Evening Update: University of Toronto students set up pro-Palestinian encampment

Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have set up tents at the centre of the University of Toronto’s downtown campus, calling on the institution to cut ties with Israel over the war in Gaza.

The students, who climbed a fence to set up their encampment at around 4 a.m., say they’re joining demonstrators elsewhere in Canada and the United States in demanding that their schools disclose ties to the Israeli government and divest from Israeli companies.

In Canada, encampments have popped up on the campuses of McGill University in Montreal, the University of Ottawa, Western University in London, Ont., and the University of British Columbia. The latest protesters, on the U of T campus, have been told they have until 10 p.m. to leave.

Meanwhile, a Quebec judge rejected a request for an injunction to stop the protest at McGill yesterday after two students said the encampments’ presence had created an environment of aggression and left them feeling unsafe.

Read more:

• Hamas is sending a delegation to Egypt for further cease-fire talks in the latest sign of progress
• Israeli authorities want to overhaul Palestinian children’s education curriculums, reports Nathan VanderKlippe. Support for that idea comes from across the Israeli political spectrum – and from around the world. Palestinians, however, see the demand for such change as a call for cultural erasure. Meanwhile, work has already begun in Israel to rewrite Palestinian textbooks.
• Analysis: U.S. campus protests are the latest test for universities already facing heightened scrutiny
• Justin Ling writes: Police crackdowns won’t bring order to campuses

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TD Bank ordered to pay almost $9.2-million by Canada’s anti-money-laundering regulator over faulty controls

Canada’s financial-crimes watchdog is imposing its largest-ever monetary penalty on Toronto-Dominion Bank – nearly $9.2-million – after an examination found that the bank had faulty anti-money-laundering controls.

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, or FinTRAC, announced the sum today, stating that the more than $9.18-million penalty was imposed on April 9, 2024.

The Globe and Mail first reported in January that TD was facing a significant penalty from FinTRAC as a result of various deficiencies detected as part of the compliance examination.

Latest national emissions report shows signs of progress toward Canada’s 2030 goal

A greenhouse-gas emissions report released today shows that the country is making progress toward meeting its next target in 2030 – but that there is still a very long way to go.

Canada added 708 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2022, according to the report. That is 53 million tonnes lower than in 2005, or about one-sixth of what has to be cut to hit the 2030 goal.

Oil sands production and road transportation are among the biggest contributors and have shown the biggest increases since 2005.

Ahead of Justice Hogue’s interim report on foreign interference, a look at the key findings from the inquiry

The Foreign Interference Commission tables its first of two reports on Friday. The commission is investigating meddling by other countries in Canadian democracy, and is led by Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, who is assessing interference by China, Russia and other foreign states and non-state actors, including any potential effects on the 2019 and 2021 general elections.

This first report releasing tomorrow will also look at the flow of foreign-interference assessments to senior government decision-makers, including elected officials, during the two election periods. The public inquiry was established after months of reporting by The Globe and Mail and other media on Chinese foreign interference and disinformation campaigns, drawing on confidential national-security sources and leaked secret documents.

More on foreign interference:

• FAQ: What to expect from the public inquiry into foreign interference and how we got here
• A timeline of China’s alleged interference in recent Canadian elections
• The revelations and events that led to the foreign-interference inquiry

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Earnings: Air Canada reported a first-quarter loss today, with the airline facing higher expenses as it added seat capacity. There were hints of frustration as BCE reported more than $2.3-billion in annual profits for 2023 and hiked the dividend, after large job cuts earlier this year. Meanwhile, Thomson Reuters Corp. modestly raised its revenue projections for the year and increased its dividend after a strong first quarter.

Capital-gains-tax analysis: The proposed change to the capital-gains tax for employee stock options will bite lower-level execs, not CEOs. David Milstead explains.

Loblaw boycott begins: A month-long boycott targeting Loblaw-owned grocery stores and brands is gaining steam, with what could be thousands of Canadian shoppers taking their money for groceries elsewhere this month. Find out what led to the boycott and what the aims of the movement are.

Trump hush-money trial continues: Donald Trump’s lawyer attempted to portray the hush-money payment at the centre of his criminal trial as extortion. Read the latest.

More on Highway 401 crash: The two grandparents killed along with their infant grandson in a wrong-way highway crash with a van being chased by police were visiting from India, Ontario’s police watchdog said Thursday, while the baby’s parents were also in the car but survived.

MARKET WATCH

U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday as investors weighed the Federal Reserve’s more dovish-than-expected interest rate guidance on Wednesday against a plethora of mixed earnings and economic data.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 322.37 points at 38,225.66. The S&P 500 index was up 45.81 points at 5,064.20, while the Nasdaq composite was up 235.48 points at 15,840.96.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 94.67 points at 21,823.22.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.00 cents US ompared with 72.68 cents US on Wednesday.

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TALKING POINTS

Why are St. Anne’s Indian Residential School survivors still fighting for the truth to be heard?

“For more than two decades, St. Anne’s survivors have fought for their truth. But Canada’s department of justice has fought them every step of the way – a needless, shameful and expensive exercise that should infuriate every Canadian.” – Tanya Talaga

With decriminalization in trouble, conservatives are declaring a new war on drugs

“The rollout has been so grossly mangled, it has galvanized conservative forces across the country and helped spawn a new war on drugs. Well done everyone.” – Gary Mason

All aboard Alberta’s new passenger-rail plan

“The idea of bringing passenger rail back between Calgary and Edmonton – with a stop in Red Deer – has been a decades-long discussion in Alberta.” – Kelly Cryderman

LIVING BETTER

Five things to watch this weekend

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John Mulaney is live from Los Angeles on Netflix. Love Lies Bleeding is on-demand, a movie for those who enjoy getting their hands, among other things, dirty. And for those nostalgic for older Joss Whedon creations, there’s the entire Buffy the Vampire Slayer series available to stream on Paramount+. Barry Hertz has more on his weekend guide to streaming.

TODAY’S LONG READ

As immigration debate heats up, Windsor’s refugees find warm welcome

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Just one year ago, politicians and pundits warned that the sudden influx of asylum seekers to Canada had tipped over into a full-blown crisis – and that our immigration system was broken. But the situation in Windsor, Ont. is calmer than these prognostications. The Ontario locale has responded to the asylum seekers with optimism, mainly because it’s a larger city that received, in comparison, a smaller number of asylum seekers (1,400, for a city of about 230,000). But also, the work of resettling newcomers “is nothing new to this region,” says Rima Nohra, manager of the Settlement Workers in School program at Windsor’s New Canadians Centre for Excellence. “It’s a well-oiled machine. Everybody knows what they’re doing,” she says. Ann Hui reports.

Evening Update is written by Prajakta Dhopade. 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.