Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
B.C.’s top court rules in Galloway case
Novelist Steven Galloway has won the right to bring a defamation lawsuit against a woman who has publicly alleged he raped her, the B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled.
The court said a B.C. law meant to protect freedom of speech from abusive lawsuits could not be used to shut down Mr. Galloway’s defamation lawsuit against a woman identified as A.B. and several supporters, over an art show and comments posted on the internet alleging that he raped and physically assaulted her.
It upheld a 2021 B.C. Supreme Court ruling that said that leaving Galloway without access to the courts to defend his reputation would be “extreme and reckless.”
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The latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today about reforming his government as he sought to rally the region behind postwar plans for Gaza that include concrete steps toward a Palestinian state.
But the vision he outlined faces serious obstacles. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has so far rejected Palestinian Authority control in Gaza and adamantly opposes the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Meanwhile, a legal battle over whether Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide opens tomorrow at the United Nations’ top court with preliminary hearings into South Africa’s call for judges to order an immediate suspension of Israel’s military actions. Israel vehemently denies the genocide allegation.
Tax hikes loom in proposed Toronto budget
Toronto residents could be facing a 10.5-per-cent hike in property taxes this year, with the prospect of that increasing to 16.5 per cent unless Ottawa commits money to support refugees.
The 10.5-per-cent increase in Toronto includes a 9-per-cent rise in the property-tax rate, plus the preplanned 1.5-per-cent boost in the city-building fund, which raises money for transit and housing.
Council will vote in mid-February on the $17-billion operating budget proposed by city staff, after the public has had a chance to weigh in.
Taiwan election enters final stretch
Taiwan heads to the polls this Saturday to elect its next president. The most recent numbers show Vice-President Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is headed for victory.
The opposition vote is split, and while there is widespread dissatisfaction with the DPP, which has been in power since 2016, it’s mostly over deliverables rather than policy disagreements.
But the past 10 days have been dominated by gaffes, mud-slinging and accusations of Chinese election interference that may have eaten into his relatively slim lead.
Read more: Taiwan’s election fills tiny Kinmen island with questions and anxiety about future ties with China
The Decibel podcast: Why Taiwan’s election tests China’s authority
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
British Post Office scandal developments: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has bowed to public pressure and announced plans to take the unusual step of introducing legislation that will overturn the convictions of hundreds of former Post Office branch managers.
Violence in Ecuador: Ecuador President Daniel Noboa says his country is “at war” with drug gangs who are holding more than 130 prison guards and other staff hostage and who briefly captured a TV station live on air and set off explosions in a surge of violence that has left city streets deserted.
Explainer: What’s behind the spiraling violence in Ecuador?
Mishap at Pearson: Air Canada says it is conducting a review after a passenger boarding a flight from Toronto to Dubai opened a cabin door and fell to the tarmac at Pearson Airport.
MARKET WATCH
U.S. stocks closed higher, building steam on strength in megacaps, but gains were limited ahead of inflation reports and major bank earnings later in the week. Canada’s main stock index saw modest gains, but was weighed down by weakness in energy and metals.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 18.44 points or 0.9 per cent to 20,989.42. The dollar traded at 74.74 U.S. cents.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 170.57 points or 0.45 per cent to 37,695.73, the S&P 500 gained 26.95 points or 0.57 per cent to 4,783.45 points, and the Nasdaq Composite added 111.94 points or 0.75 per cent to 14,969.65.
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TALKING POINTS
Surrendering to the provinces doesn’t bring peace to the federation. It only emboldens them
The government [Justin Trudeau] leads is administratively incompetent, ideologically doctrinaire, and politically tone-deaf. It richly deserves its current odium.” - Andrew Coyne
For Jewish Canadians, the number of places we feel unwelcome keeps growing
“Shouldn’t Jewish Canadians have the right to feel safe taking their kids to a science museum? Or call their cellphone provider without risking the shock of a political sneer?” - Marsha Lederman
A B.C. judge reminds us all that drug addiction is an illness
“We need to be constantly reminded that those who are dying are suffering from an illness. We should be doing everything we can to help them, not shoo them away to dark places where they can’t be seen or heard.” - Gary Mason
LIVING BETTER
Everyone could use some sunshine on a plate to brighten winter mornings. Try this skillet breakfast that’s quick, satisfying and flexible. Bonus: You can use up a bunch of leftovers.
TODAY’S LONG READ
People ski on 'stocked snow' made by using snow that fell earlier in the winter months, at La Bresse-Honeck ski resort in France last month.SEBASTIEN BOZON/Getty Images
Of all the effects that climate change is having on the planet, one of the hardest to discern is a change in snow accumulation. So far this year, residents of some Canadian cities have found themselves shovelling less than in winters past, but snowfall is such a variable element of the weather that broader trends are not easy to pin down.
Now, a new study has linked an overall reduction in snowpack – the volume of snow that is present on the landscape – to human-caused global warming, and points to the likelihood that more dramatic changes lie ahead.
The results forecast implications for ecosystems and watersheds the are supplied by melting snow every spring, and a change in how people who live in northern countries such as Canada come to experience winter. Read the full story by Ivan Semeniuk
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