Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Ontario aims to shore up its strained hospitals by boosting the number of surgeries done at existing private-sector clinics, attracting 6,000 more health care workers and legislating new powers to move elderly patients into long-term care homes that are not their first choice.
The measures, outlined in an 18-page second phase of Ontario’s “Plan to Stay Open” unveiled on Thursday by Health Minister Sylvia Jones, drew praise from the hospital sector but criticism from opposition politicians and advocates for long-term care residents.
The government said legislation to allow hospitals to move more people out of hospital and into long-term care homes was due to be introduced later Thursday.
At an event at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital alongside Ms. Jones, Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra said patients who are deemed by their doctors to no longer need hospital treatment could be temporarily placed in a long-term care home that isn’t their preferred choice, to free up needed beds in hospitals.
If the legislation is passed, the province says there will be “mandatory guidelines” to ensure patients remain close to family and friends, but the guidelines have not been released.
An executive at the agency overseeing Ontario's hospitals says the system is experiencing staffing strain at unprecedented levels, but the situation may improve in the coming weeks.The Canadian Press
Pope Francis rules there is insufficient evidence to open probe into Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet
The Vatican says there is no further need to investigate Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who is facing allegations of sexual assault as part of a class-action lawsuit in his native Quebec.
Pope Francis has deemed that there is not enough grounds to initiate a canonical investigation, the Vatican said in a statement released Thursday by Matteo Bruni, the director of the Holy See Press Office.
A canonical investigation determines whether Catholic Church law has been violated.
Cardinal Ouellet is one of Canada’s most prominent Catholic cleric and sometimes mentioned as a potential pontiff. In a statement of claim filed Tuesday, a Quebec City woman alleged that, at public events between 2008 and 2010, the Cardinal inappropriately rubbed her shoulders, hugged her, kissed her on the cheeks and slipped his hand down her back, close to her buttocks. The allegations have not been tested in court.
Pope Francis talks to Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Canada at the Vatican, Feb. 17, 2022.REMO CASILLI/Reuters
UN chief Antonio Guterres, in Ukraine, says he is worried by situation at nuclear plant on front line
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday he was gravely concerned by the situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power station after it came under shelling at the front lines in Ukraine.
Russia, which captured the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant soon after its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, said it could shut down the facility – a move Kyiv said would increase the risk of a nuclear catastrophe.
Guterres, speaking to reporters after talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, said military equipment and personnel should be withdrawn from the plant.
“The facility must not be used as part of any military operation. Instead, agreement is urgently needed to re-establish Zaporizhzhia’s purely civilian infrastructure and to ensure the safety of the area,” he said.
Read more:
A serviceman with a Russian flag on his uniform stands guard near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Aug. 4, 2022.ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO/Reuters
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Lisa LaFlamme ‘going grey’ questioned by CTV executive, says senior company official: CTV boss Michael Melling and Ms. LaFlamme clashed over stories, network priorities and resources – most visibly when it came to coverage of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the war in Ukraine, staff reveal.
M23 militia’s artillery fire, backed by Rwanda, ratchets up tensions in endangered gorillas’ Congolese home: A world-famous park in eastern Congo, one of the last remaining homes of the endangered mountain gorilla, now faces a new threat: deadly attacks by a Rwandan-backed militia group that has inflicted devastation across the region.
Slumping tech sector eyes risky plan to soothe investors: Share buybacks for money-losing companies: A flurry of Canadian technology companies went public during the COVID-19 pandemic, the most since the dot-com boom, but not even two years later, some have started buying back their newly listed shares to support sagging stock prices.
U.S. judge orders Justice Department to file redacted version of affidavit used to search Trump’s home: A U.S. judge on Thursday said he is leaning toward releasing some of the evidence presented by the U.S. Justice Department to justify its search of Donald Trump’s Florida home last week, in a case pitting news organizations against federal prosecutors.
OMERS posts small loss in first half of 2022 despite turmoil in stock and bond markets: The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) said it posted a loss of 0.4 per cent, or about $500-million, in the first six months of 2022 despite the turmoil in stock and bond markets.
First accuser testifies at R. Kelly’s trial in Chicago: A woman who prosecutors say R. Kelly manipulated for sex starting when she was about 14 years old took the witness stand Thursday at Kelly’s child pornography and obstruction of justice trial, becoming the first accuser to testify in the singer’s hometown of Chicago.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index ticked higher to outperform U.S. markets on Thursday, as a crude oil rally drove gains in the Canadian energy sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 83.93 points at 20,265.37.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 18.72 points at 33,999.04. The S&P 500 index was up 9.70 points at 4,283.74, while the Nasdaq composite closed up 27.22 points at 12,965.34.
The Canadian dollar traded for 77.35 cents US compared with 77.45 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$2.42 at US$90.11 per barrel and the September natural gas contract was down six cents at US$9.19 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$5.50 at US$1,771.20 an ounce and the September copper contract was up five cents at US$3.63 a pound.
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TALKING POINTS
Amnesty International must renew its solidarity with the oppressed in Ukraine
“At its heart, the Amnesty controversy reflects this imbalance of power between those in powerful headquarters in the West, and those on the ground in conflict zones. While senior officials have more access to policy-makers and may have a bigger-picture view, those on the ground can see the consequences of what they do, and what they don’t do, most vividly. Collaboration between the two groups is not only vital, it’s irreplaceable. And if it doesn’t happen, catastrophe – that is, a fatal loss of credibility in these institutions, at a time when rights abuses are only increasing – can easily arise.” – H.A. Hellyer
Trudeau and Scholz need to face up to hard truths on energy security
“Neither Mr. Trudeau nor Mr. Scholz is very popular with voters these days. But of the two, Mr. Scholz has far bigger problems. A centre-left Social Democrat whose coalition government relies on support from the progressive Green Party and the pro-business Free Democrats, he is scrambling to ensure his country can (literally) keep the lights on and factories running this winter and beyond, as it seeks to sever its dependence on Russian natural gas.” – Konrad Yakabuski
LIVING BETTER
How Canadians can save on exchange rates while travelling
Amid the flurry of prevacation packing and prep, it’s easy to forget considerations about the best way to pay for things abroad. But at a time of high inflation, questions about what cards to use, how much local cash to withdraw and which currency conversion services to avoid are particularly valuable.
Here’s what to know when seeking cost-effective methods of spending money overseas.
TODAY’S LONG READ
U.S. drought gives an Arizona dam’s critics a new argument for having it demolished
Decades of drought have caused a precipitous drop in water levels at Lake Powell, the reservoir behind the Glen Canyon Dam. Critics say it’s time to undo the flooding of Glen Canyon, to bring back a place renowned for its beauty.Nathan VanderKlippe/The Globe and Mail
Before it was flooded by the completion of the Glen Canyon Dam in 1966, the 273-kilometre long Glen Canyon was considered among the most beautiful places on the continent, rivalling the Grand Canyon. Its submergence is still seen by some as one of the greatest environmental mistakes in U.S. history. But after 23 years of drought, the Glen Canyon Dam has fallen to perilously low levels, roughly a quarter of its capacity.
Water managers have resorted to emergency measures to maintain the hydroelectric generating capacity at Glen Canyon, holding back vast volumes and releasing additional quantities from upstream to keep turbines turning. And seven states that rely on the Colorado River basin are facing strict water-use limits – they need to conserve up to 27 per cent of the water they normally use.
What’s taking place along the Colorado River is often labelled a drought. But to some it is better to think of it as aridification – a long-term process, driven by climate change, that is creating permanently drier conditions. As scientists study the long-term process that is drying out the region, there has never been a better time, some advocates say, to make a radical break with the way water has been managed. It’s time, they say, to allow water to freely flow past the Glen Canyon Dam, restoring the canyon and its visual wonders to something closer to their natural state.
Read the feature by Nathan VanderKlippe here.
Evening Update is written by Emerald Bensadoun. 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.