Media Scan Monday March 22, 2021 Return of regional bubble good news, tourism industry says The restoration of parts of the Atlantic bubble next month, as long as COVID-19 cases remain low in the region, is good news for tourism operators, those in the industry say. Tourism Association of Nova Scotia president Darlene Grant Fiander said the announcement of the bubble's potential return and the roll-out of a vaccination program has meant a lot of optimism for the province's tourism operators. “For many of them, their revenues were decimated last year,” she said. “It's all positive signs in terms or recovery for the tourism industry. ”Fiander said there was certainly concern over the past few months as the bubble burst and Newfoundland and New Brunswick saw jumps in case numbers. “I think it's a constant. Who would have thought we'd be going into year two when this happened last March,” she said. “It's a constant reminder that we have to be vigilant and diligent. It's precarious. Even though the vaccinations are rolling out we're seeing spikes in other parts of Canada.” N.S. border open to New Brunswickers who no longer need to self-isolate for two weeks upon arrival New Brunswickers entering Nova Scotia are no longer required to self-isolate for 14-days upon arrival, but that isn't the case when travelling into New Brunswick. Health officials in Nova Scotia made the announcement about easing the border restrictions on Friday, citing low COVID-19 case numbers in both provinces. The news came one day after the four Atlantic premiers announced the return of the regional travel bubble by April 19. Atlantic Canada Plans To Reopen For All Domestic Tourism By Summer The four Atlantic Canada premiers have issued a statement that the Atlantic provinces will enter into a travel bubble by mid-April, with hope that restrictions to visitors from the rest of Canada could be lifted by early July. This means that residents of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick will be able to travel between the four provinces without restrictions, as was the case last summer. The reopening is conditional COVID-19 case numbers remaining low in the region, outbreaks being contained, and public health advice. Work-from-home campaign sees thousands interested in moving to Nova Scotia The Work From Nova Scotia campaign, which began Dec. 14 and ends March 31, focuses on attracting Canadian remote workers to Nova Scotia to relocate for a longer-term stay or a permanent move. Tourism Nova Scotia’s chief marketing officer Joann Fitzgerald said Tourism Nova Scotia is working with the other Crown organizations and corporations in the province “toward that goal collectively.” A Statistics Canada survey released on July 14 last year shows working remotely became more prevalent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nova Scotia air show going 'drive-in picnic' style this summer COVID-19 restrictions likely won't cancel Atlantic Canada’s largest air show this summer. “We’re trying to catch the wave of optimism that’s starting to happen about the Atlantic bubble opening up again, case counts stabilizing [and] going down,” Air Show Atlantic executive director Colin Stephenson said, “and this is the right time to tell fans about our designs on what the show’s going to look like because we’re all looking forward to better days.” After spending the winter consulting with the air show’s host facility in Debert, N.S. and with other North American air show partners, Stephenson said this year’s Air Show Atlantic will use a "drive-in picnic-style" format. Nova Scotia reports 6 new COVID-19 cases Sunday Nova Scotia reported six new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, the highest daily number in two weeks. Four of the new cases are in the central health zone. Three are close contacts of previously reported cases and one is related to travel outside the region. Two cases are in the eastern zone and are related to travel outside the region. All of the new cases identified are self-isolating. The province now has 21 known active cases. There are no hospitalizations in the province related to the virus. Potential exposure to COVID-19 at 8 Dartmouth stores Nova Scotia Health is advising of COVID-19 exposures at eight Dartmouth stores. Those who worked at or visited the following locations on the listed dates and times should immediately visit covid-self- assessment.novascotia.ca/ to book a COVID-19 test, regardless of whether they have COVID-19 symptoms. People can also call 811 if they don’t have online access or if they have other concerning symptoms. Taxes, fees remain stagnant but N.S. faces 'significant' deficit as budget day nears No tax increases, no fee increases but a lingering COVID deficit. That’s the way Finance Minister Labi Kousoulis and Premier Iain Rankin prefaced the Nova Scotia budget that is expected to be brought down this week. “Our revenue decisions are made,” Kousoulis said after a Thursday cabinet meeting. “There is no increase in taxes, no increase in fees, no new taxes, no (new) fees so that part of the budget process is complete.” In a December fiscal update, then finance minister Karen Casey forecast a deficit for the 2020-21 fiscal year that would climb toward $780 million. Stephen McNeil, before leaving the premier’s office, commented that the deficit could be reined in to about a half-billion dollars. Port of Montreal longshoremen overwhelmingly reject employers collective agreement proposal A massive majority of unionized Port of Montreal longshoremen voted to reject a final offer on a collective agreement on Sunday. The vote came after months of negotiations between members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, affiliated with the FTQ, and the Maritime Employers Association. Of the 1,125 union members who voted, 1,023, participated in the vote, 97.7 per cent of whom voted against the proposal. The employers' proposal was presented to the union on March 12. Environmentalists want Jasper backcountry ban extended to protect remaining caribou Environmentalists and scientists are calling on Parks Canada to further restrict access to Rocky Mountain backcountry in an effort to help save the last large caribou herd in the national parks. "There's lots of evidence that winter closures help caribou," said Gillian Chow-Fraser of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. Chow-Fraser is asking Parks Canada to extend winter closures of the Tonquin backcountry in Jasper National Park. Tonquin's alpine valleys are home to a herd down to about 10 breeding females. The area is currently closed between November and Feb. 15. .