5 things to know for Thursday, November 4, 2021

TORONTO —
Families are trapped in safe houses in Afghanistan, the vast majority of federal workers are vaccinated, and the FBI may have solved the ‘jetpack man’ mystery. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

1. Crisis in Afghanistan: In Afghanistan, families in a network of safe houses are running out of time, as funds meant to support them are dwindling. 

2. Vaccine mandate: Treasury Board President Mona Fortier says 95.3 per cent of federal public servants have indicated they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

3. Health care spending: Canada is expected to spend a record $308 billion on health care amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, a new report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information says. 

4. First Nations: The chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations is calling on the prime minister to do more to work with First Nations on the question of when to raise flags lowered earlier this year, acknowledging the unmarked graves at former residential schools. 

5. Labour market: Canadian employers are firing or putting on unpaid leave thousands of workers who refused to get COVID-19 shots, squeezing an already tight labour market and raising prospects of potentially disruptive legal challenges. 

One more thing…

‘Jetpack man’: After more than a year, a Los Angeles mystery is closer to being solved after a new piece of evidence released by the FBI suggests that it may have been a balloon all along.