Good morning,
These are the top stories:
Inconsistent data collection is impeding Statistics Canada’s ability to track gun seizures
The federal agency’s survey of police agencies across the country found major differences in how investigators record seizures of crime guns.
Ontario is the only province where police are required to send all crime guns for tracing. In B.C., for example, a report found 30 per cent of crime guns aren’t traced. But tracing crime guns can uncover evidence in seemingly unrelated cases, build intelligence and build a reliable picture of where crime guns come from, the report said.
The federal government is exploring a ban on handguns, and opponents of the restriction argue there isn’t sufficient information to prove legally owned weapons pose a safety threat. Tracing the guns could help address that key data gap.
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A $50-million Canadian-owned art collection is up for U.S. auction despite its cultural significance
Sotheby's will offer two Mark Rothko paintings: Red and Burgundy Over Blue and Red On Red. (Darrell Rocha/Sotheby's)Darrell Rocha/Sotheby's
Works from the estate of Montreal’s Arnold and Blema Steinberg are headed for international auction this month amid a debate about how much authority the federal government should have over keeping art in Canada. A new law allows Ottawa to block the export of important art older than 50 years; some of the major pieces from the Steinberg collection only turn 50 this year. (for subscribers)
Sotheby’s is billing the art, including two pieces by U.S. abstractionist Mark Rothko, as the most important collection of colour-field painting ever to come to auction. The estate is also selling off Canadian art by the likes of Jean-Paul Riopelle.
Global markets take a hit on Trump threat of expanded tariffs against Chinese goods
Stock markets, oil prices and the yuan all plunged into new uncertainty Monday, after U.S. President Donald Trump promised a sweeping hike of tariffs on Chinese goods in one of the sharpest escalations in the months-long trade war between the world’s largest economies, The Globe’s Nathan VanderKlippe reports.
The Chinese government on Monday sought to project calm in response, with foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang saying a delegation of negotiators is still “preparing to travel to the U.S. for trade talks” — although he declined to comment on when that might be. The latest round had been scheduled for Wednesday, with expectations that a deal could be concluded shortly.
Separately on the trade front, Barrie McKenna delves into the decline in Canadian canola exports to China. Beijing has banned major exporters in what many see as retaliation for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver late last year. Another key reason for the plunging sales? Hundreds of millions of pigs are dying from a virus in China – and canola seed is often turned into animal feed. (for subscribers)
Quebec is set to begin hearings on Bill 21, the religious-symbols ban
François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec government will start committee hearings tomorrow on the controversial legislation designed to bar public servants, such as teachers, from wearing Muslim head scarves, Jewish skullcaps and other religious symbols. And it comes as protests continue in Montreal, where everyone from the city council to the province’s largest school board have been vocal in criticizing the bill.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Russia won’t ground Sukhoi Superjets after 41 people killed in crash: Russia sees no reason to ground its domestically-produced Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft despite one of the planes bursting into flames during a crash-landing and killing 41 people, the country’s transport minister said on Monday. The crash-landing on Sunday is the latest serious setback for the plane, the first new passenger jet developed in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union and an airliner held up by Moscow as proof it can produce its own high quality civil passenger aircraft.
(Moscow News Agency photo via AP)The Associated Press
Gaza-Israel border falls quiet as ceasefire takes hold: A surge in deadly violence in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel petered out overnight with Palestinian officials reporting that Egypt had mediated a ceasefire on Monday ending the most serious spate of cross-border clashes for months. The latest round of fighting erupted three days ago, peaking on Sunday when rockets and missiles from Gaza killed four civilians in Israel. Israeli strikes killed 21 Palestinians, more than half of them civilians, over the weekend.
The Toronto Raptors have bounced back to even their second-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers at 2-2. Kawhi Leonard scored 39 points to propel the Raps to a nail-biting 101-96 win. One key factor going into tomorrow’s game will be the health of rising Raptors star Pascal Siakam, who is battling a right calf contusion. (for subscribers)
MORNING MARKETS
Stocks fall
European stocks tumbled to a one-month low and German bond yields slipped back into negative territory on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on China, triggering a global rout in risky assets. Tokyo’s Nikkei was closed, but the Shanghai Composite shed 5.7 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 2.9 per cent. In Europe, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were each down 2 per cent by about 6:45 a.m. ET. New York futures were also down. The Canadian dollar was hovering just above 74 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
The silencing of journalists is an attempt to silence us all
Doug Saunders: “You don’t have to like journalists, or respect them, or have warm feelings about them. Those of us who chronicle and analyze the ugly events of the day, and who sometimes dig up stories that people in authority don’t want told, are rarely going to be popular or beloved figures. But you ought to be concerned about what is being done to journalists, more than ever, by people in power, and by the violent figures who hear their messages.” This piece is part of a series of columns in The Globe examining the state of press freedom around the world.
The lives of Venezuelans should matter more than our geopolitical divisions
Ben Rowswell: “Outside Venezuela, events are viewed through the prism of power politics, each development a gain or a loss for world powers. As if the campaign to prevent abuses of U.S. power tomorrow mattered more than the lives of individual Venezuelans threatened today. As if Russia’s efforts to prop up yet another unloved dictator mattered more than the largest mass migration in the history of Latin America. Geopolitics divide us, but what Venezuelans need from the international community is unity.” Ben Rowswell served as Canada’s ambassador to Venezuela from 2014 to 2017.
Vancouver’s climate solution: a denser city
Alex Bozikovic: “A greener city is going to need bigger buildings. That’s one of the ideas that Vancouver’s city council has just adopted as part of a proposed Climate Emergency Response policy. And if it seems counterintuitive, it’s actually a crucial insight: That addressing the climate crisis will involve a huge rethink of the way we do architecture and land-use planning.” (for subscribers)
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
LIVING BETTER
Why one Nova Scotia boy is being treated with drugs that cost $6-million a year. But there’s a better, cheaper alternative
Last summer, Health Canada approved a hemophilia drug called Hemlibra that has the potential to change 10-year-old Callum Guthrie’s life, and the lives of about 90 other Canadians. Gaining access to it, though, is proving to be an uphill battle: The final decision rests with provincial and territorial governments. One reason for the holdup, writes Kelly Grant, could be concern that expanding coverage could break the bank at Canadian Blood Services.
MOMENT IN TIME
Moving Queen Victoria, 1966
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo librarians working for The Globe and Mail have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. In May, we’re celebrating the bicentennial of Queen Victoria’s birth.
(Dennis Robinson/The Globe and Mail)Dennis Robinson/The Globe and Mail
“Queen Victoria needed the help of six strong men … February 15, 1966, when she stepped down from the wall of the Old City Hall Council Chamber after 67 years of keeping a watchful eye over Toronto politicians,” read the caption on this photo by The Globe’s Dennis Robinson. The Queen’s portrait, a copy of the original 1842 painting by British artist John Partridge, was beginning the journey to its new home at nearby Osgoode Hall. The original portrait, which resides in Ottawa, has survived four fires, including two that were set deliberately by angry mobs, plus the 1916 blaze that destroyed Parliament’s Centre Block. During the 1916 fire, the portrait had to be hastily cut from its frame and carried out by staff. What would Her Majesty have thought about all the manhandling? – Dianne Nice
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