Good evening and happy Friday,
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Canada allows extradition hearing against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou to proceed
Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou leaves her home to attend a court appearance in Vancouver, British Columbia on Jan. 29, 2019.Darryl Dyck/The Associated Press
The extradition hearing will decide whether to deliver Ms. Meng into the hands of American law authorities. Ms. Meng, a Chinese citizen, was arrested at a Vancouver airport in December, triggering a diplomatic rift between Canada and China. The Trudeau government took pains to defend Friday’s decision, emphasizing that Canada is merely sticking to the letter of the law governing extraditions. On Friday, Canada’s Department of Justice said a review of the arguments laid out by the United States has satisfied the criteria to proceed with an extradition hearing. U.S. prosecutors accuse Ms. Meng and Huawei of fraud to circumvent U.S. sanctions on Iran.
Trudeau shuffles cabinet after Wilson-Raybould’s resignation
Canada's Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau and Minister of Women and Gender Equality Maryam Monsef react during a cabinet shuffle at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 1, 2019.CHRIS WATTIE/Reuters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday that he is moving long-time Liberal minister Lawrence MacAulay to Minister of Veteran Affairs. Mr. MacAulay replaces Jody Wilson-Raybould, who abruptly quit from the cabinet position Feb. 12. Marie-Claude Bibeau will replace Mr. MacAulay at Agriculture and will become the first woman to hold that portfolio in Canadian history. In that portfolio, the Quebec Minister will play a large role in ensuring that dairy farmers are compensated for concessions that Canada made in a free-trade agreement reached last year with the United States and Mexico.
Ms. Wilson-Raybould sudden departure was prompted by ongoing questions over the government’s handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair.
Lori Turnbull writes that Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle can’t fix what is too badly broken: “Do they try to rebuild the old brand around openness, inclusion and governing differently in a post-partisan era, or do they abandon that to more fully embrace the ugly realities of governance?”
On Wednesday, Ms. Wilson-Raybould detailed her account of events to MPs. This came weeks after The Globe first broke the story that individuals in the Prime Minister’s Office pressed Ms. Wilson-Raybould to abandon the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin while she was attorney-general and justice minister. Ms. Wilson-Raybould said she was “hounded” to negotiate a settlement. “These events involved 11 people – excluding myself and my political staff – from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Privy Council Office, and the Office of the Minister of Finance,” she told the committee. Here’s a closer look at the 11 people – who they are and what Ms. Wilson-Raybould said in her testimony about their alleged involvement – including Mr. Trudeau, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and his chief of staff Ben Chin.
In a February of cross-Canada winter woes, Ottawa gets the ‘gold medal for misery’
A man cross-country skis past Parliament Hill during a winter snow storm in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, February 13, 2019.CHRIS WATTIE/Reuters
Canada is a vast country, but last month we became united in a coast-to-coast cocktail of meteorological misery of piercing cold, ferocious winds, treacherous ice and snow piled higher than cars.
David Phillips, senior climatologist for Environment Canada says, “If Canadians know it’s worse somewhere else, they don’t feel so bad.” In that vein, they can look to Sudbury with 334 centimetres of snow, Ottawa with 263 cm of snow, Val Marie, Sask., where temperatures dipped to -45 C or even Victoria. A city that has the mildest climate in Canada received an Arctic blast that froze water fountains.
“No one has really been left out of this misery,” Mr. Phillips said. “February will go down in Canadian history from coast-to-coast-to-coast as one of the most difficult months. It has been truly Canadian.”
Canada’s economic growth slows in fourth quarter, interest rate hike unlikely
Growth slowed more than expected in the fourth quarter on plunging Canadian crude oil export prices, underpinning market expectations that the Bank of Canada will not hike interest rates next week. While the central bank has indicated that rates will need to move up over time into the neutral range, in a speech last week Governor Stephen Poloz said the path back was now “highly uncertain.” Analysts expect the central bank to stay on the sidelines at its next fixed rate announcement on March 6.
Michael Babad writes in his business briefing that RBC warns Bill Morneau against stoking home prices again with budget measures. (for subscribers)
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WHAT ELSE IS ON OUR RADAR
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Friday that it has a plan to see every Canadian with an affordable home by 2030. Over the next year, the agency plans to dole out about $2.4-billion in loans and funding as part of the strategy and to build 8,300 units and repair 15,000 more by this time next year. (for subscribers)
Thousands of German students marched out of school Friday led by a teenage Swedish environmentalist to call for more action on climate change. The protest is part of a global movement known as ‘School Strike 4 Climate’ or ‘Fridays for Future’ that began last August in Sweden. The students marched through the streets chanting: “We are here, we are loud, because you are stealing our future.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office said Friday that Mr. Trudeau spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday about American tariffs on steel and aluminum. Despite the pressure campaign, two Canadian industry sources with close ties to Washington said there was little sign of progress.
U.S. President Donald Trump believes North Korea is responsible for Otto Warmbier’s death, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said on Friday after the family of the former American college student blamed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. At this week’s Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam, Mr. Trump praised Mr. Kim and said he believed Mr. Kim when he said he didn’t know how Mr. Warmbier was treated. “He tells me that he didn’t know about it, and I will take him at his word,” said Mr. Trump.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index rose on Friday, boosted by gains in consumer stocks as well as the heavy-weight financial and energy sectors. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 69.24 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 16,068.25. U.S. stocks also rose, reversing a three-day losing streak, as investors digested news of a potential resolution to the U.S. trade war with China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114.72 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 26,030.72, the S&P 500 gained 19.41 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 2,803.90 and the Nasdaq Composite added 62.82 points, or 0.83 per cent, to 7,595.35.
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WHAT’S POPULAR WITH READERS
Actor Luke Perry has been hospitalized after reportedly suffering a massive stroke, according to reports. Mr. Perry’s reps confirmed to Variety that the Riverdale star and former Beverly Hills, 90210 actor “is currently under observation at the hospital.”
One of the questions being asked is how something like this could happen to someone so young. Mr. Perry is 52. But, as Carly Weeks reports, what many people don’t realize is that stroke is very common – so common that one in four people will experience one during their lifetime and about 15 per cent of strokes happen to people under age 50.
TALKING POINTS
By believing that the end justifies the means, the Liberals have threatened our democracy
“No elected representative or public servant wakes up in the morning and asks, ‘How can I destroy my country today?’ But the slippery-slope reasoning that makes people believe that their good is better than others’ quickly leads to the intoxicating conviction that they ought to be given extraordinary leave to push boundaries.” - David Moscrop, writer and political commentator.
The value of going unseen
“When identity is derived from projecting an image in the public realm, something is lost, some core of identity diminished, some sense of authority and interiority sacrificed. And it occurs to me that it is time to re-evaluate the merits of the inconspicuous life, to search out some antidote to continuous exposure, to reconsider the value of going unseen and overlooked. Which is why I have signed up for this tutorial in disappearance 40 feet beneath the surface of the deep blue Caribbean Sea.” - Akiko Busch
What it will take for Haiti to be a real, true democracy
“The reality is a large majority of Haitians have never considered Mr. Moïse to be their legitimately elected leader. Many are profoundly frustrated that democracy – just like the missing PetroCaribe funds – is being stolen from them again. Even if Mr. Moïse does step down, there is turbulence ahead. Whilst the threat of violent demonstrations may temporarily subside, widespread anger will simmer below the surface, waiting for another opportunity to erupt. Protests will only come to a halt when all Haitians are confident that their vote really counts.” -Robert Muggah and Athena Kolbe
LIVING BETTER
Nine bold wines that fly in the face of the sugary red-blend trend
Red blends, writes Beppi Crosariol, emphasize smoothness at the expense of subtlety and refinement. He doesn’t have an issue with smoothness or the popularity, but rather the plump fruitiness, cuddly texture and large amount of sugar. Mr. Crosariol recently tasted a number of red blends to see if he could bring himself to recommend any and as he writes, “Unlike the wines, I came up bone-dry.” But it did get him thinking about the concept of smoothness. Here are nine smooth wines that are vivacious and bodacious, but definitely aren’t smoothie wines. (for subscribers)
LONG READS FOR THE WEEKEND
Quadriga co-founder served time in U.S. prison for role in identity-theft ring, documents reveal
Michael Patryn helped launch Quadriga’s trading platform in 2013 alongside Gerald Cotten. Mr. Patryn has denied that he lived in the United States more than a decade ago under the name Omar Dhanani, a California resident who pleaded guilty in 2005 to one count of conspiracy to transfer identification documents. At the time, Mr. Dhanani was a member of an online marketplace called Shadowcrew.com that trafficked in stolen credit card numbers and identities. (for subscribers)
However, The Globe and Mail has uncovered numerous documents – including two booking photos of Mr. Dhanani obtained through a public records request from the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department in New Jersey – linking the two names.
Quadriga is a cryptocurrency exchange that has come under intense scrutiny since Mr. Cotten, its chief executive, died at the age of 30 from complications of Crohn’s disease while on his honeymoon in India last December, leaving the exchange’s users unable to access $250-million in cash and cryptocurrency. Here is a guide to crypto trading. (for subscribers)
Mr. Cotten died on Dec. 8 under mysterious circumstances. One day, he was on his honeymoon, enjoying the opulence of Jaipur. Twenty-four hours later, he was dead – taking valuable secrets and cryptocurrency passwords with him to the grave. Globe and Mail reporters in India, Nova Scotia and Ontario set out to learn how he lived and how his final day unfolded. (for subscribers)
Prefabricated homes are pretty, but what is it like to live in one?
Honomobo prefabricated shipping container home in Kamloops, B.C.Supplied
When looking at the striking and modern home with floor-to-ceiling windows on a tree-lined street on Bowen Island, B.C., it is hard to tell it is a modular home. It was assembled in a factory in Kamloops, B.C., and transported by truck and barge to the property near Vancouver. Prefabricated homes are becoming popular in places such as Bowen Island, says a local building inspector, but he also has some warnings. The homes are built faster on site, generate less waste during construction and owners know the cost upfront, but the quality of materials can vary and problems can arise in transport. We speak to two owners about the pros and cons. (for subscribers)
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.