Good morning,
A major bridge in Baltimore collapsed yesterday after a cargo ship that lost power rammed into it, destroying the bridge in a matter of seconds and plunging it into the river. Six people were missing and presumed dead, and the search for them was suspended until today.
Authorities were able to limit vehicle traffic on the span because the ship’s crew issued a mayday call moments before the crash took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland’s governor said.
As the vessel neared the bridge, puffs of black smoke could be seen as the lights flickered on and off. It struck one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to collapse immediately.
- Why did the bridge in Baltimore collapse and what do we know about the ship?
- Baltimore bridge collapse and port closure send companies scrambling to reroute cargo
Aerial view of the Dali cargo vessel which crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, March 26, 2024.Maryland National Guard/Reuters
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Last-minute changes to NDP motion on Gaza hid deep Liberal Party divisions, sources say
The Liberal government expected upwards of 80 of its backbench MPs to vote with the NDP last week on a motion that included a call to recognize a Palestinian state, according to sources with knowledge of the matter, prompting the government to persuade New Democrats to accept amendments and avoid exposing deep divisions in the governing party.
Several sources said the government ultimately escaped the embarrassment only because Muslim and Palestinian groups urged the New Democrats to make concessions. Those groups did so to ensure the motion proposed by the NDP in response to the Israel-Hamas war would pass in the House of Commons.
The result was a rewritten motion that forced the government to take stronger positions against Israel in a few cases, but didn’t include a call for immediate recognition of Palestinian statehood, and otherwise largely reiterated existing government policy.
- Israel and Hamas dig in as international pressure builds for a ceasefire in Gaza
- U.S. and Israeli defence chiefs meet to discuss plans for Gaza as tensions between the allies spike
Ontario budget projects deficit of $9.8-billion, pushes ahead with spending
Ontario said it will post a $9.8-billion deficit in 2024-25, almost double the size it predicted just a few months ago and a dramatic change from a year ago, blaming a struggling economy.
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy unveiled the province’s budget at Queen’s Park yesterday, warning that economic growth was slowing and cutting into the province’s tax revenues. But Bethlenfalvy said his government would still spend additional money on the province’s ailing health care system and public infrastructure needed for new housing.
Ontario is the latest province to table a budget with a deep deficit as the Bank of Canada considers raising interest rates.
- Also: Ontario pledges to keep spending on key services, even as deficit grows higher than expected
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Also on our radar
Bank of Canada warns of low productivity ‘emergency’: The Bank of Canada’s senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers said yesterday that Canada is slipping further behind peer countries as the country’s weak labour productivity and low levels of business investment are leading to an emergency that makes it harder to control inflation and could erode living standards.
Foreign interference hearing resumes: Canada’s inquiry into foreign interference will begin two weeks of public hearings today, a day after Ottawa joined its Five Eyes allies in blaming China for widespread cyberattacks that U.S. officials have said targeted politicians and Beijing’s critics.
MPs vote to look into security breach at Winnipeg lab: Opposition MPs on the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations voted yesterday to examine the massive security breach at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg as Liberal MPs tried to stop the move, introducing a motion that would not make the investigation a priority and limiting the number of meetings into the matter.
CAMH releases framework for gambling: The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health says the federal government should look at gambling as a public-health issue, implementing national rules to restrict gambling advertising and promotion. A framework released by the organization also calls on the Ontario government to limit overall gambling availability, introduce mandatory safeguards, enhance prevention and education efforts, and develop and implement a provincial gambling strategy.
Morning markets
Global shares were on the rise, nudged higher by a rally in Japanese stocks as the yen sagged to its weakest since 1990, while the U.S. dollar held mostly steady in a holiday-shortened week that ends with a key reading on U.S. inflation.
The Nikkei closed up 0.9 per cent at 40,762.73, although equities trading elsewhere was more subdued. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.36 per cent to 16,392.84.
The MSCI All-World index was flat on the day, as was Europe’s STOXX 600 index. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were both up 0.3 per cent on the day. In early trading in Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.32 per cent, Germany’s DAX advanced 1.8 per cent and France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.7 per cent.
The dollar traded at 73.53 U.S. cents.
What everyone’s talking about
Editorial: “Ms. Freeland said in her 2022 budget speech, that the Liberal government proposed ‘a swift defence policy review to equip Canada for a world that has become more dangerous.’ How quick is swift? Even allowing for the difference between the studied pace of government operations and that of the wider world, 720 days seem to look less like swift and more like paralysis brought on by a government caught between the desire to do not very much and the knowledge it cannot say so out loud.”
Rachel Ziemba: “While Canada has no LNG export facilities ready and cannot immediately deliver, Greece had followed Germany and Japan in seeking Canadian LNG, and it won’t be the last to do so. By not treating these requests seriously, Canada risks missing an opportunity to deliver what the market is looking for: a reliable LNG supplier that keeps total lifecycle emissions as low as possible.”
Today’s editorial cartoon
Illustration by David Parkins
Living better
What’s on the radar of The Globe’s Lifestyle desk
An Ontario beach town’s new luxury hotel, a durable Arc’teryx hiking shoe and a Riopelle fashion collaboration – check out this week’s Style File, which gives you a rundown of everything you need to know from the worlds of travel, home design, wellness, fashion and beauty.
Moment in time: March 27, 1980
The Norwegian oil rig Alexander L. Kielland sinks on March 27, 1980.NTB / Bridgeman Images
Norwegian oil rig collapses in North Sea, killing 123 on board
On a Thursday evening in late March, 212 men were off duty as gale-force winds and high waves pounded the Norwegian oil rig Alexander L. Kielland. Known as a floating hotel, or “flotel,” the 10,000-ton steel structure was being used as living quarters, connecting workers to the Edda platform in the Ekofisk oil field of the North Sea. Just after 6:30 p.m., as the men hunkered down in the mess hall and movie theatre, a loud crack was heard as one of five legs supporting the rig collapsed. Built in a French shipyard and named after Norwegian writer Alexander Lange Kielland, the rig was owned by the Stavanger Drilling Company and leased to Phillips Petroleum Co. in 1980. Within 14 minutes of the leg collapse, the rig began to turn upside down. Crew members launched four lifeboats, but only one was properly released. The disaster killed 123 men. Five years later, after an investigation into the structure and evacuation procedures, international oil safety standards were updated, including new legislation for lifeboat release mechanisms. Clare O’Hara
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