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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Trudeau to meet with B.C., Alberta premiers in effort to resolve Trans Mountain pipeline dispute
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has scheduled a meeting on Sunday with B.C. Premier John Horgan and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley to find a solution to the ongoing standoff over Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. Both Mr. Trudeau and Ms. Notley have reiterated their support for the project, which would bring Alberta bitumen through British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. Mr. Trudeau will return to Canada after the Summit of the Americas in Peru to sit down with the premiers before heading to Paris and London. Mr. Trudeau was previously scheduled to go straight from South America to Europe but was being criticized by opposition politicians for leaving Canada. He will now resume his trip after the meeting in Ottawa this Sunday. Yesterday, Finance Minister Bill Morneau met with Ms. Notley and pledged to meet Kinder Morgan’s deadline of May 31 to provide a plan on how to rescue the project.
U.S. makes big shift, cuts NAFTA auto-content demands
Sources tell The Globe and Mail that the United States has made a significant move during NAFTA negotiations, decreasing the amount of North American content it wants to be in vehicles in order to qualify for duty-free status. The U.S. is now asking for 75 per cent of a vehicle to be made in North America, down from 85 per cent. Experts within the automotive industry estimate that the current level of North American content is between 70 to 75 per cent, with variations depending on what vehicle is being produced and where it is being made. Autos have been the most contentious issue discussed in depth during the trilateral negotiations between Canada, Mexico and the United States. (for subscribers)
If you need to get caught up on the NAFTA saga so far, we’ve created a guide to the talks.
Elsewhere on the trade front, U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 12-country trade agreement that he withdrew the U.S. from shortly after taking office. The 11 other countries that made up the deal, including Canada and Mexico, agreed to a new deal recently called the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Organ donation registrations rise after Humboldt Broncos bus crash; death toll now 16
Dayna Brons, a 24-year-old athletic therapist for the Humboldt Broncos, became the 16th person to die from the fatal bus crash. Her family issued a statement yesterday saying that she died peacefully surrounded by loved ones and that she “will be forever remembered for her joyful smile and her passion and love of sport.”
Logan Boulet, one of the players who died, has inspired a surge in organ donor registrations. In B.C. and Ontario, registrations have increased by up to 2,000 per cent over the daily average. Saskatchewan’s transplant program has seen an “overwhelming number of calls” from residents wanting to register. When Mr. Boulet turned 21, he insisted on signing an organ donor card. If you want to learn more about what we know so far about the victims you can go here.
Canadians are wearing sports jerseys today to show support for the victims of the crash. #JerseysforHumboldt was first proposed by some British Columbia hockey parents as a way to honour the Saskatchewan junior hockey team.
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League final is also set to go ahead. The Broncos were travelling to play the Nipawin Hawks in Game 5 of their playoff series before Friday’s crash. The SJHL held a conference call and unanimously decided that the best-of-seven series between Nipawin and the Estevan Bruins will be played. “We honour the players by going to their services, but we have to honour them in another way by making sure whoever comes out of Saskatchewan goes as far as possible,” Doug Johnson, head coach of the Hawks, said.
Dave Bidini writes in a column that as Canadians, we can’t stop moving: “ We must keep going for the same reason the Humboldt Broncos players did and for the same reason they no longer can. We must keep moving to celebrate life, as well as the exquisite, beautiful and hard game that has helped us know one another better than anything Canada has produced, providing geographical and emotional shorthand in a country that can’t expect to know itself whole.”
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MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index closed slightly higher on Thursday as higher commodity prices, due to geopolitical concerns, boosted the shares of energy and materials companies. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 0.07 per cent to end at 15,269.27. Meanwhile, U.S. stocks climbed as investors anticipated a strong earnings season and as U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that a military strike on Syria may not be imminent eased geopolitical worries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.21 per cent to finish at 24,482.74, the S&P 500 gained 0.83 per cent to close at 2,664.01 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.01 percent to end at 7,140.25.
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WHAT’S TRENDING ON SOCIAL
Second Cup, the chain known for its coffee, will be converting some of its shops into cannabis stores. The changes will initially occur across Western Canada, before expanding to include additional provinces where it will be legally permissible.
TALKING POINTS
Why Manitoba chiefs don’t support an extension of the missing and murdered inquiry
“First Nations and Canadians cannot wait another two years. The most reasonable response now to the commissioners’ extension request is to simply have them complete their existing mandate in a manner that continues to hear truths from families and survivors. As with any inquiry report, the real commitment and action is based in the political will of the receiving governments of the report. Accordingly, instead of spending more time and money on the inquiry process, Canada should immediately invest at least $50-million to address the underlying issues that lead to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.” − Arlen Dumas, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
What’s wrong with Ontario’s child-care plan
“Free licensed child care. It sounds like a parents’ dream. But look a little closer at the Government of Ontario’s recently announced plan to deliver free licensed child care for preschoolers, and flaws emerge. Beyond the arguably late starting age of 2½ years, this initiative could have unwelcome consequences due to its limited accessibility and its potential to create excess demand for licensed preschool care.” − Parisa Mahboubi
LIVING BETTER
Spring is the time for cleaning. The Globe’s wine and spirits columnist Beppi Crosariol suggests that you should apply the same mindset to your collection of spirits. In most cases it isn’t an issue of safety, he writes, but rather a question of flavour. From vermouth to vodka, he walks you through which classic ingredients in your pantry should be examined.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Lose the plot: Why there’s more than one queer narrative
Despite all the acclaim, Love, Simon is the latest movie that exemplifies TV and film’s continual reliance on an old cliché, Rachel Giese writes. The coming-out story, while meant to signal a new beginning, has become a dead end for LGBTQ storytelling.
PLAYOFFS
It’s day 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Toronto Maple Leafs are facing off against the Boston Bruins. Game 1 is in Boston and the puck drops at 7 p.m. ET (CBC, TVA Sports).
Last night, the Winnipeg Jets topped the Minnesota Wild in the first game of their Western Conference series on a late goal by Joe Morrow.
Evening Update was written by Mayaz Alam and Kristene Quan. 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.
Editor’s Note: Yesterday’s edition of Evening Update incorrectly stated that Dalton McGuinty was found guilty of destroying government records. In fact, it was his former chief of staff David Livingston who was found guilty and sentenced to four months in jail.