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These are the top stories:
As the Boeing Max jets are grounded, questions about software and training are emerging
The software: In announcing Canada’s decision to reverse its position and ground Boeing Max jets, Transport Minister Marc Garneau pointed to October’s Lion Air crash and said the pilot had repeatedly battled the plane’s software system that mistakenly forced the jet’s nose down minutes after takeoff. That situation “had some similarities on the Ethiopian flight,” he said.
The training: The U.S.-based Boeing has been under pressure to co-ordinate with airlines to improve training for less-experienced pilots to handle the complexities of the new Max configuration. Several pilots in the U.S., China and Indonesia have complained of difficulties in controlling the plane. The U.S. Federal Aviation Authority has said it expects Boeing to update its training manuals and its anti-stalling system.
The Boeing response: The manufacturer sent out notice that all its Max jets should be grounded, but said it “continues to have full confidence in the safety of the 737 Max.”
The flight data: Canada reversed its decision yesterday, after receiving flight tracking information Tuesday evening. The U.S. grounded the aircraft hours after Canada; Washington had received the data on Monday. But some tracking sites showed data as early as Sunday that the plane had unstable vertical speeds, a sign the pilots couldn’t control the aircraft.
The black box: Despite the Max jet being made in the U.S., Ethiopian Airlines decided to send the black box to Europe for analysis. The black boxes have arrived in Paris. The U.S. is said to have been quietly pushing for the black box to be sent its way.
The impact on Canadian fliers: Air Canada and WestJet both warned customers should expect delays as they work to rebook flights.
The Canadian victims: 72-year-old Toronto man Ameen Noormohamed was identified as one of the Canadians on board the Ethiopian Airlines flight. In total, there were 18 Canadians killed, plus two permanent residents – the grandparents of two Brampton girls who were also killed.
We’d also like to issue an apology and correction for misspelling the names of two Canadian victims, a mother and daughter from Edmonton: The last name of mother Amina Ibrahim Odowa was misspelled as Odowaa and Odawa. And the first name of her five-year-old daughter Sofia was misspelled as Safiya.
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What comes next after the Liberals shut down an attempt to recall Jody Wilson-Raybould for testimony
Liberal politicians used their majority on the justice committee to withhold a vote on whether to bring back Wilson-Raybould, a move that drew cries of “shame” and “cover-up” from opposition MPs. That sets the stage for March 19, when the committee will convene on federal budget day to decide behind closed doors on further testimony in the SNC-Lavalin affair.
Wilson-Raybould has said she is willing to testify again and issued a statement last week saying she wants Trudeau to give her permission to talk about the period between her January demotion to Veterans Affairs and her Feb. 11 resignation.
One year later: The murder of a rising Brazilian politician and her legacy
Vigils and demonstrations are planned for today to mark the 2018 murder of Marielle Franco, the outspoken black, openly gay Rio city councillor who was killed in a drive-by shooting. On Tuesday, two former police officers were charged with murder, but it’s still not known who ordered the assassination.
Despite Brazil’s high rates of violent death, Franco’s murder provoked a national wave of anger in a country where politics is still the purview of white elite, Stephanie Nolen reports. There are graffiti images of Franco’s face all over Brazil; she also helped inspire a new generation of female Afro-Brazilian politicians.
The tributes to Franco also come a day after five students and a teacher were killed at a school in the suburbs of Sao Paulo. Gun violence in Brazil has become such a major issue that residents have increasingly come to rely on crowdsourcing apps to try to avoid getting shot.
Nolen, our Latin America bureau chief, was based in Rio from 2013 until her move to Mexico City late last year. In this essay, she looked back at the troubled nation she left behind.
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ALSO IN THE NEWS
Facebook’s data deals with tech companies are under criminal investigation in the U.S., the New York Times reports. Two prominent smartphone makers had entered into partnerships with Facebook, gaining broad access to the personal information of hundreds of millions of its users.
British MPs will decide today whether to delay Brexit for at least three months. Britain is supposed to leave the European Union on March 29, but Prime Minister Theresa May has seen her leadership called into question amid a succession of votes against her exit plan. May has also warned that the EU could delay Brexit for years if MPs don’t support her deal.
Paul Manafort has been sentenced to a total of more than seven years in prison. The former Trump campaign chairman was handed a four-year sentence last week; the additional three-and-a-half years is over charges that he misled the U.S. government about foreign lobbying and encouraged witnesses to lie on his behalf. New York also filed state charges against Manafort that may be a guard against a possible presidential pardon.
MORNING MARKETS
Stocks mixed
European shares rallied to five-month highs on Thursday after Britain’s parliament removed a key source of uncertainty by rejecting a no-deal Brexit though somber economic data and trade fears kept a lid on gains. Tokyo’s Nikkei closed down slightly, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.2 per cent and the Shanghai Composite lost 1.2 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 and the Paris CAC 40 were up by between 0.4 and 0.5 per cent by about 6:45 a.m. ET, with Germany’s DAX up marginally. New York futures were down. The Canadian dollar is at just about 75 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Mr. Ford, banning cell phones from Ontario classrooms is a pointless exercise
Jamie Mitchell: “My expectation for students to use devices in productive and interesting ways radically decreased how often they were off task and zoned out. Cellphones were not something to hide; they became a tool that knocked down the four walls of my classroom. When I do need everyone’s attention, I simply tell the class to turn their phones screen-side down and close their laptops. That’s the extent of my classroom device management.” Jamie Mitchell is a public high-school teacher and a recipient of the 2017 Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence, Certificate of Achievement.
The climate-change generation flips its desks
Denise Balkissoon: “The kids are not all right. They’re afraid of climate change – their entire lives have been filled with news of melting glaciers and devastating weather. They’re also angry, at adults who ignore or minimize the evidence that things are going to get worse. And so, they’re acting out.” (for subscribers)
In all of the Brexit noise, the people of Northern Ireland are silenced
Katy Hayward: “Northern Ireland is facing perilous economic circumstances with no transition period, no safety net of a backstop and no political leadership. This would be a crisis for even the most stable and secure of regions. In postconflict Northern Ireland, the lasting harm to arise from such political irresponsibility will be as lamentable as it is colossal.” Katy Hayward is an associate sociology professor at Queen’s University Belfast.
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
By Brian GableTGAM
LIVING BETTER
Can a wine critic find great bottles for $10 or less?
Yes, writes columnist Beppi Crosariol. Here are a few selections: Castillo de Monseran Garnacha 2017, Spain; Santa Carolina Chardonnay 2018, Chile; Fantini Farnese Sangiovese 2017, Italy; Vila Regia Douro 2017, Portugal. Most of the brands are available in at least several provinces, some in private stores rather than at liquor-board retailers. Subscribers can go here for a full list of selections.
MOMENT IN TIME
The first female magistrate in the British Empire is born
(Innisfil Historical Society)Innisfil Historical Society
March 14, 1868: Emily Murphy was an author, a self-styled “fighter,” the British Empire’s first female magistrate and a feminist with regressive values. She was born in Cookstown, Ont., the third of six children in a family that included two Supreme Court judges and a premier of Ontario. Known as one of the Famous Five, she led the charge on the Person’s Case, which affirmed that women are “persons” under the law. Murphy has been lauded for her achievements for decades, getting her own Heritage Minute in 1992 and once appeared on the $50 bill. Despite the accolades, however, she is a controversial figure. Murphy once said that no women could be degraded “without all women suffering” – however, her views on “all women" did not extend to those unlike herself. She advocated against immigration, saying the growing population of Chinese immigrants was a social threat. Murphy’s vocal support for eugenics contributed to the passage of the Sexual Sterilization Act of Alberta in 1928. Under the legislation, thousands were forcibly made infertile before its repeal in 1972. Murphy died in 1933 with a complicated legacy: She was a voice for women’s advances when few were heard, but also a figure whose actions defied equality. – Jessie Willms
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