Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Pro-democracy Russians abroad face danger, voter suppression as Kremlin holds election
Russia’s battered democrats were reminded this week of just how precarious their lives are. Many of those who have fought hardest for change in recent years are either dead or in prison. Many have fled and are under attack. Many have sought refuge in Vilnius, Lithuania, which has emerged as a hub of Russia’s pro-democracy movement since Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
The election process will almost certainly hand Putin yet another six-year term and is another reminder of how far Russia’s democrats are from their goals. Knowing the result is predetermined, the opposition plans to stage the last of the many protests planned by the late Alexey Navalny. Shortly before he died, the opposition leader called for Russians to create chaos on the final day of the election by turning up at polling stations en masse at precisely noon Sunday – and vote for any candidate but Mr. Putin. The action is dubbed Noon Against Putin. Mark MacKinnon reports.
Anastasia Shevchenko from Open Russia brings the candle to Alexey Navalny makeshift memorial which is being repeatedly vandalized. Vilnius, Lithuania on March 14, 2024.Anton Skyba/The Globe and Mail
- Primer on this weekend’s Russian election: Russia is stage-managing a presidential election today through Sunday that Vladimir Putin is certain to win, barring unexpected developments. That will give the longest serving Kremlin chief since Josef Stalin another six-year term in power. Here’s a primer on how things will play out.
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Trudeau rules out Quebec’s request for full control over immigration
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ruled out Quebec’s request for full control over immigration, but says his government could provide more resources to deal with the impacts of temporary immigrants to the province.
Trudeau made his statement at a news conference today after a meeting in Montreal with Quebec Premier François Legault.
First aid ship reaches Gaza coast; Israel rejects Hamas truce offer
Hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza suffered a new blow today after Israel rejected the latest truce counterproposal from Hamas. This, as the first Open Arms vessel, carrying 200 tonnes of food and aid, could be seen in the distance off the beach of Gaza Strip, where it had been towed from Cyprus.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Russia systematically tortures Ukraine POWs, UN commission says
A UN commission of inquiry on Ukraine said earlier today that it had gathered more evidence that Russia has systematically been torturing Ukrainian prisoners of war. It has documented rape threats and the use of electric shocks on genitals.
The three-member Commission of Inquiry said in a report that the scale of such torture cases may amount to the most serious abuses known as crimes against humanity, describing their occurrence as “widespread and systematic.”
Privacy Commissioner launches new ArriveCan investigation
Federal Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne is launching another investigation into the government’s handling of privacy aspects related to the ArriveCan app. This brings the number of related probes to more than a dozen.
Conservative MP Michael Barrett had asked Dufresne to investigate whether the Canada Border Services Agency contravened the Privacy Act by potentially allowing private contractors working for the government to obtain the personal information of Canadians without the necessary security clearances.
MARKET WATCH
The TSX managed to eke out a very small gain, thanks to a rally in the materials sector. U.S. stocks fell on Friday, led by technology-related megacaps that have propelled this year’s rally, while investors weighed the interest rate outlook ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting.
The TSX closed up 0.09% on Friday. Materials led with a 1% rise amid a boost in copper prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 190.89 points, or 0.49%, to 38,714.77. The S&P 500 lost 33.39 points, or 0.65%, at 5,117.09 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 155.36 points, or 0.96%, to 15,973.17.
The loonie was trading at 73.79 cents (U.S.), down 0.09 cents.
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TALKING POINTS
Ottawa shouldn’t dither on the dangers of TikTok
Editorial: “Every country needs to be wary of China. Its government could use TikTok’s data to track people in foreign countries, and leverage the information for blackmailing purposes or to orchestrate targeted disinformation campaigns.”
Canada’s Online Harms Act is revealing itself to be staggeringly reckless
Andrew Coyne: “Most obviously out of bounds are a suite of amendments to the Criminal Code. Any attempt to criminalize speech ought to be viewed with extreme suspicion, and kept to the narrowest possible grounds. The onus should always be on the state to prove the necessity of any exception to the general rule of free speech – to prove not merely that the speech is objectionable or offensive, but demonstrably harmful.”
LIVING BETTER
Pattie Boyd selling letters, handwritten lyrics by exes George Harrison, Eric Clapton
Pattie Boyd, former wife and muse to George Harrison and, later, Eric Clapton, is selling handwritten lyrics and personal letters that reveal her relationships with both British musicians. Boyd, who turns 80 on Sunday, inspired songs such as Harrison’s Something and Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight and Layla.
More than 100 lots, including jewelry, clothes, photographs, handwritten lyrics and drawings by Harrison, are for sale in “The Pattie Boyd Collection,” which runs for auction online at Christie’s until March 22.
Boyd met Harrison on the set of 1964 Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night. They married in 1966. Photos of the couple and handwritten postcards from the Beatle are included in the auction.
TODAY’S LONG READ
What we lose when we lose winter
Due to climate change, winter – the long, white, nation-defining, finger-freezing, school-closing, sound-muting, time-stopping, soul-stilling months-long whitefest that many of us grew up with – is fast becoming a memory. That we did this to ourselves is by now not a newsflash. But just how much we’re about to lose, not just in what we can do but in who we can be, is turning out to be an alarming revelation. Ian Brown reports.
Evening Update is written and compiled by Andrew Saikali. 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.