Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Fallout over a Chinese billionaire’s donation to the Trudeau Foundation
The chief executive and board of directors of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation have resigned, the non-profit organization announced today. They pointed to the “politicization” of the foundation after it returned a large financial gift from a Chinese billionaire.
Last month, it returned the $140,000 gift after The Globe and Mail reported that it was part of a influence campaign, directed by Beijing, to curry favour with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The foundation said CEO Pascale Fournier and its volunteer board were put under “a great deal of pressure” in the aftermath, and circumstances “have made it impossible to continue with the status quo.”
At an event in Toronto, Trudeau was asked about the mass resignations. He said he is no long associated with the foundation, which was established after his father passed away, but expressed concern about political attacks on it.
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The latest developments in the war in Ukraine
Canada is imposing new sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and pledging fresh military support for Kyiv, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said after meeting Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Toronto. Measures include providing assault rifles, machine-guns and ammunition, as well as an update to the Canada-Ukraine free-trade deal.
On the front lines, Russian forces have pounded the eastern Donetsk region with air strikes and artillery attacks, with several cities and towns coming under heavy bombardment, Ukraine’s general staff says. A top Ukrainian commander accused Moscow of using “scorched earth” tactics.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials stepped up efforts to locate the source of leaked classified documents, including some about Ukrainian counteroffensive plans.
Glencore sweetens offer for Vancouver’s Teck
Glencore has stepped up its takeover battle for Teck Resources by adding billions of dollars in lieu of stock, but Teck doesn’t appear to be open to the proposal.
The sweetened offer was made one day after Teck comprehensively rejected Glencore’s proposal to merge with Teck and create two new companies, one focused on their combined base metals assets, the other on their coal operations.
Glencore’s new proposal would give Teck investors 24 per cent of the new metals company, plus US$8.2-billion in cash.
Facing mandatory upgrades, nursing homes choose to close instead
For-profit nursing homes in Toronto are leaving the sector rather than making mandatory upgrades. It’s creating a property selloff that jeopardizes the Ontario government’s promise of 60,000 new and upgraded beds by 2028.
Faced with a choice between major construction costs or selling their properties to housing developers in a red-hot real estate market, many long-term care home are choosing the latter, a Globe investigation has found.
It’s an issue across the province – 20 for-profit homes in Ontario whose licences will expire in June, 2025, are not planning to modernize their buildings, according to a Globe analysis – but particularly so in Toronto, where demand for beds is four times higher than the provincial average.
Read more: Petition calls for measures to protect LTC residents from abuse
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Joe Biden heads to Northern Ireland: The U.S. President will arrive in Belfast tonight at a delicate political time in the region as he helps mark the 25-year anniversary of a peace deal that largely ended 30 years of bloodshed there.
Toronto subway a step closer to boosted cell service: Rogers Communications is pledging to expand wireless service, including 911, on the full subway system. The commitment follows its acquisition of BAI Canada, which has sole right to develop the infrastructure inside transit tunnels.
A call for Julian Assange’s return: A group of Australian politicians is calling on the United States to drop an espionage case against the WikiLeaks founder and allow the Australian citizen to return home.
Play ball! The Toronto Blue Jays return to a renovated Rogers Centre to face the Detroit Tigers at 7 p.m. ET for the home opener. Here’s what to expect.
Gordon Lightfoot cancels tour: The legendary Canadian troubadour has scrapped all of his planned concert dates this year because of his health.
RIP Al Jaffee: Mad magazine’s award-winning cartoonist and ageless wise guy responsible for the sneaky fun of the Fold-In and the snark of “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions” has died at 102.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index rose to its highest closing level in five weeks, outperforming Wall Street, as higher commodity prices bolstered energy and gold mining shares. U.S. markets were mixed as investors awaited crucial inflation data and the unofficial kickoff of the first-quarter reporting season.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 146.03 points or 0.72 per cent to 20,421.85. The loonie traded at 74.26 U.S. cents.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 98.27 points or 0.29 per cent to 33,684.79, the S&P 500 slipped 0.17 points, essentially flat, to 4,108.94, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 52.48 points or 0.43 per cent to 12,031.88.
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TALKING POINTS
Canadians are the biggest losers in the Supreme Court’s latest health care decision
“In its ruling, the court has sided with the B.C. government (and effectively the other provinces as well) in its position that a person must sit on a waitlist regardless of the seriousness of their illness. And they must possibly die there as well.” - Gary Mason
The state of 24 Sussex Drive is an increasingly absurd embarrassment
“Letting the official residence decay does not speak well of us – the prime minister needs a proper place to live and to carry out their duties.” - John Ibbitson
Yet another subscription fee: Twitter, Facebook, Netflix are desperate and dying
“They need to attract users, so they need to make their product or service popular with users; but they need to then monetize their users and, by doing so, destroy the very products and services that attracted users to their platforms in the first place.” - Kean Birch, York University
LIVING BETTER
Hydro customers across Ontario will soon be able to choose an “ultra-low” overnight rate, aimed at people who use more electricity at night, including electric vehicle owners who need to charge their cars. The new rate will be 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour, 67 per cent lower than the current off-peak rate. The tradeoff is a higher on-peak rate.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Volcanologists look to Mount Garibaldi for greater understanding of volcanic activity
A snow-covered Mount Garibaldi looms in the Squamish Estuary on April 19, 2008, the day it was designated the Skwelwil'em Squamish Estuary Wildlife Management Area by the B.C. Ministry of Environment.Brian Thompson/The Globe and Mail
Mount Garibaldi, lying between Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., attracts hikers in the summer and skiers in the winter – and now volcanologists are hoping it will also attract the attention of more federally funded science.
The sleeping giant, among the highest-threat volcanoes in Canada, hasn’t erupted in about 10,000 years. Still, Melanie Kelman, a volcanologist with Natural Resources Canada, is leading a project to conduct a hazard and risk assessment with the aim of ensuring communities and emergency planners make evidence-based decisions should it ever become active.
Kelman is manager of the Volcano Risk Reduction in Canada project, which began last year and is expected to continue until 2025. She hopes the project will “increase resilience to volcanic hazards. … And if you understand a lot of the volcano in advance before it becomes restless, you’re in a better position to respond, usefully.” Read Xiao Xu’s full story.
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