Good evening,
In less than 24 hours, Canadians will hear directly from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about how his country is defending itself against the Russian invasion.
Zelensky is scheduled to address Canada’s Parliament by video call on Tuesday at 11:15 a.m. ET. His speech will be livestreamed online through Parliament’s website.
On Wednesday morning, Zelensky will address members of the U.S. Congress.
The speeches are part of the Ukrainian President’s continuing campaign to get more support from other countries to stave off Russia’s advances, which have led to thousands of deaths, millions of refugees and the devastation of Ukrainian cities.
Even while Russia’s military artillery continued to strike civilian areas on Monday, a fourth round of diplomatic talks were held between the two countries. Russian and Ukrainian officials have expressed optimism about the talks in recent days, though there were no breakthroughs on Mondays. The two sides are expected to continue talking on Tuesday.
More coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war:
- Warsaw’s mayor pleas for help from international community to manage refugee influx: ‘We cannot do it alone’
- Ukrainian refugees at risk of being targeted by human traffickers, aid groups warn
- Ukraine’s farmers stalled due to Russian invasion, fuelling fears of global food shortage
- Beijing denies Russia requested military equipment for Ukraine invasion as U.S., China meet
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
As China faces worst COVID-19 outbreak since 2020, many blame Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s recent surge in COVID-19 cases – as high as 44,000 new daily cases earlier this month – is being attributed to weak public-health restrictions and low vaccination rates. Now the virus may be spreading back into China, though so far the case counts are relatively low.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan sees big gains in private assets, posts 11.1 per cent return in 2021
Teachers topped its benchmark comparison portfolio by more than two percentage points, a turnaround for the plan after missing its targets for the past two years. It closed the year with $241.6-billion in assets.
Cost of Ottawa’s federal IT contract grows by nearly 70 per cent to $55-million, documents show
The documents also show that some people were allowed to work on the project from their U.S. homes, provided they kept their computer screens pointed away from windows so that no one could see what they were doing.
Retired union leader Jerry Dias under investigation by Unifor
The head of Canada’s largest private-sector union said Sunday he was stepping aside for medical reasons. The union now says an independent investigation was launched against Dias in January, though the organization will not say why he was being investigated.
Soaring fuel costs and looser travel restrictions create ‘perfect storm’ for flight, cruise prices
Travel professionals suggest the prices for trips are about to go through the roof because of higher fuel costs and the unleashing of pent-up demand as restrictions ease.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s major stock index suffered its biggest percentage pullback since Jan. 21 today, as a dive in oil prices sent the energy sector deep into the red and a drop in many other commodity prices spurred selling in materials stocks. Wall Street also saw selling pressure, led by a drop in the Nasdaq, as investors sold tech and big growth names ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting and an expected hike in interest rates.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 281.05 points or 1.31 per cent to 21,180.78. The loonie was trading at 78.27 U.S. cents.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose1.05 points to remain relatively flat at 32,945.24, the S&P 500 lost 31.20 points or 0.74 per cent to end at 4,173.11, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 262.59 points or 2.04 per cent to 12,581.22.
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TALKING POINTS
A shortage of homes isn’t the main reason house prices keep rising
“The data on population growth, income growth and falling interest rates cannot explain why demand has remained so strong in the face of such high prices. This is because demand is also influenced by expectations about future prices – if you expect prices to keep increasing, you are willing to pay more today.” – George Fallis
Small businesses are back in business, but not back to normal
“It’s a reminder that when we talk about statistics showing that the economy has returned to full employment and full capacity, those are aggregate numbers. For many individual businesses, a lot has changed in the past two years – many haven’t returned to their pre-COVID normal, and some wonder if they ever will. Most have survived the crisis, but not without financial scars.” – David Parkinson
China’s potential long game: First dominate Russia, then on to the Arctic
“For China, the more exhaustive the conflict becomes, the better – so long as China is not touched by any sanctions that could harm its own revenues or ability to obtain Western technology.” – Charles Burton
LIVING BETTER
If you like red wine and dark chocolate, here’s some good news for you. Eating those foods – along with others rich in flavonoids – could improve your chances of living longer with Parkinson’s, if you develop the neurological disease. The new study adds to a growing body of research that shows what you eat could have an effect on managing the illness.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Restrictions on seeing family and friends. Degrading comments. Controlling access to money or food. These are examples of a larger pattern of behaviour exhibited by one partner toward another known as coercive control – and it’s often an overlooked precursor to increasingly violent domestic abuse. The Globe and Mail interviewed dozens of people and combed through court records and government files to investigate the origins of intimate partner violence. Coercive control was the thread that ran through it all.
Evening Update is written by Chris Hannay. 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.