Reports.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The Members make the Executive accountable to the legislature through these devices according to the Rules of Procedure of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, 1997.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: This programme is meant to serve Members of the Provincial Assembly in different areas. They are provided legislative help in drafting private members bills. They are provided useful and informative books. An Internet facility is also available to them, and through Internet research they can polish their ideas.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: To provide these facilities to the Members, in 1997 the Research and Reference Division was formed. It was established to provide information to the Members when needed, and to collect up-to-date information from the resources available. The Library and Computer Sections were included in this division. It was also meant to provide help to the representatives in legislative procedures, such as the drafting of a bill. Prior to the establishment of the Research and Reference Wing, this service was performed by the Legislation Branch.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The primary function of Library Section is to provide data to the Members and to the Research Section. Information such as the Assembly's agenda, date of next sitting, schedule of committee meetings and information about Members is available due to installation of the latest PBX. The Assembly Secretariat has stored vital information in the computer and it is accessible from anywhere around the clock.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: Moreover, Research and Reference Division has designed a web page to provide information to the Members about the Assembly Secretariat and proceedings of the Assembly including its schedule and agenda, and a summary of its proceedings. This web page also includes the procedural rules for the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab and some other important laws of the country.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: A political and constitutional crisis emerged in Pakistan when, on 3 April 2022, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri dismissed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan during a session in which it was expected to be taken up for a vote, alleging that a foreign country's involvement in the regime change (which was not proved in the Supreme Court, Khan's opposition declared it a political move by Khan) was contradictory to Article 5 of the Constitution of Pakistan. Meanwhile in the Punjab province, 25 members of the PTI defected and joined the opposition, that assured them a clear majority hence a no-confidence motion was filed in the assembly against Khan's CM Usman Buzdar. The Speaker of Punjab Assembly and the parliamentary leader of PML(Q) in Punjab, Pervaiz Elahi was in a coalition with PTI following 2018 General Election and he had 10 seats in the assembly. He demanded that he would only support Khan on the federal as well as provincial level, if he nominated Elahi as his CM. Khan agreed and the no-confidence passed which removed Buzdar from Power and later Hamza Shahbaz from PML(N) was elected with the support of PTI's dissidents. Following the outster of Imran Khan, his party (PTI) Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf filed a reference for a comprehensive explanation of the Article 63-A of the Constitution of Pakistan. The 5 member bench of the Supreme Court decided with a 3-2 split decision to not allow lawmakers to vote against party line in four instances outlined under Article 63-A.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: Based on the ruling, 25 MPAs were deseated and Hamza Shahbaz was ordered to continue performing his duties, but as a trustee Chief Minister, with limited powers, while by-elections take place all over Punjab for the fulfillment of the vacant seats, followed by a runoff vote for the office of Chief Minister of Punjab.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The 2022 Punjab by-elections proved to be a major victory for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf, which won 15 seats out of 20, whereas Pakistan Muslim League (N) only managed to grab 4 seats and an independent candidate emerged victorious on one. PTI's victory changed the parliamentary standings, as, they soon formed a coalition with the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) which already had 10 seats in the parliament. This gave PTI a clear majority of 188 seats. However, once the voting took place on 22 July, the leader of the PML(Q), and former Prime Minister Shujaat Hussain wrote a letter to the deputy speaker Dost Mazari, expressing that he has guided his party members to vote in favor of Hamza Shahbaz. The deputy speaker consequently rejected the 10 votes cast by the PML(Q) members in support of Pervaiz Elahi under Article 63-A of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This gave Hamza Shahbaz the upper hand as he received 179 votes to the PTI's 176 and consequently became the Chief Minister of Punjab.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: The Supreme Court held a hearing on a case on whether the Deputy Speaker's ruling was legal according to the Constitution. As a consequence of the hearing, Hamza Shahbaz was made a “trustee Chief Minister” for the time being. While Pervez Elahi was the parliamentary leader in the province and Shujaat Hussain was the leader of the party itself, the Supreme Court eventually ruled in favour of Parvaiz Elahi and the SC's final verdict read that the Parliamentary Leader has the authority in this case, as a result Elahi became the Chief Minister of Punjab. His oath was administered by President Arif Alvi on 27 July, after the Governor of Punjab, Balighur Rehman, refused to do so.


title: Provincial Assembly of the Punjab

text: ""The vote of any member of a parliamentary party in a house that is cast contrary to any direction issued by the latter in terms of para (b) of clause (1) of Article 63-A cannot be counted and must be disregarded, and this is so regardless of whether the party head, subsequent to such vote, proceeds to take, or refrains from taking, action that would result in a declaration of defection." - Article 63-A of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan."


title: No Entry

text: No Entry is an 2005 Indian Hindi-language comedy film written and directed by Anees Bazmee and produced by Boney Kapoor. The film stars Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Fardeen Khan, Bipasha Basu, Lara Dutta, Esha Deol and Celina Jaitly with Sameera Reddy in a cameo appearance. The soundtrack of the film is composed by Anu Malik. It is an official remake of the Tamil film "Charlie Chaplin" (2002)


title: No Entry

text: "No Entry" released theatrically on 26 August 2005 on a budget of , and proved to be a blockbuster at the box office, grossing a worldwide total of ₹74.13 crore, thus becoming the highest-grossing film of 2005. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with praise for its humor, soundtrack and performances of the cast; however its story and screenplay received criticism.


title: No Entry

text: At the 51st Filmfare Awards, "No Entry" received 4 nominations, including Best Film, Best Performance in a Comic Role Anil Kapoor and Best Supporting Actress (Basu).


title: No Entry

text: On 27 December 2021, Salman Khan confirmed that its spiritual sequel "No Entry Mein Entry" is in the works.


title: No Entry

text: Kishan, a wealthy print-media owner is married to the suspicious-minded Kajal, who thinks he is having an affair with another woman, though he is faithful to her and never wills to betray her anyway. His friend Prem, a rich businessman has the opposite situation has many affairs with other girls, even though he is married to Pooja, who is very trusting. Kishan's employee, Shekhar, accidentally falls in love with Sanjana, who hates lies and doesn't tolerate other women in a man's life.


title: No Entry

text: As Kishan takes Prem's photos with his girlfriend and threatens to inform Pooja, Prem sends Bobby, a call girl to seduce Kishan. The plan is that he'll fall into Prem's trap. Kishan plans to meet Bobby at his home while Kajal travels to Ajmer. As her passport is left at home, she returns and finds Bobby with Kishan in their outhouse, which they'd given Shekhar to live in. Kishan tells her that Bobby is Shekhar's wife; Sanjana, set to marry Shekhar, thinks Bobby is Kishan's wife.


title: No Entry

text: Prem, in order to save his friends' marriages, tells Sanjana and Kajal that Bobby was his first wife. It becomes a bundle of confusion, arguments and comedy when all the various couples meet together. The truth is eventually told through many comedic encounters, and eventually Kishan, Prem and Shekhar seemingly turn over a new leaf. It is hinted at the film end, however, that the three friends haven't fully turned over a new leaf with the entrance of Sameera Reddy in a cameo.


title: No Entry

text: During the production of "No Entry", speculations arose that it would be a remake of the film "Masti" (2004). The comparisons were made due to both films revolving around the same subject of extra-marital affairs. However, producer Boney Kapoor strongly denied the similarities and clarified that "No Entry" would be a remake of the Tamil movie titled "Charlie Chaplin" (2002). Kapoor also stressed that he would never endorse innuendo-based films such as "Masti".


title: No Entry

text: It was a box office success, grossing 74.13 crore worldwide. The film topped the Chennai box office on its opening weekend.


title: No Entry

text: Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5, and stated ""No Entry" is a joyride that is bound to click with the masses in a big way. At the box-office, "No Entry" has all it takes to prove a success story on account of its massive star cast and excellent comedy it has to offer. Go have fun!" India Today stated, "The movie is mostly about suspicious, nagging wives, extramarital affairs and lots of semi-clad, sexy bodies cavorting in foreign locations." Patsy N of Rediff.com stated, "If we can watch men sleeping around, and laugh about them, why can't we do the same with movies about woman having extramarital affairs?"


title: No Entry

text: Jaspreet Pandohar of BBC gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and stated "After tackling a romance and thriller, writer/director Anees Bazmee tries his hand at comedy with "No Entry", a caper jammed-packed with Bollywood stars. Great gags sadly deteriorate into a series of stinky slapstick scenes you'll wish had never entered your life." Marc Savlov of Austin Chronicle gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, and stated "Writer-turned-director Bazmee has crafted a relatively smart and snarky war of the sexes minus the sex but with plenty of juicily hammy performances and enough outrageous one-liners, sight gags, and mistaken-identity yuks." Ekanshu Khera of Planet Bollywood gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5, and stated "Well-etched characters, hysterical situations, showcase of stars, witty dialogues, striking cinematography and scenic locales are some of the moments that stand out."


title: No Entry

text: Since 2008, a sequel of "No Entry" is in reports. Bazmee confirmed the sequel in August 2020 stating that Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan and Fardeen Khan will return and play triple roles this time. 10 actresses will be signed for the sequel, with high VFX to be used. Salman also confirmed in December 2021 that he will soon begin work on the film. The sequel, "No Entry Mein Entry" will be produced by Boney Kapoor, Panorama Studios, Salman Khan, T-Series and Murad Khetani and is expected to release on Diwali /Christmas Day/ 29 Dec 2023 or Republic Day 2024. The filming is supposed to start in December 2022 or January 2023.


title: Salvatore Tessio

text: Salvatore "Sal" Tessio is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel "The Godfather", as well as two of the films based on it: "The Godfather" (1972) and "The Godfather Part II" (1974). His given name was created for the films; in the novel he is referred to only as "Tessio". In the film "The Godfather", Tessio was portrayed by Abe Vigoda. In "The Godfather Part II", John Aprea portrayed the younger Tessio, while Vigoda reprised the role in a flashback, set in late 1941, at the end of the film.


title: Salvatore Tessio

text: Tessio has also appeared in the 2004 novel "The Godfather Returns" and the 2006 video game "The Godfather".


title: Salvatore Tessio

text: Tessio befriends Peter Clemenza and Vito Corleone and they begin their criminal careers as low-level hoodlums in the New York City neighborhood of Little Italy in Manhattan; As Vito rises to power and prominence in the Mafia underworld, Tessio and Clemenza become his trusted "caporegimes". Eventually Vito splits Tessio from Clemenza and asks the two not to socialize unless absolutely necessary, both to remove the threat of a conspiracy against him and also to set up Tessio to function as a "safety valve caporegime" whose Mafia soldiers can be called upon by the Corleone family in emergencies. Tessio establishes his regime in Brooklyn, where he is well-connected, and owns the Embassy Club as a base of operations.


title: Salvatore Tessio

text: Most federal investigators consider Tessio the smarter, savvier, and more ruthless of the Corleone "capos". However, according to the book, he mellows considerably over the decade of peace between New York's Mafia families. One of the strengths of the Corleone Family is that, given Tessio's control over Brooklyn, some enemies do not know that Tessio's regime functions within the Corleone Empire, and thus do not understand the extra strength it has.


title: Salvatore Tessio

text: When Vito is shot and wounded by drug lord Virgil Sollozzo's men, igniting a war among the Five Families, Tessio serves as the right-hand man of Vito's eldest son Sonny, who runs the family while Vito is incapacitated. In the novel, Tessio is depicted as thinking more highly of Vito's youngest son and eventual successor Michael than do Clemenza and Corleone family "consigliere" Tom Hagen. However, he never completely trusts Michael, and is frustrated when Michael prevents him from retaliating against rival Don Emilio Barzini as the Barzini family chips away at his bailiwick in Brooklyn. Ultimately, Tessio betrays Michael by helping arrange his assassination at a peace summit with Barzini and Philip Tattaglia. The summit will be held in Tessio's fiefdom in Brooklyn, where Michael will presumably be safe. In return, Tessio was to inherit the Corleone family upon Michael's death.


title: Salvatore Tessio

text: In the novel, Tessio helps broker the summit shortly after Vito's death. In the film, Tessio approaches Michael at Vito's funeral about setting up the peace summit, Michael already anticipated the plot via his father's warning: whoever approached Michael about the peace summit would be the family traitor. Tessio's betrayal surprises Hagen, who thought Clemenza would be the one to betray Michael. Michael tells him, "It's the smart move; Tessio was always smarter."


title: Salvatore Tessio

text: A few days later, Tessio is ready to escort Michael and Hagen to Brooklyn for the meeting when Willi Cicci informs Tessio that Michael is going separately. A frustrated Tessio says it interferes with his "arrangements". Hagen says he cannot go either, and several hitmen surround Tessio. Immediately understanding his situation, Tessio calmly tells Hagen to tell Michael that his betrayal was not personal, but simply business. Tessio asks Hagen to get him off the hook, but Hagen declines. Accepting his fate, Tessio goes quietly as he is taken away to be killed.


title: Salvatore Tessio

text: Mario Puzo's original novel and the film imply Tessio's death, but Mark Winegardner's sequel novel "The Godfather Returns" explains that he is executed with a gunshot at point blank range by his enforcer Nick Geraci. In this novel, Geraci is chosen and intended to succeed him as "capo", but in the original novel, Al Neri takes over the old Tessio "regime."


title: Salvatore Tessio

text: In the video game adaptation, Tessio is the main hit contractor for the first half of the game's story. Later, after he is confronted by Tom Hagen and Cicci, Tessio is escorted to the place where he was to betray Michael by the game's protagonist, Aldo Trapani. He subsequently flees, but is hunted down and shot by Trapani. In the game, Tessio's death takes place before the baptism executions, unlike in the film.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: Shuddh Desi Romance ( and released internationally as A Pure Desi Romance) is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy drama film directed by Maneesh Sharma and produced by Aditya Chopra. It features Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra and Vaani Kapoor in leading roles. The story, set in Jaipur, Rajasthan, explores the views of the younger generation on commitment, live-in relationships and arranged marriages as compared to love marriages in small town India. It screened in the Gala Presentation section of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. Upon release, the film received positive reviews from critics with particular praise for Chopra, Rajput and Kapoor's performances and was declared a hit in India by Box Office India.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: Raghu Ram is a tourist guide in Jaipur who doubles up as a rental baraati for Goyal, a wedding planner. Raghu is experiencing pre-marital jitters before his arranged marriage. Goyal has hired a fake baraat to accompany Raghu to his wedding which includes Gayatri, an independent and open-minded woman who lives life on her own terms. On the way to his wedding venue in the bus they kiss passionately. Raghu falls for Gayatri. A confused Raghu, heavily impressed by her freedom, gathers the guts to run away from his wedding.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: A fortnight later, the two begin dating and eventually enter into a live-in relationship. In India, such relationships are socially frowned upon, so they hide the relationship from their neighbours by pretending to be siblings. Mr. Gupta, a neighbour of Gayatri, catches Raghu with Gayatri and tries to create distrust between them, but the couple are able to reconcile and decide to get married. However, on the day of the wedding, Gayatri runs out on him, and Raghu is left inconsolable.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: Soon after, at a wedding, Raghu meets Tara, the woman he was going to marry before he met Gayatri. She asks him out initially on a revenge trip but slowly falls for him. Just as Raghu is about to ask her to marry him at a wedding, he runs into Gayatri. The bride's mom sends Raghu and Gayatri to pick up the priest from the station. On the way, Gayatri tries to talk to Raghu but he is reluctant. Later at dinner, Raghu finds Tara and Gayatri sitting on the same table. Tara tells him that she invited Gayatri to dinner on Sunday. Raghu gingerly makes an excuse for the bathroom. Gayatri follows him, and they confess their love for each other. Tara arrives and catches them in a loving embrace. Tara realizes she doesn't love Raghu anymore and leaves without any explanation while Raghu and Gayatri are led by Goyal to accept that they love each other and that they should marry.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: Three days later, on the night of their marriage, Gayatri and Raghu run into each other at the main gate while they are trying to run away. Later they meet at Gayatri's home where Raghu says that he truly loves Gayatri but he doesn't want to be imprisoned by marriage. They kiss and agree to resume their live-in relationship.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: The script was written by Jaideep Sahni, who has previously written such films as "Company" (2002), "Bunty Aur Babli" (2005), "Khosla Ka Ghosla" (2006) and "Chak De! India" (2007). The setting, Jaipur, was used to provide a contrast from the lifestyle of big cities and to depict how a traditional way of life complete with its hypocrisies co-exists in these smaller cities along with modern influences.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: While the majority of the film was shot in and around Jaipur, Rajasthan, the title song was shot at Mehrangarh Fort and the palaces and bylanes in Jodhpur, Rajasthan with the lead actors, and choreographed by Ganesh Acharya.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: The soundtrack album was composed by the duo Sachin–Jigar, with lyrics were written by Jaideep Sahni. It contains four vocal songs and the remaining tracks are instrumental. The tracks have a huge Rajasthani folk influence mixed with bossa and techno. The album was released on 19 August 2013.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: "Shuddh Desi Romance" was released on 6 September 2013. It was mainly a multiplex release on approximately 1100 screens. A teaser trailer of "Dhoom 3" was attached to the prints. It has an investment of including marketing and release costs.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: Yash Raj Films launched the poster with the digital poster on 17 June 2013. Sushant Singh Rajput introduced Vaani Kapoor at a song launch event on 1 August where they unveiled their song "Gulabi". The title track, "Shuddh Desi Romance" was released on 18 August 2013.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: The star cast – Parineeti Chopra, Sushant Singh Rajput and Vaani Kapoor – promoted the film on 31 August 2013 in an appearance on the show "Comedy Nights with Kapil". Sushant, Parineeti and Vaani promoted the film on the show "DID Super Moms". The stars promoted it on "Jhalak Dikhla Jaa" where Sushant wooed Madhuri Dixit. Chopra and Kapoor with director Maneesh Sharma and writer Jaideep Sahni discussed the film at great length with the "Indian Express" team at the Screen Preview.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: The movie received generally positive reviews, with praises mainly towards Chopra, Rajput and Kapoor's performances.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave it 3.5 stars out of 5 and stated that "Shuddh Desi Romance" caters to and reflects the mindset of a lot of youth in modern society. Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave 3.5 out of 5 and commented that "To a large extent, "Shuddh Desi Romance" reinvents the wheel as far as Bollywood rom-coms go. It's aggressively non-formulaic, and gives us characters who refuse to conform. The minor hiccups notwithstanding, this is a charming little film." Tushar Joshi of DNA gave it 3 stars and felt that "Shuddh Desi Romance" is refreshing, breezy and engaging. "India Today" gave it 3.5 stars. Mohar Basu of Koimoi gave 3.5 stars and remarked that the film is a heartfelt true take of real contemporary relationships. Sukanya Verma of Rediff gave it 3.5 stars and judged that "Shuddh Desi Romance" has no dull moments.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: Khalid Mohammad of the "Deccan Chronicle" gave it 3 stars and wrote, "don't miss it for Ms Chopra and for the feisty first half. Post-break, you can catch 40, even 400 winks in your seat." Reshma Sengar of Zee News gave it 2.5 stars and summarised, "Although not as good as "Band Baaja Baaraat" and "Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl", Maneesh Sharma's third directorial venture is "jhataak", peppy and colourful but still turns out only to be a onetime watch!" Anupama Chopra gave the film 4 stars and said "Shuddh Desi Romance" is "a dose of adrenalin, though it loses steam in the second half – it's almost as if, suddenly, Manish and Jaideep didn't know where to take their story and characters." "The Times of India" gave it 3 stars and stated that "the concept is engaging, but the plot is little shudd, little desi and quite confused". Rachit Gupta of Filmfare gave it 3 stars and said that the film is a crazy, witty and a soulful twist on getting hitched.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: "Dawn"'s film critic Mohammad Kamran Jawaid said that ""Shuddh Desi Romance" has an innovative twist on the love triangle, spiffy songs, a mix of adequate to engaging performances (Mr. Rajput is adequate, Ms. Chopra is engaging, Ms. Kapoor is somewhere in between) and just about apt technical intelligence that doesn’t overpower the story Mr. Sharma has in mind. So at the very least, it has a few aces up its sleeve." Jawaid, however, had a problem with the lack of morality in context of South Asian family values, writing "Young love, I can understand (and endorse) easy. Debasement of relationships to avoid public disgrace, amongst other puerilities, is a drastic measure for yours truly. The first world may disagree, but here in South Asia, it’s the orthodox bond of family that count, not the drastic need to escape its ideals."


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: The film grossed nett across its first five days at the domestic box office. It collected around Rs 362.7 million nett in week one. "Shuddh Desi Romance" collected around 12.5 million nett on its 8th day. "Shuddh Desi Romance" dropped in its second weekend collecting nearly 60 million nett. The ten-day total is Rs 420 million nett plus. "Shuddh Desi Romance" had Rs 85.8 million nett second week taking its two-week total to around Rs 450 million nett. The film nett. grossed Rs 10 million in third week taking its total to nett.


title: Shuddh Desi Romance

text: "Shuddh Desi Romance" grossed $1.08 million (Rs 7.04 cr) in its first weekend overseas. "Shuddh Desi Romance" did well in overseas as it has collected $1.7 million in ten days. The film crossed US$ 2 million overseas in three weeks.


title: Gregor Strasser

text: Gregor Strasser (also , see ß; 31 May 1892 – 30 June 1934) was an early prominent German Nazi official and politician who was murdered during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934. Born in 1892 in Bavaria, Strasser served in World War I in an artillery regiment, rising to the rank of first lieutenant. He joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in 1920 and quickly became an influential and important figure. In 1923, he took part in the abortive Beer Hall Putsch in Munich and was imprisoned, but released early for political reasons. Strasser joined a revived NSDAP in 1925 and once again established himself as a powerful and dominant member, hugely increasing the party's membership and reputation in northern Germany. Personal and political conflicts with Adolf Hitler led to his death in 1934 during the Night of the Long Knives.


title: Gregor Strasser

text: Gregor Strasser was born on 31 May 1892 into the family of a Catholic judicial officer who lived in the Upper Bavarian market town of Geisenfeld. He grew up alongside his younger brother Otto, who was considered the more intellectual of the two. He attended the local Gymnasium and after his final examinations, served an apprenticeship as a pharmacist in the Lower Bavarian village of Frontenhausen from 1910 until 1914.


title: Gregor Strasser

text: When war broke out in Europe in 1914, Strasser suspended his studies at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich to enlist as a volunteer in the German Imperial Army. He served in the 1st Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment, rising to the rank of Oberleutnant and winning the Iron Cross of both classes for bravery. In 1918, he resumed his studies at Friedrich-Alexander-University, Erlangen-Nuremberg. He passed his state examination in 1919 and in 1920, he started work as a pharmacist in Landshut.


title: Gregor Strasser

text: In 1919, Strasser and his brother joined the right-wing "Freikorps" led by Franz Ritter von Epp. The aim of the group was to suppress communism in Bavaria. He established and commanded the "Sturmbataillon Niederbayern" ("Storm Battalion Lower Bavaria"), with the young Heinrich Himmler employed as his adjutant. Strasser was well known for his enormous stature, commanding personality, and boundless organizational energy. By March 1920, Strasser's Freikorps was ready to participate in the failed Kapp Putsch, whereas his brother Otto had turned to the left of the political spectrum and helped combat this right-wing "coup d'état".


title: Gregor Strasser

text: The Strasser brothers advocated an anti-capitalist social revolutionary course for the NSDAP, which at the same time was also strongly antisemitic and anti-communist.


title: Gregor Strasser

text: By 1920, Strasser, and his paramilitary group had joined forces with Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party (NSDAP), another far-right political party seated in Munich. During the autumn of 1922, Strasser officially became a member of the NSDAP and the SA. Strasser's leadership qualities were soon recognized and he was appointed as regional head of the "Sturmabteilung" ("Storm Detachment"; SA) in Lower Bavaria. In November 1923, he took an active part in the unsuccessful Beer Hall Putsch, a coup attempt by Hitler and Ludendorff against the Weimar Republic. He was tried with other putschists shortly after Hitler's trial, convicted of aiding and abetting high treason—his actual arrest was for attempting to recruit soldiers for the NSDAP, which had been outlawed—on 12 May and sentenced to 15 months imprisonment and a small fine.


title: Gregor Strasser

text: After a few weeks Strasser was released because he had been elected a member of the Bavarian Landtag for the NSDAP-associated "Völkischer Block" on 6 April and 4 May (in the Palatinate) 1924, respectively. In December 1924 Strasser won a seat for the "völkisch" National Socialist Freedom Movement in the Reichstag. He represented the constituency Westphalia North.


title: Gregor Strasser

text: After the restoration of the NSDAP by Adolf Hitler on 26 February 1925, Strasser became the first "Gauleiter" of Lower Bavaria. Because Strasser led up to 2,000 men in Landshut and was overworked, he began looking for an assistant. Heinrich Himmler, who obtained the job, was tasked with expanding the organization in Lower Bavaria. In December 1926, Strasser's "Gau" merged with that of the Upper Palatinate and Strasser headed the enlarged "Gau". After a subsequent partition on 1 October 1928, the Upper Palatinate was taken over by Adolf Wagner while Strasser continued as "Gauleiter" of Lower Bavaria until 1 March 1929.


title: Gregor Strasser

text: After 1925, Strasser's organizational skills helped transform the Nazi Party from a marginal south-German splinter party into a nationwide party with mass appeal. Due to the public-speaking ban issued against Hitler, Strasser had been deputized (by Hitler) to represent the party in the north and speak. Through much of 1925, Strasser took full advantage of his liberties as a member of the Reichstag; using his free railroad passes, he traveled extensively throughout northern and western Germany appointing Gauleiters, setting up party branches, and delivering numerous public speeches. Lacking Hitler's oratorical gifts to move the masses, Strasser's personality alone was nonetheless sufficient to influence an audience. His concerted efforts helped the northern party so much that before the end of 1925, there were some 272 local NSDAP chapters compared to the 71 that existed before the failed putsch. Strasser's brand of socialism is discernible from a speech he made to the Reichstag in November 1925:


title: Gregor Strasser

text: Strasser established the Party in northern and western Germany as a strong political association, one which attained a larger membership than Hitler's southern party section. The party's own foreign organization was also formed on Strasser's initiative. He also founded the National Socialist Working Association on 10 September 1925. This was a short-lived group of about a dozen northern and western German "Gauleiter", who supported the more "socialist" wing of the Party and sought to increase its appeal to the working class in Germany's large industrial cities. Together with his brother Otto, Strasser founded the Berlin "Kampf-Verlag" ("Combat Publishing") in March 1926, which went on to publish the weekly newspaper the "Berliner Arbeiterzeitung" ("Berlin Workers Newspaper"), which represented the more "socialist" wing of the Party. Strasser appointed the young university-educated political agitator from the Rhineland, Joseph Goebbels as the managing editor of the "Kampfverlag", a man who was drawn to the NSDAP political message and to Strasser himself. The two men drafted a revised version of the NSDAP political program during the winter of 1925–1926, one which leaned much further to the left and incensed Hitler. To deal with these proposed changes head-on, Hitler called for a meeting in the northern Bavarian city of Bamberg on 14 February 1926. Goebbels and Strasser traveled there hoping to convince Hitler of the new message. During the speech at the Bamberg Conference, Hitler lambasted the extreme ideas in the new draft, ideas which he conflated more with Bolshevism, a development which profoundly shocked and disappointed Strasser and Goebbels. Strasser's follow-on speech was bumbled and ineffectual, the result of Hitler's powerful oration; Hitler's refutation of Strasser's policy suggestions at Bamberg demonstrated that the party had officially become Hitler's and the NSDAP centered around him.


title: Gregor Strasser

text: Placating the northern German NSDAP branches in the wake of Bamberg, Hitler assigned leadership of the SA, which was temporarily vacated by Ernst Roehm, to one of Strasser's own key members, Franz Pfeffer von Salomon. More importantly perhaps, Hitler began a personal campaign to lure away Strasser's chief lieutenant, Goebbels, into his personal fold—a move which proved immediately successful. The future Führer also struck a deal with Strasser to disband the National Socialist Working Association and asked him to assume responsibility for the party propaganda department. Strasser accepted this position, but a car accident in March 1926 proved a setback: he was bedridden as a result. Upon recovery, he was welcomed back into this position. Thus, in addition to his Gauleiter responsibilities, from 16 September 1926 until 2 January 1928, he was the NSDAP's national leader for propaganda ("Reichspropagandaleiter"). Strasser left his propaganda post to take up new responsibilities as Chairman of the NSDAP Organizational Committee, later, the Organizational Department "(Organisationsableitung)".


title: Gregor Strasser

text: Between 1928–1932, Hitler turned over the NSDAP's national organizational work to Strasser, whose skills were better suited to the task, as Hitler was uninterested in organizational matters and preferred to give his attention to ideological concerns. By June 1932, Strasser was named "Reichsorganisationsleiter", and had further centralized the Party's organizational structure under his command. During the course of the reorganizations, Strasser refashioned the NSDAP district boundaries to more closely align with those of the Reichstag and increased the authority of "Gauleiters". Strasser reorganized both the party's regional structure and its vertical management hierarchy. The party became a more centralized organization with extensive propaganda mechanisms. In the 1928 General Election on 20 May, Strasser was elected from electoral constituency 26 (Franconia) as one of the first 12 Nazi deputies to the Reichstag. While the NSDAP only received 2.6 percent of the national vote that year, it became the second largest party in the Reichstag by September 1930, securing 18.3 percent of the vote. Strasser's organizational strengthening contributed to this success and the Nazis became the largest party in July 1932 with 37.3%.


title: Gregor Strasser

text: The Great Depression greatly affected Germany and by 1930 there was a dramatic increase in unemployment. During this time, the Strasser brothers started publishing a new regional daily newspaper in Berlin, the "Nationaler Sozialist". Like their other publications, it conveyed the brothers' own brand of Nazism, including nationalism, anti-capitalism, social reform, and anti-Westernism. Goebbels complained vehemently about the rival Strasser newspapers to Hitler, and admitted that their success was causing his own Berlin newspapers to be "pushed to the wall". In late April 1930, Hitler publicly and firmly announced his opposition to Gregor Strasser's extreme socialist ideas and appointed Goebbels as Reich leader of NSDAP propaganda. When Hitler visited Goebbels on 2 May 1930, Goebbels banned the evening edition of the "Nationaler Sozialist". Gregor Strasser distanced himself from his brother and relinquished his position as publisher of the "Nationaler Sozialist" by the end of June, while Otto left the Party at the beginning of July.


title: Gregor Strasser

text: In August 1932, Hitler was offered the job of Vice-Chancellor of Germany by then Chancellor Franz von Papen at the behest of President Paul von Hindenburg, but he refused. Strasser urged him to enter a coalition government, but Hitler saw the offer as placing him in a position of "playing second fiddle". While many in his inner circle, like Goebbels, saw his resistance as heroic, Strasser was frustrated and believed Hitler was wrong to hold out for the Chancellorship. The ideological and personal rivalry with Hitler grew when the successor Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher had discussions with Strasser as to becoming Vice-Chancellor in December 1932. Schleicher hoped to split the NSDAP with Strasser's help, pulling the left wing of the NSDAP to his "national conservative" side to stop Hitler. Hitler was furious and demanded that Strasser refuse Schleicher's offer. At a meeting of Nazi Reichstag members Hitler confronted the 30-40 that supported Strasser, forcing them to publicly support the former and denounce the latter. Strasser resigned from his party offices on 8 December 1932, just seven weeks before the NSDAP obtained political power. Hitler temporarily took over the post of "Reichsorganisationsleiter", eventually turning it over to Robert Ley. On 16 January 1933, Hitler "publicly repudiated Strasser" for his interactions with Schleicher. In March 1933, Strasser officially exited politics by renouncing his Reichstag seat.


title: Gregor Strasser

text: Having renounced his seat in the Reichstag, Strasser sought to return to his pre-politics profession as a chemist. Through his own connections and with Hitler's consent he was provided with the opportunity to take up a directorship of Schering-Kahlbaum, a chemical-pharmaceutical company that was the Berlin subsidiary of IG Farben, so long as he promised to cease all political activity, which he did. He detached himself from politics, refusing to meet former political associates and, contrary to some reports, had no contact with his brother Otto's Black Front organisation.


title: Gregor Strasser

text: Having achieved national power in January 1933, Hitler and the NSDAP began eliminating all forms of opposition in Germany. In what became known as the Night of the Long Knives, the entire SA leadership was purged, which took place from 30June to 2July 1934. Hitler, along with other top Nazis such as Hermann Göring and Himmler, targeted Ernst Röhm and other SA leaders who, along with some of Hitler's political adversaries, were rounded up, arrested, and shot by members of the "Schutzstaffel" (SS) and Gestapo. Among them was Strasser. Historian Richard Evans surmises that Strasser was most likely killed for having been allegedly offered a position by the predecessor conservative Weimar government, a tie which made him a potential political enemy, due to the personal enmity of Himmler and Göring, both of whom Strasser had been critical of during his role in the party's leadership. Whether Strasser was killed on Hitler's personal orders is not known. He was shot once in the main artery from behind in his cell but did not die immediately. On the orders of SS general Reinhard Heydrich, Strasser was left to bleed to death, which took almost an hour. His brother Otto had emigrated in 1933.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta. Confirmed cases have been reported in all of Canada's provinces and territories.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: The virus was confirmed to have reached Canada on January 25, 2020, after an individual who had returned to Toronto from Wuhan, Hubei, China, tested positive. The first case of community transmission in Canada was confirmed in British Columbia on March 5. In March 2020, as cases of community transmission were confirmed, all of Canada's provinces and territories declared states of emergency. Provinces and territories have, to varying degrees, implemented school and daycare closures, prohibitions on gatherings, closures of non-essential businesses and restrictions on entry. Canada severely restricted its border access, barring travellers from all countries with some exceptions. The federal Minister of Health invoked the "Quarantine Act", introduced following the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak. For the first time in its legislative history, the act has been used, legally requiring all travellers (excluding essential workers) returning to the country to self-isolate for 14 days, until rules were changed to accommodate fully vaccinated travellers.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: By mid to late summer of 2020, the country saw a steady decline in active cases until the beginning of late summer. Through autumn, there was a resurgence of cases in all provinces and territories. On September 23, 2020, Prime Minister Trudeau declared that Canada was experiencing a "second wave" of the virus. New restrictions from provincial governments were put in place once again as cases increased, including variations of regional lockdowns. In late November, there was the disbandment of the Atlantic Bubble, a travel-restricted area of the country (formed of the four Atlantic provinces: New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador) which had been established in July, 2020. The federal government passed legislation to approve further modified economic aid for businesses and individuals.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Nation-wide cases, hospitalizations and deaths spiked preceding and following the Christmas and holiday season in December, 2020 and January, 2021. Alarmed by hospital capacity issues, fatalities and new cases, heavy restrictions (such as lockdowns and curfews) were put in place in affected areas (primarily Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta) and across the country. These lockdowns caused active cases to steadily decline, reaching a plateau in active cases in mid-February 2021. During a third wave of the virus, cases began rising across most provinces west of Atlantic Canada in mid-March, prompting further lockdowns and restrictions in the most populous provinces like Ontario and Quebec. Due to a relatively low volume of cases in the Atlantic provinces, the travel-restricted Atlantic Bubble was planned to reopen; however, in late April, the third wave had spread to the Atlantic provinces. In response, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia reinstated travel bans toward the rest of the country.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Following Health Canada's approval of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, and later the mRNA-1273 vaccine developed by Moderna, mass vaccinations began nationwide on December 14, 2020. On February 26, 2021, Health Canada approved the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for use, and on March 5, 2021, they additionally approved the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine for a total of four approved vaccines in the nation. However, most provinces discontinued first doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca by May 12, 2021, while the administration of the Janssen vaccine was determined unnecessary. Canada became one of the most vaccinated countries in the world, with a continually high uptake of the vaccine. Despite high general uptake of the vaccine, cases began to surge particularly amongst the unvaccinated population in provinces like Alberta, which had removed nearly all pandemic restrictions.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Near the end of summer 2021, cases began to surge across Canada, notably in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Ontario, particularly amongst the unvaccinated population. During this fourth wave of the virus, return to pandemic restrictions such as mask mandates were reinstated in provinces like British Columbia and Alberta. The surge in cases was largely deemed to be a "pandemic of the unvaccinated" and resulted in the introduction of vaccine passports, for all provinces and two of the territories. Federally, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instated requirements for vaccination in order to partake in air travel, as well as those who ride Via Rail and Rocky Mountaineer trains as of October 30, 2021. Additionally, the mandate included any federally regulated workers. In January 2022, all of Canada's provinces and territories were experiencing record-level case numbers, primarily driven by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, which caused provincial and territorial governments to reintroduce restrictions surrounding travel and isolation. However, in mid-February active caseloads and hospitalizations began to decrease and towards the end of February 2022, almost all provinces and territories had announced plans to lift restrictions by early March or mid-March 2022, if epidemiology remained favorable.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On January 12, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, reported to the WHO on December 31, 2019.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant death toll.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On January 1, 2020, the WHO set up the IMST (Incident Management Support Team) across all three levels of the organization: headquarters, regional headquarters and country-level, putting the organization on an emergency footing for dealing with the outbreak.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On January 7, when it appeared that there was a health crisis emerging in Wuhan, Public Health Canada advised travellers to China to avoid contact with animals, noting that they were very carefully monitoring the situation. Still there was no evidence of what caused the illness, or how it spread.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On January 17, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) indicated plans were in progress "to implement signage" in the Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver airports to raise awareness of the virus. An additional health screening question added to the electronic kiosks for passengers arriving from central China. The agency noted the overall risk to Canadians was low, and there were no direct flights from Wuhan to Canada. The CBSA said it would not be, at that time, implementing extra screening measures, but would "monitor the situation closely".


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On January 23, the federal Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu, said they were monitoring five or six people for signs of the virus. That same day, the chief public health officer of Canada, Theresa Tam, was a member of the WHO committee that broadcast that it was too early to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The following day, in Wuhan, China, construction began on a new hospital to treat COVID-19 patients. The hospital took only 10 days to build and was widely reported around the world.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Initially, Canada faced a shortage of personal protective equipment, as the Trudeau government had reduced PPE funding as a cost-cutting measure in previous years.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On December 26, 2020, Ontario announced that two cases of the B.1.1.7 variant had been found in Durham. On January 8, 2021, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced that the first case of the South African variant had been found in Alberta. On February 8, CTV reported that the first case of the P.1 variant out of Brazil had been detected in Toronto. On April 21, the B.C. Ministry of Health announced that they had seen cases of B.1.617 as early as April 4. On May 14, Canada added B.1.617 (including what is now known as Delta) to its variants of concern. On May 31, 2021, WHO announced that the variant B.1.1.7 was being renamed Alpha, P.1 Gamma, B.1.617.2 Delta and B.1.351 Beta.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Early evidence out of Alberta suggests that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will continue to be effective against death or hospitalization from the Alpha and Gamma variants. A study in Ontario found that the Pfizer vaccine was 95% effective to prevent hospitalization or death from the Alpha, Beta and Gamma variants 7 days after the second dose. Moderna was 94% effective against Alpha 7 days after the 2nd dose. Moderna appeared to be highly effective against Delta.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: A preprint study from epidemiologists David Fisman and Ashleigh Tuite, at the University of Toronto, found that the Delta variant had a 120% greater risk of hospitalization, 287% greater risk of ICU admission and 137% greater risk of death compared to non-variant of concern strains of SARS-COV-2.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: The federal government activated its Emergency Operations Centre on January 15, 2020. The federal government's pandemic response is based on two primary documents: the Canadian Pandemic Influenza Preparedness planning guidelines, which outlines risks and measures to address a viral disease, and the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Public Health Response Plan for Biological Events, which includes identifying, tracking, and ensuring rapid access to medical care. As of February 27, the response plan was at level 3 (escalated).


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On March 18, the federal Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu, announced that the federal government had signed an interim order to speed up access to COVID-19 test kits that would allow provincial labs to increase testing. The test kits are made by Switzerland-based Roche Molecular Systems and Thermo Fisher Scientific. According to Health Canada, "an Interim Order is one of the fastest mechanisms available to the Government of Canada to help make health products available to address larger-scale public health emergencies. This Interim Order provides the Minister with the flexibility to consider the urgent circumstances relating to the need for the medical device, authorizations granted by foreign regulatory authorities, or possible new uses for medical devices that are approved in Canada."


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On March 19, the federal government announced that it had added to Trudeau's March 11 announcement of $275 million in funding for an additional 49 projects to bring the total to 96 research projects that will focus on developing and implementing measures to detect, manage, and reduce the transmission of COVID-19.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On March 20, as part of the announcement on Canada's industrial strategy (see below), Trudeau stated that the National Research Council would work with small- and medium-sized companies on health research to fight the virus.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On March 23, Theresa Tam began appearing in public service announcements on radio and television, urging personal hygiene, social distancing, and against unnecessary travel.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On April 6, Tam began to suggest that the use of non-medical face masks in public could be an "additional measure" of protection. She stated to "protect others around you in situations where physical distancing is difficult to maintain", but that this is not proven to protect the wearer and is considered complementary to all existing health guidance issued thus far.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: In response to backlogs in COVID-19 testing, especially provinces like Ontario, Health Canada approved new rapid testing for the virus.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On November 3, the Public Health Agency of Canada started recommended that people wear non-medical masks with three layers including a filter.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On November 3, Tam said that "living with COVID-19 is something that we have to do because it's not going to immediately disappear and the population doesn't have much immunity", and went on to say that "If cases do occur and accelerate in a community, then you have to get at it early because if you let it, the virus and the numbers accelerate and keep accelerating...you will then end up with more widespread closures. So, I think as cities or hotspots cool down, if you like, the restart needs to be carefully thought of."


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Long-term care homes have been impacted heavily by the pandemic. On April 13, Tam reported that at least half of COVID-19 deaths in Canada were linked to long-term care homes (with the exact number varying by province), and that "these deaths will continue to increase, even as the epidemic growth rate slows down. Tam cited factors such as outside visitors, communal living spaces, and staff being transferred among multiple facilities as particular vulnerabilities. The pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing staffing issues at some facilities, including underpaid staff and being understaffed in general. On April 28, Tam stated that as many as 79 percent of Canada's COVID-19 fatalities occurred in long-term care homes.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Health Canada issued recommendations for long-term care homes. They encouraged them to restrict outside visitors and volunteers, restrict employees from being transferred between multiple facilities, provide personal protective equipment, enforce physical distancing during meals, screen staff and essential visitors. On April 15, Trudeau announced that the federal government planned to provide additional pay to long-term care workers.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: In April 2020, the Department of National Defence gave the provinces the option to get Canadian Armed Forces assistance in combating the pandemic in long-term care facilities. Quebec was the first to act, with military personnel arriving on April 17. Ontario responded next, with Premier Doug Ford requesting military aid on April 22.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On March 14, Canada recommended against any international travel and advised those returning from outside of Canada, except for essential workers (such as flight crew), to self-isolate for 14 days. The "Quarantine Act" was invoked by Hajdu on March 26, making self-isolation a legal mandate for travellers (excluding essential workers) returning to the country. It also prohibits those who are symptomatic from using public transit as transport to their place of self-isolation, and prohibiting self-isolation in settings where they may come in contact with those who are vulnerable (people with pre-existing conditions and the elderly).


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Since March 16, only Canadian citizens and their immediate families, permanent residents, and U.S. citizens had been allowed to enter the country. The only exceptions are flight crews, diplomats, and trade and commerce. Travellers showing COVID-19 symptoms were not allowed to board flights into Canada, regardless of their citizenship. International flights to Canada from outside the Caribbean, Mexico, and the U.S. were instructed to land at either Calgary International Airport, Montréal–Trudeau International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, or Vancouver International Airport.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: From March 20, Canada and the United States temporarily restricted all non-essential travel across their land border. The U.S. did not restrict non-essential air travel into the country by Canadians, but Americans were prohibited from boarding flights into Canada per U.S. restrictions—a non-reciprocal restriction that was criticized as being contradictory. On April 16, Trudeau stated that the Canada/U.S. border restrictions would remain in place "for a significant amount of time". The next day, Canada and the United States had agreed to extend their entry restrictions, which were to expire on April 21, for an additional 30 days beyond that date.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On April 20, the federal government introduced the "ArriveCAN" mobile app, which is used to conduct entry screenings and submit documentation; use of the app became mandatory in November.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Since March 30, individuals showing COVID-19 symptoms were to be refused boarding on domestic flights (10 seats or more) and passenger trains. However, it excluded buses and intercity passenger rail services. From April 20, all travellers were required to wear face masks while departing and arriving on air travel, including during security screenings. Those who did not comply were prevented from proceeding.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: As the land border with the United States continued to be closed to non-essential travel, the Canadian government announced plans in October to allow family members to reunite under compassionate terms. Within the country, the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador established the Atlantic Bubble, restricting travel from other provinces but allowing free movement amongst residents of the member provinces.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On January 6, 2021, the federal government announced that all incoming travellers must present proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test conducted within 72 hours of their departure time to board flights into Canada.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On January 29, 2021, due to concerns surrounding SARS-CoV-2 variants, Trudeau announced a series of new travel restrictions. Travellers arriving in Canada would be required to receive a COVID-19 PCR test on arrival and must quarantine at an "approved hotel" at their own expense. At the same time, they awaited test results or recovery and were subject to "increased surveillance" during the remainder of the mandatory 14-day quarantine period. Foreign flights were only allowed to land in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver. To discourage non-essential travel, the major airlines agreed to suspend all flights to the Caribbean and Mexico until April 30, 2021. On February 12, it was announced a third PCR test would also be required at the end of the 14-day quarantine period. The new rules for international travel went into effect on February 22.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: In July 2021, the government lifted the quarantine requirement for Canadian citizens and permanent residents re-entering the country, provided they submit proof of vaccination via the ArriveCAN app or website. On August 9, 2021, Canada reopened its land border to American citizens and permanent residents that are fully-vaccinated. However, the U.S. land border remained closed to Canadians entering the United States until November 8, 2021, when the U.S. began to allow non-essential land travel into the country, with a vaccine mandate for residents 18 and over (enforced via random checks). However, as with air travel, anyone re-entering the country was required to present proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test conducted within 72 hours of their arrival; this test could alternatively be obtained in Canada if the traveler had been in the country for less than 72 hours.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On October 6, 2021, it was announced that all passengers of federally-regulated transportation over the age of 12 (including air travel, cruises, and Via Rail or Rocky Mountaineer trains) would be required to be fully-vaccinated beginning October 30, 2021. Until November 30, 2021, a recent negative test was also accepted.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Beginning January 15, 2022, international truckers entering the country were required to be fully-vaccinated; this decision instigated a protest convoy—backed largely by supporters of alt-right and far-right movements—which culminated in a multi-day occupation of downtown Ottawa, and evolved into a general protest against all COVID-19 vaccine mandates.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Beginning April 1, 2022, pre-entry PCR testing requirements were dropped for fully-vaccinated travelers entering the country. However, air travelers were still subject to random testing as part of surveillance for variants (which would not require self-isolation).


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On September 26, 2022, it was announced that all remaining COVID-19-related travel restrictions and mandates would be dropped effective October 1, 2022; this includes vaccine requirements, masking requirements, random tests, and the requirement to submit documentation via ArriveCAN.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: A First Ministers' meeting scheduled for March 12 and 13 was cancelled after Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire entered self-isolation. The Canadian House of Commons was suspended between March 14 and April 20, immediately after passing the new North American free trade deal. The federal budget, previously scheduled for March 20, was also suspended.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: In March 2020, the Bank of Canada twice lowered its overnight rate target by 50 basis points—first to 1.25 percent on March 4, and then to 0.75 percent on March 13. It cited the "negative shocks to Canada's economy arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent sharp drop in oil prices" in explaining the move.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On March 27, the Bank lowered the rate a third time to 0.25 percent, citing "serious consequences for Canadians and for the economy" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bank also launched a program to "alleviate strains in the short-term funding markets" and another program to acquire Government of Canada securities at a minimum of $5 billion per week.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On March 18, the federal government announced an $82-billion response package with a variety of measures. On March 25, the "COVID-19 Emergency Response Act" received royal assent from Governor General Julie Payette.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: The CERB launched on April 6. On April 15, Trudeau announced an extension to the CERB to workers making up to $1,000 per month and that the government planned to work with the provinces to implement salary top-ups for essential workers who make less than $2,500 per month.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) was announced on April 1, an expanded version of the temporary business wage subsidy. The Parliament reconvened on April 11 to pass the "COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, No. 2" on division. It implemented the CEWS, allowing eligible companies to receive a 75 percent subsidy on each of their employees' wages (up to their first $58,700) for 12 weeks retroactive to March 15.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Trudeau introduced new financial aid programs on April 10, including the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), which offers loans, interest-free until the end of 2022, of up to $40,000 for small- and medium-sized businesses. The CEBA was expanded on April 16 to make more businesses eligible.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On April 30, Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux issued a report projecting the federal deficit for the fiscal year 2020 could be in excess of $252 billion, based on nearly $146 billion in spending on federal aid measures.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On October 12, 2020, the federal government rolled out a new income support program after the ending of CERB, the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB). Another program, the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB), supports Canadians working but have to take a break to care for dependents (a child below 12 years of age or a disabled family member). The benefit only applies if schools and care centres are closed or the dependent fell sick or contracted COVID-19.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On March 20, 2020, the government announced a plan to ramp up production of medical equipment, switching assembly lines to produce ventilators, masks, and other personal protective gear. Companies will be able to access funds through the government's Strategic Innovation Fund. The PM stated that Canadian medical supply firms Thornhill Medical, Medicom and Spartan Bioscience were looking to expand production. To address shortages and supply-chain disruption, Canada passed emergency legislation that waived patent protection, giving the government, companies or organizations that it selects the right to produce patented products without permission from the patent holder. According to Innovation, Science and Industry minister Navdeep Bains, "the country's entire industrial policy will be refocused to prioritize the fight against COVID-19".


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: During the COVID-19 pandemic, 34% of people consulted their doctors over the phone. In May 2020, Justin Trudeau announced an investment of $240.5 million to support the growth of virtual care and mental health tools in Canada.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On March 12, Quebec declared a public health emergency, requiring international travellers to self-isolate for 14 days and banning gatherings of 250 people. Extending the ban to all gatherings outside workplaces and retail.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On March 16, Prince Edward Island declared a public health emergency. Alberta and Ontario declared emergencies on March 17, followed by British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, and Yukon on March 18. New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia declared emergencies on March 19, March 20, and March 22 respectively.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: These emergencies allowed provinces to ban gatherings and require international travellers to self-isolate. On March 25, mandatory self-isolation was imposed federally, making it a legal requirement for all provinces that had not done so already.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island and have all restricted entry through interprovincial borders, prohibiting the entry of non-residents without a valid reason. Quebec has additionally restricted travel into 9 of its 18 regions and parts of 3 other regions. The borders of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador are being screened, while also requiring travellers to self-isolate for 14 days upon entering the province.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Schools in the Toronto District School Board were closed under a 2-week class-free quarantine beginning on the week after the regularly scheduled March Break. Virtual learning was implemented in the week following the quarantine and extended until the beginning of the next school year, giving students the option of going in-person with restrictions or continuing virtual learning. March Break was pushed back to the week of April 11.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Laurentian University in Greater Sudbury was the first to voluntarily suspended classes and moved to online instruction on March 12. This was quickly followed by many other universities across the country.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Bars, restaurants, cinemas, and other businesses have been ordered closed by provinces, territories, and municipalities across the country. Initially, some jurisdictions allowed restaurants or bars to stay open with reduced capacity and social distancing. Takeout and delivery orders are largely still permitted. Jurisdictions have differed on daycare closures. In particular, British Columbia and Saskatchewan have faced criticism for allowing daycares to remain open while closing schools, bars, and restaurants.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan have mandated the closure of all businesses not deemed essential by the provinces. Essential businesses include grocery stores, takeout and delivery restaurants, pharmacies, transportation, manufacturing, food production, energy, and healthcare.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Liquor and cannabis stores remained mainly open across the country, with governments reversing their closure orders due to alcohol withdrawal syndrome concerns.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Manitoba all offered one-time payments that aimed to bridge the gap before implementating the federal Canada Emergency Response Benefit. Quebec's Temporary Aid for Workers Program provides up to four weeks of payments for those who do not qualify for federal assistance. Prince Edward Island also provides payments to those who have kept their jobs but work reduced hours.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Courts across the country instituted measures to reduce public contact while maintaining access to the courts. The Supreme Court of Canada has closed the building to public tours while maintaining the ability to file documents for cases electronically. It has also adjourned appeals which were to be heard in March, to dates in June. Other courts have prioritized the cases that will be heard, giving priority to ongoing criminal trials and trials in family and child protection matters while adjourning most pending cases to later dates.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On March 19, the Pimicikamak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba restricted entry to essential travellers, and Chief David Monias said the Sayisi Dene and others are doing the same.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: As of March 19, the Council of the Haida Nation said it was discouraging all non-resident travel to the islands "for the time being."


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On March 27, Wasauksing First Nation declared a state of emergency with Gimaa (chief) Wally Tabobondung announcing the creation of a response team and the state of emergency via YouTube video. In an update posted on May 16, the chief and council announced they had installed cameras with facial and licence plate recognition technology at local checkpoints to identify outsiders entering the territory. Cottagers leasing property on the territory had been barred from entering until June 6. As of June 6, anyone entering the Wasauksing must have a tag issued by the band government and provide information for a centralized registry. Re-opening has been occurring in phases. As of an update posted on June 21, the state of emergency had been extended an additional 90 days.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On October 1, in anticipation of the "Second Wave," Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Secwépemc First Nation instituted a mandatory face mask policy in indoor spaces where physical distancing was not possible, including hallways, staircases, and shared vehicles.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: As of October 8, the infection rate in Indigenous communities had been one-third of the infection rate in non-Indigenous communities, according to an update from Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller. Miller praised Indigenous leadership and with Indigenous Services Canada's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tim Wong, encouraging Indigenous people to remain vigilant and safe.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: First Nations communities are prioritized amongst others in the first phase of vaccinations against the virus.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: COVID-19 testing can be used to track the prevalence and spread, to diagnose individuals for treatment, to identify infections for isolation and contact tracing, to screen at-risk populations, to clear exposed healthcare workers to return to work, and to identify individuals with potential immunity. The World Health Organization says that jurisdictions should aim to test every suspected case of COVID-19. Since health care is under provincial jurisdiction, almost all testing is conducted by the provinces and territories rather than the federal government. On April 23, Trudeau identified broader testing as key to reopening the country, mentioning the target of 60,000 tests per day set by Dr. Theresa Tam, but warned that up to 120,000 per day may be required. As of late April, approximately 20,000 tests per day were being performed in Canada. Total numbers of tests conducted for the provinces and Canada show that over 800,000 Canadians have been tested as of early May 2020. The displayed chart shows the testing rates per capita in the provinces and territories from March to May 2020.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Only COVID-19 tests approved by Health Canada can be imported or sold in Canada. Since this is usually a lengthy process, on March 18, the Minister of Health Hajdu issued an interim order to allow expedited access to COVID-19-related medical devices for use by healthcare providers, including diagnostic test kits. The same day, the first commercial tests were approved, RT-PCR tests from Roche and Thermo Fisher. Another 13 diagnostic products have since been approved, all based on Nucleic Acid tests. As of April 30, 21 diagnostic device applications were listed as submitted by Health Canada.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Canada's National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg performs diagnostic testing for and research into COVID-19. Samples from suspected cases early in the pandemic were sent by provinces and territories to this national lab for testing, either as the sole test or as a check of an in-province test result. The lab diagnosed the first confirmed case in Canada on January 27, 2020. Since then, provinces and territories have established their own testing capacity but have occasionally sent samples to the national lab for a second test as a check.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Provinces have faced COVID-19 testing backlogs due to a shortage of supplies, including the chemical reagents required to complete the tests. In late April, the federal government arranged for a cargo flight from China that delivered the equivalent of about six to nine months of production for one particular raw material for the 20-odd raw materials needed by supplier LuminUltra to supply reagent kits for RT-PCR machines.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Health Canada identifies nucleic acid-based testing as "the gold standard used in Canada and abroad, for the diagnosis of active COVID-19 infection in patients with symptoms." The predominant type of testing is used in RT-PCR. They use a carefully produced and validated swab to collect a sample from a person's throat, back of the nose, or front of the nose. The swab is put inside a sealed container containing a medium that preserves the virus, which is sent to test-processing centres in the corresponding province or territory. At the centres, highly skilled technicians use large commercial machines from a variety of manufactures to process tens to hundreds batches of samples at a time. The test chemically strips the RNA from the sample then mixes it with a test kit containing chemical reagents designed to detect RNA signatures of SARS-CoV-2. The sample is cycled between a set of temperatures to amplify the chemical RNA signature. This leads to processing times that range from 4 to 24 hours. The actual RT-PCR test is 99 percent accurate. However, false-negative results are estimated to occur 8 to 10 percent of the time due to poor swabbing technique. They may be as high as 30 percent, depending on how long after symptom onset the test was performed.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Provinces have faced COVID-19 testing backlogs due to a shortage of the chemical reagents and swabs required to complete the tests.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: LuminUltra Technologies Ltd. of Fredericton is producing reagent test kits to use with automated RT-PCR machines. On April 15, Trudeau announced that the company would be "ramping up production ... to meet the weekly demand in all provinces." The company announced the same day that it would provide "500,000 urgently needed COVID-19 tests per week to the Canadian federal government for use across Canada."


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Spartan Bioscience of Ottawa signed contracts with the federal government and the provinces of Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario to supply virus-RNA testing systems that process a single swab sample in 30 to 60 minutes. Together the contracts were for over one million swab test kits, and at least 250 handheld devices. On April 13, Health Canada approved this test, but on May 3 the test was recalled due to unreliable results.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Precision Biomonitoring of Guelph signed a Letter of Intent on March 31 with the federal government to co-develop a novel point-of-care test kit for COVID‑19, which is now pending an authorization from Health Canada. Their 1.2 kg battery-operated mobile device performs nine tests per hour and takes 60 minutes to produce a result.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Bio-ID Diagnostics of Edmonton developed a direct 24-hour virus test that can be scaled to 20,000 samples per day. Since it is based on sequencing DNA it avoids false positives, and it detects a low concentration of the virus, substantially reducing false negatives in asymptomatic individuals.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: On October 5, Health Canada approved a portable PCR test – the Hyris bCUBE —which was based on technology developed at the University of Guelph and can process tests in 90 minutes.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: These blood tests look for antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and range in complexity from laboratory tests to at-home kits similar to pregnancy tests. Antibodies do not form immediately upon infection, so these tests are not well-suited for detecting a current infection. However, they can potentially identify those who have been infected in the past. Health Canada has been evaluating several antibody tests. Health Canada deemed that "Serological tests are not appropriate for early diagnosis of COVID-19, largely due variability in the time required after infection to develop antibodies." On May 12, 2020, Health Canada announced the first antibody test approved for use, a laboratory test from DiaSorin, an Italian multinational biotechnology company. Health Canada wrote that the trial would "contribute to a better understanding of whether people who have been infected are immune to the virus."


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Health Canada posts "studies will be required to determine how long the antibodies remain detectable, whether for weeks, months or years" and "the relationship between antibodies and immunity to future viral infection." Nonetheless, many countries are conducting or planning large-scale testing to determine the population's proportion that are potentially immune. As of April 20, the WHO estimated that the most affected countries had at most 2 to 3 percent of people infected. On April 23, 2020, Trudeau created a COVID-19 Immunity Task Force of researchers, including Dr. Tam, Dr. David Naylor, and Dr. Mona Nemer, to coordinate monitoring of immunity and vulnerability to COVID-19 in the Canadian population. The taskforce will oversee national antibody surveys over the next two years in which will test one million Canadians. Researchers at Sinai Health's Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto are developing a robotic system that can process mass numbers of antibody tests.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: MedMira of Halifax developed one of the first rapid detection kits for HIV and has now developed a COVID-19 antibody test that takes three minutes from taking the blood drop specimen.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Plantform Corp. of Guelph applied for funding from the National Research Council to develop an antibody test for COVID-19.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Tests for antigens, proteins that are part of the virus's surface, were first approved by Health Canada on October 6, when it approved and ordered 20.5 million units of one manufactured by Abbott Laboratories as a point-of-care test. They can produce results faster than PCR tests (around 20 minutes) but are generally less accurate than PCR tests. Abbott states that they are designed for preliminary results and not intended "as the sole basis for treatment or other management decisions." Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Howard Njoo stated these tests could be deployed in workplaces and communal living environments.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

text: Sona Nanotech of Halifax was developing point-of-care COVID-19 antigen test kits that provide results in 5–15 minutes with an anticipating cost to be less than $50. If successful, the project will yield 20,000 test kits available per week, with the potential to scale up to 1 million test kits per week.


title: Raymond Bonham Carter

text: Raymond Henry Bonham Carter (19 June 1929 – 17 January 2004) was a British banker and a member of the prominent Bonham Carter family.


title: Raymond Bonham Carter

text: He was born in Paddington, London, to Sir Maurice Bonham-Carter (1880–1960), a politician and cricketer, and his wife, Lady Violet Asquith (1887–1969), a political activist who was created Baroness Asquith of Yarnbury in 1964. Her father was H. H. Asquith (1852–1928), who served as Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916 and became the 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith in 1925.


title: Raymond Bonham Carter

text: His elder siblings were Cressida Ridley, Laura Grimond and Mark Bonham Carter, Baron Bonham-Carter. He was educated at St. Ronan's School, Hawkhurst, Winchester College and Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating in 1952. He then went to Harvard.


title: Raymond Bonham Carter

text: At various times, he held senior posts with the Bank of England (1958–1963), the International Monetary Fund (1961–1963), Warburgs (1963–1977), and the Department of Industry (1977–1979).


title: Raymond Bonham Carter

text: In 1958, he married Elena Propper de Callejón, daughter of Spanish diplomat Eduardo Propper de Callejón (1895–1972) and his Franco-Austrian Jewish wife, Hélène Fould-Springer. Together, they had three children:


title: Raymond Bonham Carter

text: In 1979, he was diagnosed with a brain tumour, which was removed by surgery, but left him quadriplegic and partially blind.


title: Crazy Eddie

text: Crazy Eddie was a consumer electronics chain in the Northeastern United States. The chain was started in 1971 in Brooklyn, New York, by businessmen Eddie and Sam M. Antar, and was previously named ERS Electronics (ERS stood for Eddie, Rose and Sam; Rose and Sam were Eddie's parents). The chain rose to prominence throughout the Tri-State area (New York-New Jersey-Connecticut) as much for its prices as for its memorable radio and television commercials, featuring a frenetic, "crazy" character played by radio DJ Jerry Carroll (who copied most of his shtick from early TV commercial pioneer, used car and electronics salesman Earl "Madman" Muntz). At its peak, Crazy Eddie had 43 stores in four states and reported more than $300 million in sales.


title: Crazy Eddie

text: Almost from the beginning, Crazy Eddie engaged in fraudulent business practices, including under-reporting income, skimming sales taxes, and paying employees off the books. These practices, in conjunction with aggressive sales tactics, enabled Crazy Eddie to significantly undercut competitors and grow rapidly. During the process of going public, Crazy Eddie continued to engage in fraud, over-reporting profits, inflating inventory and duping auditors. Unable to sustain his fraudulent business practices, co-founder Eddie Antar cashed in millions of dollars' worth of stock and resigned from the company in December 1986. Crazy Eddie's board of directors approved the sale of the company in November 1987. The entire Antar family was immediately removed from the business. The new owners quickly discovered the true extent of the Antar family's fraud, but were unable to turn around Crazy Eddie's quickly declining fortunes. In 1989, the company filed for bankruptcy and was liquidated.


title: Crazy Eddie

text: In February 1987, the United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey commenced a federal grand jury investigation into the financial activities of Crazy Eddie. In September of that year, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission initiated an investigation into alleged violations of federal securities laws by certain Crazy Eddie officers and employees. Eddie Antar was eventually charged with a series of crimes. Antar fled to Israel in February 1990, but was returned to the United States in January 1993 to stand trial. His 1993 conviction on fraud charges was overturned, but he eventually pleaded guilty in 1996. In 1997, Antar was sentenced to eight years in prison and was subject to numerous fines. He was released from prison in 1999, and died in 2016.


title: Crazy Eddie

text: Eddie Antar's grandparents, Murad and Tera Antar, who were Syrian Jews, relocated to Brooklyn, New York from Aleppo, Syria. Murad and Tera worked in their market stalls alongside Arabs, including Egyptians, other Syrians, as well as Turks. Eddie's father Sam Antar was a retailer, and it was no surprise to the family that Eddie also became a retailer.