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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Mortgage stress tests protect Canada from potential housing crash and financial crisis, head of national housing agency says
Federal policy makers shouldn’t give in to calls to soften the mortgage stress test rule because it is protecting Canada from a housing crash and financial crisis. The head of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., Evan Siddall, sent a letter Thursday to the House of Commons Finance Committee, which is hearing submissions from industry groups urging it to moderate the stress test.
Ottawa toughened the mortgage stress test for insured mortgages in 2016 and since the start of 2018, home sales in Canada have fallen sharply. Many real estate groups complain the stress test is harming home buyers who can’t qualify for mortgages. Siddall said the stress test is needed to forestall potentially devastating economic consequences if house prices continue to rise and Canadians continue to become more indebted. (for subscribers)
In Vancouver, one realtor tells clients hoping to sell that they are throwing away $5,000 every day they delay listing as the market contracts. With falling sales and prices, patient buyers are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for sellers to face reality. (for subscribers)
Chinese ambassador says up to Canada to unfreeze diplomatic relations
China’s ambassador to Canada says Beijing is “saddened” that diplomatic relations are at a “freezing point” and called on Ottawa to take steps to repair the damage sparked by the arrest of a senior Huawei executive. The envoy did not specially mention the December detention in Vancouver of Meng Wanzhou, but he made clear that relations could not be improved until she is allowed to return home. (for subscribers)
He also vehemently denied that Bejing mistreats Muslim Uyghurs in vast concentration camps. U.S. Senator Mark Warner told The Globe and Mail in an exclusive interview that Canada and other Western countries must speak out more forcefully against China’s crackdown on its Muslim Uyghur minority and use of “bone-chilling” surveillance technology.
Supreme Court could revamp consent law as Cindy Gladue case raises questions about treatment of Indigenous women
Protestors march against the acquittal of Bradley Barton in the death of Cindy Gladue in Edmonton, Alberta on Thursday, April 2, 2015.AMBER BRACKEN/The Globe and Mail
In a ruling Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada could revamp the law of consent and order new warnings to juries about the stereotyping of Indigenous sex-trade workers.
The case began in 2011, when an Ontario trucker was charged with murder. During the trial four years later, the Crown and defence referred to Gladue more than 50 times as “native” or as a prostitute. The man accused was acquitted, but Indigenous and feminist critics ask, can a trial be fair if a victim is dehumanized in a courtroom?
Sean Fine reports that the court’s judgment could prove just as important for the tone it sets for the Canadian criminal-justice system as for its legal directives to lower courts.
Gladue’s tragic death in a motel bathroom was more than just a headline. Back in 2015, Kathryn Blaze Baum wrote an in-depth piece about Gladue’s life and death.
Pelosi urges Trump family ‘intervention’ with President
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday that President Donald Trump threw a temper tantrum at a meeting with Democratic congressional leaders a day earlier and that she wished his family or staff would conduct “an intervention” with him for the good of the country.
Pelosi also accused Trump of obstruction of justice, which she said is an impeachable offence. On Wednesday, shortly before a meeting with Trump, Pelosi accused Trump of a “cover-up” related to Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. Trump walked out of the infrastructure meeting after just three minutes.
Also in the U.S., the Trump administration on Thursday unveiled a US$16-billion farm aid package to offset losses from a 10-month trade war with China. (for subscribers)
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WHAT ELSE IS ON OUR RADAR
Alleged child abuse: Two men and a foster mother have been charged after an investigation found at least 17 children were abused on a Manitoba First Nation. RCMP say three children alleged they were abused in 2017 and an 11-month investigation found 14 others – ages 3 to 15 – were victims of sexual and physical abuse between 2011 and 2017.
Trudeau exonerates Chief Poundmaker: The Prime Minister exonerated a Saskatchewan chief of treason more than 130 years after his conviction and apologized to his people for the hardship their leader’s unjust imprisonment caused. Poundmaker spoke out against unfulfilled Treaty 6 promises and stood up for his people at the time of the 1885 Northwest Rebellion. He was labelled a traitor by the Canadian government. Trudeau said, “Poundmaker was not a criminal, but someone who worked tirelessly to ensure the survival of his people.
NBA playoffs: With the best-of-7 series tied 2-2, the Toronto Raptors will tip off against the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final tonight at 8:30. Game 6 is Saturday night back in Toronto. The series winner will face the Golden State Warriors in the NBA final. The Warriors won the Western Conference final in four straight games over the Portland Trail Blazers.
NHL playoffs: the Stanley Cup final between the St. Louis Blues and the Boston Bruins begins Monday night in Boston.
Andrew Scheer vows to raise mandatory minimums for child offenders: The Conservative leader says a future government under his leadership would bring in mandatory minimum jail sentences of five years for those found guilty of abusing children. Currently, the mandatory minimum sentence is one year.
Brexit: British Prime Minister Theresa May was hunkered down with close allies on Thursday as she considered whether to give in to relentless pressure to resign, or fight on to save her Brexit plan and her premiership.
MARKET WATCH
U.S. stocks slumped on Thursday as investors dumped shares of technology companies as well as businesses in cyclical sectors on fears that the escalating trade war between United States and China would stymie global economic growth.
Stocks in Toronto followed a similar path, with declines in energy producers and Royal Bank of Canada weighing on the S&P/TSX Composite Index. It closed down 162.74 points to 16,164.61.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 418.29 points, or 1.62 per cent, to 25,358.32, the S&P 500 lost 47.77 points, or 1.67 per cent, to 2,808.5 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 157.90 points, or 2.04 per cent, to 7,592.94.
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TALKING POINTS
A singular moment for abortion rights in the U.S.
“The 2020 elections will be, in part, a referendum on abortion in America, a singular moment for the country to choose its fate after 46 years of bitter discord. There is only one way to ensure abortion access, for those who’d choose to: they need to take back the U.S. Senate, the White House and, ultimately, the Supreme Court.” – Rosemary Westwood
Doug Ford is erasing the rules about partisan government ads
“One of the tenets of populist politics is that, if your opponent blurred a line while in power, you are allowed to obliterate that same line if you happen to form the next government. It doesn’t even matter that you may have promised to reinforce the line in question, or to paint it a brighter colour, just go ahead and plant two feet firmly on the wrong side of it as if it was never there at all.” – Globe editorial
The Senate should do its job – and respect Canadian voters
“Killing a government bill that was part of an election platform that elected a majority government, and which was passed in the House with multiparty support, is simply not in the Senate’s job description” – Hugh Segal, former Ontario Conservative senator
LIVING BETTER
Why some restaurants are being designed specifically so patrons put their phones away
Kurtis Chen/ODAMI
In the middle of the table at Sara, a small restaurant in downtown Toronto, is a wooden rectangular compartment slightly bigger than a phone and deep enough to hold four of them. The lid, made of the same quartz as the table, closes flush and is hardly noticeable when eating. A small number of restaurants across Canada, like Sara, are using design – and more than just phone cubbies – to discourage cellphone use. Some patrons balk at first, but as Dave McGinn reports, there is evidence to suggest putting our phones away makes for a more enjoyable experience.
LONG READ FOR A LONG COMMUTE
‘I dance to relieve stress, and to elevate myself’: For Indigenous youth, ambitions soar at performance program
Grade 9 student Marena Wood dances with her classmates from St. Theresa Point, Manitoba during the rehearsal for Outside Looking In.Shelby Lisk/The Globe and Mail
At a peaceful, pond-set youth camp west of Toronto, the sound of a pop song about confidence spreads out over 400 rolling acres of pasture and wetlands. About 120 Indigenous students from Manitoba, Nunavut and Northern Ontario are working on an urban dance performance as part of a program called Outside Looking In to encourage self-esteem and empowerment for Indigenous youth and reduce the high school drop out rate. The program culminates in a pair of performances at Toronto’s Sony Centre Thursday.
Evening Update is written by Jordan Chittley. 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.