Good morning,
These are the top stories:
Democrats are seeking to curtail Trump’s war-making powers amid Iran tensions
House Democrats will force Congress to vote this week on a motion that would order the U.S. President to end hostilities with Iran in 30 days unless he receives congressional approval.
The effort to limit any further escalations came as Iran postponed the burial of General Qassem Soleimani after dozens died when a stampede erupted at the funeral procession.
The top U.S. commander in Iraq suggested his forces would soon leave, but Washington said there are no plans to pull out in response to the expulsion vote in Iraqi parliament.
Canada-U.S. border detentions: A Democratic congresswoman is probing reports of more than 60 Canadians and Americans of Iranian descent being held and questioned for hours by U.S. agents at a border crossing over the weekend.
Canada’s response: Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne spoke with his Iraqi counterpart, saying Ottawa is determined to stay the course in the country, where Canada has 500 soldiers posted. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been largely silent on the issue, an approach John Ibbitson says is likely the best in the short term.
The impact on Canadian energy: Oil prices have been rising amid concerns that Iran could respond by blocking or attacking crude tankers and facilities in the Middle East. Canada needs to respond by crafting a strategy to protect its energy interests, writes Rita Trichur, including reducing Eastern Canada’s reliance on foreign oil producers.
Israel’s quiet reaction: The country has placed its embassies and troops on high alert as it faces possible threats from Iranian-backed militias on its borders. But publicly, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has attempted to distance Israel from the Soleimani killing, saying “there’s no need to be dragged into” an “American event.”
This is the daily Morning Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Morning Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters on our newsletter signup page.
Families of Canadians who died in a Boeing crash are calling for a public hearing
U.S. Congress has held several hearings into the 737 Max jets, and now Canadian families want to know why Ottawa hasn’t done the same.
“I want action, because that’s the only thing that can help me through this grieving process,” said Chris Moore, who lost his 24-year-old daughter Danielle in the Ethiopian Airlines crash last March.
Chris Moore. (Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail)
Moore also says he and other relatives of the 18 Canadian victims haven’t been able to get a meeting with Transport Minister Marc Garneau despite repeated requests.
Transport Canada relied upon U.S. regulators in its approval of the Max, raising questions about aviation oversight. Last April, a Liberal majority defeated a committee motion to hold hearings into the issue.
Meanwhile, WestJet has removed the grounded Max jet from its flight schedules through April 4. The decision affects around 500 flights.
The RCMP is poised to enforce an injunction against Coastal GasLink protesters
The police force will be cleared to enforce the court order in northeastern B.C. by the end of this week.
That likely means Wet’suwet’en hereditary leaders will have until late Thursday or early Friday to remove any obstacles preventing pipeline construction work, according to a lawyer for the defendants in the court case. “If after 72 hours that hasn’t been done, in certain cases the company can remove an obstacle,” Michael Lee Ross said.
While the company would be responsible for removing any obstacles such as felled trees, a protester blockade could lead to police involvement. Last year, the RCMP arrested 14 protesters at a police checkpoint.
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Harvey Weinstein indicted on new charges: Los Angeles prosecutors charged Weinstein with raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in two separate incidents in 2013. The charges came on the same day his trial on assault charges began in New York.
Refugees squeezed by Toronto housing crisis: Sakineh Balouch spends $1,400 of her $1,500 monthly fixed income on rent for her and her son. It’s a situation emblematic of how vulnerable newcomers often get stuck in crowded units or even out on the street amid decade-long wait lists for subsidized housing.
Source of cosmic burst identified, with Canadian help: Scientists working with Canada’s CHIME telescope have pinpointed the location of a fast radio burst some half a billion light years away. The short-lived pulses pack more energy than the sun can generate in a day. The bigger question – what can produce a burst? – remains a mystery.
MORNING MARKETS
World stocks steady, oil cools as U.S.-Iran tensions ease: World shares steadied and oil pulled back from multi-month highs on Tuesday after dramatic post-new year moves, as investors judged prospects of an all-out conflict between the United States and Iran had eased. In Europe, the FTSE 100 was up 0.20 per cent just after 6 a.m. ET. Germany’s DAX gained 1.03 per cent. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.57 per cent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei gained 1.60 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended up 0.34 per cent. New York futures were slightly higher. The Canadian dollar was just above 77 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Why Hongkongers keep fighting
Marcus Gee: “it isn’t some airy idealism that makes the protesters crowd the streets again and again. It is hard-headed common sense. Their future is at stake: their jobs, their homes, their liberties, their very way of life.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail)Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
The challenges of New Year’s resolutions, and the importance of striving
We’re a week into 2020, which means there’s a chance you’ve already given up on your New Year’s resolutions.
Columnist David Eddie suggests switching to a 10-year timeline may make goals more manageable: “With all this trying and failing, you might wind up succeeding. If not, well, when you’re attempting to enact a 10-year plan, there’s always another year right around the corner.”
Globe arts writer Marsha Lederman says she doesn’t consider unfulfilled resolutions a failure: “Each of them taught me something about myself and led to some sort of shift, if not always transformational change.”
MOMENT IN TIME
Road to Avonlea debuts on TV
From left: Sarah Polley as Sara Stanley, Gema Zamprogna as Felicity King, and Zachary Bennett as Felix King.Sullivan Entertainment /CBC via Photofest
Jan. 7, 1990: She shared little with Prince Edward Island’s spirited red-haired orphan, aside from being created by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Yet Road To Avonlea, which introduced Canadian viewers to young Sara Stanley, would become a homegrown hit and an international success. It also launched the career of its star, then-11-year-old Sarah Polley. Unlike the beloved Anne Shirley, Sara is a motherless heiress sent to live with her maiden aunts. Perhaps the only connection to Anne of Green Gables was the reappearance of characters Rachel Lynde and Marilla Cuthbert. Featuring actors R.H. Thomson, Jackie Burroughs, Dianne Wiest and others, the show also played host to an impressive range of guests stars including Faye Dunaway, Ryan Gosling and Maureen Stapleton. Over its seven seasons, Road to Avonlea would win awards at home and abroad, and boast an audience of more than two million, rivalling Hockey Night in Canada. Polley left in 1994 (later calling it a sugar-coated, unrealistic depiction of Canadian history) and would win the hearts and minds of audiences all over again both as an acclaimed actor and director of independent film. – Alison Gzowski
If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday morning, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.