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Russia’s stage-managed presidential election on Sunday ended the way most knew it would: President Vladimir Putin, in power since 1999, won another six-year term with almost 88 per cent of the vote. While the official results of the election were decided by the Kremlin weeks ago, Sunday also marked the emerging clout of Putin foe Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Alexey Navalny. As senior international correspondent Mark MacKinnon reports, more remarkable than the election results were the crowds of Russians who turned out at precisely noon local time at polling stations across the country – and Russian embassies around the world – to show their opposition to Putin. The protesters were heeding the call of Navalnaya, who asked that Russians carry through with the protest to vote for anyone but the incumbent or spoiling ballots, an action that her husband designed from behind bars shortly before his death. Thought it’s a role she never wanted, Navalnaya is now seen as a leader for those who want to see a different Russia than the authoritarian, militaristic version that Putin has built.
Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Alexey Navalny, waves as she stands in a queue with other voters near the polling station at the Russian embassy in Berlin, after noon local time, on Sunday, March 17, 2024.Ebrahim Noroozi/The Associated Press
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A new pilot project hopes to reduce Newfoundland and Labrador’s reliance on expensive, out-of-province travel nurses who work for private staffing companies. The provincial government spent $35.6-millon on nurses from for-profit agencies in just five months last year, up from an average of about $1-million a year before the pandemic, The Globe and Mail reported last month in an investigation of Canada’s burgeoning travel nursing industry. The new program has launched with Newfoundland’s largest nursing union with the goal of cutting out for-profit middlemen by inviting unionized staff nurses to work as locums, or temporary fill-ins, in understaffed rural health facilities. In exchange, the nurses are given wages that are higher than regular pay, but still far less than what health authorities have been doling out to private companies, which pass on only a portion of those payments to workers.
Review of ArriveCan contractor’s use of Indigenous program will be released
After previously saying it would not release any information, the Indigenous Services department now says it will release audit summaries of how ArriveCan contractor Dalian Enterprises used a government procurement program aimed at supporting Indigenous businesses. Dalian president David Yeo, who was suspended from the public service last month after federal ministers learned he was working as a Defence department employee, is scheduled to appear Tuesday before a House of Commons committee.
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Also on our radar
Middle East: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu railed against growing criticism against his leadership. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had called on Israel to hold a new election, saying Netanyahu had “lost his way.”
U.S. politics: U.S. President Joe Biden poked fun at former president Donald Trump during a Saturday speech in Washington. “One candidate is too old and mentally unfit to be president. The other one is me,” Biden, 81, said. Trump’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
- Also: Majority of Canadians are hoping for a Biden win in coming U.S. election, poll finds
- Pop quiz: When was the last time the same two candidates ran against each other in consecutive U.S. elections? Take our news quiz
Searching for a Stanley Cup ring for 85 years: Syd Howe – no relation to Gordie – was playing cards with friends on a train in 1939 when his Stanley Cup ring from two years earlier went missing. Decades later, Syd’s family heard that the ring was being sold by a New York auction house. Read the full saga here.
Iceland lava flow slows down: Lava flows from a volcano in southwest Iceland that erupted Saturday slowed on Sunday with the help of man-made barriers that steered it away from infrastructure. The eruption is the fourth since December.
Real estate woes: Experts say title and mortgage fraud are growing in Canada and homeowners should take steps to protect their properties as well as their identities. Title fraud refers to when the ownership of a property is fraudulently changed or documents are faked to allow a scammer to illegally sell or refinance the property.
Driving concerns: Is it legal to drive with snow covering your licence plate? In every province, it’s against the law to have anything covering your plates, whether you realize it or not.
Morning markets
Futures tracking the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose today ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s meeting this week, where it is expected to keep borrowing costs steady and provide cues on its monetary policy path this year.Investors eyed chip maker Nvidia’s GTC developer conference, which runs from today till March 21 and will be closely watched for AI-related announcements. Shares of Nvidia rose 2.1 per cent in premarket trading. Most megacap growth and technology shares advanced in trading before the bell. The Canadian dollar was trading at 73.84 U.S. cents.
What everyone’s talking about
The future of public transit isn’t a hyperloop or a high-speed train – it’s your smartphone
“An app, no matter how powerful, is no substitute for robust and reliable transit service.” – Taras Grescoe
What if the economy can, in fact, save Joe Biden?
“The United States is in the midst of a profound transformation of its economy, with a massive investment in renewable energy, artificial intelligence and a new economic model built around remote working. By their nature, such industrial revolutions are highly disruptive to the existing order. But they also herald a new future that could, if properly harnessed, improve ordinary people’s lives.” – John Rapley
The discovery of an eagles’ nest in Toronto suggests cities are no longer nature’s enemy
“A male and a female were seen cartwheeling through the air together – part of their courtship behaviour – then adding sticks to a big nest in a tree. The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority says they are the first breeding pair of bald eagles in the city’s recorded history. That is great news for the species.” – Marcus Gee
Today’s editorial cartoon
David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
Living better
dSupplied
If you’re still wearing yoga pants all day while you work from home, well, you’re in the minority. Only about 12 per cent of Canadians are still working exclusively from home – and if you’re like most workers who are showing up to the office in person, updating and refreshing your workwear basics is key. Here are some fashion staples for both men and women to consider adding to your wardrobe.
- See also: These office-friendly outfits will get you excited about getting dressed for work again
- Do you need to dry-clean that outfit? Experts weigh in
Moment in time: News Photo Archive
Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, Anishinaabe icon and challenger of the Indian Act
Jeanette Lavell married a non-Native and lost her treaty rights under a provision of the Indian Act. She and a co-defendant took their case to the Supreme Court of Canada.Rudy Platiel/The Globe and Mail
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo editors working for The Globe and Mail have preserved an extraordinary collection of news photography. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. This month, we’re remembering the accomplishments of trailblazing women in honour of International Women’s Day:
Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, an Anishinaabe woman from Manitoulin Island, Ont., broke legal ground when she challenged Canada’s Indian Act, leading to increased public awareness of the gendered discrimination faced by First Nations women. In 1970, Ms. Corbiere Lavell was informed that she had lost her treaty rights according to a provision of Section 12 of the Indian Act, because she had married a non-Indigenous man. She mounted a legal challenge that was eventually heard at the Supreme Court of Canada. Although her case before the top court was unsuccessful, it led to further critiques of the patriarchal aspects of the Canadian legal code and laid the groundwork for the eventual overturning of Section 12 in 1985. Ms. Corbiere Lavell was a founding member of the Ontario Native Women’s Association and later served as president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada. In 2018, she was honoured for her efforts to uphold women’s and Indigenous rights as a member of the Order of Canada. – Irene Galea
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