Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine deepened Monday as Russian forces intensified their shelling and food, water, heat and medicine grew increasingly scarce, in what Kyiv condemned as a medieval-style siege by Moscow to batter it into submission.
A third round of talks between the two sides ended with a top Ukrainian official saying there had been minor, unspecified progress toward establishing safe corridors that would allow civilians to escape the fighting. Russia’s top negotiator said he expects those corridors to start functioning Tuesday.
Veteran Globe foreign correspondent Mark MacKinnon has reported from Kyiv before. Today, he finds a city crisscrossed by sand berms and checkpoints made of cement, tires and metal tank traps.
Evacuation buses sat, marked with the sign “deti” – indicating their intent to take children back out with them. It’s unclear how many people remain in Kyiv. Thousands across the country have died, and more than 1.7 million people have left Ukraine since the conflict began.
”The Ukrainian capital, once the vibrant and graceful home of three million people, has been broken into pieces by the 12-day-old invasion launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin.”
More Ukraine-related news and analysis from the Globe’s journalists:
- Marieke Walsh reports from London that, at the start of a five-day trip through Europe, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his government’s defence spending Monday, which trails NATO allies and is below target, but acknowledged that the “context is changing rapidly around the world.”
- James Griffiths reports from Hong Kong that, facing criticism for supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Beijing maintains that China-Russia relations are “rock solid.”
- In eastern Poland, gun shops are struggling to keep up with demand from anxious locals, writes Paul Waldie
- National reporter Salmaan Farooqui details how relationships with family and friends in Russia have strained over opinions about the conflict in Ukraine.
- Business reporter Jaren Kerr and justice writer Sean Fine report on Norton Rose winding down its Russian operations while other Canadian law firms stay quiet on their plans.
- Montreal business correspondent Nicolas Van Praet reports on Canadian convenience store giant Couche-Tard’s decision to suspend operations in Russia.
- Britain is now expected to fast-track a law targeting Russian companies and oligarchs, writes Vanmala Subramaniam.
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Multiple deaths of Indigenous people in Thunder Bay identified as requiring further action
Investigators in Ontario say they’ve identified 16 sudden deaths of Indigenous people in Thunder Bay requiring further police investigation or a coroner’s review because the Thunder Bay Police Service and coroner’s office neglected to conduct fulsome investigations – including the death of a two-month-old baby with cocaine in its system and parents with violent histories.
The investigators also recommended an external review of the 25 unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls sitting with the police service’s criminal investigation branch, The Globe has learned.
A rise in interest rates could put some Canadian companies at risk
Higher interest rates threaten to choke off investment spending by Canadian companies, with one-third of businesses warning even a two-percentage-point jump in borrowing costs would derail their growth plans and put their companies at risk, according to a new survey of mid-sized firms.
The poll, conducted by accounting firm KPMG, highlights the tightrope the Bank of Canada must walk as it tries to bring rising consumer prices under control without strangling a recovery – particularly since the central bank has said a robust revival in business investment will be critical to supporting Canada’s economy as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Judge rules convoy organizer Tamara Lich can be released on bail: Justice John Johnston delivered his decision in an Ottawa courtroom and said it is highly unlikely that Lich, who has no criminal record, would face a penitentiary sentence if convicted.
Rogers arranges $19-billion financing to fund Shaw takeover: Rogers decided to refinance a $19-billion bridge loan now because credit markets are receptive, and the company was concerned that rising interest rates and the uncertainty that has come with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will make it more expensive to borrow later this year.
Business leaders hope provinces’ return-to-office plans will encourage industries to do the same: Governments have led the way in many jurisdictions by announcing return-to-office plans for public-service workers, which business leaders hope will propel other industries to follow suit.
MARKET WATCH
Wall Street’s main indexes fell sharply today, with the Dow confirming it was in a correction, as the prospect of a ban on oil imports from Russia sent crude prices soaring and fueled concerns about rising inflation. A rally in energy and materials stocks amid the surge in oil and other commodity prices sheltered Canada’s main stock index from the bulk of the selloff.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 797.42 points or 2.37 per cent to 32,817.38, the S&P 500 lost 1287.78 points or 2.95 per cent to end at 4,201.09, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 482.48 points or 3.62 per cent to 12,830.96.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slid 98.03 points or 0.46 per cent to 21,304.40. The loonie traded for 78.29 U.S. cents.
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TALKING POINTS
Iqaluit has endured six months of water woes – when will the federal government step up?
Jane George: “Iqaluit’s ongoing water woes are nearing their sixth month – the city first said that water coming out of the taps wasn’t safe to drink due to the suspected presence of hydrocarbons in October. Since then, nearly 8,000 residents have endured the darkest and coldest time of the year, often under a pandemic lockdown, with no trusted water supply.”
Accusations of un-Conservatism divide party’s early race
Campbell Clark: “Who doesn’t count as a real Conservative? That’s already a divisive question in the Conservative Party leadership race.”
The Heritage Minister’s push to ban RT undermines the CRTC’s independence
Peter Menzies: “The federal government’s popular move last week to have a Russian broadcaster banned from Canada’s cable networks is disrespectful of the nation’s regulatory process and is forcing a rushed decision with possibly damaging long-term consequences.”
LIVING BETTER
Freeriders find endless peaks of paradise in the mountains of B.C.
There comes a point for many advanced skiers when they want to experience freeriding. Loosely speaking, this means heading away from the official groomed runs and onto other areas of the mountain.
There’s the rush of shredding rugged and untamed terrain. A deep connection with the mountain is essential, in order to dart between its ridges or take air off them; once skiers have felt that joy, it usually becomes a serious relationship.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Canada’s most decorated Winter Paralympian Brian McKeever competes in sixth Games
Brian McKeever recalls his first Paralympic event as clearly as though it were yesterday.
It was 2002, he was 22 and entered in a 7.5-kilometre biathlon race in Salt Lake City. His older brother, Robin, a cross-country skier who competed in the Olympics in Japan four years previously, was his guide.
Twenty years, and 18 Winter Paralympic medals – including 14 golds – later, Brian is still competing: Beijing is his sixth Paralympics.
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