Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
A new UN report on climate change says that by taking urgent action, nations can collectively avoid making parts of the planet unlivable.
Many of the possible steps that can help achieve that goal are well known, experts say. But above all, it will require putting climate into the mainstream of policy-making at every level, to help bend the damaging course that the planet is currently on.
That assessment, from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change isn’t surprising. But in the final summary of an eight-year process to determine the current state and future trajectory of the Earth’s climate, it has never before been so well-documented.
Science reporter Ivan Semeniuk and environment reporter Wendy Stueck break down the highlights of the report for you.
Analysis: Xi-Putin camaraderie raises concerns over peacemaking efforts
Chinese President Xi Jinping began a state visit to Moscow today. He becomes the first foreign leader to shake hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Mr. Putin’s arrest for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The warrant will likely go publicly unmentioned during the visit.
In addition to sharing warm words exchanged at a brief pre-dinner meeting at the Kremlin, Beijing’s economic support has already provided a lifeline to the Russian economy. Putin said he looked forward to discussing Xi’s proposal for ending what both leaders called “the Ukraine crisis.”
Xi is expected to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after his meetings in Moscow. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says China’s attempts to broker peace in Ukraine will likely just help Russia re-arm and prolong the conflict.
The Blackadar Continuing Care Centre in Dundas, Ont. is photographed on Mar 2, 2023.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Investigation: A nursing home lost power for more than 13 hours, that’s just the beginning of the story
The Blackadar Continuing Care Centre home in Hamilton has endured three power failures ranging from five to 13 hours over the past 2½ years alone. Under Ontario’s rules, the latter is 10½ hours longer than residents in the facility should have been in the dark.
The government unveiled long-term care legislation in October, 2021. Yet, despite beefed-up legislation introduced after the pandemic, homes continue to face few consequences for breaking the rules.
But lack of access to backup power is not the only problem here. Blackadar has repeatedly contravened the province’s long-term care legislation with impunity, a Globe investigation has found. The Globe found other issues include the run-down condition of the building itself, chronic staffing shortages and a lack of proper care for residents with skin tears or wounds.
World central banks urge calm in wake of Credit Suisse rescue
The Bank of Canada, U.S. Federal Reserve and four other central banks stepped up efforts to keep U.S. dollars flowing through the financial system on Sunday by enhancing their so-called swap lines. The goal is “to ease strains in global funding markets, thereby helping to mitigate the effects of such strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses,” they said.
What are swap lines? These allow central banks to trade their own currency with one another, giving non-U.S. financial institutions access to U.S. dollars in the event of a sudden liquidity crunch.
What now? Central banks are also saying to prepare for further market turmoil following UBS’s takeover of Credit Suisse over the weekend.
What’s next? Alongside financial stability concerns, this is a crucial week for monetary policy. The U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England are scheduled to announce interest rate decisions respectively on Wednesday and Thursday.
Also read: As lenders keep getting bailed out, a question of identity rises: What is a bank?
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Federal budget: The federal government will “invest aggressively” in clean technology, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday during a prebudget event.
Child-soldier effort hits headwind in Congo: One of Canada’s signature foreign-policy initiatives against child soldiers is facing new challenges after UN investigators found evidence that Rwandan-backed rebels are recruiting child combatants.
Crown corporations’ cybersecurity: Ottawa has made little progress on recommendations meant to shore up the cybersecurity of Canada’s Crown corporations after parliamentarians identified the risk of inadvertently acting as gateways into the federal government.
Crime: A student was arrested after three people were stabbed Monday morning at a high school in the Halifax area, police say.
Tech layoffs: Amazon said it would axe another 9,000 roles, bringing to 27,000 the number of positions the company has eliminated in recent months. The layoffs will affect Amazon’s streaming unit Twitch as well.
Listen to The Decibel: David Mulroney, a former Canadian ambassador to China, is on the show to talk about how a foreign agent registry could slow China’s interference campaign in Canada.
MARKET WATCH
Stocks higher as bank contagion fears ease, Fed eyed
U.S. and Canadian stocks ended higher on Monday after a deal to rescue Credit Suisse and central bank efforts to bolster confidence in the financial system relieved investors, while participants also weighed the likelihood of a pause in rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this week. The Canadian dollar also strengthened to a six-day high against its broadly weaker U.S. counterpart.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 382.6 points to 32,244.58, the S&P 500 gained 34.93 points to 3,951.57 and the Nasdaq Composite added 45.03 points to 11,675.54. Canada’s main stock index was helped by gains for resource and financial shares. The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 131.71 points at 19,519.43. The financial sector, which accounts for nearly 30% of the TSX, added 0.5%.
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TALKING POINTS
Opposition to David Johnston’s appointment shows how much politics has changed
“In appointing a rapporteur to examine the files and make recommendations, Mr. Trudeau is delaying the inevitable. It’s a damn shame that the reputation of someone as honourable as David Johnston should be brought into question through the Prime Minister’s efforts to avoid responsibility.” - John Ibbitson
The rise of seclusion rooms represents the failure of inclusion in schools
“The success of inclusion rests on an army of human supports – educational assistants, special education staff, ESL and child and youth workers – that has been felled by a combination of attrition and underfunding.” - Naomi Buck
What a Justice’s leave of absence reveals about politics and the Supreme Court
“Perhaps inadvertently, but still revealingly, the ensuing debate has demonstrated that judges do have politics and that, more significantly, they do rely on them to animate their decisions and reasonings. Otherwise, why would it matter who sits and who doesn’t?” - Allan C. Hutchinson
LIVING BETTER
Think beyond breakfast
There’s no reason to abandon porridge as a go-to breakfast because it’s a satisfying morning meal even when the weather warms up.
Its versatility means you can enjoy it hot or cold, sweet or savoury. Oats, quinoa, teff, millet, buckwheat groats, sorghum, corn and other whole grains deliver key nutrients including B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, iron and zinc. Cream of Wheat, while fortified with iron, is a cereal made from refined, not whole grain, wheat.
Leslie Beck has other ideas to share, such as tips to enhance flavour, nutrition and the difference between all types of oats.
TODAY’S LONG READ
It’s the end of the Bay as we know it
Hudson’s Bay Co. governor Richard Baker feels fine. Better than fine, actually - to hear him tell it, he’s returning the faded icon to a level of glory not seen in decades, even centuries. But what about its flagging Canadian retail operation?Dina Litovsky/The Globe and Mail
Richard Baker is the 39th governor of the Hudson’s Bay Co. For Report on Business Magazine, Jason Kirby writes that he clearly relishes the title, not to mention the history, that comes with owning North America’s oldest company.
But if you happen to have set foot inside a Bay store recently “strength” is likely not a word that springs to mind. This year the company laid off around 250 corporate employees from its Canadian retail operations, followed by the closure of two more of its 84 Bay stores.
The Hudson’s Bay most Canadians think of is a dwindling part of HBC today – but the entrepreneurial spirit is still in the iconic department store’s DNA. For Baker, he is working to return Hudson’s Bay Co. to a more ambitious time decades ago.
Evening Update is written by Sierra Bein. 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.