Good morning,
We hope you have a nice Family Day (or Louis Riel Day in Manitoba, Nova Scotia Heritage Day and Islander Day in PEI). These are the top stories:
How the mountain run of CP’s Train 301 turned into a deadly derailment
Train 301 was pointed down a mountain near the Alberta-B.C. boundary with no handbrakes set on any of its 112 cars when a three-person relief crew climbed into the cab of the locomotive just before 1 a.m. on Feb. 4. The train had been sitting idle for nearly two hours in temperatures that dipped below -22 C, conditions known to reduce the effectiveness of the air-brake system the previous team put in place.
According to investigators and people familiar with the events leading to the disaster, the three-man crew received no instructions to depart, and took no actions before the train began rolling away on its own, derailing and plunging more than 200 feet. The three crew members all died. (for subscribers)
The incident raises new questions about the federal government’s oversight of the rail industry nearly six years after the Lac-Mégantic disaster. Rail carriers “are, in large part, setting their own rules,” said Mark Winfield, a York University professor who studied Lac-Mégantic.
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Andrew Scheer is urging senators to investigate the SNC-Lavalin affair
As the Liberals reject calls to let Jody Wilson-Raybould and top Prime Minister’s Office staff testify at a House of Commons justice committee hearing, Scheer is calling on the Senate to conduct a more thorough investigation. (for subscribers)
In order for a Senate committee probe to happen, the Conservatives would need the support of independent senators appointed by Justin Trudeau. One independent senator on the legal and constitutional affairs committee says he’s open to hearings if it can be established that the issue is within its mandate.
Trudeau’s government has faced increasing pressure to respond to allegations published in The Globe on Feb. 7 that his office attempted to put pressure on Wilson-Raybould, while she was attorney-general, to drop criminal charges against SNC in favour of a negotiated settlement.
Over the weekend, our reporters delved into why Wilson-Raybould was destined to speak truth to power. While the SNC-Lavalin affair may have silenced her for now, her days of confrontation are not done: She has hired a former Supreme Court justice to advise her on what she can say. (for subscribers)
Here’s Campbell Clark’s view on Trudeau’s handling of the SNC affair: “His drip-drip-drip comments about what happened in the case started in the wrong place and wound through some pretty twisted roads. It now seems that no matter what explanation he might offer next, his credibility is not going to end up unscathed. And when it comes to the actual SNC-Lavalin prosecution, it is now almost inconceivable that the company will be able to settle.” (for subscribers)
A Canadian man says he was the English voice behind Islamic State propaganda videos
Thirty-five-year-old Mohammed Khalifa, captured in Syria last month by a U.S.-backed militia, told the New York Times that he narrated countless videos for the terror group, including infamous footage from 2014 that captured Syrian soldiers digging their own graves and then being shot in the head. “No, I don’t regret it,” Khalifa, who studied computer systems technology in Toronto, said from a prison in northeastern Syria. “I was asked the same thing by my interrogators, and I told them the same thing.” (for subscribers)
Quebec is expanding on-the-job French lessons for newcomers
As it pushes for immigrants to work and function in French, the Quebec government is pouring in additional funds to a Montreal program that sees new immigrants learn the language while they’re on the job. The initiative, which began with 30 pupils in 2016, will have more than 500 participants this year.
Among those taking part is Wang Weidong: For two hours per week, a master’s student visits his dépanneur and dishes out helpful phrases at the counter or between store shelves. “French is important here. I know that if I want to make my business better, I have to speak French,” Wang said. “But I don’t have time to go to school. I have to work.”
The expansion comes at a time Premier François Legault’s government cuts immigration levels and raises the prospect of expelling immigrants after three years if they fail a French and values test. (read our editorial board’s take on Quebec’s immigration reform.)
Facebook should be subject to a compulsory code of ethics, British lawmakers said
In their report, lawmakers singled out founder Mark Zuckerberg for failing to stop the spread of harmful content and misinformation. Big tech firms should be adhering to a code of conduct overseen by an independent regulator, the report concluded. “The guiding principle of the ‘move fast and break things’ culture often seems to be that it is better to apologize than ask permission,” committee chairman Damian Collins said. “We need a radical shift in the balance of power between the platforms and the people.”
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
The British government has concluded that it can mitigate the risks of allowing Huawei’s equipment to be used in its 5G networks. That decision, which was reported by the Financial Times, comes as Canada conducts its own cybersecurity review of the Chinese telecom firm.
A Brampton man charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 11-year-old daughter is in hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Roopesh Rajkumar, 41, was charged after Riya Rajkumar was found dead in his home not long after an Amber Alert was issued late Thursday night.
B.C.’s NDP government is expected to offer only gradual spending on affordable child care and education when it tables its second budget tomorrow. Many had expected John Horgan’s government to quickly address social issues, including a past commitment to $10-a-day daycare. This budget will pay significant attention to a plan aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, Finance Minister Carole James said. (for subscribers)
World stocks rise on trade optimism trade optimism
Hopes of progress in Sino-U.S. trade talks and expectations of policy stimulus from central banks lifted world stocks to 2-1/2 month highs on Monday, though European gains were dampened by concerns over the car sector’s outlook. MSCI’s All-Country World Index rose 0.3 per cent after Japan’s Nikkei closed up 1.8 per cent at its highest level of the year and MSCI’s index of Asian equities rose almost 1 per cent. Shanghai blue chips surged 2.7 per cent to their highest finish in more than six months. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.18 per cent just after 6 a.m. ET. Germany’s DAX fell 0.20 per cent. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.21 per cent. Exchanges on Wall Street and Bay Street were closed Monday for public holidays.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Thanks to vegans, my vegetarianism has become a source of shame
Carly Lewis: “There has been no conversion of my morality, no educational or economical epiphany. It’s because of the vegans. I know that sensible vegans are out there, nice people who don’t impose their choices on anyone whose lifestyle doesn’t, or can’t, resemble theirs. But the sanctimonious melodrama of veganism has become synonymous with any meatless diet.” Carly Lewis is a Toronto-based writer.
Cryptocurrency is not above the law
Globe editorial: “As cautionary tales go, it would be hard to concoct a stranger fiction about the shady side of cryptocurrency than the true-life story of QuadrigaCX. The Canadian chief executive of the cryptocurrency exchange platform died suddenly in December – an event the company appeared to have never planned for. … It would be easy to say that, when it comes to the highly speculative world of cryptocurrency, ‘buyer beware’ should be the only rule. After all, the value of such instruments is notoriously volatile. But just because something is risky doesn’t mean it should be unregulated.”
It’s not the weather that’s cold – it’s us
Ian Brown: “What’s most interesting about cold snaps, of course, is that we seem to relish them as much as we fear them. I am not suggesting this romanticizes the horror of someone freezing to death, or lessens the plight of the needy and the homeless. But there is something in us that makes us chin up to the cold, lean into it and mutter, “Bring it on.” I can survive this, we tell ourselves: I’ve felt colder.” Ian Brown is a Globe and Mail feature writer. (for subscribers)
LIVING BETTER
Take heed of the 80-per-cent rule this RRSP season
With the March 1 RRSP contribution deadline approaching, you may be asking yourself how much you need to save for retirement. Tim Cestnick says it depends on your lifestyle, but the 80-per-cent rule is a good one to follow. That’s the share of your pre-retirement income you’ll need to maintain your lifestyle in retirement. Go here to read more about the rule and what you’ll need to do to reach that goal.
MOMENT IN TIME
For more than 100 years, The Globe and Mail has preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. In February, we’re focusing on Canada’s black history.
(John McNeill/The Globe and Mail)John McNeill/The Globe and Mail
Stopped for lunch, decided to stay a while: That’s how Dr. Saint-Firmin Monestime eventually became the first black mayor of a Canadian municipality. The Haitian immigrant was en route to Timmins, in northeastern Ontario, hoping to set up a medical practice there, but a restaurant owner in Mattawa convinced him to hang out his shingle there instead. The respected physician, who had tended to the wounded when Dominican troops slaughtered more than 12,000 Haitians in the Parsley Massacre of 1937, was Mattawa’s doctor until 1964, when he was elected mayor. He also served as the national director of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and in John McNeil’s photo of Sept. 5, 1967, Monestime is giving a warm welcome to George Hees, who was running for the leadership of the party. The good doctor would remain mayor of his adoptive hometown until his death on Oct. 27, 1977. – Massimo Commanducci
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