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A Commons committee probing Chinese interference in the 2019 federal election is being recalled Tuesday during Parliament’s scheduled two-week break to extend its mandate to include the 2021 campaign, in response to what opposition MPs have called “shocking revelations” reported by The Globe and Mail.
The Globe reported Friday that China had actively worked in the 2021 campaign to elect a Liberal minority government and defeat Conservatives unfriendly to Beijing.
In a letter to Liberal committee chair Bardish Chagger, opposition MPs described The Globe’s report as “shocking revelations regarding Beijing’s strategy to interfere and influence Canada’s democratic institutions.”
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President Joe Biden, left, is escorted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine outside St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine’s embattled capital, on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023.DANIEL BEREHULAK/The New York Times News Service
Biden makes surprise visit to Kyiv ahead of anniversary of Russian invasion
U.S. President Joe Biden declared that democracy – aided by Western weapons – was winning the war for Ukraine, almost one year after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of this country.
His official schedule for this week said only that he was supposed to arrive in Poland on Tuesday for talks with that country’s President Andrzej Duda. It was the first time in modern history that a U.S. leader visited a warzone outside the aegis of the U.S. military – a feat the White House said carried some risk even though Moscow was given a heads-up.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver his rebuttal today, with a speech in which he is expected to lay out his country’s aims for the second year of this war.
Also read:
- Life, upended – Nine stories from Ukraine’s refugees on starting over after fleeing Russia’s war
- Putin says West wants global war against Russia
Ottawa outsourced CEBA program for at least $61-million, documents show
The federal government paid consulting firm Accenture Inc. at least $61-million to deliver the main pandemic loan program for businesses, according to details that Ottawa has never publicly released and that were obtained under access-to-information law.
A parliamentary committee is currently investigating the sharp growth in the number and value of contracts to consulting firms. It was going to just just look into McKinsey & Company, but is now expanding its probe to cover the spending on five other firms.
The federal proactive-disclosure database lists more than $67-million in contracts given to Accenture during the pandemic. But the database does not mention the largest single contract the consulting firm was given, which was to administer loans to businesses under the Canada Emergency Business Account program.
Russian fishing vessels dock at Kirkenes, in northern Norway, for servicing and fuel, in this Feb. 4, 2023 photograph.Nathan VanderKlippe/The Globe and Mail
A tiny border town in Norway’s Arctic is one of Russia’s last links to Europe
High above the Arctic Circle in Norway, the road signs still point the way to nearby Murmansk in Cyrillic and the border gates to Russia swing open every morning, letting a flow of vehicles slip across a frontier that the rest of the Western world has slammed shut.
The Storskog Border Station is the only crossing between Russia and Europe’s Schengen area that remains open.
The town of Kirkenes is one of only three remaining Western ports, all in northern Norway, that continue to welcome Russian ships. Fishing vessels from Russia’s Barents Sea fleet crowd the wharves, keeping local marine mechanics busier than ever.
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Also on our radar
The National Gallery of Canada: The gallery spent more than $2-million on severance payments over a period of 2½ years as it parted ways with employees during a push to reorient itself around a new inclusion-focused mission.
Rogers, Shaw deal: As Rogers Communications Inc.’s long-delayed takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. nears its final hurdle, bankers, lawyers and shareholder advisers are preparing to finally pocket a $100-million-plus fee from the bitterly contested deal.
‘Our home on native land’: Jully Black is drawing attention for a subtle change she made to the lyrics of O Canada at Sunday’s NBA all-star game.
Canadian banks: Loan demand from business borrowers is expected to boost Big Six profits in the first quarter
Natural disaster: A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck southern Turkey near the Syrian border, setting off panic and further damaging buildings two weeks after the country’s worst earthquake in modern history.
Morning markets
European stocks struggle: European stocks fell on Tuesday ahead of key data that will offer a window into the health of major economies, while the U.S. dollar hovered close to its highest level in six weeks. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 slid 0.29 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were down 0.58 per cent and 0.63 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed down 0.21 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.71 per cent. New York futures were weaker. The Canadian dollar was down modestly at 74.26 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
CEO pessimism is at a historic high – firms will fail if they do not transform
“Ultimately, by leaning into a transformation agenda, Canadian companies have a true opportunity not just to survive an economic downturn, but also to reinvent themselves as more relevant and competitive organizations.” - Nicolas Marcoux
We must urgently reinvent public transit for the post-pandemic world
“I passionately believe that mass-transit systems – and the cities they serve – have a bright future. The siren voices of doom assert the end of mass transit, but calls for service to be slashed and investment to be halted must be resisted. Transit authorities must think radically and adapt to new realities in order to survive.” - Andy Byford
How fish forged my friendship with a Ukrainian doctor who fled the war
“I was an opportunity to practise. I could be a shaming-free Duolingo owl ironing out quirky exceptions to grammar rules or decoding idioms, with the bonus of being able to sidebar in Ukrainian if needed. So we made a deal: He would teach me how to fish, and I’d help him learn English.” - Paul Terefenko
Today’s editorial cartoon
Editorial cartoon by Brian Gable published Feb. 20, 2023.Illustration by Brian Gable
Living better
Does dark chocolate pose health risks?
One reader asks Leslie Beck: I’ve been hearing that dark chocolate can be high in heavy metals. Is this a real concern? How much is safe to eat?
If your daily diet includes a square (or two) of dark chocolate, you’re not alone. According to scientists from Consumer Reports, your favourite bar of dark chocolate may contain worrisome levels of cadmium and lead, harmful heavy metals.
Beck answers: According to assessments conducted by Health Canada, chocolate contributes marginally to our dietary intake of cadmium and lead. If you eat dark chocolate often, consider choosing a bar with a lower percentage of cocoa solids; cadmium levels tend to increase with the percentage of cocoa solids. Or alternate with milk chocolate.
Moment in time: Feb. 21, 1925
The cover of the first issue of The New Yorker, published February 21, 1925. Credit: The New YorkerThe New Yorker
First issue of The New Yorker magazine
Before it earned a reputation for serious journalism and literary works, The New Yorker was the talk of the town. Launched as “a fifteen-cent comic paper” as founder and editor-in-chief Harold Ross described it, the publication was meant to be a breezy Manhattan-focused read. The magazine drew on wits from other members of the Algonquin Round Table, such as Dorothy Parker, and was known for its humour and cartoons. (Cartoonist Charles Addams began The Addams Family in its pages.) Though it struggled in its early years, The New Yorker would broaden its focus beyond New York’s social and cultural life and draw a who’s who of writing talent, including Mavis Gallant, Alice Munro, Ernest Hemingway, E.B. White, Janet Flanner, Lillian Ross and Vladimir Nabokov. Among its groundbreaking works was John Hersey’s Hiroshima, an early example of New Journalism following six survivors of the atomic bomb. A full issue was dedicated to that story, which became a publishing sensation. (Other touchstone books that began in the magazine include Eichmann in Jerusalem, Silent Spring and The Fire Next Time.) Today, that “comic paper” also has a festival, a podcast, videos and an archive where you can even read the first issue. Alison Gzowski
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