Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council is taking aim at Canada over its “high-priority donation” of an advanced air defence system that has yet to be delivered, saying too many Ukrainians have died since Canada made the pledge more than a year ago.
Canadian officials have said the NASAMS was paid for last March and that delivery has been held up by the requirement of a foreign military sales agreement between the U.S. and Ukrainian governments, which is still under negotiation. Defence Minister Bill Blair reportedly met with the U.S. ambassador to Canada, David Cohen, last week to request that the process be expedited.
NASAMS, which are also produced in Norway, are considered one of the most advanced air defence systems, a badly needed shield against near-nightly Russian cruise missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities. Each system contains a radar unit, sensors, a mobile command centre and launchers that can be loaded with as many as six missiles each.
Read more:
A woman lays flowers in colours of Ukrainian flag to the Wall of Remembrance of the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine, in Kyiv on Jan. 17, 2024, amid Russian invasion in Ukraine.SERGEI SUPINSKY/Getty Images
Melinda Rogers-Hixon, Martha Rogers retiring from Rogers board as part of family settlement
Melinda Rogers-Hixon and Martha Rogers are retiring from the board of Rogers Communications Inc. as part of a settlement between members of the Rogers family, the telecommunications company announced.
The sisters’ departure is the latest development in a long-standing feud between warring factions of the family that controls the wireless giant.
The conflict, which divided the telecom’s board and the Rogers family, first broke out in the fall of 2021 and resulted in chairman Edward Rogers replacing five of the company’s independent directors. The new board then voted to replace the company’s then-chief executive, Joe Natale, with its chief financial officer, Tony Staffieri. The feud reignited in October when Ms. Rogers and Ms. Rogers-Hixon launched a legal challenge to obtain board documents they claimed the company was withholding from them.
The Rogers Building, the green-topped corporate campus of Canadian media conglomerate Rogers Communications is seen in downtown Toronto, Ontario, July 9, 2022.CHRIS HELGREN/Reuters
Canada watching for UN court decision on Israel and genocide, Trudeau says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is in support of the International Court of Justice and “watching carefully” as it deliberates on an allegation of genocide against Israel. He would not indicate whether Canada agrees with the allegation, or even if Canada would recognize the court’s ruling if it does find Israel to be guilty of genocide.
Meanwhile, a shipment of medicine for dozens of hostages held by Hamas is en route to Gaza after France and Qatar mediated the first agreement between Israel and the militant group since a week-long ceasefire in November. The medicines arrived in Egypt and were on the way to the border. A senior Hamas official said that for every box provided for the hostages, 1,000 boxes of medicine would be sent in for Palestinians. The deal also includes the delivery of humanitarian aid to residents of the besieged coastal enclave.
And the U.S. government has returned the Yemen-based Houthi rebels to a list of terrorist groups in the latest attempt by Washington to stem attacks on international shipping. Officials said the “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” designation, which hits the Iran-aligned group with harsh sanctions, was aimed at cutting off funding and weapons the Houthis have used to attack or hijack ships in vital Red Sea shipping lanes.
Read more:
- Opinion: Hezbollah, Israel and the Houthis illustrate a tale of two escalations
- Immigration department says 144 Gazans on track to come to Canada, pending biometrics
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at a housing announcement in Guelph, Ont., on Jan. 12, 2024.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
This is the daily Evening Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was sent to you as a forward, you can sign up for Evening Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters here. If you like what you see, please share it with your friends.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Trudeau defends gifted Jamaica family vacation as House committee votes to hear from Ethics Commissioner: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has defended his decision to accept the trip as a House of Commons committee unanimously voted to have the ethics commissioner give testimony on travel, vacations and gifts accepted by members of Parliament.
Many have tried to harness the Bay of Fundy’s tidal power. Are they all doomed to fail?: After years of failed attempts to turn the Bay of Fundy’s legendary tidal power into new sources of inexhaustible, net-zero electricity, Nova Scotia and other coastal provinces must consider whether it’s worth investing further in this promising but nascent technology – or whether to consign its wreckage to the depths.
How Stantec and WSP became Canada’s unlikely stock market stars – and made engineering sexy: It’s a turnaround story for the ages. Half a year ago, Stantec was scrambling to defend its reputation. Over the past five years, Stantec’s shares have soared 242 per cent and the engineering firm is now one of Canada’s hottest stocks.
Alberta’s oil and gas industry spent $1.2-billion on well cleanup in 2022, regulator says: Alberta’s oil and gas sector spent more than $1.2-billion on cleaning up wells in 2022, reducing the total number of inactive wells by about 10 per cent, according to the province’s energy regulator.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index fell more than 250 points in a broad-based decline Wednesday, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 253.07 points at 20,695.02.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 94.45 points at 37,266.67. The S&P 500 index was down 26.77 points at 4,739.21, while the Nasdaq composite was down 88.72 points at 14,855.62.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.95 cents US compared with 74.17 cents US on Tuesday.
The March crude contract was down four cents at US$72.48 per barreland the February natural gas contract was down three cents at US$2.87 per mmBTU.
The February gold contract was down US$23.70 at US$2,006.50 an ounce and the March copper contract was down three cents at US$3.73 a pound.
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
TALKING POINTS
Trump winning and Haley losing in Iowa is good news for Joe Biden
“Republican voters showed little enthusiasm for their candidates. Even factoring in the terrible weather, the 14-per-cent turnout was dismal. Mr. Trump won 51 per cent of the tally. But when you’re the former president and you only get half your party’s vote, it’s hardly cause for champagne spraying.” – Lawrence Martin
We’re not in a population trap, we’re in an investment desert
“If Liberal ministers have lately become critics of Liberal immigration policy, it may be because they now agree with those who blame current levels of immigration for everything from high housing prices to falling per capita GDP to health care wait times to inflation. Or it may be because blaming immigration deflects attention from the contribution other government policies have made to high housing prices, low productivity, etc.” – Andrew Coyne
LIVING BETTER
No matter where in Canada you live, you have probably noticed your food bills ballooning for much of the past year. The cost of groceries has risen by almost 10 per cent in 2023, causing spending on food in the typical family of four to jump by more than $1,000 compared with 2022. Foodflation is showing no signs of stopping and is prompting many to become savvy shoppers in order to balance healthy eating with reasonable spending.
We asked five people for whom proper nutrition is non-negotiable about how they navigate the grocery store. Here, a world decathlon champion, an Olympic gold medalist, a Guinness World Record holder, a celebrity chef and a budding food entrepreneur dish on the foods they simply cannot live without, and how they save money at the checkout without compromising on health.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Scientists tricked our brains into eating ultra-processed foods – and now people are fighting back
Illustration by Allison & Cam
Until recently, Gayle Macdonald thought she was making wise choices about food. Her cupboards are full of products touted as “natural, “healthy” and “organic,” with packaging that promises they are “low in sodium,” contain “no trans fat” and put “fibre first.” Then she started to hear more about the hidden dangers of ultra-processed foods and thought she’d better take a closer look in her pantry and fridge. Turns out, she writes, she wasn’t so smart after all. Macdonald talks ultra-processed foods and how to avoid them.
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.