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Now on to today’s top stories:
Power Gap: Statscan’s plan to improve how it captures data on race, gender, sexual orientation
Canada’s national statistics agency will spend $172-million over five years to improve the way it captures data on race, gender and sexual orientation – a move aimed at filling long-standing gaps that have historically left the experiences of millions of Canadians invisible.
The plan is to expand existing research surveys with questions designed to paint a fuller picture of the population, chief statistician Anil Arora said. “Canadians have been saying: ‘We want to see our diversity, as we see it in our society, reflected in our story – our statistics.’ … Better data, used responsibly, should lead to better outcomes.”
The census – which Canadians will see in their mailboxes this week – does collect detailed demographic information, but it’s only conducted every five years. The goal, Arora said, is to incorporate more disaggregated data in other research projects.
You can catch up on the Power Gap series here.
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Michigan’s Whitmer gets support from key Democratic allies in legal battle against Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s legal battle over shutting down Enbridge’s pipeline Line 5 is attracting support from leading Democratic allies in 16 states and the District of Columbia.
All are backing Whitmer’s bid to have the matter transferred to state courts from U.S. federal court, which analysts say might favour the Governor’s case.
Line 5, which carries Western Canadian petroleum through Great Lakes states before re-entering Canada at Sarnia, Ont., is a crucial energy conduit for Ontario and Quebec. Its shutdown could drive up fuel prices for businesses and consumers and force more environmentally risky transportation of petroleum by other means.
Experts call on Ottawa to examine how other countries respond to sexual misconduct in the military
The federal government should examine how other countries respond to sexual misconduct in the military as it looks to establish a mechanism in Canada for reporting allegations outside the chain of command, experts say.
The Trudeau government said it will set up an independent body for survivors of military sexual misconduct, and announced last week that former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour will conduct an external review and present recommendations for the outside body.
The government has been under sustained political pressure about its handling of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces, including a 2018 allegation involving former chief of defence staff Jonathan Vance.
Opinion: If Canada’s military really intends to solve its sexual misconduct crisis, the will must come from within -Leah West
The latest COVID-19 developments: Why vaccine patents are so contentious, Ontario reports 3,424 new cases and more
Canada will take part in the World Trade Organization talks to explore waiving the global rules that protect vaccine trade secrets, International Trade Minister Mary Ng says, putting this country onside with the United States.
The Biden administration’s call to lift patent protections on COVID-19 vaccines to help poor parts of the world get more doses has met with praise from some countries and health advocates but resistance from the pharmaceutical industry and others. Here’s a look at what patents do and why they matter.
Meanwhile, officials with an Edmonton hospital say they’re investigating what happened when a woman who would later die sought help at the emergency department after receiving a shot of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine
In other provinces, Ontario has recorded 3,424 new cases, after two days of reporting daily counts below the 3,000 level. Quebec says 12- to 17-year-olds will be offered a first dose of vaccine by the end of June and will be fully vaccinated by September. And with Atlantic Canada’s worst COVID-19 outbreak showing no signs of letting up, Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin has warned he might impose tougher restrictions. Read more on those stories and others in COVID-19 news today here.
Read more:
- Britons have bought into the AstraZeneca plan without hesitation
- Biden’s support on waiving patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines leaves G7 in disarray
- Grim ICU projections drove Jason Kenney to impose tough COVID-19 restrictions in Alberta
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
CMHC’s home price forecast: Canada’s national housing agency is predicting home prices could rise as much as 14 per cent during the second year of the pandemic as low interest rates continue to stoke demand across the country.
NHL slaps Rangers with major fine: The NHL has fined the New York Rangers an extraordinary $250,000 for what Commissioner Gary Bettman called demeaning personal comments made publicly about head of player safety George Parros. It’s believed to be the largest publicly announced fine of its kind in the league’s history.
MARKET WATCH
The Dow closed at a record high today, bolstered by an upbeat weekly jobless claims report, while shares of vaccine makers dipped after U.S. President Joe Biden backed plans to waive patents on COVID-19 shots. Canada’s main stock index ended lower, weighed down by a slide in shares of Shopify as well as some other recent high-fliers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 318.19 points or 0.93 per cent to 34,548.53, the S&P 500 gained 34.063 points or 0.82 per cent to 4,201.65 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 50.42 points or 0.37 per cent to 13,632.84.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dipped 19.76 points or 0.1 per cent to 19,290.98.
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TALKING POINTS
Nobody was asking for an official 2021 Census playlist, and yet ...
“Who is this serving exactly? It’s not me, the intended recipient. I have my own playlists, ones that don’t require government approval. If I wanted Bob from Procurement in my ear about how I ought to give Broken Social Scene another chance, I’d visit his Pinterest board more often.” - Cathal Kelly
Trump has become the Don of the Republican Party
“What is taking place is more than disturbing – it’s terrifying. It is not an exaggeration to say that the GOP has abandoned all of its moral values in a singular pursuit of power, and it doesn’t care who gets sacrificed in the process.” - Gary Mason
Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault should start fresh on Bill C-10
“The bottom line is that expecting the CRTC to do what Bill C-10 demands will result in years of process, appeals and legal/constitutional challenges that will suppress investment and harm Canada’s creative sector. ... Fiddling won’t fix it.” - Konrad von Finckenstein and Peter Menzies
TODAY’S LONG READ
New Desjardins chief economist Jimmy Jean brings ‘diversity of thought’ to top job
Jimmy Jean, chief economist of Desjardins.Christinne Muschi/The Globe and Mail
Desjardins Group, Quebec’s biggest financial institution, has named Jimmy Jean its chief economist and strategist – tapping a young but seasoned forecaster as one of its most public faces as it seeks to expand in the rest of Canada.
Jean is believed to be the only person of colour currently holding the top economist post at a major Canadian banking group or insurer. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, however, he’s quick to point out other trailblazing Black counterparts such as Millan Mulraine, chief economist at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and other Black executives in senior finance roles, such as Earl Davis, head of fixed income and money markets at BMO Global Asset Management.
“It’s a space that has been, of course, dominated by white males over the years,” Jean said. “So to be able to represent that kind of progress, alongside my company that’s giving me that trust … I’m really happy from that perspective.” Read Nicolas Van Praet’s full story here.
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