Good morning,
Ottawa will hike taxes for wealthy Canadians and some corporations in today’s federal budget in an effort to raise more revenue, three sources with direct knowledge of the spending plan said.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has hinted at these tax increases during news conferences in recent weeks, telling reporters she had ruled out raising taxes on middle-class Canadians, but declining to comment on what the federal government would do with corporations and wealthy individuals.
Several bank economists have warned against such measures, saying they will run counter to the government’s stated goal of boosting Canada’s flagging productivity.
- Campbell Clark: The Liberal marketing road show meets the price tag reveal
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland tries on a pair of shoes from direct-to-consumer footwear company Maguire during a pre-budget photo op in her office in Ottawa, Monday, April 15, 2024.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
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 other Globe newsletters on our newsletter signup page.
Israel vows retaliation for attack by Iranian drones, missiles
Israel is vowing to strike back at Iran after its unprecedented launch of drones and missiles even as the United States has raised alarm about the possibility of a wider war in the region. But Israel says Iran’s actions cannot go unanswered.
Tehran said it acted to avenge the death of seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. They were killed on April 1 when an Iranian diplomatic building in Syria was hit by an air strike.
How Israel responds to the attack stands to push the Middle East closer to a regional war or pull it back from a descent into open warfare with Iran.
- Opinion: Iran’s air strikes are reviving some international sympathy for Israel
- Opinion: The right of self-defence is our best hope for peace in the Middle East
- Opinion: What the Gulf War can tell us about what happens next between Israel and Iran
New Brunswick health network calls for regulation of nursing agencies after budget shortfall
A New Brunswick health authority is calling on the federal government to regulate private nursing agencies after it incurred a $98-million budget shortfall.
The Vitalité Health Network began doing business with Toronto-based Canadian Health Labs, which provides what are known as travel nurses – temporary fill-ins, relocated from elsewhere in the country to plug staffing gaps. Vitalité said the travel nursing agencies “took advantage of a very vulnerable situation” with unfair and costly contracts.
The health network urged Ottawa to regulate health care staffing companies and cap what they can charge, rather than leaving each province to set its own policies for the industry.
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
Judge warns Trump as criminal trial begins: Donald Trump’s historic hush-money trial began in a Manhattan courtroom yesterday. The criminal prosecution, the first ever of a former U.S. president, opened with a warning from the judge that Trump could be jailed if he disrupts the proceedings.
Mounties still investigating Chinese scientists: Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said yesterday the RCMP are continuing to investigate the activities of two scientists who were fired from Canada’s high-security National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg for covertly working with China’s military.
Joly dispatching deputy to China: Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is dispatching her deputy minister, David Morrison, to China in an effort to repair relations with Beijing which deteriorated in late 2018 and has not recovered since, sources say.
Hockey gear maker CCM up for sale: With the NHL playoffs approaching, iconic hockey equipment manufacturer CCM has been put up for sale by private equity fund manager Birch Hill Equity Partners. CCM is expected to sell for much more than the $110-million Birch Hill paid for the business seven years ago.
Review raises concerns about McKinsey contracts: A review by the independent ombudsman responsible for studying federal government procurement flagged concerns about contracts awarded by the government to global consulting firm McKinsey and Company, saying that they showed “a strong perception of favouritism.”
Callout: Are you a millennial who chose to elope? We’d love to hear from you! The Globe is looking to talk to couples in Canada who’ve taken different elopement journeys within the past year. Why did you choose elopement? How did your families react? Tell us your experiences by sending an e-mail to asawhney@globeandmail.com.
Morning markets
Global stocks slid to two-month lows, while the U.S. dollar rose to its highest in over five months, after stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales further reinforced the view that the Federal Reserve may not rush to cut interest rates this year. Rising geopolitical tensions kept risk sentiment in check, lifting gold and oil prices.
In early trading in Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 1.53 per cent, Germany DAX index declined 1.33 per cent and France’s CAC 40 slid 1.18 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed down 1.94 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 2.12 per cent.
U.S. futures were mostly flat after stocks closed sharply lower yesterday.
The dollar traded at 72.47 U.S. cents.
What everyone’s talking about
Tony Keller: “The Liberals are now saying a lot of the right things on both housing and immigration. It’s a start. But to quote a handwritten note from the PM’s chief of staff, Katie Telford, which was entered into evidence last week at the foreign interference inquiry: ‘Bragging is not doing.’”
Editorial: “Mr. Kinew may be forging the start of a cross-partisan consensus of what durable climate policy looks like in Canada. He’s not impressed with the carbon tax’s textbook theoretical approach yet he’s ambitious about what clean power can do for Manitoba’s future – environmental and economic. It’s a Prairie pragmatism, focused on what it’s for rather than what it’s against.”
Today’s editorial cartoon
The Globe and Mail
Living better
What I learned from 10-minute workouts, and how to get started
If you’re someone who hates full-fledged workouts or are simply too busy throughout the day, fitness microdosing may be the solution for you. Here’s how to break up your usual exercise routine into smaller, more focused and manageable chunks throughout the day or week.
Moment in time: April 16, 2003
Michael Jordan of the Washington Wizards shoots over Greg Buckner of the Philadelphia 76ers during the game at First Union Center on April 16, 2003 in Philadelphia.Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images
Michael Jordan plays his last NBA game
The box score was unremarkable: 28 minutes; 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting; four rebounds, and the same number of assists. The man who accumulated these stats was not: Michael Jordan, considered by most to be the greatest basketball player of all-time, in his final NBA game. The blue jersey he wore still looked odd. Fans of the game like to pretend his final stint, playing for the woeful Washington Wizards, which he co-owned, didn’t happen – a total of 142 games over two playoff-less seasons. It was an unfortunate coda to an otherwise unbelievable career, which included leading the Chicago Bulls to two three-peats. As they had 44 previous times that season, the Wizards lost the game, this one to the Philadelphia 76ers, 107 to 87. Mark Medley
Enjoy today's horoscopes. Solve today's puzzles. Read today's Letters to the Editor.
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.