Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Activists say the watchdog set up by the federal government to probe corporate wrongdoing abroad is ineffective and has created a process bogged down in bureaucracy. The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise – known as the CORE – is an office tasked with looking into human-rights abuse allegations linked to Canadian companies operating outside its borders.
The complaints, all filed a year ago, alleged that 12 companies in the clothing industry in Canada sold products made in whole or in part with forced labour in China, and that two mining companies also in China had operations linked with forced labour.
A Globe report, published last week, has found that the office has yet to complete a single investigation.
Investing news today:
Regulators halt trading of Emerge ETFs: Regulators have slapped the entire family of exchange-traded funds from Emerge Canada Inc. with a trading halt because the company has failed to find an auditor to review its financial statements. Lacking one, it failed to file audited annual financial statements for its funds by a March 31 deadline.
Day trading in TFSA is taxable: A tax court judge has ruled that an investor who was day trading stocks in his tax-free savings account must pay tax on the income, opening the door to hefty tax bills for other frequent investors. The investor was carrying on a business inside his TFSA, which had swelled from $15,000 to more than $617,000 over a three-year period. The amount of tax owed, and whether interest will be added, was not disclosed.
- Also read: Nine in 10 parents are helping their adult kids financially: Here’s how much they’re spending, why and where the money goes
Teck Resources CEO opens the door to acquisition once split is approved
CEO Jonathan Price has hinted to the possibility to a takeover of Teck’s standalone metals and coal divisions, if its planned split is approved by shareholders later this month. “Post-separation, there will be many more opportunities for value creation,” Price said on a conference call with analysts and investors on Monday.
He also reiterated that Glencore PLC’s takeover offer for the company in its current form is out of the question, saying the deal carries significant jurisdictional, execution and ESG (environmental, social and governance) risk.
Doctors develop first eye chart with characters used in Indigenous languages
In Puvirnituq, a remote, fly-in village on the Arctic coast of Quebec, Inuktitut, not French or English, is the language most residents use. But the visual-acuity charts, also known as eye charts, that ophthalmologists rely on to test patients’ vision are typically printed in Latin script. To the visiting doctors Christian El-Hadad and his colleague Nishaant Bhambra, this was an issue in need of a remedy.
Their solution? A visual-acuity chart that uses the letters of the languages of patients.
Left is Ophthalmologist Christian El-Hadad and his colleague Nishaant Bhambra. Dr. El-Hadad, an assistant professor in the department of opthamology and visual sciences at McGill University, and Dr. Bhambra, who recently graduated from McGill’s medical school, developed the first known visual acuity chart in Canadian Aboriginal syllabics (CAS), a system of writing used for multiple Indigenous languages, including Inuktitut, Cree and Ojibway.McGill University/Supplied
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Ukraine war: More than 200 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have returned home in a prisoner swap, the warring countries said today.
Hate crime: Officials at a mosque in Markham, Ont., are calling on the provincial and federal governments to take action after an alleged hate-motivated attack took place there last week. The suspect is charged with one count each of assault with a weapon, uttering threats and dangerous driving.
Leaked documents: U.S. national security agencies are reviewing how they share their most sensitive secrets, and dealing with the fallout from the release of dozens of confidential documents.
Ethics: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’s under an ethics investigation into whether she interfered in the administration of justice in relation to a COVID-19 prosecution.
Ice storm: Frustration was mounting for Quebeckers still without power five days after a major storm, as the province’s hydro utility worked to reconnect the remaining homes and businesses cut off from the grid.
Louisville shooting: A shooter at a bank in downtown Louisville, Ky., killed at least four people and wounded at least nine others, authorities said. The suspect also died.
Listen to The Decibel: The story of the world’s most premature twins to survive
China: A court in China has sentenced two of the country’s leading human-rights activists to more than a decade in prison for subverting state power.
MARKET WATCH
Stocks mixed with inflation data, earnings on tap
U.S. stock indexes clawed back from steep losses to end mixed on Monday as investors digested Friday’s employment report and prepared for an eventful week of inflation data and bank earnings. The Canadian benchmark stock index ended with modest gains, with a mixed bag of performance across sectors.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 3.64 points to end at 4,108.66 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 6.10 points to 12,081.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 98.43 points to 33,583.72. The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 79.13 points at 20,275.82.
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TALKING POINTS
The biggest thing in the budget was Ottawa subsidizing provincial power
“Maybe that’s not as easy to sell with a slogan as a cheque or a factory opening, but this was one of the most consequential things to come from Ms. Freeland’s budget. It might well spark a decade of national electrification, and that will be critical infrastructure.” – Campbell Clark
On musician touring visas, the United States needs to change its tune
“We need to deliver the message that changing these policies isn’t just good for Canada and Canadian artists – it’s good for the U.S. economy, too. Recorded music flows freely across the U.S.-Canada border. It’s time Canadian musicians are able to do that, too.” – Andrew Cash
LIVING BETTER
Eat more magnesium-rich foods to slow brain aging, study suggests
If you don’t give much thought to magnesium, you should. New evidence from the Australian National University suggests that significantly upping your daily magnesium intake can lead to less brain shrinkage as you age, which is linked to better cognitive performance and a lower risk of dementia.
A higher intake of this under-consumed mineral, plentiful in spinach, black beans and nuts, also helps guard against hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Owner of Canadian Candy Nostalgia Crystal Regehr Westergard with some of the over 130,000 Rum&Butter chocolate bars she needs to re-home, in Camrose, Alberta on Thursday, April 6, 2023.Amber Bracken/Amber Bracken
What would you do with 133,000 chocolate bars? It’s more complicated than you think
Crystal Regehr Westergard needs a plan. Fast.
The Alberta physiotherapist and candy company owner finds herself in a sticky situation of having to give away Rum & Butter bars, after issues at the plant that manufactures them resulted in a glut of product – all marked with a looming June expiration date. Though the bars will be perfectly fine to consume past June, for grocers and many consumers, the date on the package is a ticking time bomb. Are you interested in this chocolate? They are available for pickup. ASAP.
Evening Update is written by Sierra Bein. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.