Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Pierre Poilievre says transgender women should not be allowed in women’s change rooms and public washrooms. “Female spaces should be exclusively for females, not for biological males,” said the federal Conservative Leader.
He also said that transgender athletes should be barred from women’s sports. He was asked about the issue by a Rebel News reporter at a news conference in Kitchener, Ont., today.
Poilievre noted, though, that many of those spaces – women’s washrooms, change rooms and sports – are provincially and municipally controlled and so as prime minister it’s unclear whether he would have the power to implement bans.
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U.S. stresses need to consider Israel’s security at world court
The International Court of Justice shouldn’t order the withdrawal of Israel from Palestinian territories as it considers a request for its opinion on the legal consequences of the occupation, says the United States. “Any movement toward Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza requires consideration for Israel’s very real security needs,” Richard Visek, acting legal adviser at the U.S. State Department, told the court in The Hague.
The court was asked in 2022 by the UN General Assembly to issue a non-binding opinion of the legality of the Israeli occupation. Many states participating in the hearings have also called on Israel to withdraw from Palestinian territories.
Israel, meanwhile, continued its bombardment of Rafah in Gaza’s south. Residents said more than a dozen members of one family were killed in an air strike. In Jerusalem, Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz said there were “promising early signs of progress” on a new deal to release hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
- More humanitarian aid needed for Gaza, Canadian minister Ahmed Hussen says during Egypt border visit
Owner of Russian plane stuck at Pearson appeals sanctions
The Russian airline that operated the cargo plane that remains grounded at Toronto Pearson International Airport is going to Canadian court to be dropped from the sanctions list.
Volga-Dnepr Airlines, its founder, and two related airlines, Airtran and Airbridge Cargo, have applied for judicial reviews in Federal Court of their inclusions among people and companies Canada named to punish Russians after the invasion of Ukraine.
Canada closed its airspace to Russian planes on Feb. 27, 2022, preventing Volga’s cargo plane, an Antonov-124, from leaving the Toronto airport. Canada added Volga, its founder and the two airlines he owns to the sanctions list in April, 2023. The parties are “complicit” with Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine and linked to private military organization Wagner Group, the government said.
Volga filed an appeal of its inclusion on the list in November, arguing it is owned by four people not on the sanctions list. The airline describes itself as a “non-military” cargo freight company.
As B.C. bets on mining to meet climate goals, taxpayers are at risk to cover cleanup costs
The mining industry is looking to a future built on critical minerals needed for batteries, particularly for electric vehicles, but the legacy of past investment booms and a shortfall in the money set aside to deal with cleanup remains. The true cost of cleaning up mine pollution in B.C. is growing, and a joint investigation has found that if disaster strikes, taxpayers could be stuck with an even bigger bill.
The Narwhal and The Globe and Mail have scoured publicly available records, reviewed financial data and interviewed experts about B.C.’s mine reclamation plan and found that, in practice, the province was short $753-million of the estimated cleanup cost in its last financial year and some of the best-capitalized companies have not yet paid for future reclamation costs.
Acid mine drainage leaks from an opening to the Tulsequah Chief Mine in British Columbia. The Tulsequah Chief Mine is no longer corporately owned and is in receivership by the British Columbian government to be remediated and environmentally cleaned up.Christopher S. Miller/The Globe and Mail
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Liberals not yet on board to fully fund diabetes drugs: The Liberal government has not agreed to fully fund diabetes medications, which remains an outstanding issue in negotiations on pharmacare, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says.
Teen drug use: A survey of tens of thousands of teens over 30 years has found the majority of adolescents are less likely to have tried alcohol, tobacco or cannabis than at any other time since the survey began. The research also found that those who do use those substances did so at a younger age than before the pandemic.
Navalny’s mother files lawsuit: The mother of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has filed a lawsuit at a court in the Arctic city of Salekhard contesting officials’ refusal to release her son’s body, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported today.
Private moon lander enters orbit: A moon lander built by Houston-based company Intuitive Machines reached lunar orbit today, heading for an attempt at the first U.S. touchdown on Earth’s nearest celestial neighbour in more than 50 years, and the first by a private spacecraft.
Demographic shift: There are now more millennials than baby boomers in the country, according to Statistics Canada, ending the 65-year reign of the post-Second World War generation as the largest cohort in the population.
Virus news: At least five cases of measles have been confirmed in Canada so far this year, raising concern about the possibility of outbreaks because of lower vaccination rates. Plus, the flu outlook in the country, COVID hospitalization, and more.
MARKET WATCH
TSX down as technology stocks weigh on index
Canada’s main stock index was dragged down on Wednesday by a drop in rate-sensitive technology stocks, as shares of the country’s third biggest company, Shopify , hit a six-week low and those of crypto miners fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 45.15 points or 0.21 per cent at 21,172.38.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 48.44 points or 0.13 per cent at 38,612.24. The S&P 500 index was up 6.29 points or 0.13 per cent at 4,981.80, while the Nasdaq composite was down 49.91 points or 0.32 per cent at 15,580.87.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.01 cents US compared with 73.98 cents US on Tuesday.
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TALKING POINTS
Navalny’s cause was hopeless – Western freedoms don’t have the same appeal in Russia
“How passive and easily propagandized the Russian people are is evidenced by Mr. Putin’s unprovoked and unsuccessful war against Ukraine. It has cost thousands of lives, but rather than cost him support, it has only tightened his totalitarian grip.” – Lawrence Martin
Public lands can help unlock the housing crisis – and our governments hold the key
“The irony of finding ourselves in this situation as a country is that we are good at building homes. We have a robust and capable home-building industry – one of the most effective in the world – with remarkable skilled tradespeople powering it. So where did we go wrong?” – Jennifer Keesmaat
We’ve won the war on smoking – except that we haven’t
“We cannot say we have won the war on smoking when, after the 2015 launch of Juul – a sleek vaping product with flavouring of candy and fruit – the rate of vaping among high-school students shot up from 1.5 per cent to 27 per cent.” – Jan Pezarro
LIVING BETTER
Home cooks, take note: You’re probably not using enough salt
What kind of salt is best? And how much should you use? Fine-dining chefs say there are plenty of great options and more often than not, home cooks don’t use enough of the ingredient. Using the right amount in the right places requires some experience. Firstly, experts say that natural pink Himalayan, kosher and Maldon are the best varieties for home cooks. They also suggest to never salt a steak before grilling it, to skip it when it comes to lobster, and to make sure to add some to most desserts.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Inside the lab where Canadian Tire is developing thousands of new gadgets
Organic waste bin equipped with a late stage prototype of Canadian Tire's new anti-raccoon device.Jon Laytner/The Globe and Mail
Canadian Tire Corp.’s product development labs in Toronto and Calgary have been busy, focusing on creating thousands of new and revamped products that the company is launching as part of a strategy to increase sales of its higher-margin private brands. The plan, dubbed “Better Connected,” was designed to bring the retailer into the future, with investments in e-commerce, digital technology in stores, added warehouse capacity and automation, and expansion of the Triangle loyalty program.
When the plan was announced, after two years of pandemic-fuelled buying that boosted sales of home-improvement and recreation products, the goal was to launch thousands of new products by the end of 2025. But the company has revised its ambitious plan, slowing down investments and cutting jobs, as the economy sputters and consumers pull back on non-essential spending in the face of inflation. From improving the quality of existing products, like toasters, to testing an anti-raccoon device for trash cans, here is what Canadian Tire’s labs have been experimenting with.
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.