Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released a federal budget that raises more than $20-billion in new revenue over five years, primarily through changes to Canada’s capital-gains rules, in an effort to have wealthy Canadians and corporations help offset the cost of billions in new spending.
As previously signalled by the government, housing, defence and technology research all receive significant funding in the budget, which lays out about $53-billion in new spending over five years.
The budget doesn’t make any changes to income tax rates, nor does it include an explicit wealth tax. Instead, the tax hikes are focused on capital gains, which are the profits an individual or a business earns when they sell an asset, such as stocks or property. Fifty per cent of capital gains are currently taxed at a person’s marginal income tax rate. The change increases this to 66 per cent for capital gains over $250,000.
Federal budget 2024 reading list:
- Looking for the highlights? Here’s what you need to know about the federal budget
- Shannon Proudfoot: What sort of vision for the country can you conjure from inside a very deep hole?
- Rob Carrick: A federal budget personal finance report card
- Andrew Coyne: A government with no priorities, no anchors, and when it comes to growth, no clue
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Palestinians pay small fortunes to buy their way out of Gaza
A man pushes a trolley with luggage as he crosses from Gaza to Egypt, at the Rafah border crossing on Feb. 1, amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas.MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY/Reuters
The Globe’s Eric Reguly reports from Cairo on Gazans paying small fortunes to buy their way out of the enclave and into Egypt. Hala Consulting and Tourism has emerged as the dominant agency arranging exit visas, providing “co-ordination” for Gazans without foreign passports. The fee, running into the thousands of dollars, lands clients on an evacuee registry list. Since Oct. 7, when Rafah became the only open crossing for Gazans, the price has soared to the point that it is considered extortionate. Read more here.
- Opinion: A young life in Gaza, shattered
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Inflation: Canada’s inflation rate ticked higher last month, but the odds of a June interest rate cut were boosted. Plus, here’s how economists and market bets for rate cuts are reacting to today’s inflation data.
Israel-Iran: Israel’s war cabinet was set to meet today on how to respond to Iran’s weekend attack. The meeting was pushed till tomorrow, as Western allies eyed new sanctions against Tehran to help de-escalate the situation. Iran launched the attack in retaliation for an airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 attributed to Israel, but has signalled that it now deems the matter closed.
- Elsewhere: Artist and curators refuse to open Israel pavilion at Venice Biennale until ceasefire, hostage deal
Donald Trump in court: An English teacher, a nurse and a corporate lawyer were among the first six jurors chosen for Donald Trump’s hush money trial today. Lawyers questioned members of the jury pool about their social media posts, political views and personal lives to decide whether they can sit in fair judgment of the former president. Twelve more people need to be selected.
Pack a flight lunch: WestJet’s advice to customers flying in and out of Toronto after 800 catering workers went on strike overnight: Pack lunch before you board.
New Olympics kit: Lululemon unveiled its first summer Olympic and Paralympic uniforms for Team Canada. See the full kit here.
MARKET WATCH
Wall Street stocks ended mixed today as Treasury yields climbed, with investors weighing the likely path of interest rates in a resilient U.S. economy with persistent inflation.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 97.33 points to end at 21,642.87. The S&P 500 lost 10.41 points to end at 5,051.41 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 19.77 points to 15,865.25. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 63.86 points to 37,798.97.
The Canadian dollar traded for US$72.30.
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TALKING POINTS
As the Middle East erupts, don’t look away from Gaza
“The deaths of six Western aid workers and their Palestinian colleague were outrageous and heartbreaking, but the attacks on humanitarian workers and aid provisions have been occurring for six months in Gaza without appropriate intervention. Now, these workers’ passports have forced Western governments to speak up.” - Claire Porter Robbins
Drug decriminalization is not to blame for all of our social woes
“It makes no sense to arrest, prosecute and imprison people for possessing small quantities of drugs that they put into their own bodies. But we need to be clear about what decriminalization is – and isn’t.” - André Picard
LIVING BETTER
Thinking of trading your gas stove for induction? Here’s what you need to know
Canoe Executive Chef Ron McKinlay is photographed cooking on an induction stove on June 13, 2023.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Stoves are going greener as induction stoves go from niche to mainstream in Canadian kitchens – and for good reason. Unlike gas stoves, they don’t burn fossil fuels. And they reportedly are up to 10 per cent more efficient than electric stoves and about three times more efficient than gas. Ahead of your next kitchen reno, find out how a stovetop differs from an all-in-one range, what size of stovetop you really need and how much should you spend.
TODAY’S LONG READ
In pursuit of the perfect stride, I trained with a world-class skating coach – and it worked
Globe and Mail reporter Sean Fine suits up for a coaching session with Barb Underhill, hockey skating coach and former Olympic figure skater, at Chesswood Arena in Toronto in January.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Globe and Mail
Globe and Mail reporter Sean Fine spent every summer sprinting up hills in the ravine near his house, to get ready for hockey season. At 60, his weekly pickup hockey game was filled with young men. Then he thought: “Why not learn to skate efficiently, instead of racing up hills in July, like Sisyphus in sneakers?” In this feature, Fine chronicles his time with one of the world’s top skating coaches to help him test the limits of muscle memory later in life.
Evening Update is written by Maryam Shah. 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.