Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
The federal government announced its new climate change plan today. The plan relies heavily on emissions cuts from the oil and gas sector to ensure the country hits its overall targets for greenhouse gas emissions.
The sector will need to cut emissions by 42 per cent – or 81 megatons – in the next eight years from 2019 levels, the government said. The plan was tabled virtually in the House of Commons by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault. It pledges $9.1-billion in new spending to ensure Canada cuts its total emissions by 40 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
The plan relies largely on increasing the speed and ambition of existing climate change programs. For example, beefing up the mandates for zero-emissions vehicles sales, further limiting the carbon content in fuel through the clean fuel standard, and expanding the budgets for home and building retrofits.
Briefing documents released by the environment department detailed more than $7.8-billion in new spending. Officials said the full $9.1-billion will be spelled out in the federal budget, which Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced today will be released on April 7. Among the items that are not yet costed is a promised tax credit for companies that develop carbon capture, utilization and storage. The tax credit was first promised in the 2021 budget.
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Russia promises to scale back attacks on Ukraine, but few signs of pullback
Russia has promised to scale back its attacks on Kyiv but there were only minimal signs of a pullback Tuesday, and the announcement was met with derision from many civilians in the Ukraine capital.
At the start of peace talks in Istanbul Tuesday, Russia’s deputy defence minister, Alexander Fomin, said Moscow would “radically reduce military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv.” He said the move was aimed at “increasing mutual trust, creating the right conditions for future negotiations and reaching the final aim of signing a peace deal with Ukraine.”
However, Moscow’s lead negotiator in the talks, Vladimir Medinsky, later clarified Fomin’s announcement of a pullback. “This is not a ceasefire, but this is our aspiration, gradually to reach a de-escalation of the conflict at least on these fronts,” he told Russia’s Tass news service Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Canadian government is sending a specialized team of RCMP investigators to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to gather evidence of potential Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
The RCMP will also be interviewing Ukrainians who have come to Canada for testimony of war crimes committed by Russian forces, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said. The RCMP have long had officers assigned to the International Criminal Court. But at the request of the ICC, Mendicino said Ottawa is now sending a specialized team of RCMP officers to specifically help in the ICC’s formal investigation of alleged Russian atrocities.
- Latest Russia-Ukraine updates
- Opinion: Why Russia’s propaganda machine has failed to control the Ukraine narrative
Brookfield and Elliott Management offer US$10-billion for market data firm Nielsen
Brookfield Asset Management is part of an investment group that hopes to take iconic television-ratings company Nielsen Holdings PLC private in a US$10-billion deal.
The group, which is led by activist investors Elliott Investment Management LP, convinced the Nielsen board to agree to a US$28-a-share offer for its New York Stock Exchange-listed shares after rejecting an earlier bid.
Nielsen, which traded for US$17.51 a share as recently as March 11, said on March 20 that it had turned down an offer of US$25.40.
The consortium will take on just over US$5.8-billion in Nielsen debt, prompting Nielsen to label the transaction a US$16-billion deal.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Meta to hire 2,500 new staff across Canada: Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. announced that the company will hire 2,500 new staff across the country in the next five years, including at a new Toronto engineering hub, though many positions are expected to be remote.
Foreign buyer tax hike: The Ontario government has increased the tax for foreign home buyers to 20 per cent from 15 per cent in an attempt to crack down on speculation in the housing market. The changes take effect on Wednesday and have been expanded to cover all residential properties across the province instead of just those in the Greater Golden Horseshoe Area.
Travel is getting easier but insurance is not: Ottawa’s decision to lift its pre-entry COVID-19 testing requirement on April 1 removes yet another obstacle to Canadians’ trips abroad, but navigating the nuances of pandemic-era travel insurance will continue to be anything but easy.
Electricity shortages in Myanmar: The 2021 coup has thrown Myanmar into an economic crisis and put its electrification plans in peril. Along with stopping cash flows and prompting a fall in currency value and rising food and fuel prices, the military takeover has triggered an energy crunch that has plunged communities across the country into darkness for hours on end every day.
MARKET WATCH
U.S. and Canadian stocks rose on Tuesday, with the Dow and S&P notching their fourth consecutive session of gains, on optimism some progress was being made toward a deal to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 56.08 points, or 1.23 per cent, to end at 4,631.60 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 264.74 points, or 1.84 per cent, to 14,619.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 338.3 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 35,294.19.
The TSX gained 109.39, or 0.5 per cent, to end at 22,087.22.
The Canadian dollar traded for 79.94 US cents compared with 79.74 US cents on Monday. The loonie appreciated along with other global currencies on weakness in the U.S. dollar.
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TALKING POINTS
Recapturing the flag: Canada is still recovering from a moment of darkness in Ottawa
“We need to steal our flag back. We need to fly the flag at our homes and wear it on our lapels not because Canada is perfect or has a spotless history, but because we are patriotic. That is, we are not nationalists who claim superiority and embrace aggression against anyone deemed ‘the other,’ but patriots who are proud of the values and aspirations that form the foundation of our country.” – John Boyko
Is a Liberal-NDP ‘supply and confidence’ deal the best way to reform medicare?
“Expanding dental and prescription-drug coverage seems overdue. But what about long-term care, home care and mental-health care which all have huge and inequitable coverage gaps? We still have the least-universal universal health care system in the developed world. If we want it to be more equitable and affordable, at some point we need to articulate a vision and draft a comprehensive plan.” – André Picard
Will the International Space Station survive the war in Ukraine?
“If Russia stopped providing regular boosts, the U.S. would have difficulty keeping the ISS in orbit.” – Michael Byers and Aaron Boley
Trudeau’s intrusion into provincial affairs reaches a new level
“Mr. Trudeau’s heavy-handed approach will only increase resentments, both in Quebec and in the West. And those resentments will grow, when history repeats itself and the federal government reneges on its share of the funding responsibility.” – John Ibbitson
LIVING BETTER
Most people fall into one of two camps: They either love exercise or absolutely hate it. But what accounts for the chasm between the two groups? A new study offers optimistic insights for those looking to bridge this gap. Stick with your exercise routine through those initially unpleasant weeks, the results suggest, and you too can learn to love the gym, thanks to long-term adaptations in how your brain processes mood-altering chemicals.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Stitching together Alberta’s history: Quilts capture the untold stories of the quilters who made them
Historic Sites of High Prairie quilt, Farm Women’s Union of Alberta, c. 1970, High Prairie, Alta.Royal Alberta Museum
The Royal Alberta Museum’s Lucie Heins has been documenting Alberta quilts, uncovering stories of families and pieces of history as well as details of the hardships of early settler life – communicated by the women (primarily) who made them.
“Often history is written from the male point of view,” says Ms. Heins, acting curator of Daily Life and Leisure at the museum. “The quilts were sort of the medium to get to some of these stories that would otherwise not be told.”
She began working on this project in 2010 and has chronicled the tales behind about 700 quilts from around Alberta, found at regional museums, through guilds and in private collections. Ms. Heins’ new book, Alberta Quiltmakers and their Quilts, includes quilts made by Indigenous, Black and male quilters and also documents findings from previous and concurrent Alberta quilt research projects. See more quilts and read the full story by Marsha Lederman.
Evening Update is written by Prajakta Dhopade. 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.