Good morning,
These are the top stories:
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg breaks silence, admits company made mistakes in protecting data
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized for a “major breach of trust” and said that the social media giant made mistakes in its handling of the Cambridge Analytica affair. Personal data of 50 million users was abused by the British political consulting company, which improperly accessed the information that was later used to help elect U.S. President Donald Trump in 2016. The whistle-blower who helped bring to light the revelations is Christopher Wylie, a 28-year-old Canadian. The federal Liberal Research Bureau awarded him and his company Eunoia Technologies a $100,000 contract in 2016, one of several interactions between the party and the researcher. Mr. Wylie previously worked in the office of the Liberal leader between 2007 and 2009. “Preliminary work was done by Eunoia Technologies, but after seeing what was offered, Liberal Caucus Research Bureau decided not to move forward,” Treasury Board President Scott Brison said. Mr. Wylie started his company after leaving Cambridge Analytica. Party insiders told The Globe and Mail that he was a volunteer and researcher who helped shift the party toward data-driven techniques.
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NAFTA countries ‘finally starting to converge’ on autos issue, Lighthizer says
Canada, Mexico and the United States are “finally starting to converge” on the issue of automotive content rules, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told a congressional committee. Mr. Lighthizer has been the White House’s point man on trade and said that the three countries are moving forward and seeing eye to eye more often. Sources have told The Globe that negotiators are working to see how they can increase the amount of North American content in vehicles, which the United States wants to see boosted to 85 per cent from 62.5. Aside from autos, the United States is using the talks to press Canada into limiting food-label warnings that Health Canada has been developing over the past two years. The labelling system would place warnings on foods high in sugar, sodium, or saturated fat. Mexico has also been looking at ways to strengthen labels on food.
Documents reveal competition watchdog’s concerns over Torstar, Postmedia deal
According to documents filed in court, the federal Competition Bureau is pushing back against a claim made by Torstar Corp. and Postmedia Network Canada Corp that the two media companies did not discuss closing newspapers when they swapped 41 local and community newspapers in November of last year. Investigators believe that the two companies, the country’s largest newspaper chains, “entered into a conspiracy.” Last week, police and officials from the Competition Bureau carried out raids at both companies’ head offices. When the deal to swap the 41 papers was announced, the companies said that the vast majority of newspapers would be closed. No charges have been laid and the Competition Bureau has not reached a conclusion. (for subscribers)
Manitoba Hydro board resigns after Premier Brian Pallister says he will assume more control
Nine directors of Manitoba Hydro’s board, which constitutes all the non-government members, resigned after Premier Brian Pallister indicated that the provincial government would take on a bigger oversight role of the Crown corporation, which has been burdened by debt. Mr. Pallister also vetoed Manitoba Hydro’s $67-million payment to the province’s Métis Federation. The members of the board who resigned were all appointed by Mr. Pallister. The corporation has been at odds with the Progressive Conservative government for a year in an attempt to resolve several “critical issues related to the finance and governance of Manitoba Hydro”, chairman Sanford Riley said.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Short on options, Îles-de-la-Madeleine residents make a strategic retreat from rising seas
On a Quebec archipelago, the Gulf of St. Lawrence is slowly devouring roads and threatening communities. But after expensive and ineffective battles against erosion, many locals are moving inland instead. This story is part of a Globe series examining how Canada’s most vulnerable coastal communities are preparing for potential catastrophe on their future shores. Here’s a primer on the science behind it.
MORNING MARKETS
Trade war jitters
The threat of a global trade war and a steady message from the Federal Reserve on U.S. interest rates pushed the U.S. dollar to its lowest in over a month on Thursday and took Europe’s main stock markets into the red. Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 1 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.1 per cent and the Shanghai composite shed 0.5 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.49 per cent, Germany’s DAX was down 0.95 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 was down 1 per cent by about 6:25 a.m. ET. New York futures were also down. The Canadian dollar is above 77.5 US cents. Oil prices gave up earlier gains to leave Brent crude futures at $69.34 per barrel and U.S. crude at $65.13 a barrel.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
We’re so addicted to plastic that we drink it every day
“Thursday is World Water Day, as good a time as any to consider how to keep microplastics out of our water. Avoiding synthetic fabrics could help: In early March, the conservation organization Ocean Wise found that artificial textiles were the origin of 90 per cent of microplastics in the Pacific off the coast of Vancouver, likely owing to laundry wastewater. On the positive front, this year, Canada begins phasing out products containing microbeads, little pellets that contribute to foaming in toiletries, then make their way to the bottoms of oceans and riverbeds. And Catherine McKenna, the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, recently pledged to use Canada’s presidency of the Group of Seven to push ambitious plastics recycling targets.” — Denise Balkissoon
Faith-based students should never be denied a summer job
“Smart, ambitious, innovative …. and religious young Canadians just got kicked to the curb by the Liberal government. Faith-based youth have had their prospects for summer jobs dimmed and their convictions marginalized as all but one Liberal member of Parliament voted Monday night to limit access for summer job grants to those who believe in a pro-choice ethic. Something simple and open such as the funding for summer jobs has become a public relations nightmare for a government that champions inclusion and diversity.” — Lorna Dueck
Maybe our democratic institutions can’t save us from tyranny
“The promise of democracy is that the people shall rule. Not the executive, not the legislature, not the judiciary. Simple. But democracy is an ideal, not a practical reality, and it depends on institutions to make it function. When those institutions are compromised or nullified, the democratic promise is at risk of being broken. Are we witnessing such a moment now?” — Mark Kingwell
HEALTH PRIMER
Five ways to recover from a long flight
Whether you're travelling for work, leisure or to see family, long flights can take their toll. From staying awake until your bed time to hitting the gym, these tips will help you get back to feeling like your normal self even if you’re not in your usual time zone.
MOMENT IN TIME
Montreal wins first contested Stanley Cup
March 22, 1894: After seeing his first game in 1889, Lord Stanley of Preston, the British aristocrat who served as governor-general of Canada from 1888 to 1893, became a big fan of hockey. In 1892, he donated the Cup, which cost him $48.67 (the equivalent of about $1,200 today), which was to be awarded to the best hockey team in the country. Since the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association-affiliated Hockey Club was the 1892-93 champion of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada, the team was simply awarded the first Cup title in 1893. Subsequently, the award became a challenge with the Ottawa Hockey Club becoming the first challengers, and on March 22, 1894, the first contested Stanley Cup was won by the Montreal Hockey Club. The team won the first playoff in front of a crowd of 5,000 in Montreal. But the correspondent for the Montreal Gazette was not impressed: “Tin horns, strong lungs and a general rabble predominated. The match resulted in favour of Montreal by three goals to one. The referee forgot to see many things. … There was ‘siss-boom-ah,’ ‘rah-rah-rah’ and several other audible tokens of imbecility and enthusiasm mixed.” — David Shoalts
Morning Update was written by Mayaz Alam