Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
A potential Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal to bring an end to almost seven months of war in Gaza hangs in the balance as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed today to invade Rafah regardless of how negotiations go.
He made his remarks just before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had visited Saudi Arabia and Jordan trying to drum up support for a ceasefire pact, landed in Israel.
“The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question,” Mr. Netanyahu said while meeting the families of some of the victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. “We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there, with or without a deal, in order to achieve the total victory.” Read more here.
- Meanwhile: Polls of Gazans show Hamas has enough support to influence plans for future government
- In Canada: McGill university requests ‘police assistance’ to remove pro-Palestinian encampment on campus
- In the U.S.: Columbia University threatens to expel student protesters who occupied administration building
- Elsewhere: World Court rejects emergency measures over German arms exports to Israel
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) is welcomed by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jacob Lew upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport on April 30, 2024.EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/Getty Images
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MPs from all parties urge government to set up foreign agent registry
MPs from the Liberals, Conservatives, NDP, Bloc Québécois and Green parties joined a coalition of diaspora community groups today and called on the federal government to immediately table legislation setting up a foreign agent influence registration. A foreign agent registry would require anyone working to influence governments, elections or citizens on behalf of a foreign power to register their activities, with failure to do so resulting in fines or jail.
- Related: Canadian spy agency says it shared details of Chinese hacking with parliamentary officials
- Globe editorial: About that foreign agents registry thing ...
Canadian economy loses steam after strong start to year, grows 0.2% in February
The Canadian economy lost momentum after a roaring start to the year, reinforcing economists’ expectations that the Bank of Canada is on track to cut interest rates in the coming months. Statistics Canada reported today that real gross domestic product rose 0.2 per cent in February, following a 0.5-per-cent gain in January.
“Today’s GDP report confirmed our expectations that the January surge in output was temporary, and in no way marked an inflection point for the growth backdrop in Canada that remains very weak,” said Royal Bank of Canada economist Claire Fan in a client note. Read more here.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Parliament: Pierre Poilievre was kicked out of the House of Commons over unparliamentary comments today. Speaker Greg Fergus gave the Conservative Party leader multiple chances to withdraw comments calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “wacko.”
Trump trial fines: The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial fined him US$9,000 for contempt of court today and warned he would consider jailing Trump if he continued to violate a gag order.
Deadly highway crash: Two grandparents and a grandchild were among four killed in a Highway 401 crash near Whitby, Ont., after a van being chased by police crashed while going the wrong way.
Double double: Tim Hortons parent company Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported an 18-per-cent increase in profit in its first quarter as demand rose for its fast-food offerings. The results stood in contrast to McDonald’s, which reported slowing sales growth the same day.
Mile-high meals are back: Airline caterer Gate Gourmet says its employees have voted in favour of a tentative deal with management, putting them back on the job as soon as today. Around 800 workers at Toronto’s Pearson airport had gone on strike two weeks ago, leaving thousands of passengers without meals.
MARKET WATCH
North American major stock indexes ended lower today as markets weighed U.S. economic data on the eve of a key Federal Reserve policy meeting about interest rates.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 297.08 points at 21,714.54. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 570.17 points at 37,815.92. The S&P 500 index was down 80.48 points at 5,035.69, while the Nasdaq composite was down 325.26 points at 15,657.82.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.75 cents US.
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TALKING POINTS
To transform Canadian health care, we must listen to the wisdom of nurses
“The reliance on a single type of voice for expertise and wisdom in health care has limited the level of care patients deserve. Nurses have been sounding the alarm for years concerning what we have seen, experienced and researched when it comes to patient care and outcomes.” – Amie Archibald-Varley and Sara Fung
Could you lose your family doctor because of higher capital gains taxes? That does not compute
“Capital gains get preferential tax treatment. The Trudeau government is proposing to make that treatment less preferential, by increasing the inclusion rate to 67 per cent.” – Tony Keller
With avian flu spreading in American cattle, could another pandemic be around the corner?
“As it stands, public-health officials say the risk of humans being infected with bird flu remains very low. There is no threat to the food supply either, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. But all this has an eerie sense of déjà vu, at a time when the physical, social and political wounds of COVID-19 are still raw.” – André Picard
LIVING BETTER
How to calculate a capital gain on your cottage or investment property – and very likely save money on taxes
Coming changes to the capital-gains inclusion rate have jolted not just wealthy Canadians, but also people with long-held cottages or a second property owned as an investment.flyzone/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
Have you owned a cottage or second property as an investment for years, and are feeling nervous about the new capital gains tax starting this summer? Improvements made over the years to a cottage or investment property can potentially save you on taxes when you sell. Rob Carrick explains more here.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Haiti’s transitional council names a new prime minister in the hopes of quelling stifling violence
A man walks in front of burned vehicles during a recent violence in Port-au-Prince on April 21, 2024.GORAN TOMASEVIC/The Globe and Mail
Tasked with trying to establish a stable new government, Haiti’s newly installed transitional council chose former sports minister Fritz Belizaire as the country’s prime minister today. The former minister is little known, with even some members of the council saying they weren’t familiar with him. Meanwhile Haitians remain divided over whether a transitional government can help calm a troubled country whose capital has been under siege since gangs launched co-ordinated attacks earlier this year. Read more here.
Evening Update is written by Maryam Shah. 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.