Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told MPs Thursday while she denied a visa to a suspected Chinese political operative last fall it is harder to expel Beijing’s diplomats already in Canada without clear evidence of their foreign interference.
Ms. Joly said Ottawa also has to weigh the risk of a tit-for-tat reaction from Beijing that could harm Canada’s ability to have “eyes and ears” on the ground in China.
Read more:
Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly prepares to appear before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to answer questions on foreign election interference, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on March 9, 2023.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Russia targets Ukrainian cities, critical infrastructure in massive air strike, killing at least 10
Russia launched one of the largest air strikes of its war against Ukraine on Thursday, hitting critical infrastructure around the country with cruise missiles and explosive drones.
The Russian military called the barrage, which killed at least 10 people, “a massive retaliatory strike” for a bizarre episode on March 2 in which a group of far-right Russians – who are fighting on Ukraine’s side in the conflict – staged a cross-border incursion into the Bryansk region. Russia says two civilians were killed in the ensuing gunfight.
Thursday’s attack involved six hypersonic Kinzhal-47 cruise missiles, which the Ukrainian military said was the first time Russia has fired the nuclear-capable weapon during more than a year of full-scale warfare. It’s unclear how many Kinzhal-47s – which Russia says fly at Mach 12, leaving Ukraine with no way of shooting them down – Moscow has in its arsenal.
Read more:
A rescuer extinguishes vehicles at the site of fallen fragments of a rocket, near a multi-storey residential building in the capital Kyiv on March 9, 2023.Supplied
Former St. Michael’s Hospital executive Vas Georgiou, construction boss John Aquino charged in corruption probe
A former senior executive at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital and the former president of a once prominent Ontario construction company have been charged as part of a long-standing criminal probe into corruption at one Canada’s premier health care facilities.
Vas Georgiou, the former chief administrative officer at St. Michael’s, and John Aquino, the former president of Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd., voluntarily surrendered to police in the Toronto area on Wednesday. Both men were released.
The charges were the culmination of a four-year probe by Ontario’s Serious Fraud Office – a group of police officers and prosecutors dedicated to investigating alleged financial crime. The offce has charged each man with two counts of fraud over $5,000, as well as one count of paying or accepting secret commissions. In addition, Georgiou is charged with one count of committing fraud on the government.
Paramedics bring a patient to the emergency department at St. Michael’s Hospital in downtown Toronto on July 14, 2022.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Bay Street is fighting over high-interest ETFs that retail investors love, sparking a federal review, say sources: The federal banking watchdog has launched a formal review of cash exchange-traded funds, one of Canada’s most popular retail investments, amid a Bay Street spat that stems from surging demand for them.
Bank of Canada deputy governor leaves door open to additional rate hikes: While the Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady this week, central bank officials need to see more evidence that the economy is cooling and inflation is slowing before ruling out further rate hikes, senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers said Thursday.
Court records show political pressure behind Fox News programming: The revelations pose a challenge to the credibility of the most watched cable news network in the United States at the outset of a new election season in which Donald Trump is again a leading player, having declared his third run for the White House.
Five things to stream this Oscars weekend: The best movies snubbed by the 2023 Academy Awards: The Globe and Mail presents its annual Alterna-Oscars: a quick guide to the should’ve-been-contenders – and how you can watch them from the comfort of your own home this weekend.
Strong results from Magnet Forensics support opposition to takeover, dissident says: Magnet Forensics Inc.’s largest outside shareholder is using the company’s stronger-than-anticipated fourth quarter results to further its case the company’s proposed takeover by private equity giant Thoma Bravo undervalues the company and should be voted down.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index fell more than one per cent Thursday with weakness in financials, industrials and telecom helping bring the market down.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 259.81 points at 20,086.72.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 543.54 points, or 1.7 per cent, at 32,254.86. The S&P 500 index was down 73.69 points, or 1.9 per cent, at 3,918.32, while the Nasdaq composite was down 237.65 points, or 2.1 per cent, at 11,338.35.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.52 cents US compared with 72.54 cents US on Wednesday.
The April crude contract was down 94 cents at US$75.72 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was down a penny at US$2.54 per mmBTU.
The April gold contract was up US$16.00 at US$1,834.60 an ounce and the May copper contract was up a penny at US$4.04 a pound.
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TALKING POINTS
I’m thinking of getting an abortion – just in case
“Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right of Americans to have an abortion, a number of lawyers, men and men who are lawyers have explained that I am not to worry: Canada is a different country with different laws, sweetie. True, the Morgentaler decision has all but assured that abortion is a legal right in Canada. And yet. My concerns about abortion have an oddly familiar feeling.” – Vicky Mochama
Fox News continues to rot at its core, with only itself to blame
“One might have thought that Dominion’s lawsuit would temper things a bit at Fox. Maybe made them a little hesitant to fan the flames of hate and division racking America and threatening to rip the country apart. But no. For people like Mr. Carlson, his power is in his numbers.” – Gary Mason
Food inflation is complicated – it’s all too easy to blame greedy grocers
“It is small comfort, but food price inflation has been higher in many other jurisdictions. Canada’s is among the lowest in the Group of Seven. The rates in developing countries are much higher. This is a global issue, with causes that cut across national borders and differences in domestic policies or market structures.” – Michael Von Massow
LIVING BETTER
Going abroad? These nine spirits and wines are worth bringing back home with you
Any airport duty-free shop can help you max out your alcoholic beverage allowance with the most popular Champagne, wines and spirits available, but those ubiquitous labels are unlikely to remind you of a specific getaway. Instead, Christopher Waters has compiled a guide to hyperlocal gems and hard-to-come by limited releases that deserve a spot in your (checked) baggage.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Sarah Polley speaks onstage during the 2023 Writers Guild Awards West Coast Ceremony at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 5, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.Amy Sussman/Getty Images for WGAW
In spring 2022, when Sarah Polley’s film Women Talking was coming together in the editing room, her producer Dede Gardner, an awards season veteran, told her, “You’re going to go on an amazing ride now.”
The roller coaster started uphill at the film’s world premiere in Telluride on Sept. 2, and through twists and dips, it’s still racing – from Polley’s appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to countless industry meet-and-greets, from the BAFTAs to the SAGs to the Golden Globes, from the Gotham Awards in New York to festivals in Palm Springs and Santa Barbara. And it won’t end until 11 p.m. ET on Sunday, when the final Oscar is handed out. (Women Talking is up for best picture and best adapted screenplay.)
Now, her film is leading to a lot of event time during awards season, and while she’s enjoying the ride, she’s looking forward to hopping off and relaxing.
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.